Vincent and the Doctor (TV story)

Vincent and the Doctor was the tenth episode of the fifth series of BBC Wales Doctor Who.

Synopsis
During a visit to an art gallery with Amy, the Eleventh Doctor's interest is caught by a painting of a church by Vincent van Gogh. There's a face in the church's window, a curious, shadowed, creepy face with a beak and nasty eyes. The Doctor is sure he has seen the face before. There is only one thing for it: a trip in the TARDIS to 1890 so the Doctor can find out from the artist himself.

Plot
The Doctor and Amy visit the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. It is showing the work of Vincent Van Gogh, who is Amy's favourite painter. The Doctor focuses on a painting of a church with a disturbing face in the window. He gravely informs Amy the face is not a nice one. He asks the curator, Dr. Black, who says that the church painting was probably completed between the first and third of June in 1890. The Doctor grabs Amy's hand and drags her away, telling her they need to speak to Vincent Van Gogh.

The TARDIS materialises in Auvers-sur-Oise. The Doctor and Amy begin their search for Van Gogh. Finding a cafe featured in one of his paintings, the Doctor questions two waitresses cleaning the tables outside. They say Van Gogh is a mad drunk who never pays his bills. The cafe owner rushes out, followed by a red-headed man trying to bargain with him. The owner exasperatedly informs him the painting is no good. The man must either pay or leave. The Doctor offers to pay for the man's drink or to buy the painting. Vincent Van Gogh turns around and angrily tells the Doctor off, though he concedes that Amy is cute. Before the painter can resume haggling with the cafe owner, Amy offers to buy a bottle of wine which she will share with whomever she chooses. Van Gogh agrees to this.

Inside the cafe, the Doctor introduces himself. Van Gogh misunderstands the title and believes him a doctor sent by his brother. Amy and Vincent flirt, but stop at a scream from outside. In the street, they find a young girl has been brutally killed. Her mother pushes her way forward. She spots Vincent and blames him for her daughter's death. The crowd throws stones at him. The Doctor, Amy and Van Gogh leave hastily. The Doctor learns this is the second recent murder. Vincent asks the Doctor and Amy where they are staying, which the Doctor takes as an invitation to stay at Vincent's studio.

At the studio, Amy looks at Vincent's work while the Doctor questions him about the church. Vincent has been planning on painting the church, and the Doctor encourages him to do so the next day. After too much coffee, Vincent rambles on about colour and how the world offers so much more than the normal eye can see. The Doctor realises Amy is no longer in the room, and reacts in horror when he hears her scream outside. The men rush into the backyard to find Amy on the ground, terrified but alive. The Doctor tends to her. Vincent points to the empty space behind her. Howling madly, he grabs a pitchfork. Amy and the Doctor believe he is having some sort of fit; the Doctor encourages Amy to take cover while he calms Vincent. The Doctor is swept off his feet by something large and invisible. Realising Vincent is not having a fit, but can actually see the beast, he grabs a stick to help fight it. As he cannot see it, he is useless, and Vincent wards the creature off singlehandedly.

Inside, Vincent draws the creature on a blank canvas and gives it to the Doctor, who returns to the TARDIS with it, leaving Vincent in Amy's care. In the TARDIS, the Doctor uses a portable device to identify the creature. However, it fails to do so and leaves the TARDIS. In the street, he straps the device onto himself, not noticing the creature behind him. With its reflection caught in the mirror, the device identifies it. The Doctor sees the beast is standing behind him. He escapes by hiding around the corner of a building. Amy finds him. She was tired of Vincent's snoring.

The next morning, the Doctor wakes Vincent, who steps into the courtyard to see Amy surrounded by sunflowers. She suggests he paint them, but Vincent explains they are not his favourite. He finds them complex, half-living and half-dying, but it would be a challenge. The Doctor tells them of the creature, called a Krafayis. They travel through space in packs, a brutal race of scavengers. This one has apparently been abandoned. It will kill without mercy until it is killed, unlikely given its invisibility. Nonetheless, he assures Vincent they can stop the killings if he will paint the church. Vincent agrees and the Doctor informs him that, afterwards, he and Amy will leave. Once Vincent has departed, the Doctor expresses concern at putting him in such a dangerous situation; if he is killed, half of the paintings on display in the Musee d'Orsay will vanish.

