Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: S05E10 – Vincent and The Doctor

649 Responses to Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: S05E10 – Vincent and The Doctor

1. lunylucy says:

   March 30, 2011 at 12:43 pm

   I love this episode so, my tumblr is named after it <3 http://pileofgoodthings.tumblr.com

   <img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhfwyfqQw41qbiueao1_500.jpg"&gt;

   My other favorite quote from this episode is:
   “…To me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all; certainly the most popular great painter of all time: The most beloved; his most command of colour; the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world… no one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind that strange wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world’s greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived.”

   <img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li9djiHbl31qzf97ao1_500.jpg"&gt;

   And just.. PRETTIEST EPISODE OR PRETTIEST EPISODE? Amy sitting among the sunflowers alone is enough to make hearts appear in my eyes.
   • xpanasonicyouthx says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:47 pm

     AMAZING IMAGE AT THE END.
     • lunylucy says:

       March 30, 2011 at 1:57 pm

       It's one of my favorite tumblr memes!
   • pandalilies says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:03 pm

     All the thumbs up forever. 😀
   • Minish says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:12 pm

     I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR DAYS FOR A IMAGE LIKE THAT.

     I eventually tried to draw one, but my drawing is rubbish…

     I clearly must get a tumblr.
     • lunylucy says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:17 pm

       You should most definitely get a tumblr! Everyone on there loves Doctor Who.
   • psycicflower says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:24 pm

     That last image is an accurate description of what I looked like watching that scene. Just add me constantly wiping my cheeks with the sleeve of my cardigan.
   • bookling says:

     March 30, 2011 at 4:23 pm

     I was so excited when I watched this episode and finally understood your tumblr name!
     • lunylucy says:

       March 30, 2011 at 11:06 pm

       Yay! 😀 Not only is it a reference to a great quote, it also fits very well because my tumblr is a pile of stuff that makes me happy :3
   • jennywildcat says:

     March 31, 2011 at 8:31 am

     That first image is gorgeous! (and I LOVE your tumblr ^_^)
2. thefireandthehearth says:

   March 30, 2011 at 12:50 pm

   I remember my first thought about this episode "What is Bill fucking Nighy doing in Doctor Who?". Seriously, Mr. Black is Bill Nighy! That just… blows my mind. It was the same thought I had when Sir Derek Jacobi played the Master (albeit for ten minutes). It's just bizarre. Awesome, but bizarre.

   In any case, I love this episode, because it shows exactly how touching and powerful this show can be. I always end up crying near the end of it. What I really appreciate about this episode is the lack of "epiphany therapy". I'm not saying that I'm happy Vincent killed himself- it's just that I have issues with how you can give someone a motivational speech in a tv show, and they'll be cured of depression, easy–peasy! I would have loved for it to end with Vincent being happy forever and forever, but life doesn't work that way. Depression hurts, and it can't be fixed with just a five minute speeches. Vincent needed help, and unfortunately he lived in a time where he couldn't get it.

   Now that I'm off my soapbox, this episode is wonderful. Karen Gillian is just heartbreaking as she shows Amy mourning subconsciously. I can't understand people who call her a bad actress after this episode, because she tears me apart. Matt Smith is always a delight. Tony Curran is pitch-perfect as Vincent. This visuals are utterly stunning too- that scene where we get a glimpse into Vincent's mind and we see the night as he does is flat-out gorgeous. The writing is excellent, too- did you know that the writer, Richard Curtis, is best known for writing comedic things, like Black Adder, Bridget Jones, and Mr. Bean? Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed.

   "The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant. "

   I need this on my wall, or something.

   And Mark, if I had seen your crying in the airport, and you had said that , I would have been all "OMG I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN" and I would have hugged you because I have personal space issues. Also, this Kasper fellow sounds awesome.
   • ihavetoknow says:

     March 30, 2011 at 3:32 pm

     Bill Nighy is…it's hard to describe how amazing he is! He had a super awesome year last year, being in my favourite things ever: Doctor Who and Harry Potter.
3. Stephen_M says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:29 pm

   Great, great episode this, deals with the subject of mental illness very well indeed and gives us yet another slightly different take on a ‘normal’ Who episode. That said I do think it’s been a little bit over-hyped since it aired with some of the more… enthusiastic reactions being a tad over the top.

   The plot’s great, and another instance of the Doctor being not entirely right (I know evil when I see it and I see it in that window… really Doctor?). I REALLY like that 11 isn’t the perfect, never-questioned by character or plot version of the Doctor that 10 was and it helps keep the energy and interest levels up heading into the tail end of the series. There’s a whole heap of great moments scattered throughout the story and the pacing is pretty damn solid. There’s also a great little bit of fridge logic waiting regarding Amy and her appreciation of Vincent (remember all those drawings, figures and other assorted art projects regarding the Doctor? Look closely and some of them are VERY good, fair to assume she’s got artistic leanings, something that would tie in very nicely to her Van Gogh love). The monster isn’t particularly scary (let’s face it, it’s a space chicken) but then again it isn’t really supposed to be, the real villain of the week lives inside Vincent and, sadly, that’s a battle the Doctor can’t win. In fact, that’s one thing I love about this episode, they take Vincent forward to see his work appreciated and… it doesn’t make a difference to the way his life ends. The lines about ‘adding to his pile of good things’ are SUCH a good philosophy on life and I really hope that they sunk in with some of the kids watching.

   The cast are, without exception, brilliant. Matt’s Doctor is fabulous as always but the script lets him go properly bonkers AND show his caring side as well, a great mix and Matt delivers his usual brilliant performance. For me there’s no doubt he’s right up there at the top of the ‘Best Doctor Ever’ list even this early into his run and I’d happily watch him for the next decade. Karen gets a thankless task here, having to play Amy as, well, Amy but ever so slightly off at times. There’s just a hint she knows there’s something wrong deep inside but can’t quite work it out. Thankfully she gets to spend the time being generally awesome, giving a companion masterclass on ignoring the Doctor’s orders because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Special mention must go to her fangirl bounce / dance on seeing Vincent for the first time, I defy anyone to watch that and not fall a little bit in love. Her reaction at the end is fantastic as well, her joy when she’s convinced they saved Van Gogh, the absolute despair when there’s nothing new… and that dawning realisation as she sees the dedication on the sunflowers (seriously, the sunflowers… how cool is that, and how many kids seeing that painting or a replica of it will be looking for that dedication in years to come?) is all done magnificently well.

   Guest actors worked across the board, Tony Curran played Vincent as a beautiful mix of tortured soul and Indiana Jones (and the likeness is remarkable) with the always awesome Bill Nighy doing an (uncredited) cameo as Dr Black. Honestly I could watch Smith and Nighy talking for at least an episode, no complaints at all. And then there’s the LOOK of the thing…

   I’ve said before in this series that the cinematography is incredible but this sets a new high. It’s just gorgeous in places and really makes use of the location shooting they got to do. The Starry Night scene gets a huge amount of praise but for me it’s the scene of Amy in the courtyard surrounded by sunflowers and bathed in light that takes the gold. It is absolutely beautiful and Karen damn near sparkles (in a good, non-twilightly kinda way) in that shot.

