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 somewhere 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
In France, 1890, a feild of wheat is seen with a flock of crows flying out of it, scared by something run through the wheat. Right outside the wheat feild, someone begins painting the crows into a picture he is finishing.

A pull away from the finished painting shows the seen has changed to the Musee d'Orsay, Paris, 2010, where it is part of the Vincent Van Gogh exhibition. Amy and the Doctor arrive in the exhibit with Amy abuzz with joy at seeing the works of her favorite paintier. After mishearing someone, the Doctor notices a painting of a church and informs Amy to look closely in one of its windows. Both see a face, which the Doctor senses is evil and he does know evil when he sees it. He interupts the exhibit curator, Dr Black and asks when the painting was painted, getting the information that it was completed between the first and third of June in 1890. Complimenting Dr. Black's bowtie, the Doctor grabs Amy's hand and drags her away, telling her they need to speak to Vincent Van Gogh as it is a matter of life and death.

The TARDIS materializes in Auvers-sur-Oise, and 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, even laughing when the Doctor says Vincent is a fantastic painter. The cafe owner rushes out, closely followed by a man with red hair who is trying to bargain with him; the owner exasperatedly informs him the painting is no good, and that the man must either pay or leave. The Doctor offers to pay for the man's drink, or to buy the painting so the man may buy his own drink. 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 obviously agrees to this.

Inside the cafe, the Doctor proberly introduces himself; Van Gogh misunderstands the title, believing that "the Doctor" is yet anoth doctor sent by his brother. However, the Doctor assures him that he is not a medical doctor. Amy comments on one of Vincent's paintings, saying that it's her favorite. However, she soon corrects herself by saying she likes it in general. Due to the TARDIS translation circuits and Amy's scottish accent, Vincent wonders if she comes from Holand like himself. Amy truthfuly answers no, but the Doctor tells Vincent otherwise. Amy and Vincent then begin flirting, much to the Doctor's annoyance until he subtle asks Vincent if he wants to paint a church soon. Vincent admits that there is one he wants to paint, but isn't qutie sure if he should. Their conversation is interupted by the sound of scream from outside.

In the street, the trio discover a young girl has been brutally killed. The girl's mother pushes her way towards the front of the crowd. She spots Vincent and, out of distraught, blames him for her daughter's death, believing his "madness" brought this upon them; the crowd throws stones at the trio, who depart hastily. The Doctor discovers that this is the second murder in recent weeks. Vincent asks the Doctor and Amy where they will be staying, which the Doctor misinterprets as an invitation; he happily agrees to staying at Vincent's studio.

At the studio, Vincent explains to his new friends that he believes that there is so much more than what the normal eye can see; knowing better, the Doctor tells Vincent that he doesn't need to tell him that and asks when he will paint the church. Vincent notices the Doctor keeps bringing up the church and asks what his fixation on it is, asking if anyone has called him weird. The Doctor says they never stop as Vincent brews some coffee. A while later, Vincent has drunk most of the coffee and has begun babbling rapidly. He explains that when it comes to his art, he can "hear" the colors of the world telling him to paint and try capturing its mystery. Scared, yet calm, the Doctor offers to makr some tea to help calm Vincent down, asking Amy to get some ingreditants. He then realizes that Amy is no longer in the room, and reacts in horror when he hears her scream outside.

The two men rush out 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 and howling madly, 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 the painter down. The Doctor is swept off his feet by something large and invisible; realizing that 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, the Doctor uselessly swings the stick around while Vincent wards the creature off singlehandedly.

