Vincent and the Doctor (TV story): Difference between revisions

In ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'', it's said that this episode shows how the ''Doctor Who'' has heart unlike most science fiction stories, which leave out the compassion/humanity. It was also the intention to introduce the concept of mental illness to a younger audience, so they could grow up with the knowledge that they needed to be patient and understanding with those who were afflicted with it. It also marked another of the few times that the Doctor was unable to save a life; although in this case, it was because Vincent was tormented by inner demons that even the Time Lord couldn't reach. "The Doctor cannot save someone from his/herself."

The [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Amy Pond|Amy]] visit the [[Musée d'Orsay]] in [[Paris]]. It is showing the works of [[Vincent van Gogh]], who is Amy's favourite painter. Amy asks the Doctor why he is being so nice to her; he has been taking Amy to several places she wanted to visit and other peaceful locations, such as [[Arcadia (planet)|Arcadia]] and the [[Trojan Gardens]]. She jokes that she's suspicious, to which he defensively tells Amy that he is always nice to her, and that there was [[Cold Blood (TV story)|nothing to be suspicious about]]. Amy tells the Doctor that she was just joking, but wonders why he's not.

Smiling, Amy resumes looking in her guide, spotting [[The Church at Auvers|''The Church at Auvers'']] directly on the wall in front of them. She and the Doctor get closer to it, with Amy being excited to see it in person. The Doctor notes he feels like he can actually see the brushstrokes of the artist carving the colors into shapes. However, the Doctor's smile is replaced by a grim stare. She asks him what is wrong, to which he tells her to look at the church's windows; there is an ominous and evil-looking face in it. He grimly adds that it does not look friendly.  [[File:Doctor-Who-Vincent-and-the-Doctor-1-170x125.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor and Amy looking at van Gogh's painting ''[[The Church at Auvers]]''.]]Posing as an inspector with the [[psychic paper]], he briefly interrupts the [[curator]], [[Black (Vincent and the Doctor)|Dr Black]], demanding to know when and where the painting was made. Asked for specific facts, Dr Black tells the Doctor that the church painting was probably completed between the [[1 June|first]] and the [[3 June|third of June]] [[1890]]. Complimenting Dr Black's [[bow tie]], the Doctor grabs Amy's hand and drags her away. When Amy tells him she wants to see the rest of the paintings, the Doctor tells her that it's a matter of life and death — they need to speak to Vincent Van Gogh!

[[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] materialises in [[Auvers-sur-Oise]]. The Doctor and Amy begin their search for van Gogh. Finding a [[café]] featured in one of his paintings, the Doctor questions two waitresses cleaning the tables outside. They say van Gogh is a mad [[alcohol|drunk]] who never pays his bills, and, when the Doctor says he's a good painter, they laugh heartily. The café owner rushes out, followed by a red-headed man trying to bargain with him. The owner exasperatedly informs him the painting is no good for a trade (given that it will frighten the other patrons); the man must either pay or leave. The Doctor (after wordlessly pointing out to Amy that the patron is Vincent) offers to pay for the man's [[alcohol|drink]] or to buy the painting, so he can use the money to buy a drink. Vincent van Gogh turns around and demands to know who the Doctor is. The Doctor tells him that he's new in town. Vincent tells the Doctor that there are some things he needs to know: 1) He pays for his own drinks (this earns more laughter), 2) If the Doctor wants to stay in town, he better not buy his painting, or he'd get laughed out of town; 3) Amy's cute.  Before the painter can resume haggling with the café owner, Amy offers to buy a bottle of [[wine]] which she will share with whomever she chooses, to which Vincent agrees.

Inside the café, the Doctor introduces himself. Van Gogh misunderstands the title and believes him a doctor sent by his brother; the Doctor explains that he's not a medical doctor. Trying to make casual conversation, the Doctor learns from Vincent that he has arrived right before he is to paint the church. Amy sees a painting Vincent has with him and quickly corrects herself when she praises it as one of her favourite paintings. The painter then wonders if Amy is from [[Holland]] like himself, due to her accent; Amy honestly says no, but the Doctor "corrects" her and says "yes." Vincent and Amy begin flirting, but stop at a scream from outside.

