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

Plot
In a field of wheat, something runs through it, while an artist paints the scene. The same painting, years later, hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. A tour guide tells a group of people that the painting is one of the last paintings of Vincent van Gogh. As he speaks, the Doctor and Amy pass, admiring the artwork. While looking around, the Doctor notices something strange about one of van Gogh's paintings. Amy asks if it is a face and the Doctor tells her that it is, and that it isn't a nice face. The Doctor approaches Dr. Black. Interrupting him, the Doctor asks him when the painting was painted. Dr. Black replies that it was probably between the first and third of June in 1890. The Doctor thanks him, and then grabs Amy's hand and pulls her away, telling her that they must talk to Vincent van Gogh.

The Doctor's TARDIS materializes and the Doctor and Amy exit. The Doctor tells Amy to find van Gogh, wait for him to take them to the church, and then defeat the monster. While looking for Vincent, the Doctor and Amy arrive at a cafe. The Doctor approaches the owner and asks about van Gogh. The owner disappears inside, so the Doctor asks the waitresses. The waitresses tell the Doctor and Amy that van Gogh is a mad drunk who never pays his bills.

As the Doctor sits, a man follows the owner out of the café and tries to bargain with him. The owner says that the painting is no good, and to either pay or get out. The Doctor offers to either pay for van Gogh's drink or to buy the painting. Van Gogh tells him three things; that he pays for his own drinks, that no one buys his paintings lest they be laughed out of town and that Amy is cute, but the Doctor should not interfere. Van Gogh returns to bargaining with the owner, who still refuses to give him a drink, until Amy interferes. She tells the owner that she will buy a bottle of wine, and will share it with whomever she wishes. The owner agrees to this.

Inside, the Doctor and Amy talk with van Gogh. The Doctor introduces himself properly as "the Doctor", which causes van Gogh to believe that he is a doctor sent by his brother to help him with his mental state. The Doctor laughs at the notion and points to a painting beside van Gogh. Amy says that it is one of her favourites, to which van Gogh tells her she's never seen it before. She covers up her mistake and van Gogh comments on her hair colour, so she comments on his. The Doctor interrupts and asks Vincent if he has painted any churches lately and van Gogh tells him that he has been thinking about painting one church. The Doctor says that is good news. Then someone screams and the Doctor says that that is not good news. Out in the street, the three find a girl who has been killed. The mother of the girl pushes her way through, then blames Vincent for her daughter's death. She and some of the crowd throw stones at Vincent, so the Doctor, Amy and Vincent leave. The Doctor asks Vincent if a similar murder has happened before. Vincent tells him that there was one a week ago. He tells Vincent that he must get home. Vincent asks where the Doctor and Amy are staying, which the Doctor takes as an invitation to stay with him. Amy nervously laughs and follows the Doctor, Vincent in tail of the two. Outside Vincent's home, van Gogh says that Amy and the Doctor will be all right to stay with him for one night only. Amy asks how long will they be staying with him and the Doctor tells her until he paints the church.

Inside, van Gogh lights a lamp and apologizes about the "clutter". Vincent offers coffee to the Doctor. The Doctor asks about the church, to which Vincent asks about his obsession with it. The Doctor asks about Vincent, and Vincent tells him that it seems to him the world offers much more than the normal eye can see. The Doctor agrees with him, glancing at Amy. Soon after, Vincent wildly talks about colours and how he can hear them, and how he thinks. The Doctor stares at Vincent saying that he has had enough coffee. The Doctor asks where Amy is and a scream comes from outside.

Vincent and the Doctor rush outside and find Amy on the ground, shaken. The Doctor says not to worry, but Vincent screams and runs to get a fork. The Doctor tries to calm him down, but Vincent runs towards them. Amy and the Doctor move to the side and van Gogh tells them to run. The Doctor agrees and tells Amy that Vincent is having a fit. The Doctor again tries to calm Vincent down, telling him that it is only him there, when something large knocks him off his feet. He gets up and grabs a stick, telling Vincent he will help him fight it. The Doctor then gets hit again and thrown over a table. The Doctor returns to where the creature was, swinging his stick around, while Vincent attacks the creature and fends it off. Both Vincent and Amy watch as the Doctor continues to fight nothing, swinging his stick around. Vincent tells the Doctor that the creature has gone, at which the Doctor stops. The three return inside. The Doctor says that the creature was invisible, and asks Vincent what it looked like. Vincent says he'll show them and begins to paint over one of his paintings, much to the Doctor and Amy's horror. After he has finished, the Doctor takes the painting from van Gogh and gives Amy instructions to keep Vincent safe. The Doctor returns to the TARDIS. Inside, he finds a device that can identify various alien species. After testing it on himself, he tries the new painting. Unfortunately, the machine is unable to correctly identify the monster. The Doctor then resigns himself to the fact that Vincent will have to redraw the animal, only better. Leaving the TARDIS, the Doctor adjusts the machine. The alien appears behind him, triggering the device's identification. The Doctor reads the details on the creature, a Krafayis, before noticing that it is directly behind him. The Doctor begins to run and hides behind a corner. He uses the mirror to see the creature charging towards him, before running again. He tries to slow the creature by blocking its path, and the creature hits its head on an archway. The Doctor hides behind another corner and sees the creature fleeing. He breathes a sigh of relief, before turning the corner and seeing Amy. Both of them scream and the Doctor says that she scared the living daylights out of him. Amy apologizes and says that she was bored of Vincent's snoring.