Inside, Vincent draws the creature on a blank canvas (which to the distraught of Amy and the Doctor was painted over one of his finished works), which shows a horrifying horned beast with sharp talons. Not knowing what exactly they are dealing withm, the Doctor tells Amy that he is going back to the TARDIS to fetch something to help them find out what it is. Amy is concerned for the Doctor, but he assures her that he will be alright and tells her to take care of Vincent while he is gone. Soon in town, it becomes known to the audiance watching that the invisible creatue has followed the Doctor back to the TARDIS. However, the Doctor enters the TARDIS just as the beats prepared to attack.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor uses a portable device given to him by "a dull godmother with two heads and bad breath twice" to identify the creature Vincent painted after using him as a test --the TARDIS printed pictures of the First Doctor and the Second Doctor, showing it can identify a being that regenerates. He then tries with Vincent's picture, but the identifier can't figure out what the creature in the painting is, confusing it with a polar bear and a parrot. Exasperated, the Doctor decides he'll have to make Vincent draw somethign better for the iderntifier to use. Upon fixing the device to a harness strapped to him, the Doctor exits the TARDIS. Making adjustments to the straps, the Doctor does not notice that the creature is behind him, its reflection visbile in the mirror. The device bings, signaling the Doctor that it has found a match -- the Doctor mistakanely believes that it only needed some time to get the match -- learning what the creature is. The Doctor wishes to meet the creature soon so he can get it off Earth and notices it is right behind him. Scared, the Doctor flees and escapes by hiding around the corner of a building after leaving debris to slow the beast down. Amy finds him, scaring the Doctor again. Amy explains that she loves Vincent's work, but finds it hard to like his snoring -- the reason she came to find the Doctor.

The next morning, the Doctor wakes Vincent, who steps into the courtyard and sees Amy surrounded by vases full of sunflowers; she suggests that he paint the flowers, but Vincent explains that they are not his favorite; he finds them complex, half-living and half-dying, but it would be a challenge that the Doctor is certain he will rise to. Inside, the Doctor shows Vincent a printed picture of the creature, which is called a Krafayis. The Krafayis travel through space in packs; a brutal race of scavengers and this one has apparently been abandoned. It will kill without mercy until it is killed, which seems unlikely given its invisibility. Nonetheless, the Doctor assures Vincent that they can stop the killings if he will paint the church; Vincent agrees, and the Doctor informs the painter that afterwards, he and Amy will leave. Once Vincent has departed, the Doctor expresses some 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 disappear -- causing a diastorous change in time.

The Doctor goes to Vincent's room to find the painter lying in bed, sobbing; he is devastated that the Doctor and Amy are prepared to leave him just like everyone else. The Doctor attempts to console him, but Vincent becomes angry and orders him out of the room. Outside Vincent's room, the Doctor is found by Amy, who he informs he was wrong to involve Vincent as he has a fragile psyche and will kill himself in a few months; the only option left is to go to the church themselves and hope the Krafayis still comes. However, right as the prepare to leave, Vincent arrives, fully dressed with his art supplies and calm, he infroms them that he is ready to go.

On the way to the church, Amy tries to talk to Vincent about his depression; he responds that if she can "soldier on," then he can as well. This statement confuses her, which prompts Vincent to reveal he can hear her sadness and believes that she has recently lost someone; he also points out that she is crying, which she hadn't realised. The Doctor sees this as a reminder of his failure to save Amy's memories of Rory. They soon 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 have a plan, but something like it -- "It's like a plan, only more greyness", which involves the identifier and his sonic screwdriver.

At the church, Vincent sets up his easel and begins to paint. As time wears on, the Doctor becomes frustrated with how slowly it is passing and confesses to Amy that something doesn't feel right. Vincent sees the beast in the window and the Doctor goes inside, ordering his companions not to follow him. Vincent wonders if Amy will follow the Doctor, to which Amy answers "Of course"; Vincent can only blurt "I love you". Inside, the Doctor straps on his device and begins looking for the beast with the mirror, however, he is not in the window Vincent said he would be -- "Damn, he's moved". Just barely seen through the mirror, the Doctor notices the Krafayis behind him and drops the device as the it is destroyed by the Krafayis' claw. Hearing the noise and the Doctor's scream, Amy heads into the church.

