Day 766: Vincent and the Doctor

Vincent and the Doctor is a rare episode, and one that could have only been done in Series 5. It's not a story that's overtly concerned with action, or suspense, instead focussing on this simple and magical story of one man, and his adventure with the Doctor.

It's a story all about a man, Vincent Van Gogh, with depression, unappreciated and on the verge of collapse. And we see this man at some of his highest and lowest points, as he fights the invisible monster of depression that has accompanied him for all his life. Tony Curran's performance as Vincent Van Gogh is extraordinary, capturing the nature of Van Gogh excellently such as in the bedroom scene where he is at one of his lowest points, unable to face not only the oncoming day but his life, as he refuses to listen to the Doctor. This is handled intelligently by the script as well, as it has been previously lax on showing Vincent's 'low' moments, instead portraying him as someone who is obviously depressed and unhappy, but warming to the prospect of working with the Doctor and Amy. By showing Vincent in this vulnerable state, we get a sense of how deeply and darkly the depression does affect him.

Of course, we also see the higher points of Vincent's life, such as him seeing his works being displayed in the Musée D'Orsay, as he is driven to tears at realising that he is appreciated for what he does. And it's beautiful because we're allowed to take part in this emotional overload with Vincent as he realises the effect that he will have on people. The trick of having the room spin with Vincent's face in the fore-ground as Dr. Black's monologue runs in the background is almost too much for the audience to take in, leading to us entirely empathising with Vincent as he struggles to cope with what he's been told. It's a beautiful moment in a beautiful episode.

But as with Van Gogh's paintings, this episode is best viewed with one's own eyes, to appreciate the subtelties and to see the texture of how it all plays out. And whilst it's not my absolute favourite of Series 5, I would probably recommend watching Vincent and the Doctor above the rest of the series, if only to truly appreciate the art of this adventure.

Day 762: The Vampires of Venice

The Vampires of Venice, aside from being a very fun story with some excellent location filming, introduces one of my favourite companions in the series in the form of Rory. Rory, Amy's fiancé (and later husband) is a very interesting character to have as a companion because of how he refuses to fit the traditional companion mould.

Normal companions for Doctor Who all generally follow the trend of going off and adventuring with the Doctor, having a lot of fun along the way. Rory bucks this trend by seeing that this entire lifestyle is actually incredibly dangerous. He spends much of this episode running around and being slightly nervous and afraid of what is happening because the entire process of travelling with the Doctor is not a safe experience, and sometimes we need to be reminded of that fact. But more than that, what Rory does with these feelings is channel them at the Doctor. In one of the story's best scenes, he openly says that the Doctor is dangerous because he makes people want to impress him, rather than because they want to go head-first into danger. It's a strong character beat for Rory, and marks the point where he goes from being just a comic relief love interest for Amy to an interesting character in his own right. He sees the Doctor for what he represents, and he's not afraid to tell the Doctor this fact.

And whilst the character obviously moves on in terms of his original characterisation - it would be fairly annoying if we had a companion travelling on the TARDIS who didn't enjoy the process of adventuring at all - Rory still keeps that wariness and that ability to speak his mind to the Doctor. And that forms part of what will be some of the best stories yet to come in the Eleventh Doctor's tenure. But that's all in the future, and we've still got work to do!