The Doctor finds the painter lying in bed, sobbing. He is devastated that the Doctor and Amy are prepared to leave him like everyone else. The Doctor attempts to console him, but Vincent grows angry and orders him out. The Doctor and Amy prepare to go to the church and hunt down the Krafayis on their own, but before they can leave, Vincent appears at the door, ready to go. On the way to the church, Amy tries to talk to Vincent about his depression, He says if she can "soldier on," then he can too. This confuses her, which prompts Vincent to reveal he can hear her sadness and believes that she has recently lost someone. He also points out she is crying, which she hadn't realised. They stop in the road as a funeral procession passes. It is a ceremony for the young girl who was killed the night before. Amy asks the Doctor if he has a plan. He doesn't.

At the church, Vincent begins to paint. As time wears on, the Doctor becomes frustrated with its sloth and confesses to Amy that something doesn't feel right. Vincent sees the beast in the window. The Doctor goes inside, ordering his companions not to follow him. Inside, he "fights" the creature, but when his device is destroyed, he prepares to retreat. On the way out, he runs into Amy, who has followed him. They hide in a confessional. The Doctor remarks the Krafayis has incredible hearing. As it tears the confessionals apart, Vincent appears, brandishing a chair to distract the beast, allowing the Doctor and Amy to escape. They take refuge in another chamber. Vincent sneaks away to retrieve something. In his absence, the Doctor attempts to reason with the creature, telling it he too is alone and he knows how it feels.

The chamber windows blow out as the Krafayis breaks in. Vincent returns with his easel, holding it like a weapon. He says the creature is making its way around the edges of the room. The Doctor deduces that the Krafayis was left behind because it is blind. As it attacks, Vincent stabs it with the legs of the easel. It collapses, badly wounded. It begins crying it is afraid, and the Doctor consoles it as it dies. Vincent mourns he didn't mean to kill it, only wound it, and that he understands its lonely existence.

Amy, Vincent, and the Doctor lie in the grass outside the church. Vincent encourages the others to see the world as he does. The Doctor admits he has seen nothing as wonderful as Vincent. Vincent tells the time travellers he will miss them when they're gone. The next morning, Vincent attempts to push his self-portrait on the Doctor as a parting gift, but the Doctor, knowing what it will be worth one day, refuses it. Vincent admits that, despite his experiences over the last couple of days he won't do well on his own.

As the Doctor and Amy depart, he gets an idea and calls back to him. He wishes to show him something. They take Vincent to the Musee d'Orsay in 2010, where Vincent looks in awe at the exhibits, then is surprised when he is led in to the section with his paintings. While Vincent stares at people enjoying his work, the Doctor loudly asks Dr. Black where Van Gogh stands in the history of art. Dr. Black praises Van Gogh for turning his pain into incredible beauty, calling him not only the world's greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men of all time. Vincent is reduced to tears by these words and the Doctor starts to apologise, but Vincent assures him he's crying tears of joy. He hugs Dr. Black and thanks him before leaving with his friends. Dr. Black is confused, and suspects the truth before thinking better of it. Vincent is returned to 1890, happy and sure he will use his experience to change himself into a new man. After a second round of goodbyes, the Doctor and Amy leave again. Vincent walks off alone.

The travellers return to the Musee d'Orsay. Amy is certain their time with Vincent changed him. She is ecstatic at the prospect of all the new paintings that will hang in the exhibit. However, she is disappointed to find no new painting and hear Dr. Black still announce to tourists that Van Gogh committed suicide at the age of thirty-seven.

Amy is heartbroken that they didn't make a difference in Vincent's life at all, but the Doctor rejects this. He says that good things can't remove the pain of bad things, but bad things can't spoil the good things and they certainly added a large amount of good to Vincent's life. The Doctor shows Amy that the face of the Krafayis is no longer visible in the window of the church. Another change becomes evident as they prepare to leave. Amy sees Van Gogh's painting of sunflowers, now dedicated to her.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Vincent van Gogh - Tony Curran
 * Dr Black - Bill Nighy (uncredited)
 * Mother - Chrissie Cotterill
 * School Children - Morgan Overton and Andrew Byrne
 * Maurice - Nik Howden
 * Waitress - Sarah Counsell

Real world

 * Among the posters covering the TARDIS are those for the cafe Au Tambourin at 27 Rue Richelieu in Paris, which was the first place to exhibit van Gogh's artwork in Paris.