   Other random things… love the TARDIS burning off the posters (and the Doctor’s reaction to them), respect for Karen wearing that outfit in Wales in December, love Matt and Karen sneaking in dancing inside the TARDIS (it’s referenced in an interview they did with each other and that they want to drink tea in there too), always good to see the Doctor building a machine out of spare bits and boy does the comedy work here (think the confessional scene is my favourite: could you breathe a little quieter please… heh).
   • NB2000 says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:55 pm

     but for me it’s the scene of Amy in the courtyard surrounded by sunflowers and bathed in light that takes the gold

     I specifically remember seeing that very shot in the "Next Time" trailer at the end of Cold blood and DESPERATELY wanting to see the episode because it was so pretty.
   • Tauriel_ says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:06 pm

     I agree 100% with your review, especially with this:

     I REALLY like that 11 isn’t the perfect, never-questioned by character or plot version of the Doctor that 10 was

     THIS.
4. echinodermata says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:30 pm

   This episode is so, so gorgeous right from the beginning and that first stalk of grain. Most of this episode is sort of a big haze of good in my memory, but it still stands out for how utterly gorgeous it is, and how utterly amazing Tony Curran is in it, and how lovely Amy and Eleven are. Lots of my comment is going to be copy/paste from things I've said on the spoiler blog, so this may be a bit repetitive for some of you reading.

   <img src="http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5021/dwvatdpaint.gif"&gt;
   <img src="http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8859/dwvatdvincenteyes.gif"&gt;
   Utterly gorgeous, right? And it happens right at the beginning. And then the Doctor is feeling guilty about Rory and acting suspiciously nice to Amy and it's already heartbreaking a minute into the ep. Also, Bill Nighy! He makes everything better. And him and Matt Smith are adorable together. Bowties!

   And then we get to meet Vincent van Gogh! I love the Doctor's and Amy's glee at that. And I love in a sad way how baffling it is for anyone to appreciate Vincent at that one beginning scene. And I love Amy being saucy and taking charge. And I love Amy and Vincent bonding over being gingers. I BASICALLY LOVE EVERYTHING IN THIS EP, I WILL SAY IT NOW.

   Vincent not caring about his own paintings breaks my heart forever. He has so much passion for the world that he sees and that he wants to capture, and he feels he never succeeds. I just want to hug him so much. And I think I would be yelling far more than the Doctor and Amy did at him actually painting over one of his works. I love that that's basically blasphemy to all who are watching this ep. Destroying van Gogh? Unthinkable. So as a scene it really works for me in its depiction of how much Vincent doesn't realize how loved he will become.

   Okay, admittedly, the monster in this episode is probably the least memorable for me in all of Doctor Who. And that's largely because it's often invisible and basically a plot device and a somewhat heavy-handed metaphor for the psychological monsters Vincent deals with. But that's okay; I still love this episode in spite of how little I care about this aspect of the episode. And we did get moments like Eleven sticking his tongue out and another montage of past incarnations out of it. Also, running. Who doesn't love the running? And then Amy and Eleven screaming at each other is so fun and ridiculous and oh show <3.

   I love the recreation of the bedroom – brilliant stuff, seriously. And then lots more pretty!
   <img src="http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/1561/dwvatdprettyamysunflowe.jpg"&gt;
   I really do love Karen dressed in red.

   (continued)
   • echinodermata says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:31 pm

     Tony Curran absolutely sells Vincent's pain. My heart goes out to him and I have never felt more moved by a guest star so quickly than I do for Vincent. I also love that his "let's go" line is followed by a shot of the painting easel and palette. Hell yeah, those are his tools!

     And then Amy not realizing she's crying and not knowing why is heartbreaking and ROOOOORY I miss you DAMN YOU SHOW. But then Vincent starts painting and the Doctor has to deal with time passing. "Really slowly. In the right order."
     <img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/mcuelk.gif"&gt;
     Oh, Doctor. And then he orders them not to follow them, but as always:
     <img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/auy22q.gif"&gt;(Source)
     Oh, Amy. Oh, Vincent. EVERYTHING IS PERFECT I DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT THE STUPID-LOOKING ALIEN.

     OMG ROOOOOORY OMG GODDAMMIT SHOW why so heartbreaking?! And then the doctor says that he's "growing old" and my heart breaks further. And then Vincent feels for the monster and has empathy for it when it dies because it was just frightened and misunderstood, and boom, heart shatters.

     But it gets repaired by the utterly lovely scene of the three of them bonding. So much love, and SO MUCH PRETTY.
     <img src="http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/7219/triplehandhold1.gif"&gt;
     <img src="http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1748/dwvatdstarrynight.gif"&gt;

     "Amy, the blessed, the wonderful." – Awwing so much. I would totally ship Vincent and Amy if I weren't still stuck on Rory being gone.

     And then we finally get to Vincent at the museum and it just breaks my heart (again!). We are elated for him, and so happy to see him happy and to see him realize how cherished he is, and we are of course sad at how we know his life story pans out. It's such a bittersweet scene, and Curran absolutely delivers. I can't watch this scene and not at least tear up.

     It's simultaneously such a happy and sad moment, and just shattering emotionwise. I've rewatched that scene more than any other of probably any/every show or movie.

     (continued)
     • echinodermata says:

       March 30, 2011 at 1:31 pm

       Okay, so it starts with the lovely detail of spam papers on the TARDIS having been burned off, and then Vincent gets all distracted by the future, and then Eleven/Matt copies the statue thing. Adorable.
       <img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/33xy3rs.gif"&gt;
       And then we walk into the actual museum proper. And Vincent's again distracted because he's looking at beautiful art, and then we get to HIS art. AND CUE THE MUSIC (and I love this music – "Chances" by Tourist, fyi), then he's looking around his own exhibit, and from there I start crying.
       <img src="http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/8200/drwho16.gif&gt;
       <img src="http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6039/tumblrlg8f1nkfot1qclver.gif"&gt;

       Then we get Bill Nighy giving my favorite monologue of the show:

       "Well… um… big question, but, to me Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all. Certainly the most popular, great painter of all time. The most beloved, his command of colour most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world, no one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived."

       <img src="http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7797/vinnytearsofjoy.gif"&gt;
       Is the monologue from the curator too much? I honestly don't think so, but even if it were, I think the episode is allowed to go there because this scene is about Vincent and how big of a deal it would be to have him hear that sort of stuff about his art. It's a historical episode, and these are always allowed to lay it on thick imo. I love that Vincent gets to see how beloved he is, even if it could only happen in fiction.

       But of course it's sad, because for one we know Vincent was still driven mad, and his life story was depressing as hell. And in the context of this episode, he isn't "fixed" or "bettered" or any of that nonsense. He was a man suffering from depression, and yes, he still committed suicide. I love that the show decided not to "fix" him, and I love that they did portray depression as something that can't simply be cured by a good day or someone telling you how much they love you. I have a lot of respect for the show for not giving us the happy ending we all wanted Vincent to have.

       And then there's this amazing quote:

       
       "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things. But, vice versa – the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant."

       So I start crying once we get to the museum, and it doesn't stop until the episode ends. And my tears are of happiness and of sadness, and this episode just moves me and pulls me in so many directions that I love it so much. And the music certainly helps get me there, and I can't let that go uncommented, especially the moment when Amy starts walking towards the sunflower painting.

       <img src="http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/2839/tumblrlf4hwbazk31qccizx.gif"&gt;
       <img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/2nt72f.gif"&gt;
       I think everybody needs a hug after watching this episode.

       Ridiculous amounts of props to Richard Curtis for this episode – hell, he's known for comedy! Who would have thought he could deliver so much heartbreak?

       All in all, a gorgeous and moving episode to celebrate a man who means the world to people. Today is Vincent's birthday, and I'm grateful that today of all days we got to celebrate this episode on the blog. To Vincent van Gogh.
       • psycicflower says:

         March 30, 2011 at 1:50 pm

         I think everybody needs a hug after watching this episode.
         That is exactly how I felt after rewatching it this morning. It's great that it can evoke such strong feelings and emotions.

         THIS to your whole comment and you gorgeous selection of gifs. Such an amazing episode.
       • monkeybutter says:

         March 30, 2011 at 1:58 pm

         Yeah, hugs all around. Despite all of the tears I've shed about this episode in the past 24 hours, I still feel really good about it. Beautiful gif selection, btw. Everything was so damn pretty. Using color like this in an episode about an Impressionist was brilliant.

