This is obviously one of the good ones. Without even getting
to the ending, just viewing it as a historical adventure where
Dr Who meets Vincent Van Gogh, it's already a very good episode.
The Croatian location filming is stunning and the whole thing
has a warm cosy atmosphere, like we've been transported not just
back in time but into a painted world.
Throughout the
episode the scenery is compared to real Van Gogh paintings, and
the comparisons really hold up to scrutiny; if I had Tony Curran
as Vincent I'd also make a point of holding up the self-portrait
and showing how good casting director Andy Pryor is at his job.
Beyond Curran's amazingly Vincenty face, The Church at Auvers
and Café Terrace at Night are recreated, with Café Terrace at
Night also being directly compared to the painting. There's just
a magical vibe going through the whole thing that plays really
well with Series 5's fairytale aesthetic. When Vincent is
brought into the TARDIS at the end, only the 2010 Pond era
console room could've made that scene work so well - the warm
palette and eccentric asymmetrical design makes it perfect for
the episode in a way the later mechanical 2012 interior wouldn't
have suited as well.
But now we're getting to the ending.
The idea of a historical figure finding out about their future
reputation is nothing new - in fact it was done with the very
first historical figure New Who used, Charles Dickens, when he
asked whether or not his books would last. Here though, we're
actually shown Vincent's reputation rather than told about it.
The scene itself is amazingly acted. I remember having a problem
with the use of a kinda bland pop song when I first saw this in
2010 rather than some good original score, but it doesn't do
much to harm the scene for me these days. The sequence as is is still
extraordinary.
I can't decide whether the big invisible
space chicken is a weak link in this episode. I mean, sure, it
ties in to the main theme because it's something about the world
that only Vincent can see, but it's also a fuckin chicken, you
know? And not in a fun whimsical way, like if it was LITERALLY a
chicken. I think it is supposed to look like a cool alien, but
it's JUST chicken-y enough, you know? It could've been more
magical or majestic, so Vincent was actually seeing wonderous
things nobody else was. That said, the chase scenes with a big
invisible creature (chicken or not) were very tense and
effective, especially paired with the amazing cobbled streets of
Croatia.
So yeah. Vincent and the Doctor. Instant
classic. Kinda crazy that Richard Curtis hasn't done another
Doctor Who episode. I mean, he's a big famous film person, but
he was also a big famous film person before doing this, and he
still did it obviously. Hence why I'm writing about it.
Next: The Lodger