Doctor Who/Recap/S31/E10 Vincent and The Doctor: Difference between revisions

The episode was followed on the BBC by information on suicide prevention, as the episode discusses Vincent van Gogh's suicide.

 

 

Terror lurks in the cornfields of Provence, but only a sad and lonely painter can see it.

We start with a field of wheat. Something is running through that wheat and scaring crows. And someone is painting that field of wheat.

 

 

They look at the ''[[wikipedia:The Church at Auvers|The Church at Auvers]]'' and spot a monster in one of the windows. The Doctor approaches a rather long-winded [[Bill Nighy]]-in-a-bowtie, named Dr. Black, the museum's curator. Dr. Black has been talking to a tour group about how van Gogh churned out a whole load of paintings near the end of his life but had incredible unluckiness in actually ''selling'' his work. He's enough of an expert on Vincent that he can place the time of the painting's creation to between the 1st and 3rd of Jun, 1890. That's just how good he is. The Doctor and Dr. Black compliment each other's bowties for a bit, and the Doctor and Amy head to Provence.

 

 

Rushing to the scene, they find a very dead young woman and her distraught mother, who pins the blame on Vincent's madness. It's followed up by a barrage of stones, and the trio have to leg it. The Doctor invites himself and Amy as Vincent's guests.

After chasing away the Krafayis, the Doctor and Amy offer to spend the night with lonely Vincent, and admire the works that Vincent believes to be worthless (but that they know will become art treasures in the future). Vincent wakes up the next day, stunned to see that the Doctor has prepared them breakfast, and Amy awaits outside surrounded by dozens of sunflowers. The two insist they will come with him tonight when he goes to paint the nearby church, themselves knowing the beast will appear there, and then will be out of Vincent's hair forever. Vincent crumbles at this, and locks himself in his bedroom, crying that people simply just leave him. Neither the Doctor or Amy can coax him out of his emotional state, and prepare to go to the church alone.

 

 

As soon as the Doctor is inside, Amy and Vincent look to each other and merrily race in after him, with an "Amy, I love you!" from Vincent.

 

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* [[Actor Allusion]]: Tony Curran (Van Gogh) once played an [[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|Invisible Man]].

* [[Alas, Poor Villain]]

** While the Doctor tests his newest bit of [[Applied Phlebotinum]], it scans his image and prints out pictures of One and Two.

** [[Running Gag|"Bow ties are cool!"]]

** [[Running Gag|Eleven saying that Amy and Vincent's child would've been the ultimate ginger.]]

* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: The Doctor says he comes from "The Ministry of Art... and Artiness."

* [[Historical In-Joke]]: Sunflowers are widely assumed to be Vincent van Gogh's favorite flower. When Amy tries to appeal to this, he reveals that he actually considers them a bit grotesque. Vincent is also revealed to be a synesthete.

* [[Hypocritical Humour]]: In-universe example; when the Doctor offers to buy Vincent a drink, Vincent angrily informs him "I pay for my own drinks." Everyone around him laughs derisively.

* [[Mirror Scare]]: The Doctor first gets a look at the Krafayis this way.

* [[Mood Swinger]]: Vincent.

* [[Translation Convention]]: See below.

* [[Translator Microbes]]: According to the TARDIS, speaking French with a Dutch accent is the equivalent of speaking English with a Scottish accent.

** However, it was very well received.