         I have to say that I was grinning in awe when Vincent gessoed over his work. It's what they did! And Amy and the Doctor got to see a Van Gogh painting in it's original state (this show isn't real, I know I know), and I think there's something special about being able to say that. A little selfish, sure, but still cool.
       • Tauriel_ says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:03 pm

         I love how Eleven strikes a pose that copies the statue they're passing in Musée d'Orsay – it's one of those times where he's really just a small excited kid. ALL THE LOVE. <3
         • ldwy says:

           March 30, 2011 at 2:11 pm

           Hahaha, I do this all the time.
       • James says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:04 pm

         You're joking about the Curtis comment right? The end of Blackadder Going Fourth is like one of the best yet heartbreaking finales of a show ever.
         • Tauriel_ says:

           March 31, 2011 at 3:13 am

           OMG THIS. It's utterly heartbreaking. When George says "Sir… I'm… I'm scared." I get teary all the time. Props to Hugh Laurie for the perfect delivery, though.
         • herdivineshadow says:

           March 31, 2011 at 3:07 pm

           God, that was all the tears in the world for me. You spend all that time watching various Blackadders be hilariously thwarted and then WHAMMO MASSIVE HEARTBREAK out of almost nowhere.
       • ldwy says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:11 pm

         This is the most amazing comment ever. Beautiful words, gorgeous gifs. It says everything I'd have said, and says it well.
       • arctic_hare says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:28 pm

         THIS to your whole comment. And the perfect, lovely GIF selection! It took me a while to read the whole thing because I had to tear my eyes away from the two of the episode's opening.
         • echinodermata says:

           March 30, 2011 at 2:48 pm

           Everyone loves the starry night one, but the painting gif right at the beginning is actually my favorite.
       • @anagenesis4E says:

         March 30, 2011 at 4:09 pm

         "So I start crying once we get to the museum, and it doesn't stop until the episode ends. And my tears are of happiness and of sadness, and this episode just moves me and pulls me in so many directions that I love it so much. And the music certainly helps get me there, and I can't let that go uncommented, especially the moment when Amy starts walking towards the sunflower painting."

         This. To this an your whole comment. I usually have tears streaming down my face by the time we see the sunflower painting.

         "Today is Vincent's birthday…"

         I didn't know that. To Vincent van Gogh..
       • kitish says:

         March 30, 2011 at 6:19 pm

         *upvotes forever* This. Just all of this. I agree wholeheartedly. I have the same happy/sad tears at that part too. I love this episode so so much. And you picked the quotes that really hit me, yeah amazing comment!
       • @thom_with_an_h says:

         March 31, 2011 at 12:30 am

         I cry so much when I see this episode. And every time I see it I start crying earlier, because I know how it's going to play out.

         Also, I went to upvote you. But accidentally clicked the downvote. I am so so so sorry. Does anyone know how to fix it, cos it won't let me un vote 🙁
         • echinodermata says:

           March 31, 2011 at 11:02 am

           No worries; thanks for replying and thanks for letting me know. I don't think it's possible to change a vote.

           I'm normally a happy-endings sort of person, but the museum scene is actually my favorite DW scene, even though I cry, which goes to show how good I think it is.
   • Stephen_M says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:47 pm

     Oh that scene of Amy and Sunflowers… for that ALONE it's worth getting the Blu-Ray boxset, it just pops right off the screen (gotta love high contrast shots).The only small, tiny problem is my brain tends to go into vapor lock whenever I see it and it's impossible to continue thinking for five minutes afterwa…
   • redheadedgirl says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:49 pm

     That's one of my very favorite shots of Amy- surrounded by sunflowers.
5. Openattheclose says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:31 pm

   My face when I watch this episode is equal parts this (only I am not a blue-eyed silverfox),
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/tumblr_lh1zntVZmG1qfhvee.gif"&gt;
   And this,
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/tumblr_lge58x4I391qczrfto1_250.gif"&gt;
   I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! The art, the acting, the set design, the story, the cinematography, EVERYTHING! It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I just want to give it (and Vincent) a big hug, and basically do what the Doctor does at the end; show Vincent that he was loved, and that his pain brought so many others joy and beauty. I am sure there will be a ton of gifs posted today from the Starry Night scene, but it deserves all the gifs it can get, because it was amazing.
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/50oenk.gif"&gt;
   Well, hello there nifty First and Second Doctor printout!
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/First–Second-Doctors.gif"&gt;
   Also, hai there Minister Scrimgeour Bill Nighy! Love the bowtie. Bowties are cool.
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/tumblr_lc0ya1Qrpe1qzs7j2o1_r3_500.gif"&gt;
   First of all, the casting of Tony Curran would have been perfect just for his resemblance to Van Gogh alone.
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/doctorwhovincent.png"&gt;
   Then he ends up portraying him so wonderfully, it wouldn't have mattered if he looked nothing like Van Gogh.
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/Doctor/jpvubn.gif"&gt;
   The Ultimate Ginger <3 I wish Donna was here. I like to think that the Doctor was thinking of her in this scene, as well as being sad he still wasn't ginger. Your children would have very red hair? Would they look like this, perhaps? (Ignore the kid with glasses and the non-bushy-haired girl. I've no idea who they are.)
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/Harry%20Potter/weasley.gif"&gt;
   I have only one complaint about this episode. Why did no one think to throw some paint (which they had plenty of, HELLO!) or fabric or something on the monster to make it visible? Also, I would just like to point out that there must be a rule or something that the 10th episode of every Doctor Who series has to be awesome (Wut? I like Love and Monsters).

   THE REAL VINCENT VAN GOGH WAS BORN ON MARCH 30TH, 1853. MARK, I WASN'T PREPARED FOR THIS AWESOME SYNCHRONICITY! YOU AND VINCENT AND THE DOCTOR ARE MEANT TO BE <3
   <img src="http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/tumblr_lhtne8CWLB1qadqze.gif"&gt;
   • Openattheclose says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:58 pm

     I think this might be my favorite review ever, BTW.
     Mark Oshiro: I seriously love the Doctor
     Kasper!: oh god seriously
     Kasper!: me too SO MUCH
     Mark Oshiro: he wasn’t once condescending about Vincent’s depression
     THIS. I love Eleven for being old and kind.
     • ldwy says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:14 pm

       Yes. I think they did such an amazing job portraying mental illness and Van Gogh's depression. Amazing.

       Also, to the comment up above this one….I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS VAN GOGH'S BIRTHDAY!!!! This couldn't have been better if it'd been planned.
       • Openattheclose says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:33 pm

         A friend of mine posted "Happy Birthday, Vincent van Gogh" on facebook early this morning. My mind was blown.
     • MowerOfLorn says:

       March 30, 2011 at 3:26 pm

       So much! It was so more subtle and realistic than any other portrayal I've seen on tv; at at the end of the episode there was a message for a depression hot line. I thought it was a nice sentiment.
   • monkeybutter says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:01 pm

     MARK ALWAYS HAS THE BEST TIMING!

     And looking like Jon Stewart isn't half bad, either, haha.
     • Openattheclose says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:12 pm

       lol, I don't look like him either. I meant the teddy bear.
       • notemily says:

         May 19, 2011 at 11:08 pm

         You look like a teddy bear?

         (SORRY)
   • NB2000 says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:04 pm

     <3 for the Love Actually gif, one of my favourite movies

     The Ultimate Ginger <3 I wish Donna was here. I like to think that the Doctor was thinking of her in this scene, as well as being sad he still wasn't ginger.</i>

     From now on I'm going to assume that's what he was thinking too.
   • FlameRaven says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:20 pm

     Why did no one think to throw some paint (which they had plenty of, HELLO!) or fabric or something on the monster to make it visible?

