The Vampires of Venice

"The sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."

Writer: Toby Whithouse

Format: TV

Broadcast: 08 May 2010

Series: 5.06

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis

The Doctor takes Amy and Rory, soon to be married, on a romantic trip to Venice, 1580, to make Amy focus on her relationship with her fiancé. However, things aren't quite what they seem. 

Warnings of the plague are spreading about despite having died out years before, and pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight are lurking around. Could it have something to do with the school run by the mysterious Rosanna Calvierri?

Verdict

The Vampires of Venice was a great episode to continue my modern era rewatch! I must admit that prior to delving back into Series 5 this was the episode I was probably looking forward to the least, and I’m not entirely sure why. It doesn’t stand out in my mind but it’s actually a whole lot of fun. The continuation from the ending to Flesh and Stone with Amy wanting, and succeeding, to kiss the Doctor was magnificent as the Time Lord gatecrashed Rory’s stag night. Having the Doctor pop out of the cake intended for the stripper was hilarious and Matt Smith did a stellar job with the performance of being completely unaware of how his words and actions didn’t mean well for Rory. Hearing that your fiancé tried to kiss another man the night before your wedding day isn’t exactly great! The Doctor was genuinely trying to help though and set Amy and Rory up on a date in sixteenth century Venice. That was quite the wedding present and it was a really fun place to visit. It’s a city that has long been on my bucket list and it was just nice to have the TARDIS land in another country. It’s far too focused on London and the UK! The Doctor immediately suspected danger though when he noticed that Guido was trying to break his daughter out of a school that everyone was desperate to get their daughters into. He was a really good character as a Venetian and his daughter Isabella was also excellent. I loved how they were both proud of their city, but sadly the latter wouldn’t survive which is actually a bit of a surprise considering the initial entire mission was to break her out. Of course, the scale of the threat was soon upgraded when Lady Calvieri set her plan in motion to revive her race from the watery depths of the city. The appearance of them being Vampires was brilliant and I actually really enjoyed the scientific explanation. They were actually Saturnyns but their perception filter actually altered the onlooker’s brain in how they were interpreted. The confusion meaning that they were left blank in the mirror was good and I also loved the moment the Doctor asked about why they could see the teeth. That answer for an answer sequence between the Doctor and Calvieri was outstanding. I enjoyed her knowledge of Gallifrey and that meaning he should be in a museum. The attempted break into her school was a lot of fun with Guido wearing Rory’s stag t-shirt and Calvieri not falling for the psychic paper. With this being Rory’s first trip as a companion, Amy instantly feels more seasoned and mature as a companion herself and that’s lovely to see. She really steps into her own and is quite cheeky which is an attractive quality. Rory saving her from Francesco by saying the only thing uglier than him was his mum was superb. Rory tried to defend himself with a mop very humorously, but the distraction was enough for Amy to reflex the sunlight onto him and disintegrate him. It was a touching moment of survival as they both embraced emotionally. No more Doctor thoughts from here I would imagine. I do think the pace of the conclusion with the generator was decent but a little quick and simple. I did love the moment with Rory entering the TARDIS though and describing how all he could hear was Silence. That was great foreshadowing after hearing that’s what took out the Saturnyns. Overall, a really strong episode! Better than remembered. 

Rating: 8/10