Vincent and the Doctor (TV story)

Vincent and the Doctor
Doctor:	[[doctor::Eleventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Amy Pond
Main enemy:	Krafayis
Main setting:	Auvers-sur-Oise, Earth, 1890 Paris, Earth, 2010
Key crew
Writer:	Richard Curtis
Director:	Jonny Campbell
Producer:	Tracie Simpson/Patrick Schweitzer
Release details
Story number:	210
Release number:	Series 5
Premiere broadcast:	5th June 2010
Format:	1 × 50 minute episode
Production code:	1.10

Vincent and the Doctor is the tenth episode of Series 5.

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 nasty eyes. The Doctor is worried; he's sure he has seen the face somewhere before, but how? There is only one thing for it: a trip in the TARDIS back to 1888, so the Doctor can find out from the artist himself.

Plot

The Doctor and Amy looking at one of Vincent Van Gogh paintings

Vincent, Amy and the Doctor gazing up at the 'Starry Night'

In a field of wheat, something begins running through it, scaring the crows away, while an artist paints the scene. The same painting, years later, hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. A man, Dr Black, in glasses and a bow tie tells a group of people that the painting is one of van Gogh's last paintings and that the last few months of his life were the most astonishing months of his artistic outpouring. As he compares van Gogh to Shakespeare, the Doctor and Amy pass behind him, admiring the pieces of art around them.

Amy thanks the Doctor for bringing her to the museum and asks why he is being so nice to her. The Doctor defends himself and Amy says that she was only joking, asking why he was being so serious. Dr Black tells the group the value of van Gogh's work today, tens of millions, and compares it with the value of it when van Gogh died, the value of a sofa and some chairs.

A child says "He's the doctor." Thinking it is him, the Doctor turns around, only to discover the children are looking at a picture of van Gogh's doctor. Amy grabs the Doctor's hand and pulls him towards a painting of a church. As the Doctor admires the work, he notices something in the window of the church. 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 his talk and asks him when the painting was painted, asking him to skip a long speech. Dr Black tells him that it was probably between the first and third of June in 1990. The Doctor thanks him, then the two men compliment each others bow ties. The Doctor then grabs Amy's had and pulls her away. She asks about looking at the rest of the paintings, but he shoves her ahead, telling her that it is a matter of life and death, and that they must talk to Vincent van Gogh.

The TARDIS materializes and the Doctor and Amy exit. The Doctor tells Amy the plan, to find van Gogh, wait for him to take them to the church, then defeat the monster. Amy exclaims that it will be easy, but the Doctor disagrees. He says that van Gogh will probably be in the local café and describes it. Amy flicks through her van Gogh guide and finds the cafe. The Doctor tells her that that is the one, then Amy points out that it is right infront of them.

The Doctor approaches the owner and asks about Vincent 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. The Doctor tells them he's a good painter and the two women just laugh at him.

As the Doctor sits at a table, a man follows the owner out of the café and tries to bargin with him, one painting for a drink. The Doctor points to the man and mouths to Amy that he is van Gogh. The owner says that the painting is no good, and tells van Gogh to either pay for drinks or get out. The Doctor offers to either pay for van Gogh's drink or to buy the painting, to which van Gogh asks who the Doctor is. The Doctor tells him that he is new in town, to which 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 bargining with the owner who still refuses to give him a drink, until Amy interferes and tells the two to shut up. She tells the owner that she will buy a bottle of wine, and will share it with whomever she wishes, looking at van Gogh. The owner agrees and follows Amy inside.

Inside, the Doctor and Amy talk with van Gogh. Van Gogh asks about Amy's accent and whether she comes from Holland. She replies "no" while the Doctor replies "yes" at the same time. 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 status. 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, when someone screams, causing the Doctor to say 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 through stones at Vincent, so the Doctor, Amy and Vincent leave immediately. The Doctor asks Vincent if a similar murder has happened before. Vincent tells him that there was one a week ago and the Doctor says he thought so. He tells Vincent that he must get home. Vincent asks where the Doctor and Amy are staying, which the Doctor takes as an invite to stay with him. Amy nervously laughs and follows the Doctor, Vincent in tail of the two.

Outside Vincent's home, the Doctor comments on the dark and the starry night. Van Gogh says that Amy and the Doctor will be alright to stay with him for one night, and one night only. Amy exclaims that they will be staying with him and the Doctor tells her until he paints the church.

to be finished

Cast

• The Doctor - Matt Smith
• Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
• Vincent van Gogh - Tony Curran
• Dr Black - Bill Nighy (uncredited)
• Mother - Chrissie Cotterill
• Student 1 - Morgan Overton
• Student 2 - Andrew Byrne
• Maurice - Nik Howden
• Waitress - Sarah Counsell

Crew

Executive Producers   Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger and Beth Willis

Written by Richard Curtis	Produced by Tracie Simpson Patrick Schweitzer	Directed by Jonny Campbell	Director of Photography Tony Slater Ling	Production Designer Edward Thomas	Visual Effects The Mill
Make-up Designer Barbara Southcott	Casting Director Andy Pryor CDG	Music Murray Gold	Costume Designer Ray Holman	Edited by Jamie Pearson	Special Effects Real SFX
Original theme music by Ron Grainer  •  Title sequence by Framestore  •  With thanks to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martha Freud

General production staff Production Executive - Julie Scott Line Producer - Patrick Schweitzer Location Manager - Gareth Skelding Unit Manager - Rhys Griffiths Production Co-ordinator - Jess van Niekerk Production Management Assistant - Claire Thomas Production Runner - Sian Warrilow Production Accountant - Ceri Tothill A/Production Accountant - Carole Wakefield Script department Script Editors - Brian Minchin, Emma Freud Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - John Bennett 2nd Assistant Director - James DeHaviland 3rd Assistant Director - Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch Runners - Nicola Eynon Price, Laura Jenkins Continuity - Non Eleri Hughes Camera Operator - Ian Adrian B Camera Operator - Matthew Poynter Focus Puller - Steeve Rees Grip - John Robinson Camera Assistants - Tom Hartley, Jon Vidgen Boom Operator - Dafydd Parry Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Best Boy - Pete Chester Electricians - Ben Griffiths, Steve Slocombe, Bob Milton, Alan Tippets	Art department Supervising Art Director - Stephen Nicholas Art Department Co-ordinator - Amy Oakes Associate Designer - James North Production Buyer - Ben Morris Set Decorator - Keith Dunne Props Buyer - Catherine Samuel Set Designer - Ben Austin Storyboard Artist - James Iles Concept Artists - Richard Shaun Williams, Peter McKinstry Graphic Artist - Jackson Pope Standby Props - Phil Shellard, Rom Evans Standby Carpenter - Will Pope Standby Art Director - Tristan Peatfield Standby Rigger - Keith Freeman Standby Painter - Ellen Woods Props Master - Paul Aitken Dressing Chargehand - Matt Wild Dressing Props - Martin Broadbent, Rhys Jones Props Fabrication Manager - Barry Jones Props Makers - Penny Howarth, Nicholas Robatto Construction Manager - Matthew Hywel-Davies Construction Chargehand - Scott Fisher Practical Electrician - Albert James Scenic Artists - John Pinkerton, John Whalley Graphics - BBC Wales Graphics Costume department Costume Supervisor - Bobbie Peach Crowd Supervisor - Lindsay Bonacorssi Costume Assistants - Sara Morgan, Maria Franchi	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Supervisor - Pam Mullins Make-up Artists - Abi Brotherton, Morag Smith Movement Stunt Co-ordinator - Crispin Layfield Casting Casting Associates - Andy Brierley, Alice Purser General post-production staff Post-production Supervisors - Ceres Doyle, Chris Blatchford Post-production Co-ordinator - Marie Brown Assistant Editor - Becky Trotman On-line Conform - Matthew Clarke, Mark Bright Special and visual effects VFX Editor - Cat Gregory Colourist - Mick Vincent Sound Sound Recordist - Bryn Thomas Dubbing Mixer - Tim Ricketts Sound Maintenance Engineer - Jeff Welch Supervising Sound Editor - Paul McFadden Sound Effects Editor - Paul Jefferies Foley Editor - Helen Dickson

Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.
This was the first episode of the BBC Wales series to have two credited script editors. Oddly, Emma Freud was credited at the end of the roll, suggesting she was considered more "senior" than Brian Minchin.  As on The Vampires of Venice, Patrick Schweitzer was double-credited as both producer and line producer.

References

• 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).
• The Doctor refers to having met Michaelangelo and Pablo Picasso.
• 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." 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."

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 depression 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's typewriter.
• This is the first story in the series to lack any cracks, silence, or other foreshadowing of the series' finale. 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 final scenes is "Chances" by Athlete.

Ratings

to be added

Filming locations

• National Museum of Wales [1]
• Trogir, Croatia [2]
• Roald Dahl Plass [3], 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 will appear. The monster was a Krafayis.
• It was rumoured that Vincent van Gogh will stab a yellow monster. He stabbed the Krafayis, the monster is pale yellow.

• Howard Lee plays a character called "Dr. Gachet" [4]. Dr. Gachet was van Gogh's real doctor, who nursed him during his final years. He was mentioned but he was not actually in the episode.
• 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 a recent interview that the controversial topic of the regeneration limit for Time Lords will be "addressed in a very, very cheeky way by an old friend of mine" at some point in Series 5. [5] As the "old friend" could very well be Richard Curtis, the issue might be addressed in this episode. This turned out to be false for this episode, but it could happen in later episodes with Alex Kingston's character River Song addressing the subject, as Steven Moffatt created her character.
• As a Vincent van Gogh painting will feature in the events of "The Pandorica Opens", it is likely that this story will bring more developments to the main story arc of the series. [6] This was not the case, with the episode being more or less a stand-alone story, but apparently the finale will still feature a Van Gogh painting in some way. This connection may be illuminated in "The Lodger", as a pamphlet for a Van Gogh exhibit can be seen on Craig's fridge in the trailer.
• It is 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, as was the case with the previous episode.

Continuity

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

• The Doctor and Dr. Black compliment each other's bow ties, the Doctor exclaiming again that "bow ties are cool". (Template:DW)
• 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 regeneration actually could result in the creation of 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 scanner-mirror 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. DW: The Abominable Snowmen, where the Second Doctor finds a holy Tibetan bell and Jamie a set of bagpipes). It has also been used in the Tenth Doctor's era, in which he retrieved 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, feeling guilty about Rory's erasure. 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. Template:DW and this episode all 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)

Home video releases

BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Three will feature Amy's Choice, The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood and Vincent and the Doctor. It will be released on Monday 2nd August 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray.

External links

to be added