Inside, the Doctor begins making a retreat and bumps into Amy. Annoyed that she disobeyed him yet again, the Doctor quickly ushers her into the church confessional to hide. The Doctor tells Amy to breathe quieter to avoid drawing attention to them; he hears the Krafayis pass them and whispers the news to Amy. However, the Krafayis heard him and begins attacking the confessional, prompting the Doctor to remark "that is really good hearing he's got". Much to his and Amy's shock/relief, Vincent has followed them in and is destracting the Krafayis, using his chair as a sheild. They leave the confessional and get behind him, backing up to an exit. The Doctor tries multiple times to stun the Krafayis with his sonic screwdriver, but is unable to do so, ending up pleasing the Krafayis instead.

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 are blown out as the Krafayis breaks in. Vincent returns with his easel, holding it out like a weapon; he informs the Doctor the creature is making its way around the edges of the room; the Doctor deduces the Krafayis is blind. That is why it was left behind by its pack. However, he announced his realization loduly, allowing the beast to figure out where they are. As the beast attacks, Vincent stabs it with the sharp ends of the easel; it collapses, severely wounded. It begins crying it is afraid, and the Doctor consoles it as it dies. Vincent assures him that 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 them to see the world as he does; the Doctor uses his psychic powers to allow himself and Amy to share Vincent's veiw of the world. Pleased with the sights Vincent sees int he sky, the Doctor tells Vincent that though he has seen many things, he has not seen anything as wonderful as he has. Vincent tells his new friends that he will miss them when they leave (especialy Amy).

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 takes this as another refusal of his work like everyone, but changes the subject; he tells Amy that if she ever tires of the Doctor, she can return and they will have lots of children. Amy kindly turns down Vincent and tells him that she's not the marryign kind. Taking well to this, Vincent sadly comments 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 how to repay Vincent for his help and calls back to him, explaining that he would like to show him something. Dressing in his finest clothes, Vincent is brought to the TARDIS, which has been covered in posters. Upon seeing the interior, Vincent is amazed by the machine and asks what several of the functions are. The Doctor explains some of them, subtly have the TARDIS time travel. Impressed, Vincent asks the Doctor to come back to the cafe and explain more about the wonders of the universe. However, the Doctor tells Vincent that it might be a good idea, he has something even better to show him.

They exit to be right outisde the Musee d'Orsay in 2010; the Doctor explans the when and where, taking Vincent inside to see the works of the art. Vincent looks around in awe at the exhibits, then is surprised when he is led in to the section with his paintings. While Vincent looks in amazement at people enjoying his work, the Doctor asks Dr. Black where Van Gogh stands in the history of art; Amy gets Vincent into earshot. 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 thinking this wasn't a good idea, 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 for a second before thinking better of it.

They return Vincent to France in 1890, assured that he is happy and will use his experience to transform himself into a new man. After a second round of goodbyes, the Doctor and Amy leave once again; Vincent walks off alone. The travellers return to the Musee d'Orsay; Amy is optimistic their time with Vincent changed him and encouraged him to prolong his life. She is ecstatic at the prospect of all the new paintings that will be hanging in the exhibit. However, she is disappointed upon arrival to find no new painting and hears Dr. Black explain to a group of tourists that Van Gogh still committed suicide at the age of thirty-seven, leaving Amy heartbroken.

Amy is heartbroken that they didn't make a difference in Vincent's life at all, but the Doctor rejects this. He says that although good things can't remove the pain of bad things, bad things can't spoil the good thingsand they certainly added a large amount of good things to Vincent's life. The Doctor also shows : 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 is drawn to Van Gogh's painting of sunflowers, now dedicated to her. Remembering Vincent's attraction to her, Amy jokes that if they did have children, they would have had really red hair. "The Ultimate Ginger" the Doctor jokes; Amy reponds to his joke with "The Ultimate Ginge". Amy leans on the Doctor's shoulder and admires the painting.

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 ouldl 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.