After a bit too much coffee, Vincent begins rambling on about how he hears the colours and the world telling him to capture the mysteries on canvas. The Doctor calmly tells Vincent that he has had enough coffee and offers to make some calming [[tea]]. However, he then notices that Amy is not in the room any more, as he hears her screaming from outside.

Both Vincent and the Doctor find Amy on the ground. She says that [[Krafayis|something]] attacked her while she was looking at the paintings. Vincent begins screaming in horror and backs away from them. The Doctor thinks that he is having some kind of fit as Vincent charges past them with a pitchfork; the painter tells them to run as he swings the pitchfork around. The Doctor encourages Amy to take cover while he calms Vincent. However, Vincent yells for the Doctor to duck as he is swept off his feet by something large and invisible. Realising Vincent is ''not'' having a fit, but can actually see the beast, he grabs a stick to help fight it. As he cannot see it, the Doctor uselessly swings the stick around to help cover more ground , and Vincent wards the creature off single-handedly. Vincent tells the Doctor, who is still swinging the stick around, that the beast has left. The Doctor asks Vincent what the creature looked like; Vincent says that he'll show them..

Leading them back inside, Vincent whites out a canvas — much to Amy and the Doctor's horror — and proceeds to draw the creature on it. The Doctor is shocked by what it looks like and decides that something in the TARDIS can help identify what it is. He instructs Amy to look after Vincent and make him comfortable as possible; he then jokes to her, asking Amy not to "let any invisible monsters in the house". The Doctor returns to town with the painting, unknowingly being stalked by the invisible creature. Just as it tries attacking him, the Doctor enters the TARDIS.  

[[File:Vincent_and_Doctor_tardis.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor attempting to identify the 'invisible monster'.|200x200px]]

Inside, the Doctor rummages through a drawer full of junk, apologising to the object he is looking for as he thought it was an embarrassing gift from a dull two-headed [[The Doctor's godmother|godmother]] with bad breath (twice). Pulling out a [[Species identifier|portable device]], the Doctor hooks it to the printer on the [[TARDIS console|console]]. He smiles at the mirror-like attachment on the device, and it shows his [[First Doctor|first]] [[Second Doctor|two]] incarnations and his personal information. Seeing that it works, the Doctor shows the device Vincent's painting, which it misinterprets as a [[parrot]] and [[polar bear]], unable to clearly make out what it is. Annoyed, the Doctor tosses the painting aside; he grumbles that Vincent will have to try painting something better. He tells the machine to keep trying to identify the creature.

[[File:AmySunflowers.jpg|thumb|Amy tries to cheer Vincent up.]]

The next morning, the Doctor wakes Vincent, who steps into the courtyard to see Amy surrounded by [[sunflower]]s. She suggests he paint them, but Vincent explains they are not his favourite; Amy is confused by this, as Vincent will paint a picture of them. Vincent explains he finds them complex, half-living and half-dying, but it would be a challenge, to which the Doctor responds that he believes that he'll rise to the occasion.

After a while, the Doctor and Amy have gotten tired of waiting for Vincent getting ready. Wondering what is keeping him, the Doctor finds the painter lying in bed, sobbing. He is devastated that the Doctor and Amy are prepared to leave him, like everyone else. The Doctor attempts to console him, but Vincent grows angry and orders him out. Back with Amy, the Doctor explains that Vincent has a fragile psyche and will [[suicide|kill himself]] in just a few short months; trying to force Vincent into doing something might accelerate his suicide. Taking this into consideration, the Doctor tells Amy that they will hunt down the Krafayis on their own, but before they can leave, Vincent appears at the door, ready to go.

 

At the church, Vincent begins to paint. The Doctor spends the time talking to Vincent about his past meetings with [[Michelangelo]] (who took the job of painting the [[Sistine Chapel]] despite being afraid of heights) and [[Pablo Picasso]] (who he tried getting to paint normal faces). As it becomes night, the Doctor becomes frustrated as [[Krafayis (Vincent and the Doctor)|the Krafayis]] is not punctual, confessing to Amy that something doesn't feel right. Vincent sees the beast in the window. The Doctor goes inside, ordering his companions not to follow him. Vincent questions Amy as to if she will follow the Doctor; she responds, "of course," prompting Vincent to tell her he loves her. Inside, the Doctor "fights" the creature, but when his device is destroyed, he prepares to retreat. Outside, Amy and Vincent hear the chaos. Amy runs inside, calling for the Doctor.