     Oil paint is really expensive, and Van Gogh was, as they mentioned, pretty much completely broke. It's also not really very splashable.
     • Openattheclose says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:29 pm

       When it's life or death, I wouldn't think Vincent would care about the expense. As to splashability, I would still try it, or the Doctor could have gotten something from the TARDIS.

       It's not really a big complaint, just something that jumped out at me when I re-watched last night.
       • swimmingtrunks says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:34 pm

         No- like- oil paint is a pretty thick substance. It would be like trying to "splash" toothpaste on it straight from the tube.

         I guess they could have figured something else out, but at least while the giant chicken is invisible they can take it down in a relatively low-key way, instead having villagers after it with the traditional pitchforks and fire and rocks.
         • Openattheclose says:

           March 30, 2011 at 2:39 pm

           I meant try mixing it with water (yes, I know oil and water don't mix, but it would still dye the water) or pressing a painted surface against the chicken or something. That's a good point about the villagers though.

           Like I said, it's not really something that bothers me too much.
       • FlameRaven says:

         March 30, 2011 at 6:50 pm

         If you've ever seen oil paint, it wouldn't even be worth trying. The stuff comes out of tubes in tiny, thick globs the consistency of… I dunno, cement or something. I mean there's a reason palette knives are very similar in shape to those you use to lay bricks. Even if it were throwable, you'd get a tiny patch of paint too small to see.You'd have better luck with whitewash. That's much closer to what you'd think of with modern house paint.
         • Openattheclose says:

           March 30, 2011 at 9:25 pm

           Yeah, I get it now. I wasn't really thinking about the kind of paint before, and it was just a little nitpick. Sorry.

           Let's just pretend I had suggested they use the mustard and ketchup that comes out of the TARDIS console instead of paint.
   • arctic_hare says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:29 pm

     NEW HEAD-CANON: AMY AND VINCENT GOT MARRIED AND ARE THE ANCESTORS OF THE WEASLEYS
     • Tauriel_ says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:31 pm

       THIS x infinity.
     • Openattheclose says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:32 pm

       OMG YES! <3

       VINCENT IS A WIZARD. I WILL HAVE TO OBSERVE MISS POND MORE CLOSELY, THERE COULD BE SOME WITCH ANCESTRY IN HER.
     • Openattheclose says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:35 pm

       OMG OMG HIS EAR! GEORGE!!! OMG!
       • who_cares86 says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:40 pm

         How could we have missed this? Low-level perception filter or are we just that thick?
         • Openattheclose says:

           March 30, 2011 at 9:29 pm

           Snape was really just trying to see how much George resembled his ancestor.
       • Tauriel_ says:

         March 31, 2011 at 3:17 am

         OMG YOU'RE RIGHT!!!!
     • psycicflower says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:59 pm

       YOUR IDEAS ARE INTRIGUING TO ME AND I WISH TO SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR NEWSLETTER.
     • MowerOfLorn says:

       March 30, 2011 at 3:27 pm

       MOST AWESOME IDEA EVER, YES/YES/YES?!?
   • psycicflower says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:30 pm

     HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAN GOGH!
6. leighzzz31 says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:31 pm

   KASPER CONVO?YAY, I MISSED THEM!
   ANYWAY:

   Vincent and the Doctor. Maybe my favourite ever episode of Doctor Who. I cried and I laughed and I cried again. I didn’t expect the episode that followed Rory’s death to be so utterly heart-breaking but I am so, so thankful that it did. Brilliance from Richard Curtis – whom I love by default because he penned Love Actually/Notting Hill/Bridget Jones.

   First of all, this episode is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Amy once again looks gorgeous; her hair, the colours she’s wearing, blue and red, contrast amazingly with the set of Provence. I loved the recreation of the Café Terrace at Night and Bedroom in Arles; the attention to detail was definitely something to be noted. Then Amy very subtly nudging Vincent to paint the sunflowers:
   <img src="http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb440/lylaaaa/Amy-Sunflowers.png&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">
   Wow. Just wow. The colours seem to jump out of the screen.
   And lastly, maybe the single most perfect scene I have ever seen on Who (or even TV):
   <img src="http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb440/lylaaaa/Starry-Night.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">
   The Starry Night. Whoever came up with this idea deserves ALL THE APPLAUSE. Each time I watch this episode, it makes me want to see every single painting of Vincent van Gogh.

   Now, for Vincent himself:

   *Continued*
   • leighzzz31 says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:33 pm

     Tony Curran blew me away. Not only did he physically look like Vincent van Gogh – when he picks up a self-portrait at some point, I gasped at how alike they seemed – but his acting was unbelievable. One of my top guest performances on Who.

     Van Gogh was never a character I’d expect to see on Doctor Who. Given that the show is largely aimed at children and given that Van Gogh’s life was very famously filled with tragedy, it didn’t seem like the greatest combination. So I was hesitant to see how Richard Curtis dealt with the story; I was worried they would ignore Van Gogh’s mental health completely. Honestly, I should have had more faith.

     You know the episode won’t shy away from these facts from the beginning of the episode; Dr Black specifically mentions Van Gogh’s suicide and we’re meant to pay attention to it – after all, it’s Bill Nighy talking. Then in Provence, we get to see how the villagers view Van Gogh; he faces contempt from everyone, even waiters. Finally, we actually meet Vincent and we see he’s weary with strangers, suspicious at their kindness. His reaction at the Doctor introducing himself is very telling. “My brother’s always sending doctors-but you won’t be able to help.”Vincent has already been through more than his share of doctors and now he’s resigned himself to his fate; no one can help him. He’s accepted that he is mad and doesn’t even try to defend himself when the villagers accuse his ‘madness’ of bringing evil to the village.
     Another sign that he’s abandoned all hope; his masterpieces are ‘clutter’ and ‘a mess’ he means to clear out. Everyone deems his work to be worthless and he’s come to see that himself, carelessly laying coffee over his paintings or reusing his precious canvases. FUNFACT: It’s actually been proven that Van Gogh did this a lot – I loved the detail!
     I found it comforting to know that, despite that, he still marveled at the beauty of the world. His speech to the Doctor about ‘hearing the colours’ made his character much more alive, much more real. I also liked the fact that Curtis made him even more special by being the only one who can see the monster – even the Doctor is blind to that.

     “No, it’s not that I don’t like them … I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying, half human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they are a challenge…”
     I love this line. It shows how Vincent sees the world; sunflowers aren’t just pretty flowers, they’re complex, even disgusting things, half human in the way they move. It also shows that Vincent’s mind always focuses on the darker side of life; the flowers are half-dying and it’s the challenge in that that makes him want to paint them.

     *Continued*
     • leighzzz31 says:

       March 30, 2011 at 1:34 pm

       Then, maybe the hardest scene to watch in this episode. The Doctor makes a passing remark that he and Amy will be ‘out of his hair’ soon and finds Vincent lying on his bed in utter despair.

       “It’s so clear you cannot help. And when you leave – and everyone always leaves – I will be left once more with an empty heart and no hope.”

       To me, this felt like one of the most honest descriptions of manic depression I’ve ever seen on screen. He’s given up on everything because it feels like everyone has given up on him. Even when the Doctor attempts to give him some hope, he waves him away: “ Then your experience is incomplete. I know how it will end, and it will not end well.” I shuddered at the delivery of that line; to me, it sounds as though suicide has been on his mind quite often and he has long since decided that is how it will all end.

       “I’m sorry you’re so sad.”
       “But I’m not. Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks, for months – but I’m good now. If Amy Pond can soldier on, then so can Vincent Van Gogh!”
       “I’m not soldiering on – I’m fine!”
       “Oh, Amy. I hear the song of your sadness. You’ve lost someone, I think.”
       “I’m not sad.”
       “Then why are you crying? It’s all right. I understand.”
       “I’m not sure I do…”

       Another part of the episode I really loved. I feel like Amy’s been given the role of a child in this part of the story – not for any other reason but to make everything that much more understandable for children watching. Children can’t fully grasp the concept of depression; to them, Vincent Van Gogh seems like a very sad man.
       I also love how perceptive Vincent is; another way of showing that he sees the world differently than most people. Rory has been erased from existence, Amy has forgotten him; and yet he knows she has lost someone.
       “He was frightened and he lashed out like humans will lash out when they’re frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me, like the children who throw stones at me.”

