"Vincent and the Doctor"

It seems the done thing to knock Richard Curtis nowadays. This is the man who has pretty much defined the British romantic comedy, a genre that critics are notoriously unforgiving with, plus he is, of course, very successful at what he does, which is offensively un-British. Speaking for myself, I have not been that enamoured of his more recent work, but it must be remembered that this man wrote for Not the Nine O'Clock News, co-created The Black Adder and wrote The Tall Guy. To this list must now be added "Vincent and the Doctor", a story that, I am sure, will rank as one of the best Doctor Who adventures of all time.

The story is simple- the Doctor notices a monster peeking out of the window in Vincent Van Gogh’s The Church at Auvers, so he travels back with Amy to help Vincent defeat it, even though only Vincent can see it. However, the story is only secondarily an adventure- it is, first and foremost, about Van Gogh. Vincent is not a madman by our standards- what he had would be manageable nowadays- and Curtis does not make him a figure of fun- there is not even the hint of an ear joke. The reason Vincent can see the monster is because he sees things like no other person has seen them before- colours swirl and coalesce into vibrant noumenal patterns in his mind to such a point that subjectivity and objectivity have no meaning. He sees the monster, because he sees what is there, not just what his eyes tell him. However, in a world before antidepressants, Van Gogh is tormented by despair that saps at his very being. Curtis’s depiction of Van Gogh’s depression is very moving, making it accessible to children as well- the Doctor’s summing up of what makes up a life is easy to follow, yet beautifully written. This is helped in no small way by Tony Curran’s performance. Despite, seemingly, never being out of work, Curran has never really been given the chance to shine, something which has been rectified here- possibly the finest performance of his film and television career and one of the best ever guest performances in Doctor Who. Curran vibrantly brings to life the unpredictability and passion of the artist in a performance that is worthy of a straight biopic of Van Gogh.

The production is a of the fantastic standard we have come to expect. Obviously, the cinematography owes something to Van Gogh’s style and Director of Photography Tony Slater-Ling makes this one of the most beautiful pieces of television I have ever seen. My misgivings over Jonny Campbell’s directorial ability have totally evaporated, with him constructing scene after memorable scene that makes the story more magical as it goes along and I must be predictable in drawing attention to the magnificent scene where Amy, Vincent and the Doctor are staring up at the sky, which slowly turns into The Starry Night.

The regulars continue to excel. Matt Smith shows the Doctor at his most barmy and his most compassionate with practically everything in between and the tender bond between Amy and Vincent is beautifully realised by Karen Gillan. The other major supporting role is Bill Nighy’s Dr Black. Nighy (who has been a favourite candidate for the role of the Doctor since the late nineties) brings an irresistible blend of authority and lovability to the role that works brilliantly with the regulars and Curran.

The end shows the Doctor proving to Vincent that his name will last forever, that his life will have been one that made an indelible mark. This scene should have been cheesy and manipulative; instead, it is utterly gorgeous and Curtis rounds the story off in the best way it could have- depression is not logical and Vincent Van Gogh, in the knowledge that he would be acclaimed as one of the greatest artists who ever lived, took his own life. His genius will last forever, but so will the sadness.

This is a glorious story, one which reminds me of the great historical of the Hartnell era. It is as gorgeous, evocative and moving to viewers now as Marco Polo must have been in 1964- and I can think of no higher praise than that.

NEXT: "The Lodger"

"The Vampires of Venice"

With Amy's hormones seemingly in overdrive, the Doctor has no alternative but to arrange a date for her and Rory, and where better than Venice? However, as the title of the story makes obvious, all is not what it seems. "The Vampires of Venice" sees the return of Toby Whithouse to the Doctor Who fold. Since "School Reunion", Whithouse has created the excellent supernatural drama Being Human, so vampires should be familiar territory for him. Only there are no vampires in the story. There is a mysterious aristocrat who fears the sunlight. There are buxom maidens with severe orthodontic problems. But all is not what it seems with what it seems not to be, for the creatures are not vampires- "The Vampires of Venice", in classic Doctor Who style, takes a horror trope (two actually- the true nature of the ‘vampires’ is very Lovecraftian) and reinterprets it in a science fiction context- this is pretty much a Hinchcliffe/Holmes story for the 21st Century- I love, for example, the reason why the ‘vampires’ cast no reflection. Whithouse tells us the classic Doctor Who tale of the aliens who arrive in a notable time and place in Earth’s history to wreak havoc and have to be stopped by the Doctor. However, there is more to it than this- the alien Saturnynians, though callous in their disregard for the ‘savages’ do not actually want to conquer the Earth- just Venice- Whithouse fills the story with majestic dialogue: ‘Can your conscience carry the weight of another dead race. Remember us. Dream of us.’

However, the story has a problem, in that it has some of the flaws of the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era. There are some glaring inconsistencies in the plot- the sensitivity of the Saturnynians to sunlight varies from slight discomfort to grievous harm, which comes to a head when Amy destroys Francesco using the light reflected from a cloudy sky using a make-up mirror! Like many Hinchcliffe/Holmes stories, there is a somewhat pat solution to the crisis- the Doctor simply turns the evil alien device off! This was a funny solution in "School Reunion", but it just seems unimaginative here. Also, I’m no expert, but I wonder how Venice could have any tunnels? The character writing is effective enough, but the final effect is mainly thanks to a superb cast. Guido’s plight is not that effectively written, but Lucian Msamati puts in a very effective performance. As Rosanna, the queen of the Saturnynians, we have the wonderful Helen McCrory who gives a charismatic, yet very subtle performance.

The production is a triumph, with every scene having fantastic design, great costuming and cinematography, making the episode hugely evocative of the most vibrant city of the Early Modern period. Jonny Campbell’s direction, however, is problematic. Sometimes he assembles scenes with aplomb, but at other times (thankfully only a few) the editing or pacing is sloppy. The pre-titles sequence works, but I’m not sure if it is due to skilful editing to emphasise the awkwardness, or just plain awkward editing.

The regulars are on fantastic form. The interplay between the Doctor, Amy and Rory is well written and very funny, with Arthur Darvill being very likeable as Rory. We see the Doctor confronting an adversary and making ultimatums- just as his previous self does. It is obvious that the Eleventh Doctor does not wear his heart on his sleeve as much as his predecessor, delivering the line 'I'll tear down the House of Calvierri, stone by stone.' with a sinister smile on his face. Whether popping out of a cake or deactivating weapons of mass destruction, Matt Smith remains utterly captivating.

Despite some large-ish problems, the energy and great production values make "The Vampires of Venice" a hugely enjoyable story. Plus, when are a bevy of buxom vampire girls ever a bad thing?

NEXT: "Amy’s Choice"