The Doctor tries stunning the beast with the sonic screwdriver, but since he can't see it, he can't tell if he has the right setting; Vincent says it pleased the beast instead. As a result, the Doctor gives up on he idea. They take refuge in another chamber, blocking the door. Thinking quickly about why the Krafayis was left behind, the Doctor accidentally refers to Vincent as Rory while rambling; Amy is confused by this, but the Doctor quickly covers up his mistake.

Vincent sneaks away to retrieve something. In his absence, the Doctor attempts to reason with the creature, telling it he too is [[Time Lord|alone]] and he knows how it feels; however, the Krafayis does not respond, instead stopping its attempts to break down the door and everything goes silent. After a moment, the Doctor thinks he managed to get the creature to listen to reason. However, this notion is dispelled immediately afterwards as the chamber windows blow out. The Doctor and Amy take over behind a tomb, as they hear the beast enter the room. Vincent returns with his easel, holding it like a weapon. He says the creature is making its way around the edges of the room.

The Doctor calls himself an idiot for not noticing this sooner, saying he is getting old; the Krafayis was left behind because it is [[blindness|blind]], but he yells his [[deduction]], allowing the beast to know where they are. As it attacks, Vincent stabs the Krafayis with the legs of the easel. It collapses, badly wounded and dying. It begins crying it is afraid, and the Doctor consoles it as it dies. Vincent mourns he didn't mean to kill it, only wound it, and that he understands its lonely existence...  

[[File:Vincent,_Amy_and_the_Doctor.jpg|thumb|The Doctor, Vincent and Amy gazing up at the ''Starry Night'']]

Amy, Vincent, and the Doctor lie in the grass outside the church; Vincent says they are lucky to still be alive to see the wonders of the world. Vincent encourages them to see the world as he does (we see the night sky turn into Vincent's ''Starry Night'' painting), saying the blackness of the sky is actually multiple shades of blue. Using his telepathy to briefly look into Vincent's mind, the Doctor sees the sky as the painter does. Smiling, the Doctor admits that he has seen many amazing things in his life, but nothing quite as wonderful as what Vincent sees. Vincent tells his friends he will miss them when they're gone.  

[[3 June|The next morning]], Vincent attempts to push his self-portrait on the Doctor as a parting gift, but the Doctor, knowing what it will be worth one day, refuses it. The painter takes this in stride; he's used to having his works of art refused. Vincent admits that, despite his experiences over the last couple of days, he won't do well on his own. As the Doctor and Amy depart, he gets an idea, asking Amy if she's had the same one; she doesn't as she's thinking about grabbing breakfast at the café. The Doctor calls to Vincent (who looks out his window, half-dressed), telling him to tidy up as there is something he wants to show him.

They take him to the TARDIS, which is now covered in circus posters; the Doctor slices through them with the [[TARDIS key]] and opens the doors of his time machine. The Doctor reminds Vincent about how they talked about the wonders of the [[universe]] before showing him inside. Upon seeing the inside and examining the exterior, Vincent becomes amused that ''he's'' the one that's "[[crazy]]", while they have managed to remained sane. The Doctor explains some of the buttons on the console, secretly steering the TARDIS. Vincent is amazed by all the Doctor has told him and asks that they come back to the café, and explain more about the wonders of the universe. However, the Doctor tells him that there is something they wish to show him first.

[[File:Vincent_Musee_d'Orsay.jpg|thumb|left|Vincent in the Musée d'Orsay]]

Stepping outside, they reveal to Vincent they're now at the Musée d'Orsay in [[2010]]; the [[time vortex]] energy has reduced the posters covering the TARDIS to cinders. Explaining where they are, the Doctor and Amy lead Vincent into the [[museum]], leaving his hat back in the TARDIS to avoid arousing suspicion of his identity. Led through the building, Vincent looks in awe at the exhibits, then is even more surprised when he is led into the section dedicated completely to his paintings. While Vincent stares at people enjoying his work, the Doctor finds Dr Black again, asking if he can summarize where Vincent stands in history. Dr. Black is taken aback, as it's a "big question".

[[File:Sunflower_Amy.jpg|thumb|Vincent's dedication of ''[[Sunflowers]]'' for Amy]]