What do you get when you cross the fantastic world of Doctor Who, the utterly brilliant mind of Richard Curtis, and the world famous artist, Vincent Van Gogh? The answer...Vincent And The Doctor - a 45 minute televisual masterpiece worthy of the famed painter himself.
Sure the episode's title doesn't have the bells and whistles that the words 'Dalek' or 'Cybermen' could conjure up, but what we have here, to draw on an analogy, is a story that paints itself throughout. With every brush stroke (nay pen stroke) that Curtis' script delivers, we are given more colour, depth and layering that build to a well rounded, and thoroughly appeasing story.
Ok..enough of the painting metaphors!
In a nutshell...The Doctor and Amy visit an art gallery to see Van Gogh's work, only to notice a hidden menace lurking in the window of a church, in one of the artist's famed pieces. Cue a travel back in time to get to the bottom of things.
The production team have recreated Southern France beautifully, and many of the sets used in the story have been given the benefit of attention to detail, the likes that a BBC period costume drama would be proud of.
Speaking of sets, two in particular that we see used in this story, are brought to life straight out of Van Gogh's painting. We defy you to be bowled over by the Cafe Terrace scene, which is as accurate as is imaginely possible!
Vincent And The Doctor is a prime example of why historical Doctor Who stories can work so well, whilst teaching us something along the way. It's an ingredient that peppered itself throughout William Hartnell's time on the show, and it's great to see the winning formula back.
Like with some of the other adventures this series, the main action actually ties itself up sooner, allowing time at the end for a change in tone, pace and in this story's case, the emotional deliverance that Richard Curtis is famed for.
This story sits comfortably in a handful of Doctor Who episodes that you could quite happily watch over and over again, and each time you will notice something new.
Get ready for a new favourite New Series Doctor Who episode, this is it, and it's a stroke of genius!
(see what we did there...)
5 Things to look out for...
- More Past Doctor appearaces.
- Fantastic new gadgetry.
- A clever little nod to Indiana Jones.
- Ketchup..and Mustard...in the TARDIS?
- Buckbeak's long-lost cousin!
