Vincent and the Doctor

"That strange wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the worlds greatest artist but also one of the greatest men who ever lived."

Writer: Richard Curtis 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 5th June 2010

Series: 5.10

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy

Synopsis

After taking Amy to see the exhibit of Vincent Van Gogh's work in a Paris art gallery, the Doctor sees evil in one of the paintings and he wants to ask the artist himself all about.

Verdict  

Vincent and the Doctor is an absolutely brilliant episode. It's so touching, emotional and just downright outstanding. It really is superb. As you might already be able to tell, I can't give this episode enough praise! I love the fact that it's a lot more about the characters rather than a plot and usually that may not work but here it's just absolutely wonderful. Of course, we do get the enemy in the monstrous form of the Krafayis. That in itself is quite emotional too! After the sad events of Cold Blood where it appeared that Rory had died and been erased from time, the Doctor was being nice to Amy. Now that may seem natural of the good natured Time Lord we all know and love but to Amy she could see right through him and knew he was doing it for a reason. He was somehow being too nice by taking her to the Paris art gallery. There they gazed at the wondrous paintings of Vincent Van Gogh but on one particular painting of a church, the Doctor knew something wasn't right. He could see evil in the window. Evil that wasn't supposed to be there. Instead of asking experts on what it might be, the Doctor and Amy set off on a trip to the past to ask the artist himself! I loved the circumstances in which the pair met Vincent with the humour of him asking for just one more drink. Courteously, the Doctor and Amy offered to buy a bottle of wine to share amongst them. Immediately the trio were off to a good start and the relationship grew magnificently during the episode. Vincent gained romantic feelings for Amy which is more than understandable! She looked beautiful in this episode and I just love her hair. It seemed very apt for this episode with a fellow "ginge" featuring as the title character. I'm no fan of art myself, and I don't really have an understanding of what's good and what's not but from the prices that his paintings go for and the fact they're housed in a gallery must mean he's pretty darn good! That made the fact that in his own time his paintings were deemed laughable incredibly sad. For someone with such a talent and passion for art, it's no wonder he committed suicide when his work was just laughed at along with the man himself. Who would want to live a life like that? Amy must have seemed like a blossom to him. She made him feel liked, respected and that he just had a friend. The Doctor and Amy also seemed to be the first people to praise his work which was again quite sad. Tony Curran gave what has to be considered the best guest performance of the series and the emotion he played Van Gogh with was astounding. The way he roared aggressively his anger at the Doctor was fantastic. His description of the stars and the colours was stunning and when the trio linked hands on the ground, looking up into the night's sky, the way it blended into the painting was gorgeous. The story of the Krafayis being abandoned by its pack simply because it was blind was also a sad sub-story. Blindness seemed to spell weakness for the other Krafayis herd so they abandoned this particular member of the species. The way the Doctor realised it was blind was superb! I liked the means the Doctor identified the creature! Using the gift from his two-headed godmother that identifies almost anything! Seeing the Doctor's first and second incarnations on the printer was fabulous too! The unintentional death of the Krafayis was emotional and I loved how the Doctor comforted a dying creature he could not see. The ending was incredibly heartwarming with the Doctor taking Vincent to the art gallery where his work is on display. This scene is a fine example of what makes Doctor Who the best programme on television, or best form of entertainment in any format. There may be dramas that depict the life and work of Van Gogh, and they're probably has been one and I imagine it was very good but where else could we see Vincent visiting his own gallery! Dr Black was a fantastic curator/guide and his comments about Van Gogh being overheard by the man himself was just outstanding. Amy having a lasting impact on the man's life with her name appearing on a sunflower painting was a very nice closing touch. Overall, a sublime episode! 

Rating: 10/10