Doctor Who 32.10 Vincent and the Doctor (2010, Period Science Fiction Adventure) – 8/10 TV review

Cast / crew Matt Smith: The Doctor Karen Gillan: Amy Pond Writer: Richard Curtis Producer: Tracie Simpson Producer: Patrick Schweitzer Director: Jonny Campbell Tony Curran: Vincent Line Producer: Patrick Schweitzer

Doctor Who 32.10 Vincent and the Doctor (2010) The Doctor takes Amy (who has absolutely no conscious memory of Rory at all) on a series of wonderful trips and their latest is a visit to a Vincent Van Gogh art exhibition. While there, the Doctor spots something odd about one of Van Gogh’s paintings: a monster in a church window. 8/10 It’s clearly something of a coup when you have one of the world’s most successful writers pen an episode for you and Richard Curtis provides a little gem. While it boasts all the traditional elements of the adventure side of the show with Matt Smith’s brilliant Doctor armed with "overconfidence, this and a small screwdriver," it’s true impact comes from a climactic scene where the Doctor gives something extraordinary to artist Vincent Van Gogh; something Van Gogh can add to his life’s pile of "good things." It’s an amazingly emotional sequence and has nothing to do with saving the world or slaying the beast and, as I’ve said before, pulling these stories back from never-ending Armageddons and connecting emotionally to the audience is the key to a great episode. This does, and this is. Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance. Links Previous: The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood Next: The Lodger

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