       Another heartbreaking line; the villagers’ contempt has left him destitute, in more ways than one and yet, he’s compassionate enough to understand and even excuse their behaviour.

       “Hold my hand, Doctor. I’d have you see what I see. We’re so lucky we’re still alive to see this beautiful world. Look at the sky. It’s not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue. And over there –lighter blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness the wind swirling through the air. And then shining burning bursting through, the stars – can’t you see how they roll their light? Everywhere we look the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes.”
       “I’ve seen many things, my friend, but you’re right – nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see.”
       “I will miss you terribly.”
       Wonderful writing. And it connects perfectly to what Dr Black says later on; this is how he uses his pain ‘to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world’.
       After their adventure in Provence, the Doctor and Amy decide to take Vincent on a trip to the Museé d’Orsay. I loved this use of the TARDIS; travelling through space and time not to change the world but to change a little bit of one man’s life.

       *Continued*
       • leighzzz31 says:

         March 30, 2011 at 1:35 pm

         (LAST ONE, I PROMISE!)

         This is where I completely broke down. The episode had already hit too close to home but the visit to the museum wrecked me. It’s one of the few instances where I can completely understand why they chose non-Murray Gold music; it somehow makes the scene a lot more human, a lot more real.

         “Well, um. Big question, but – to me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all. Certainly the most popular great painter of all time. The most beloved. His command of color the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world – no one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind that strange wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world’s greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived.”

         How overwhelming must it be to think nothing of yourself, to believe people when they dismiss your life’s work and then suddenly to learn how much you finally mean even to one person? While this episode is never-endingly heart-breaking, this is one of the most genuinely heart-warming scenes; Vincent’s face as he realises he’s not only appreciated but revered made me so happy for him. And even though you know the ending of this story, his tears of joy and his smile as the Doctor and Amy return him to Provence don’t leave a bitter taste in your mouth; for me, it was one of the most positive scenes I’ve seen on Who.

         A few final things I noted from this story – I could go on for pages and pages but I’ll spare anyone who’s reading 🙂
         -Bill Nighy was a brilliant addition to Vincent and the Doctor. He definitely added to my love for this episode.
         -Amy and the Doctor’s fangirling over Vincent was adorable.
         -The giant chicken was nothing impressive. But, to be honest, I prefer it this way; it’s Amy’s loss, the Doctor’s guilt and Vincent’s depression that took the role of the monster of the week.
         -Vincent and Amy’s odd little friendship/flirting was my main source of comfort. The ‘ultimate ginge’ still makes me laugh.
         -The Doctor acting like a petulant child while Vincent painted the church. Priceless! “ Is this how time normally passes? Reeeally slowly. In the right order.” And casually namedropping Michelangelo and Picasso? No biggie.
         And to end it like the episode:
         “The good things don't always soften the bad things, but, vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.”
         Maybe the most poignant thing the Doctor has ever said and something that really touched me. The perfect ending to a perfect episode.
         • ldwy says:

           March 30, 2011 at 2:20 pm

           Thank you for such an amazing comment. I really love this episode and you've put into words all the beauty of it so much better than I could.
           • leighzzz31 says:

             March 30, 2011 at 2:23 pm

             Aw <3 Thanks for reading it!
         • arctic_hare says:

           March 30, 2011 at 5:27 pm

           This is a wonderful review and I loved reading it. <3 Thank you for writing and posting it!
           • leighzzz31 says:

             March 31, 2011 at 7:17 am

             Thank you for reading it <3 <3 <3
       • vermillioncity says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:12 pm

         “It’s so clear you cannot help. And when you leave – and everyone always leaves – I will be left once more with an empty heart and no hope.”

         I'm so glad you picked out this quote, because it reminded me of a real-life quote from Van Gogh:
         One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul, and yet no one ever comes to sit by it.

         Heartbreaking.
         • leighzzz31 says:

           March 30, 2011 at 2:16 pm

           Oh god, really? There I go, I thought I'd cried myself out with this episode but no!
           Thanks for the quote <3 Though it's utterly heart-breaking!
   • masakochan says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:52 pm

     Then Amy very subtly nudging Vincent to paint the sunflowers:

     A bulldozer is more subtle than Amy Pond is. FJDASFHKSA AMY, YOU'RE WONDERFUL.
7. carma_bee says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:31 pm

   I don’t have much for comments besides that I love it all. EVERYTHING! I love the music, how it looks, the story, Vincent, the acting, the Doctor and his awkwardness, Dr. Black, everything. This episode is just fabulous. I can watch it over and over again.

   <img src="http://i49.tinypic.com/wsnzsw.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
   Karen is so lovely.
   • carma_bee says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:36 pm

     And I've decided that I kind of like chat reviews for tv shows because it's like I am in the room when you're watching it, with instant reactions as I rewatch the episode.
     • MowerOfLorn says:

       March 30, 2011 at 3:35 pm

       Agreed. I imagine its less awkward that doing it while reading- putting the book down, then up, then down. I often chats with my friends to watch shows; that's how I did all of season five. It was beautiful.
   • NB2000 says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:14 pm

     WHY SO PRETTY KAREN?!
   • psycicflower says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:27 pm

     That coat, that scarf, SOMEONE STEAL ME KAREN'S DOCTOR WHO WARDROBE!
     • Goldensage says:

       March 30, 2011 at 3:24 pm

       This. Her clothes are so beautiful.

       I want a scarf like that, at the very least. I've always wanted a red scarf like that.
   • Tauriel_ says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:31 pm

     Gorgeous Karen, the girl that straightened out Mark Oshiro… 😛
8. psycicflower says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:32 pm

   <img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/mubkoi.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
   Other people are going to cover this much better than me but this episode. Just. This. Episode. It’s so full of wonder and heartbreak and sadness and life. From the gorgeous music to the stunning cinematography to the amazing story, it’s simply fantastic.

   <img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2s9or5c.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
   My favourite pieces of music from the episode are ‘A Troubled Man’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUD1MSfKgyQ and ‘With Love, Vincent’ which is simply amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyH4UKX2l2Y
   ‘Chances’ by Athlete was the song playing when the Doctor brings Vincent to Musée d’Orsay. I know Doctor Who doesn’t really use music outside of Murray Gold but I think it worked really well here. (not sure what everyone else thought of it so that may be unpopular.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWayL5NBH80

   <img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/2le74o2.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
   I love the portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh and his mental illness in this episode. Yes he has times when he feels terrible depression for weeks at a time but he’s also a happy, talented, likable person and suffering from a mental illness doesn’t take away from that in anyway. The whole scene of Vincent visiting the Musée d’Orsay is endless tears, but like Vincent they’re happy tears. Vincent’s disbelief and delight in the fact that his work means so much to other people after being largely unrecognised and so mistreated in his life is a wondrous thing to behold.
   ‘He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world – no-one had ever done it before.’
   And isn’t that just a wonderful description of Van Gogh’s work. I love Dr. Black’s clear love and enthusiasm for Van Gogh and his work. I’ve volunteered with museum people like him before and he’s the type person I would love to work with one day.