The Doctor

 * The Doctor has met Michelangelo and Pablo Picasso.
 * The Doctor mentions receiving a gift from his godmother, who had two heads.
 * The Doctor expresses frustration with van Gogh's 'impressionist' style when attempting to identify the invisible monster (though van Gogh is considered post-Impressionist by art historians), suggesting that this would "never happen with Gainsborough, one of those proper painters." The Doctor recalls how he tried to coax Picasso into painting a symmetrical face. While this suggests the Doctor's affinity for some notion of 'scientific accuracy' over emotive artistic expression, he later humbly tells Vincent that while he has seen many things, "you are right, nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see." He also claimed that Michelangelo had a fear of heights.
 * The Doctor references Field of Dreams, "If you build it he will come", when he tells Vincent, "If you paint it, he will come".
 * The Doctor tells the museum guide "bow ties are cool". He also said this to Amy in The Eleventh Hour.
 * The Doctor's self-hatred is seen again when the device prints out pictures of his first two lives.

Paintings

 * The episode makes numerous direct and indirect references to van Gogh's most famous works, though artistic liberty was taken in regard to their chronology and the locations in which they were painted. While the setting for the episode was ostensibly Auvers-Sur-Oise, the last place of residence and resting place of van Gogh, where he painted Church at Auvers, inspiration for the set decoration of his home and the cafe he frequented (or rather was frequently thrown out of), came from works he produced while living in Arles several years before (Bedroom in Arles, Cafe Terrance at Night). Also, while the episode suggests Amy Pond inspired van Gogh to paint sunflowers, particularly Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, which he 'dedicated' to her, they were, in fact, painted in 1887 and 1888.
 * Van Gogh works referenced in the episode include: Church at Auvers (1890), Bedroom in Arles (1887), Cafe Terrance at Night (1888), Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers (1888), Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890), The Starry Night (1889), Wheatfield With Crows (1890), Vincent's Chair with His Pipe (1888), Self-Portrait with Straw Hat (1887).

People from the real world

 * Amy briefly handles a knife in Vincent's rooms but sets it down suddenly, as if recalling the incident where Van Gogh cut off his own ear.

Story notes

 * The episode was incorrectly entitled, Lend Me Your Ear. No mention or reference was made in the episode to van Gogh's ear at all, beside holding a self portrait o the ear is covered by van Gogh's hand.
 * Unlike most stories in this series, this story focuses much more on characters than plot, and has hints and references to van Gogh's struggle with bipolar disorder and suicide, something the series has not explored deeply before. A message and phone number for the 'BBC Action Line' was broadcast following the 'Next Time' trailer, for those wanting more information on 'issues raised in this program.'
 * Pictures of the First and Second Doctors are printed on the TARDIS' typewriter.
 * This is the second story in the series to lack any cracks, silence, or other foreshadowing of the series' finale (the first being Amy's Choice). However, it does tie in to Rory's death and establishes that, on some level, Amy is aware he has died.
 * Although originally believed to be standalone, spoilers making this story involved with the series arc, some mentioning van Gogh's paintings, one of which is Dr. Gatchet, relating to the finale. Dr. Gatchet appears in the final episode. Others include van Gogh communicating a disturbing prophecy to the Doctor in the finale through one of his paintings, and a van Gogh reference in DW: The Lodger.
 * Bill Nighy was not credited for his role.
 * Numerous positive or affirmative references were made in the episode to van Gogh and Amy's hair colour, perhaps in a conscious effort to address the accusation by some viewers of the program being 'anti-ginger' (the so-called 'ginger' controversy).
 * The song used for the scenes of Van Gogh in the museum is "Chances" by Athlete.
 * This is the only episode since 1963 to end on a cut to black.

Ratings
Overnight viewing figures were 5.0 million.

Offical viewing figures was 6.29 million viewers.

Filming locations

 * National Museum of Wales
 * Trogir, Croatia
 * Roald Dahl Plass, which is supposed to double for the Musée d'Orsay in Paris

Rumours

 * It was rumoured that either the Timoreen, the Ha'rik or the Skarkish would appear. The monster was a Krafayis.
 * It was rumoured that Vincent van Gogh would stab a yellow monster. He stabbed the Krafayis which wasn't yellow.
 * Howard Lee plays a character called "Dr. Gachet". . Dr. Gachet was van Gogh's real doctor, who nursed him during his final years. He was mentioned in this episode but he appeared in DW: The Pandorica Opens''.
 * Nighy plays a van Gogh expert, with similar fashion tastes to the Doctor himself. This turned out also true. He also wore a bowtie.
 * Steven Moffat stated in an interview that the controversial topic of the regeneration limit for Time Lords would be "addressed in a very, very cheeky way by an old friend of mine" at some point in Series 5. It was thought the "old friend" could very well be Richard Curtis, and that the issue might be addressed in this episode. This turned out to be false.
 * As a Vincent van Gogh painting will feature in the events of The Pandorica Opens, it was likely that this story would bring more developments to the main story arc of the series. This was not the case, with the episode being more or less a stand-alone story, but a painting of the TARDIS exploding, by van Gogh, played a large part in the finale.
 * It was rumoured that Vincent would propose to Amy or ask the Doctor to travel with them because in the preview clips, he shows a large interest in Amy and the Doctor and even tells Amy that he loves her. This turned out true.

