angelophile | Review: Doctor Who - Vincent and the Doctor (Reply)

When it was announced that Richard Curtis, creator of Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley, writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and Notting Hill, would be writing an episode of Doctor Who I was hopefully optimistic. At least, I thought, it should be funny.

And this week's episode, in which the Doctor and Amy meet Vincent Van Gogh, doesn't disappoint on that level, playing up on Matt Smith's comedy timing beautifully.

But it's more than that. Much more. This episode was a showcase episode - intelligent, complex, getting some stunning performances from its stars, beautifully shot, touching, thought provoking, even heartbreaking...

Not just the episode of the Matt Smith era so far, but very possibly the episode of the entire nu-Who run.

From the gratuitous Bill Nighy cameo, it looked like we were in for a rollocking ride. But as soon as Tony Curran stepped onto the screen as Van Gogh come to life (absolutely perfect casting) the episode stepped up a notch further. Curran's performance was the lynchpin of the entire episode and was simply brilliant. Both words and performance presented, not a cartoon caricature of Van Gogh as might have been expected, but a sublimely layered and real character. From his highs to his lows, Curran seemed to step inside the skin of the artist. It shouldn't have worked. In fact, it sounds ridiculous - Van Gogh fighting an invisible chicken monster. But despite the outlandishness of the situation, Curran delivered a genuine love letter to the artist, portraying his complexities beautifully.

I genuinely can't sing his praises highly enough.

Likewise for the script, which had everything - lots of humor for Matt Smith to get his teeth into and have fun with his more bumbling take on the Doctor. Some great one liners (a nice put down about the overuse of the Sonic Screwdriver being a highlight, or the in-jokes about Don McLean song lyrics). Emotion - and genuine emotion. The series has managed it better under Moffat anyway, but this episode was a showcase for characters making you feel for them without making it feel like you're being emotionally manipulated, unlike the RTD era's robotic "AND NOW THE BIT TO MAKE YOU CRY". But by the end of the episode, I challenge people not to cry anyway. But it's real emotion because during the course of the episode you've fallen in love with Vincent as if he was a real person and don't want to see him hurting.

The trail that followed the show with details of a helpline for those dealing with similar issues of depression was a nice touch. Kudos to the BBC for that.

The episode looked beautiful too. From the numerous location shots (I assume was filmed at the Musée d'Orsay and in Provence - it certainly looked like it) and the intelligent way that the costuming and set design meticulously created scenes from Van Gogh's paintings, it all looked lush and wonderful without being overtly cartoonish in cloning the looks. But plenty of nice touches, such as Van Gogh fighting off the monster using "the artist's chair". But the most gorgeous part - the trio lying on the grass staring into the night sky which slowly transformed into Van Gogh's vision from "Starry Night". Inspired.

In all, an episode that served both Karen Gillen and Matt Smith wonderfully, played with the limited budget for special effects cleverly, included enough comedy and action to keep the kids interested, but cleverly slipped in a love poem to Van Gogh and his synesthesia and unique vision, presenting him as a brilliant creator and flawed man, written intelligently and compassionately. The soundtrack to the climax might strike some as being a little mawkish, but ultimately this was a showcase episode of Doctor Who - taking a concept that could have been daft and building a complex and beautifully realized episode around it.

Absolutely stunning.