DW5x10: Vincent and the Doctor
All caps by snowflakie06 at The Medusa Cascade.
THIS. THIS. THIS! I'd rate this to be my tied-second favourite of this series. It's not second by itself simply because The Vampires of Venice had Rory in it and I'm determined to keep all things Rory as high up on the list as possible. It helps when the vampire episode is equally marvellous. Amy's Choice is my favourite, of course.
Why is it that the really really brilliant and DIFFERENT episodes are written by the folks new to writing Doctor Who? First Simon Nye, now Richard Curtis. Richard Curtis! Mr. Love Actually! Aka my favourite movie of ALL TIME. But then again, this is the beauty of Who: it can be almost ANY genre because there are infinite possibilities to when and where the Doctor can go. I love the sci-fi adventures, I love the domestic angst, I love human stories. Well, most of the time.
When I saw the trailer for this episode at the end of Cold Blood, I admit that I wasn't happy about it because it looked like the Doctor and Amy were off on a jolly romp right after Rory died. Discovering later that Richard Curtis wrote it ... well, I didn't really bother much still even though I do like Curtis' work. But now, now, NOW ... I love this episode. Thank you, Mr. Curtis! The Guardian has a lovely video with Richard Curtis and Karen.
This episode was so breathtakingly and beautifully shot, just like the vampires episode was. Could be because some of the location was the Croatia locations that doubled for Venice, and it was the same director. I loved how they made the greys very very very grey and made the colourfulness of Amy and the things that van Gogh painted pop out very well. Very nicely done, production team.
Other things I liked about this episode:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OH AMY, I HEAR THE SONG OF YOUR SADNESS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You've lost someone, I think.
This was a fun romp with a historical figure, absolutely. But I felt that there was such an undercurrent of sadness in it, point being that it is our first post-Rory episode, with the Doctor's guilt weighing heavily and demonstrated by his extra-niceness to Amy (he remembers Rory!!!), and the story very very tenderly and beautifully dealing with van Gogh's depression. It felt like a period of mourning for the both the Doctor and Amy over the loss of Rory - even though Amy wouldn't know it - while at the same time a reminder of 'You mourn, but you live' (ep 6, Vampires of Venice). Very nicely done. My heart broke with every indication or mention or remembrance of Rory still, even if he is not actually spoken of specifically. When the Doctor DID say, "Amy, Rory ..." ... my heart shattered into a million tiny pieces. I WANT RORY BACK SO BADLY.
There were many many many witty lines in this episode that are typical Who AND typical Curtis, but it is very nicely balanced with the emotional content. Detractors will say it is rubbish oversentimentality, but I think it's more of the humanness that Russell had in his era. And Richard Curtis does wit and cheese and fluff very well; I LOVE his ways of dealing with cheese and fluff. ♥ ♥ ♥ Have I mentioned, Love Actually = favourite movie???
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THAT ACCENT OF YOURS, YOU'RE FROM HOLLAND LIKE ME.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've seen many things, my friend. But you're right, nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see.
A Scottish van Gogh. WICKED. xD (Okay, it made me miss David Tennant a lot, even though I'm very fond of Matt Smith now.) Flirting with Amy in the cafe? (Slight cringe there from the Doctor. Oh, and did anyone find it so hilarious that the incidental music during that scene was basically that same new themey thing series 5 has been using except that it was now an accordion variation?) I think that Tony Curran did a marvellous job protraying van Gogh. Every single line he did was BRILLIANT. I absolutely loved the scene when the three of them were looking up into the sky, observing the starry night.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WAY I SEE IT, EVERY LIFE IS A PILE OF GOOD THINGS AND BAD THINGS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant.
Amy Pond. Poor, darling Amy Pond. All memory of Rory erased, but the lingering effects are still there -- her crying without knowing she was doing so and without knowing why. When she said 'I'm not the marrying type', my already shattered heart shattered even more. :( Having so much hope that letting van Gogh visit the future with them could change history, but feeling so distraught by the fact that there were 'no new paintings'. Karen Gillan is AMAZING. I felt that the exploration of van Gogh's character was more in the forefront of the story, but all the compassion shown by Amy (the most beautiful lines!) was beautifully, beautifully done.
Minor prattle: when I moseyed over to the Guardian to read the series blog, some people asked why Amy was so eager about an art exhibition when she was bored out of her mind at the space museum in ep 4. Well, an art exhibition by van Gogh is not exactly the same as a space museum in the future, is it? Probably van Gogh was something she'd liked, and poking in bits of burnt up spaceships you know nothing about while the Doctor rambles on isn't exactly the most fun thing to do. Give the girl a break. xD
That final scenes in the gallery I felt that this was such a classic Richard Curtis scene. Karen Gillan's finest acting yet? Maybe. Van Gogh discovering his art being appreciated ... brilliant. The Doctor more in the background, but every ready to provide the perfect words. WONDERFUL. The music? Not so much. A wordy-worded-word song in my Who? Confidential, yes. Who, absolutely not. It is a very nice song, but shouldn't be in my Who.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOW TIES ARE COOL.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yours is very.