The Doctor enters Vincent's room and opens the windows, waking Vincent up. Vincent gets up as the Doctor leaves the room, telling Vincent that Amy has brought him a present. Amy tells him she brought the present for saving her the previous night. Vincent looks out to see the outside surrounded by sunflowers. Amy suggests he paint the flowers, but Vincent says that they are not his favourite flower, much to the surprise of Amy and the Doctor. Vincent explains that he finds them complex, half-living and half-dying, a little disgusting, but a challenge. The Doctor tells Vincent he is sure he will rise to the challenge. The Doctor shows Vincent a picture of the Krafayis, explaining how the species travels in space as a pack and that they are a brutal race; if one falls behind, the rest of the pack do not return for it. He explains that this particular one has been left behind, and like the other Krafayis abandoned across the universe, it will kill without mercy until killed, which they usually are not, given their invisibility. The Doctor tells Vincent that they are in a unique position of being able to stop this one if Vincent paints the church. Vincent asks about the monster, but the Doctor tells him that if he paints the church, the monster will come. Vincent agrees and the Doctor tells him that he and Amy will be no longer bothering him by the next day and will be gone. After Vincent has left the room, the Doctor tells Amy that taking Vincent is risky. Amy asks if it is riskier than normal. The Doctor checks to see that Vincent is not listening and tells Amy that if Vincent is killed, half the pictures in the Musée d'Orsay will disappear and that it will be their fault.

The Doctor knocks on Vincent's door and enters. He finds Vincent on his bed crying. The Doctor asks if he can help. Vincent tells the Doctor that he and Amy will leave as everyone always leaves him, that he will be left with an empty heart and no hope. The Doctor tells Vincent that his experience is that there is always hope, but Vincent tells him that he does not have a full experience and that he knows it will not end well. The Doctor tries to console him, but Vincent gets angry and tells him to get out. The Doctor leaves. Amy asks the Doctor what is happening and the Doctor explains how delicate Vincent is, that he will eventually shoot himself, and that is why they should leave. After looking at some of Vincent's paintings, the Doctor says that he and Amy must go to the church and hope that the Krafayis still turns up. Before they can leave, Vincent appears at the door, fully clothed and ready to go, selecting a paintbrush.

Amy, walking arm in arm with Vincent, tells him that she is sorry he is sad. He tells her that the moods he has last for weeks or even months, but that he can soldier on if she can. She tells him that she is not soldiering on but he says to her that he can hear the song of her sadness and points out that she is crying. He tells Amy that he understands but Amy replies, telling him that she does not. The Doctor, having listened to the conversation interrupts and proposes a plan. Vincent says that they will fight the creature, but the Doctor explains that it needs to be more developed, that he needs to be able to see the creature as well. Amy asks how the Doctor is supposed to see the monster, to which he replies that he has the answer inside a box he is carrying, giving praise to his godmother.

Further up the road, the three see the funeral of the girl who was killed the previous night. They stand at the side of the road. Amy asks the Doctor if he has a plan, to which he tells her that he doesn't. Vincent sets up his easel as the Doctor makes sure that he will be told when the creature appears. Vincent tells the Doctor that he is mad and not stupid. The Doctor begins to explain that he may not actually be mad, just deeply depressed, but Vincent tells him to shush, and that he is working. Eventually, Vincent sees the Krafayis in the church window. The Doctor decides to go in, but leaves Amy and van Gogh outside.

Outside the chapel, the Doctor takes out the machine and puts it on. Inside, the Doctor looks around for the Krafayis. Outside, Amy asks Vincent if the Krafayis has moved. Vincent tells her that it hasn't, but suddenly tells her that it has turned around. After approaching the window where the Krafayis was, the Doctor believes the creature has moved. Suddenly, a hand knocks the Doctor flying. Amy and Vincent hear the crash and head inside to help. The Doctor recovers and tries to stun the Krafayis. He runs towards a room when he bumps into Amy. The two of them hide in a confessions box to hide. After a moment, the Krafayis begins attacking the box.

