C+Q - Vincent and the Doctor (2010)

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