Bill Nighy. Bill Nighy! BILL NIGHY!!!! Okay, I confess, the first time I saw Bill Nighy was in Love, Actually but after that I've been extra careful to look out for him in anything. Of the things I've seen, he's done Glorious 39 and He Knew He Was Right with David Tennant, was Davy Jones in Pirates, did State of Play with John Simm ... and loads more other things I can't remember. Pity he got only like two minutes in this episode, cause he did it with such aplomb. That quiet reverence when describing van Gogh ... gosh. But he and the Doctor admiring each other's bow ties ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I couldn't find his name on the post-ep credits roll, though. Weird.
Now, the not-so-favourite and perhaps weird thing:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS IS A CREATURE CALLED THE KRAFAYISS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(MATT SMITH YOU ARE FABULOUS.)
An invisible giant parrot-turkey hybrid monster. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. Budget cuts, innit BBC? xD But WHY was van Gogh the only one who could see it? I wish that was explained. I'm guessing the whole point of the monster in the painting was so that the Doctor could go visit van Gogh immediately. And the death of the beast and why it was reacting that way other than the fact that it can be a brutal creature, it gave some philosophical lines for van Gogh that made it very sad. But still, could have been handled better. Okay, extra-terrestrial monsters aren't Richard Curtis' forte then. BUT I DID LOVE THE DOCTOR'S PRINTER/TYPEWRITER THINGY and the INVISIBLE CREATURE DETECTOR (It had a Vespa side-mirror like the old one from my grandad's old bike that now sits on my dressing table at home!). And his two-headed, bad-breathed godmother who gifted that to him. xD
But, overall, this episode is BRILLIANT. Hurrah for this one. I haven't seen the Confidential, but I bet it's brilliant too. HAHA.
Next week, The Lodger! It's an idea from a DWM comic starring the Doctor and Mickey! And now, it has James Corden in it! (And I the only person who doesn't completely hate James Corden?) People say it's Amy-lite next week, she's probably the finale thingy or something. Oh well. A companion-lite story is not all too bad. Midnight was THE BEST. Love and Monsters, I liked, because there was Mr. Blue Sky and it did have Marc Warren so it wasn't too bad like most people say it is. (YES I LIKED LOVE AND MONSTERS, DEAL WITH IT.)
THIS. THIS. THIS! I'd rate this to be my tied-second favourite of this series. It's not second by itself simply because The Vampires of Venice had Rory in it and I'm determined to keep all things Rory as high up on the list as possible. It helps when the vampire episode is equally marvellous. Amy's Choice is my favourite, of course.
Why is it that the really really brilliant and DIFFERENT episodes are written by the folks new to writing Doctor Who? First Simon Nye, now Richard Curtis. Richard Curtis! Mr. Love Actually! Aka my favourite movie of ALL TIME. But then again, this is the beauty of Who: it can be almost ANY genre because there are infinite possibilities to when and where the Doctor can go. I love the sci-fi adventures, I love the domestic angst, I love human stories. Well, most of the time.
When I saw the trailer for this episode at the end of Cold Blood, I admit that I wasn't happy about it because it looked like the Doctor and Amy were off on a jolly romp right after Rory died. Discovering later that Richard Curtis wrote it ... well, I didn't really bother much still even though I do like Curtis' work. But now, now, NOW ... I love this episode. Thank you, Mr. Curtis! The Guardian has a lovely video with Richard Curtis and Karen.
This episode was so breathtakingly and beautifully shot, just like the vampires episode was. Could be because some of the location was the Croatia locations that doubled for Venice, and it was the same director. I loved how they made the greys very very very grey and made the colourfulness of Amy and the things that van Gogh painted pop out very well. Very nicely done, production team.
Other things I liked about this episode:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OH AMY, I HEAR THE SONG OF YOUR SADNESS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You've lost someone, I think.
This was a fun romp with a historical figure, absolutely. But I felt that there was such an undercurrent of sadness in it, point being that it is our first post-Rory episode, with the Doctor's guilt weighing heavily and demonstrated by his extra-niceness to Amy (he remembers Rory!!!), and the story very very tenderly and beautifully dealing with van Gogh's depression. It felt like a period of mourning for the both the Doctor and Amy over the loss of Rory - even though Amy wouldn't know it - while at the same time a reminder of 'You mourn, but you live' (ep 6, Vampires of Venice). Very nicely done. My heart broke with every indication or mention or remembrance of Rory still, even if he is not actually spoken of specifically. When the Doctor DID say, "Amy, Rory ..." ... my heart shattered into a million tiny pieces. I WANT RORY BACK SO BADLY.