   <img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/160pjjq.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
   ‘Then why are you crying?’
   Oh Amy. I love that Rory isn’t being completely forgotten. Amy feels something, whether she’s conscious of it or not. Some part of her, deep down inside, knows what’s happened and is mourning Amy’s loss. The Doctor also seems more focused on death and harm to those around him which I think is because of guilt over what happened to Rory. He was a lot more worried about Amy potentially dying than in the past. His probable feelings of guilt are only reinforced by Amy’s comments at the start of the episode about how nice he’s being to her.
   ‘Whoa, there you are, you poor thing. You brutal, murderous, abandoned thing. I hope we meet again soon so I can take you home.’
   I always tend to forget about the Krafayis in this episode because it’s very much Vincent’s story but I do love the Doctor staying with and comforting the Krafayis as it dies. I also love the Doctor apologising and talking to the scanner thing he got from his two-headed godmother.

   Overall though, I love that an episode about depression and mental illness is so open and full of life and wonder.
   ‘The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. Hey. The good things don't always soften the bad things. But, vice versa – the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant.’
   <img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/2s5xseh.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
   • arctic_hare says:

     March 30, 2011 at 2:30 pm

     I love this review, THIS to all of it. <3 "With Love, Vincent" always makes me cry when I listen to it…
     • psycicflower says:

       March 30, 2011 at 2:37 pm

       It's such a gorgeous piece (how so flawless series 5 soundtrack). I listened to the youtube vids to make sure the whole song was there before posting and as soon as 2.20 hits I have to take a moment not to start tearing up.
       • Openattheclose says:

         March 30, 2011 at 2:43 pm

         2:20 is wonderful. It's one of those pieces of music that you can imagine the moment it played onscreen during the episode exactly in your head, no matter how long it's been since you last saw it.
         • arctic_hare says:

           March 30, 2011 at 3:59 pm

           That's a large part of why I start crying every time it gets to that part of the song.
           • Openattheclose says:

             March 30, 2011 at 4:51 pm

             It's just like the moment in Vale Decem when you know Ten's regeneration is starting.
     • Tauriel_ says:

       March 31, 2011 at 3:21 am

       It's a gorgeous theme, I love the slow waltzy rhythm. It fits perfectly with the Provençal setting. Overall this series has had some amazingly beautiful pieces of music, it's probably my favourite of all NuWho series, music-wise.

       There's also another gorgeous piece of music in one of the later episodes, but I'll get to it when we get to it. 😉
   • syntheticjesso says:

     April 3, 2011 at 2:25 am

     I don't care if it may be unpopular, I LOVED hearing Athlete in this episode. I <3 Athlete so much.
9. monkeybutter says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:32 pm

   EEEE, chat review!

   My god, I adore this episode. “Vincent and the Doctor” was beautiful — even if it was a little gloopy and sentimental. I was so excited to see Bill Nighy! And the cinematography and art direction were amazing; honestly, all of series 5 has been gorgeous, but this took the cake. It was such a sweet appreciation of human life, and I love what the Doctor said at the end: “The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.”

   I can’t list everything I liked, but I’ll sure as heck try. Amy giddily bouncing around in the background when the Doctor pointed out Vincent was adorable and sweet. And it was great that Van Gogh had Scottish accent, because hey, Scottish is a little more harder and Germanic-sounding, like Dutch, so it kinda works! Amy seems lonelier, but still somewhat hopeful, so there has been a subtle change in her behavior, and the Doctor seems to feel guilty about Rory. He said that he would only use the sonic screwdriver on screws; was that because of what he said about it being a weapon in the last episode? Is he hesitant to use it in that capacity? I loved the clunky old tech the Doctor used, too. I also think Van Gogh’s depression was handled pretty well; while there was a separate “madness” that allowed him to see the monster — because he was alone, too? because he sees things that others can’t? — his depression was still very real, and wasn’t magically undone by good feelings and knowledge of his future appreciation. The space chicken aspects of the story were a bit clumsy, but I didn’t mind it because I loved everything else.

   I was already tearing up during the scene with the three of them in the field, but I couldn’t stop crying as soon as I realized that the Doctor was going to take Vincent to the future. I could barely see the screen during Nighy’s wonderfully delivered encomium, and I’m glad I’m typing this up beforehand, because I’m starting to cry again. Tony Curran was amazing, and Karen and Matt were pretty fabulous, too. I felt awful for Amy when she found out that while she had made an impact, it wasn’t enough to entirely change history (I’d like some ultimate gingers, thanks). Doing good might not always get the results you want, but it’s still worthwhile to be kind and travel through time helping people. I just wish Rory’s death had had an emotional impact on me similar to that of Van Gogh’s life. Great writers make a helluva difference.
   • monkeybutter says:

     March 30, 2011 at 1:49 pm

     Okay, now that I've managed to read it all:

     1) I want to join your Wittily Sauntering Bow Tie Party;

     2) I totally forgot to mention the humor in this episode, and how I was laughing through tears because it is so good;

     3) SO MUCH FOR NOT CRYING AGAIN.

     I looooove this episode!

     <img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/2rzwjfd.gif"&gt;
10. Karen says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    True fact: Today I went to the National Gallery and saw several of Van Gogh’s paintings, including one of his paintings of sunflowers, so I feel like this episode was timed perfectly! Haha. Also, I was there with an English friend of mind and each time I persisted in pronouncing Van Gogh the American way, she kept muttering the British pronunciation under her breath. WHATEVER WHATEVER. THE AMERICAN WAY >>>> THE BRITISH WAY.

    I have a pretty bad cold right now and I spent the whole day out shopping and in museums, so I’m kind of exhausted and a bit feverish, and thus this comment is likely to not be all that coherent.

    To be honest, the first time I saw this episode, I didn’t love it. I was not in the best mood due to RL stuff when I sat down to watch the episode and idk. I just didn’t love it. But I have grown to love it on subsequent viewings.

    I love that moment where the Doctor says “Amy, Rory” because he’s so used to both of them being there. And I like the moment when Amy is sad and can’t remember why because OMG OBLIQUE REFERENCE TO RORY. I WILL TAKE WHAT I CAN GET.

    I think that far and away the best thing about the episode, is the way that it shows that there isn’t a quick fix to depression. It won’t just disappear because of one good experience. I love that the episode doesn’t shy away from that. The last 10 minutes of this episode are really extremely moving. I start getting a bit choked up when Vincent is just so happy to see that people love his artwork because it’s true that he was never appreciated while he was alive. But I really lose it when Amy breaks down over the fact that they didn’t manage to save his life. I think that I can relate to that the most, actually. Because while I haven’t struggled with clinical depression, my sister has battled it for many years, so I know that feeling of wanting SO BADLY to help someone you love who is in a place like that, but it just feels like there is nothing you can do. It’s an awful kind of powerlessness, and I really understood how Amy felt in that moment. And with that comes this guilt because you think that if you said the right thing or did the right thing then you would be able to help them, but you feel like you’re failing and you blame yourself.

    Also, BILL NIGHY IS IN THIS EPISODE. Lol. A friend of mine awarded him the Triple Crown of British Acting for this because with his role as Scrimgeour in Deathly Hallows, Bill Nighy officially appeared in Love Actually, Doctor Who AND Harry Potter aka all the quintessentially British films/TV shows.

    Anyway, in conclusion, this episode is great and I’m off to curl up in my bed and bemoan my fate of having a cold and try to remember a time when I could breathe through my nose.
    • leighzzz31 says:

      March 30, 2011 at 1:55 pm

      THE AMERICAN WAY >>>> THE BRITISH WAY
      I agree and I'm British. I piss people off when I say his name. But van Goff sounds awful!
      • ldwy says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:26 pm

        Hahaha, I actually was totally unaware that the British pronounce Van Gogh differently from the Americans. Van Goff was new to me.