Production errors

 * When running through the streets with his mirror, the Doctor screams "Ahh", but his mouth is not synced with his screaming.
 * For most of the episode, Amy is wearing tights. During the church scene, when van Gogh starts painting the Church, they've gone. Later on when the group are hiding from the monster, she's wearing them again.
 * When in the chapel looking for the monster, the Doctor switches the mirror from his left to right side while holding his sonic screwdriver. For each change, the camera angle also changes, and the sonic screwdriver changes from being in closed mode and extended mode.
 * At the beginning, when looking at the painting of the church, the Doctor scratches his head. When the camera is behind the Doctor, he uses his right hand but when the camera cuts to in front of him, he is using his left hand.
 * When the Krafayis first appears in the visual recognition system, it is directly behind the Doctor, who is next to the TARDIS. When the Doctor runs away, it is heard chasing him. The Doctor hides behind a wall and using the mirror sees the creature, but it is still beside the TARDIS.
 * When in the chapel running away from the Krafayis, the Doctor is attacked by the monster, knocking him off his feet and into a nearby wall. For one shot, the wire that lifts Matt Smith off his feet and into the wall can be seen clearly.

Continuity

 * The Doctor and Dr. Black compliment each other's bow ties, the Doctor saying again that "bow ties are cool". (DW: The Eleventh Hour, Amy's Choice)
 * The Doctor mentions that he had a godmother with two heads. Before his ninth regeneration, he declared that he might have ended up with two heads. (DW: The Parting of the Ways) Although it seemed like a joke at the time, this statement suggests that a Time Lord might in some case actually have an extra head. It may also be a reference to the Aplans. (DW: The Time of Angels)
 * The first and second Doctors are pictured.
 * The Doctor finds his species identifier device by rifling through a chest in the TARDIS' alcoves. This plot device for providing artefacts and tools was utilised in several of the previous incarnations' series, e.g. the Second Doctor finding a holy Tibetan bell and Jamie a set of bagpipes (DW: The Abominable Snowmen) and the Tenth Doctor retrieving an Agatha Christie novel (DW: The Unicorn and the Wasp).
 * The Doctor once again mentions that he is ageing mentally, in contrast to his physical appearance. (DW: Time Crash, The End of Time)
 * Amy mentions that the Doctor took her to Arcadia. The planet was featured in NA: Deceit, and the "fall of Arcadia" was mentioned as one of the events of the Time War in DW: Doomsday.
 * The Doctor mentions Rory, to which Amy asks "Who?" Amy also says that the Doctor is being extra kind to her, as unbeknownst to her he is feeling guilty about Rory's erasure from Time. Van Gogh also sees that Amy is crying, although she doesn't know why; he theorises that she has lost someone. After receiving a half-joking marriage proposal from Vincent, Amy tells him that she's "not the marrying kind". (DW: Cold Blood).
 * This marks the fourth episode this season which opens on a nature shot. (DW: The Time of Angels, Amy's Choice, The Hungry Earth) All these episodes open on beautiful, wide-open fields on bright, sunny days.
 * Vincent van Gogh is the second historical figure in the new series to have romantic feelings for one of the Doctor's companions and the third to have such feelings for a member of the TARDIS crew. Previously, William Shakespeare made advances towards Martha Jones, and Madame de Pompadour fell in love with the Tenth Doctor. (DW: The Shakespeare Code, The Girl in the Fireplace)
 * Amy attempting to get Vincent to paint 'The Sunflowers' is similar to Rose Tyler trying to get Queen Victoria to say, "I am not amused." (DW: Tooth and Claw)

Timeline

 * This story occurs after: DYD: The Coldest War
 * This story occurs before: VG: City of the Daleks

Home video releases
BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Four was released on Monday 6 September 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray, featuring Vincent and the Doctor, The Lodger, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang.