Vincent and the Doctor
Story 210, Episode 766, Series 5 Episode 10
Doctor: The Eleventh Doctor
Companions: Amy Pond
The greatest historical of all time has the Doctor and Amy, truly, make a difference.
The Review
There isn’t another story quite like Vincent and the Doctor, one of the most remarkable in all of Doctor Who. Generally the best Doctor Who stories are sci-fi bonanzas but in this story all the Doctor does is meet Van Gogh. We’ve had celebrity historicals before, and none have been knock-outs because there’s only so little you can do with a known historical character. We already know what their character arc has to be. The genius in this episode is breaking the mold. There is an enemy, the giant invisible chicken known as the Krafayis, which is relatively incidental to the story, just there to provide conflict. It being invisible means we don’t have to see it’s dodgy CGI much, and does provide some pathos when he learn its rampage of terror is because it is blind and scared.
Of course, Van Gogh can see it, because he can see what others can’t. He’s not just a famous person, he is truly different and special in ways we can’t image. Tony Curran is the spitting image of Van Gogh, a performance so incredible you genuinely believe it’s the man himself. He is mercurial, difficult, believes his art is awful, but keeps trying because he knows he sees things others can’t. The set design is astonishing, re-creating a cafe from his paintings, and the genuine shock of seeing his bedroom perfectly recreated. He’s not a perfect man (and tries to convince Amy to have lots of kids together), but you can tell that he is special. So special, there’s no doubt about what the Doctor and Amy must show him.
The story started seeing Van Gogh’s paintings on display in Paris, and so Van Gogh himself is brought there. His whole life he’s been a failure, and thought his art was terrible. Seeing him burst into tears seeing people admiring his art, and especially as Bill Nighy’s pitch-perfect Mr. Black describes Van Gogh as one of the greatest men who ever lived. It’s incredibly powerful, and emotional. The true ending ends up being even more so. Van Gogh is returned home and vows to be a new man, and Amy takes the Doctor back to the gallery convinced he wouldn’t kill himself now. He still did. Even knowing that he wasn’t a failure, Van Gogh’s demons were still too much. It’s a heartbreaking, bold ending, as the Doctor assures Amy that if they made his life just a little bit better, it was worth all the while. And on his painting of sunflowers, it’s dedicated ‘to Amy’.
Maybe the most emotional story of all time, Vincent and the Doctor is the definitive celebrity historical, a true masterpiece.
10/10 This has to be the best Eleventh Doctor story. Incredible
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