        So. Does anyone know the Dutch pronunciation? I wiki'd Van Gogh, and there was a little audio file for the Dutch pronunciation…it was something like Van Hough, with the gh at the end a little swallowed. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3…
        • mkjcaylor says:

          March 30, 2011 at 5:22 pm

          It was completely new to me, too. I was distracted by it the entire first time I watched this episode. But yea, I'm glad to find out we are all wrong. I thought somehow the British were right and the Americans were wrong! (Especially since the Doctor was pronouncing it Goff!)
      • notemily says:

        May 19, 2011 at 10:29 pm

        Also, when you say it the British way, you can't use it in a joke! Like, "why do you step on Degas? to make the Van Gogh!"
    • Starsea28 says:

      March 30, 2011 at 1:58 pm

      WHATEVER WHATEVER. THE AMERICAN WAY >>>> THE BRITISH WAY.

      And yet NEITHER of them are correct. 😛

      The Correct Way To Pronounce Van Gogh

      A Dutch member said on LJ that at least the American way follows standard English pronunciation rules. The British way sounds like we're trying and getting it wrong any way! *lol*
    • thisyearsgirl says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:00 pm

      WHATEVER WHATEVER. THE AMERICAN WAY >>>> THE BRITISH WAY.

      It doesn't much matter, really, since nobody on earth can pronounce it correctly except The Dutch! Where I'm from we say Fann Gogg, which isn't even remotely close either 😛
    • who_cares86 says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:04 pm

      "WHATEVER WHATEVER. THE AMERICAN WAY >>>> THE BRITISH WAY."

      Huh hem…The Dutch way >>>>> Any other way.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLTQv8RH1TE
      • Minish says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:16 pm

        To be fair, the American way may be wrong, but it sounds much prettier.

        I almost choked up a lung trying to pronounce it the actual way.
        • who_cares86 says:

          March 30, 2011 at 2:19 pm

          Well there's a reason Dutch is considered one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn for an outsider. Mind you Stephen Fry ain't doing too bad.
          • Tauriel_ says:

            March 31, 2011 at 3:25 am

            I'll see your Dutch and raise you Slavic languages. 😉 Because while in Dutch it might be hard to get the pronunciation right, Slavic languages have extremely difficult grammar (they're all inflected languages, unlike English). It's very hard to even get to the basic conversational level. Compared to that, English is ridiculously easy to learn for a foreigner.
            • who_cares86 says:

              March 31, 2011 at 8:18 am

              It's not just the pronunciation Dutch spelling and grammatica is also notoriously difficult.
    • acciochapstick says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:28 pm

      I'm a bit envious of your National Gallery trip as exactly one year ago today, I was there looking at Sunflowers. Sadness. I want to go back to London!
      • Karen says:

        March 30, 2011 at 11:58 pm

        I love the National Gallery! I am a huge fan of art museums in general, so I try to make it down to the National Gallery once every few months just to wander around for a bit. London is an EXCELLENT city. I love living here, even if it is ridiculously expensive.
    • burritosaurus says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:40 pm

      I love that your comment is spawning a huge discussion on the pronunciation on Van Gogh's name! I had a British art teacher who pronounced it the British way (duh) but sort of coughed it out really quickly so it wound up sounding a little closer to the Dutch.
    • thiamalonee says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:41 pm

      Karen! I went to the National Gallery when I was in London for SB a couple weeks ago. My cousin was taking secret (non-flash) photos, and when we got to the sunflowers painting, I was just like "this one! take a photo of this one!" I felt like my trip was revolved around how many things I could relate to Dr. Who.
    • herdivineshadow says:

      March 31, 2011 at 3:12 pm

      each time I persisted in pronouncing Van Gogh the American way, she kept muttering the British pronunciation under her breath. WHATEVER WHATEVER. THE AMERICAN WAY >>>> THE BRITISH WAY.

      I may be a geek, but THE KLINGON WAY>>>>ALL OTHER WAYS
    • EmmylovesWho says:

      March 31, 2011 at 5:52 pm

      Richard Curtis was responsible for Love Actually as well wasn't he? I reckon he likes using Nighy
11. arctic_hare says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:34 pm

    If someone were to ask me which episode of Doctor Who is the most important to me, I would answer, with no hesitation whatsoever, that it is this one, Vincent and the Doctor. Not only is it a singularly amazing episode, in a series full of gems, but it is also the one that convinced me to start watching the show in general, from the beginning. I've got a bad track record of starting shows and not finishing them even when I like them (it's why I've completed so few animes), so I was wary of getting into this even though it sounded very much like my kind of thing. But then I caught the second half of this episode, and afterwards… well, the rest is history, isn't it? I watched it all from the beginning, even more quickly than you did, Mark, and wound up here after becoming. I have this episode to thank, then, for bringing me into this fandom.

    Of course, it wouldn't have worked so well if it wasn't an extraordinary episode in and of itself, would it? It is, though. Oh so very much. To me, it's the single best "meet a historical figure" episode of the show. I mean, sure, the others are fun; but this is the one that stays with me the most. That moves me the most. IMO, it blows the rest of them out of the water. I've watched it so many times, and every time I do, it makes me cry. Even now, thinking about the ending makes me want to start crying… but I'm getting way, way ahead of myself.

    I've seen a complaint levelled at the start of this episode that Amy's happiness at being taken to the Musee d'Orsay is OOC, inconsistent with her boredom in the opening of Time of Angels. It might appear that way on the surface, but I think when examined more closely with regards to context, it is not so. Firstly, the museum in the beginning of that episode didn't look like one she'd be terribly interested in. The visit there was also not intended in any way for Amy's enjoyment: she was ready to see an alien planet, while the Doctor was more interested in keeping score. The Musee d'Orsay, on the other hand, is an art museum. We have seen already from Amy's Doctor fanart and fancrafts that she is the artistic sort, which makes it even more likely that she has an interest in it in general, and so it's not unbelievable to me that she'd have a favorite artist and want to visit this museum. Heck, I'm artistically challenged and I would love to visit it, particularly after watching this episode. So, there you have it. 😀

    I find that I greatly dislike the way Van Gogh is treated a lot of time in fiction: usually he's just a pop culture reference, in my experience, the butt of a joke about the ear incident. He's so often reduced to just that, without much regard for his incredible body of work. But here he's a person, treated with so much respect and love and sensitivity, by Richard Curtis and by the Doctor and Amy. I love the way they react to first seeing him in the cafe, it reaches new heights of adorable even for them, and even more than that I love the dynamic between Vincent and Amy. She treats him with such kindness and enthusiasm for his work, and is flirty with him, and it's easy to see that that means the world to him, a man who is accustomed to being treated with scorn. But even better than that, she too views him as a person, whom she cares about, and in the end, it's not the lack of new paintings to look at and admire that upsets her so, it's what that lack means: that Vincent still took his own life at a young age, and didn't live a long, full, happy life. She wanted him to live and be happy, and the knowledge that he didn't, that he continued to suffer and chose to end it – that is what breaks her heart. That's why she's so devastated that the Doctor was right. I've seen people bash Amy because she supposedly just wanted to see more paintings, and frankly I think it's a ridiculous criticism, one that really rankles me. It ignores the real cause of her sadness over his short life, and even if part of her did want to see more new paintings: is that such a terrible thing? Is it so horrible to wish that someone whose work moved and inspired you could have done more, to think that the world would be all the richer for it? Perhaps it's a little selfish, but I don't see any evil in it. I think it's natural. But maybe that's because I can relate (more keenly now than ever before), and I don't think I'm alone in that.

    (cont)
    • arctic_hare says:

      March 30, 2011 at 1:34 pm

      At the heart of the episode, bringing such wonderful, vivid life to Vincent, is Tony Curran's magnificent performance. He doesn't just look like Van Gogh, he truly becomes him in this episode. There are so many great guest stars in this show, but I think he may be my favorite of all. He portrays him so perfectly, expressing flawlessly the highs and lows of Vincent's psyche, giving him real warmth and heart. I believed in him, and I can't imagine anyone else in this role. The casting department knew their stuff when they selected him. I honestly can't imagine anyone else doing so well; his performance has such an intensity, such emotion, I'm always drawn in so deeply when I watch him, and I feel his emotions right along with him, at every turn. I can't praise him enough.