Vincent then calls on the monster, fighting it with a chair, while telling Amy and the Doctor to get behind him. The Doctor twice tries to stun the Krafayis again but is unsuccessful and on the second attempt, the Krafayis actually seems to enjoy it. Vincent tells the Doctor to duck as the creature takes a swipe at him, then to move to his left. However, because of miscommunication, left being Vincent's left and not the Doctor's, the Doctor is hit by the monster against a wall. The Doctor suggests that they run like crazy and regroup, so Amy chooses the nearest room to hide in. They get in the room and attempt to close the door until the creature blocks it with its foot. Vincent, however, stands on the foot and the creature retreats. The Doctor begins to tell Amy and Vincent his plan, but Vincent tells Amy and the Doctor to give him a second and that he will be back. The Doctor considers talking to the Krafayis and hearing his side of the story. Although he thinks the Krafayis may not be in the mood for it, the Doctor tries anyway. Suddenly, the window behind them smashes open and the invisible creature jumps through.

Vincent returns with his easel being used as a weapon. The Doctor figures out that the Krafayis is blind. Vincent then tells them that it is now charging towards them. Vincent runs forward as the creature charges. The creature is stabbed with the easel. Vincent tells the Doctor that he didn't mean to kill the creature, and the Doctor comforts it as it dies. He makes out that the creature says that it is afraid and the Doctor tells it not to be while stroking it. Vincent compares the Krafayis to humans who lash out when they are frightened, much like those in the town who scream at him and the children who throw stones at him. The Doctor then says that sometimes winning is no fun at all.

Amy, Vincent and the Doctor lie in a field and hold hands. Vincent asks the other two to see the world as he does, describing the night sky. The Doctor tells him that he has seen nothing as wonderful as what Vincent has. Vincent tells the Doctor and Amy that he will miss them when they are gone. The next morning, Vincent tries to give the Doctor his self-portrait as a gift, but the Doctor refuses. After they leave, the Doctor asks Vincent if he could come with the mfor a moment. The Doctor takes Vincent to a poster-covered TARDIS and lets him inside. Vincent then peers out of the TARDIS and feels the outside walls before going back in and asking how he is crazy and the Doctor and Amy are sane. Vincent asks them back to the café, but the Doctor tells him that he wishes to show him something first. In Paris 2010, outside the Musée d'Orsay, Amy, Vincent and the Doctor head into the museum, the Doctor explaining when and where they are.

The three enter the van Gogh exhibition. Vincent looks around at his work in awe at the number of people looking at them. The Doctor then asks Dr. Black to tell him where van Gogh stands in the importance of the history of art. Dr. Black replies that he is the finest painter of them all, the most popular painter who managed to transform his pain into beauty, that he was not only the world's greatest artist but also one of the greatest men of all time. At hearing these words, Vincent begins to cry, but when the Doctor asks if it is too much, he replies that they are tears of joy. Vincent then kisses, hugs and thanks Dr. Black, apologizing about his beard. Dr. Black then walks away, but pauses for a moment to ponder. The Doctor returns Vincent to his own place and time. Vincent tells the Doctor that he will be a new man and the Doctor tells Vincent that it has been an honour. Amy then hugs Vincent as he jokes about her marital status, to which Amy tells him she is not the marrying kind. The TARDIS departs and Vincent walks off. Amy and the Doctor return to the Musée d'Orsay, Amy believing that there will be hundreds more paintings. In the gallery, Amy finds no new paintings and hears Dr. Black still saying that van Gogh committed suicide at age 37. Amy thinks that they didn't make a difference to Vincent's life at all, but the Doctor explains to her that although good things can't remove the bad things, the bad things can't spoil the good things, and that they certainly added a large amount of good things to Vincent's life. The Doctor also shows Amy that they did make a couple of minor changes, such as the non-existence of the evil face in the church window.

As Amy walks away, she walks towards another painting, one of sunflowers, which she sees is dedicated in her name. She tells the Doctor that if they had been married, their children would have had very red hair. The Doctor calls them the "Ultimate Ginger". Amy smiles at him and says the "Ultimate Ginge". The two chuckle together.

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 refers to having 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 to be post-Impressionist by art historians), suggesting that this would "never happen with Gainsborough, one of those proper painters." Further, 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.

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 previously produced while living in Arles several years before (Bedroom in Arles, Cafe Terrance at Night). Also, while the episode suggested Amy Pond inspired van Gogh to paint sunflowers, particularly Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, to which he then '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. However, no mention or reference was made in the episode regarding van Gogh's ear at all.
 * 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 very much before. In fact, a message and phone number for the 'BBC Action Line' was broadcast following the 'Next Time' trail, 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 make 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 is supposed to be appearing in the mentioned 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; the monster was pale 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 did appear 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 for this episode.
 * 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 will 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 aging mentally, contrasting with 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 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 6th September 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray, featuring Vincent and the Doctor, The Lodger, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang.