The War of Art (DW short story)

The War of Art (DW short story)
Doctor:	[[doctor::Eleventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Amy Pond (mentioned)
Main enemy:	Arucha
Main setting:	Paloma Centre
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::BBC Website, 2010]]
Writer:	Paul Cornell

Not to be confused with The Art of War

The War of Art was a special short story written by Paul Cornell. It was a special reward in PDF format for winning the History Hunt, a special online game. It was based around events the Doctor encounters during the events of the game.

Summary

The Doctor leaves his favourite painting in an art gallery. He returns to find it, but he is not the only one that wants it.

Characters

• The Doctor
• Armidagertaflex 333.9
• Android Artists
  • Andy Warhol
  • Roy Lichtenstein
  • Pablo Picasso
  • Salvador Dalí
  • René Magritte
  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir
  • Henri Rousseau
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
  • William Turner
  • Michelangelo
• Arucha
  • Arucha Commander
  • Arucha Lieutenant

References

• The Doctor, in his eleventh incarnation, had met Armidagertaflex 333.9 before.
• Andy Warhol had painted all eleven incarnations of the Doctor in the summer of 1966. He had visited him every Thursday.
• The Arucha have sonic lances.
• The Doctor says "nice to see you, to see you nice", the catchphrase of Bruce Forsyth.
• Amidag refers to Matisse, Zoirarghhh and Monet.
• The Doctor gives the Arucha a painting by Venusian artist Radico Harstel, and calls it The Physical Impossibility of Getting a Shanghorn into a Glass Tank,
• The Doctor refers to the painting being left on an asteroid two years after the incident after having read it in a paper.

This is a paradox as the Doctor only chose the painting because he knew the Arucha would leave it there.

• The Doctor visited the Musée d'Orsay in 3110 when it was run by a Silurian.
• The Pandorica Opens is called "Blue Box Exploding".

Story notes

• The title is a play on the cult book The Art of War by Sun Tzu. The book offers guidelines for warfare in ancient China.

Continuity

• While the Doctor searches for his painting, Amy hunts for it herself. (WC: Amy's History Hunt)
• The Doctor's TARDIS was previously mistaken for a work of art. (DW: City of Death, The Fires of Pompeii)
• The Doctor asks if there was an android of Vincent van Gogh. There was not as his brilliant mind would not enter any android. The Doctor also mentions van Gogh making Amy cry. (DW: Vincent and the Doctor)
• The Doctor is looking for Vincent van Gogh's painting, The Pandorica Opens. (DW: The Pandorica Opens)
• The Doctor mentions getting off on the wrong foot with Pablo Picasso. He had previously said that he advised him. (DW: Vincent and the Doctor)
• The Doctor calls Michaelangelo "Mikey". He had previously mentioned meeting him. (DW: Vincent and the Doctor)
• The Doctor tells Armidag that his brain was remembering his name, but it hadn't told the rest of him. This is similar to many other times the Doctor has said or done something, but not known completely why. (DW: The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below et al)
• The Doctor also visited the Musée d'Orsay in 2010. (DW: Vincent and the Doctor)
• The Doctor mentions that the TARDIS did and did not explode. (DW: The Big Bang)

Timeline

• Takes place after: DW: The Big Bang

External links

• BBC - Doctor Who - The War of Art (link to PDF)
• BBC - Amy's History Hunt - Introduction (geolocked to UK)