There were many many many witty lines in this episode that are typical Who AND typical Curtis, but it is very nicely balanced with the emotional content. Detractors will say it is rubbish oversentimentality, but I think it's more of the humanness that Russell had in his era. And Richard Curtis does wit and cheese and fluff very well; I LOVE his ways of dealing with cheese and fluff. ♥ ♥ ♥ Have I mentioned, Love Actually = favourite movie???
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THAT ACCENT OF YOURS, YOU'RE FROM HOLLAND LIKE ME.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've seen many things, my friend. But you're right, nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see.
A Scottish van Gogh. WICKED. xD (Okay, it made me miss David Tennant a lot, even though I'm very fond of Matt Smith now.) Flirting with Amy in the cafe? (Slight cringe there from the Doctor. Oh, and did anyone find it so hilarious that the incidental music during that scene was basically that same new themey thing series 5 has been using except that it was now an accordion variation?) I think that Tony Curran did a marvellous job protraying van Gogh. Every single line he did was BRILLIANT. I absolutely loved the scene when the three of them were looking up into the sky, observing the starry night.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WAY I SEE IT, EVERY LIFE IS A PILE OF GOOD THINGS AND BAD THINGS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant.
Amy Pond. Poor, darling Amy Pond. All memory of Rory erased, but the lingering effects are still there -- her crying without knowing she was doing so and without knowing why. When she said 'I'm not the marrying type', my already shattered heart shattered even more. :( Having so much hope that letting van Gogh visit the future with them could change history, but feeling so distraught by the fact that there were 'no new paintings'. Karen Gillan is AMAZING. I felt that the exploration of van Gogh's character was more in the forefront of the story, but all the compassion shown by Amy (the most beautiful lines!) was beautifully, beautifully done.
Minor prattle: when I moseyed over to the Guardian to read the series blog, some people asked why Amy was so eager about an art exhibition when she was bored out of her mind at the space museum in ep 4. Well, an art exhibition by van Gogh is not exactly the same as a space museum in the future, is it? Probably van Gogh was something she'd liked, and poking in bits of burnt up spaceships you know nothing about while the Doctor rambles on isn't exactly the most fun thing to do. Give the girl a break. xD
That final scenes in the gallery I felt that this was such a classic Richard Curtis scene. Karen Gillan's finest acting yet? Maybe. Van Gogh discovering his art being appreciated ... brilliant. The Doctor more in the background, but every ready to provide the perfect words. WONDERFUL. The music? Not so much. A wordy-worded-word song in my Who? Confidential, yes. Who, absolutely not. It is a very nice song, but shouldn't be in my Who.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOW TIES ARE COOL.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yours is very.
Bill Nighy. Bill Nighy! BILL NIGHY!!!! Okay, I confess, the first time I saw Bill Nighy was in Love, Actually but after that I've been extra careful to look out for him in anything. Of the things I've seen, he's done Glorious 39 and He Knew He Was Right with David Tennant, was Davy Jones in Pirates, did State of Play with John Simm ... and loads more other things I can't remember. Pity he got only like two minutes in this episode, cause he did it with such aplomb. That quiet reverence when describing van Gogh ... gosh. But he and the Doctor admiring each other's bow ties ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I couldn't find his name on the post-ep credits roll, though. Weird.
Now, the not-so-favourite and perhaps weird thing:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS IS A CREATURE CALLED THE KRAFAYISS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(MATT SMITH YOU ARE FABULOUS.)
An invisible giant parrot-turkey hybrid monster. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. Budget cuts, innit BBC? xD But WHY was van Gogh the only one who could see it? I wish that was explained. I'm guessing the whole point of the monster in the painting was so that the Doctor could go visit van Gogh immediately. And the death of the beast and why it was reacting that way other than the fact that it can be a brutal creature, it gave some philosophical lines for van Gogh that made it very sad. But still, could have been handled better. Okay, extra-terrestrial monsters aren't Richard Curtis' forte then. BUT I DID LOVE THE DOCTOR'S PRINTER/TYPEWRITER THINGY and the INVISIBLE CREATURE DETECTOR (It had a Vespa side-mirror like the old one from my grandad's old bike that now sits on my dressing table at home!). And his two-headed, bad-breathed godmother who gifted that to him. xD
But, overall, this episode is BRILLIANT. Hurrah for this one. I haven't seen the Confidential, but I bet it's brilliant too. HAHA.
Next week, The Lodger! It's an idea from a DWM comic starring the Doctor and Mickey! And now, it has James Corden in it! (And I the only person who doesn't completely hate James Corden?) People say it's Amy-lite next week, she's probably the finale thingy or something. Oh well. A companion-lite story is not all too bad. Midnight was THE BEST. Love and Monsters, I liked, because there was Mr. Blue Sky and it did have Marc Warren so it wasn't too bad like most people say it is. (YES I LIKED LOVE AND MONSTERS, DEAL WITH IT.)