Vincent and the Doctor

When I first saw this episode, I was 9 years old and I hated it. I thought that the story was boring and it was hard to keep focus and that the monster was a complete letdown. Now at a slightly older age, I am beginning to see why it is so Treasured. And even though a giant killer, invisible rooster isn't exactly the most menacing of threats, Vincent, The Doctor, Amy and even Dr Black make up for it by creating a moving episode that some could call a tearjerker. (Stupid term, I mean people don't actually have the tears ripped out from their eyes do they?) It managed to make me feel something, Happiness, which is a massive plus side seeing as I love and favour the more heartfelt and depressing ones. It actually made me smile at the ending. I smiled because of sheer it's level of bleakness. I'm not sure that everyone will think that that's a good thing.

For those who have not seen this episode I would strongly recommend they obtain a copy and for those who watched it the first time sit back and enjoy it again. It is clear that a real effort, no an extraordinary effort was made by the production team with this episode. I'm not sure why but so glad because the finished product is first class. The last five minutes,no giveaway, is the sort of TV that should have won awards - why didn't the BBC put this episode up for an award I wonder? I originally saw this episode over in France and the reaction was excellent with rave reviews - we saw the film on a large screen so much better than a small TV set. Think all Dr. Who episodes look so much better on large screens.

So the Doctor and Amy travel back to Holland to meet Van Gogh, and stop a monster.

The plot really is that simple, this episode proved beyond all shadow of a doubt that it doesn't have to be about huge effects, intricate story arcs and huge stars. Simply put I think there is genius behind this episode, let's face it the plot is tiny by comparison to most, but the characters, acting, dialogue are firing on all cylinders. The first time I can say I really liked Amy's character was here, she was given much better material, Matt Smith is also fantastic, really connected with him here, but the classy performance of Tony Curran is what dazzles throughout this episode, he takes Van Gogh from dark insanity to pure ecstasy, a stunning Doctor Who debut.

So the monster wasn't the best, and historically it was off kilter, but neither mattered, the point of the story was the emotional journey, something RTD was good at doing. The character development

Favourite scene has to be The Doctor and Amy taking Vincent to see the museum, so touching and moving, the music was so different for the show, it worked beautifully. Bill Nighy was a total utter joy, always wanted to see him in Who. Beard jokes always welcome too.

Fabulously fabulous 10/10

Wow. Few things on TV move me like this episode has. Incredible stuff. The Doctor giving Van Gogh a glimpse of his legacy was just emotionally jarring in a good way. A friend of mine suffered much the same condition as Van Gogh. He had been able to pull out of his sways, which initially were just mood sways, but then as he sought treatment, became real emotions about real abuse he was suffering at the hands of the very doctors trying to help him. His tale is yet to end.

But here the Doctor and his Scottish companion visit the legendary painter and tackle a giant outer space turkey bent on wreaking havoc in the rural country painting getaway that is Van Gogh's home. I have to say, as far as monsters go, I think the production team didn't go the whole nine yards for this episode. They had a budget to meet, so probably grabbed the first thing that came into their head and said "that's our monster" (I'll bet one of the writers was eating a chicken sandwich at the time they were brainstorming the plot).

The space-turkey/chicken (I say it's a turkey, but the guys on the BBS call it a chicken...whatever) never really gives us his motives for being a malefactor. He is in fact a stock villain for this entry in Who-ness, and runs amuck with vengeful thoughts on his mind sparked by fear of being stranded on Earth. Van Gogh helps resolve the plot.

But even though the plot is brought to an end, it's the story of Van Gogh himself that is the focus of this episode. How did a man who was so renown as a painter succumb to the dark recesses of his own self generated despair? We don't know. We will never know. That's one of the mysteries of severe depression. We're given a glimmer of hope in this episode for those suffering this condition, and it is indeed a very real hope. But depression by itself, is not always fueled by logic, and therefore things can go wrong.

It's a nice intimate episode. There are no major alien invasions here. The Earth itself is not on the precipise of disaster. The universe is not in danger of collapsing. There's a giant raptor like aggressor present, but otherwise this is one of the more intimate Who episodes. Think of the few "good" episodes of Season Three original Trek, and you'll know what I mean.

The important thing about this episode is that the historic figure here, Van Gosh, was not mad. He knew the difference between right and wrong, but his personal outlook and inability to keep himself fueled was an interior war that no amount of the Doctor's Tardis nor Sonic-Screwdriver could address.

A good watch.

Forget the monster as that was pretty irrelevant and concentrate on the human aspect. Also forget the accents and the fact nobody seemed to know how to pronounce van Gogh properly. Tony Curran gave a really good performance and managed to convey the tortured artist even within the confines of what is essentially a children's programme. As with Chris Eccleston and his Dickens story and Dave Tennant and his Vesuvius tale we saw Matt showing the reverence the Doctor has for Historical characters who are doomed and he is unable to help. Some lovely acting both by Doctor and sidekick and an excellent example of what is best about Dr Who. I still think Matt the poorest of the new generation Doctors but he has shown a few moments as to why they hired him so I would imagine he will improve and show his worth. The stories so far have not been great except for this and the Angel episodes.....and the less said about the Dalek episode the better. Last weeks two parter was garbage apart from the Rory storyline but this one was exceptional and a nice glimpse of the humanity of the central characters. We saw it with Donna in the Pompeii episode and Rose in the Dickens one and Amy does well here. I have been watching this programme since it's first week with William Hartnell and in among the dodgy sets and the unconvincing monsters there have been sublime moments of real poignancy that have been worth all the effort. This was one of them. OK the monster did look silly and yes Vinnie was NOT Scottish but suspension of disbelief is important in programmes like this so why worry about plot holes too much. Every Doctor leaves important episodes behind. Even Sylvester McCoy. Maybe in years to come this one will be among Matt Smiths.