      I've seen a lot of mocking of the Krafayis, a lot of statements that the monster plot wasn't too important, wasn't great, etc. I've never thought, though, that the point of it was to function as a scary monster plot. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. The scariest monsters, as we all know, are within, the inner demons we struggle with every day. They cannot be seen by outsiders looking only at our surfaces; and if they do catch a glimpse, we are misunderstood. We become the misunderstood monster. The Krafayis is a physical embodiment of this: the monster that cannot be seen, that is misunderstood by all around it. Frightened, it lashes out, and hurts others, just as the frightened villagers lash out and hurt Vincent; as we know he will hurt himself. And just like our inner monsters can make us blind to things around us, the literal monster here that cannot be seen itself cannot see. Vincent alone, with his ability to perceive the world differently from others, can see it unaided. He can see, also, the pain that lurks within Amy's subconscious mind. Her conscious mind cannot remember Rory's loss, but deep within, she senses her loss and grieves him terribly. As Dumbledore once said, the dead we loved never truly leave us, and Rory, though erased from existence, has never once left Amy. Deep inside her heart and mind, he haunts her; her body responds with tears that she is unaware of until Vincent points them out to her. Vincent knows not what she has lost, but he can sense the sorrow within her, just as he can see the beast that no one else can. Her seemingly carefree surface tells a story that is incomplete, but we know the rest of her narrative, as does the Doctor, and on some level Vincent.

      The Doctor is able to see the Krafayis as well – but only through a mirror. More than once throughout this series, we have examined the two sides of the Doctor's nature: the kindness above, and the beast below. Eleven is quite kind, especially to children, but there is also a greater emotional distance than ever before between him and humans, he is more alien than he was previously. He was unable, for instance, to comfort Amy the way that she needed in Amy's Choice, when Rory died in the dreamworld. The TARDIS dream reflected his self-awareness of that aspect of his personality. And of course, as he is still the Doctor, as he has not lost any memory of all those nine hundred plus years, as we are well aware from many of his adventures, he has a darker side within, underneath the wackiness and kindness. The mirror allows him to see a very physical invisible monster… just as the Doctor himself surely sees one whenever he looks at other mirrors. Just as we ourselves often see them within our own reflections. The episode also, as the title suggests, mirrors the Doctor and Vincent: they both see the world differently from others, are "mad" men (with a box and a paint brush, respectively), have rather odd personalities, etc. Perhaps it is for this reason that Eleven is able to provide comfort to Vincent (eventually) and the dying Krafayis. He understands them, connects with them, in a way that he is not able to to with others. He, like Vincent, knows how it will end, and that it will not end well (and as a note, I find this to be a much better way of handling the inability to change something in history than simply having the Doctor tell us that such and such event is a fixed point in time; it works better, I think, when the inevitable is as a result of human nature, and when examined so movingly), so he is not sure at first what to say to him when Vincent is suffering in his room, is aware that his words are not enough (because all too often words simply cannot be enough), but later on he gives him the exactly the sort of gift that was most meaningful and perfect for him: the trip to the Musee d'Orsay to see his exhibit, the chance to hear a fan of his work say such lovely things about him.

      (cont)
      • barnswallowkate says:

        March 30, 2011 at 3:10 pm

        Why can't I upvote this more than once? What a great comment.
12. arctic_hare says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    This is a large part of why I find Eleven's alienness so fascinating as well as amusing and endearing. He's not so great with humans, and not so human as the Doctor's past incarnation, but he's very good with aliens and "monsters", and I love the continuing examination of him in this way. We saw in Ten's run, particularly in Waters of Mars, just how monstrous our hero could be. One must often be a monster in order to be a hero (just ask any of the classic heroes of myth and legend), and Eleven is having to deal with that internally as this series goes on; the echoes of what he discovered about himself in his previous incarnation still resonate within him. As Amy did, he must reconcile these two aspects of himself. It's a subtle character arc, but most definitely there, and it's like candy to me.

    I found the scene where he tried to talk to the Krafayis and befriend it very moving; same with what he starts to say to Vincent about depression outside the church. Eleven understands how depression works (more on that when I get to the ending), and he sees the beauty within the "beast"; he treats Vincent not as a monster, but as a human being who is simply different from everyone else, not bad, and his treatment of the Krafayis reflects this as well. He initially sees it as nothing more than a monster, but even still he attempts to speak to it in a way that doesn't patronize it, attempts to create a bond, and is kind and gentle to it in its last moments. Winning truly isn't fun at all here, not for any of them. It's a quietly wrenching moment.

    However, as if to ease that sting, immediately following it is one of the most beautiful scenes in the entire run of the show.

    <img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2h3dm46.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">

    Really, the entire episode is a feast for the eyes, a visual standout even in this, by far the prettiest series so far. There are so many shots, so many sets, that are taken straight from Van Gogh's paintings, and the effect is breathtaking. There's a reason this episode dominated the answers to the "Prettiest Scene" question on the "Thirty Days of Who" meme we did over at the spoiler blog. A damn good reason. Everything in the episode is lovely to look at, but I think I'd probably pick this specific scene, the Starry Night scene, as my favorite as far as "most beautiful" goes. Not just for the amazing visuals of the night sky transforming into his iconic painting, but because of Vincent's words.

    "Hold my hand, Doctor. Try to see what I see. We're so lucky we're still alive to see this beautiful world. Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue. And over there! Lighter blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the winds swirling through the air. And there shining, burning, bursting through, the stars! Can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes."

    "I’ve seen many things, my friend, but you’re right: nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see."

    Tears. Tears every time. For lack of a better term, it simply overwhelms me.

    When I first watched this episode, it was only the second half of it that I caught, as I said at the beginning of this review, and I didn't know too much about the show in general. But that didn't matter. None of that made a difference. I was still incredibly moved by the Starry Night scene, and I cried when Vincent listened to Dr. Black voice his opinion on his work, unaware that the artist he so admired was standing there listening. And I've cried every time since.

    (cont)
    • arctic_hare says:

      March 30, 2011 at 1:35 pm

      What makes me cry the most though, what's bringing me close to tears again as I write this, is the very end, when they return to the Musee d'Orsay and find that one good day was not enough to save Vincent from himself, that he still killed himself. It isn't just because of the acting of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, though they are wonderful here. It isn't just because of Murray Gold's music, though "With Love, Vincent" always reduces me to a weeping mess when I simply listen to it outside the episode. It's a combination of those things as well, but mainly it's because of what the Doctor says to Amy when she laments that they didn't make a difference in Vincent's life.

      "I wouldn't say that. The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant."

      I can't stop myself crying when I hear those words, even just writing them like this. I've never been officially diagnosed with depression or any other mental illness, never even seen anyone that could – but I've struggled with what I'm certain is some form of it, for years. This episode is, in parts, especially this part, intensely painful to watch, because I know the truth of those words and of what this episode in general says about depression; I can see myself and things I've felt and experienced in Vincent here. But it's also beautiful in that pain, because it is so honest and respectful. The episode takes an unflinching look at the reality of depression, and what it does to someone, and how hard it was for Vincent personally. Some shows would have gone the cheap and easy route of having that one good day be enough to fix everything, but it doesn't work like that in reality and it doesn't work like that here. I appreciate that realism, that honesty. And yet, we are also left with the message that the pile of good things wasn't meaningless or unimportant. Which is also true. Emotions are never a zero-sum game, particularly when one has to add depression to the mix, and this episode acknowledges and deals with that in a way that is both harshly honest and yet life-affirming at the same time, reminding us that all the good things aren't for nothing, that they do mean something. It's so bittersweet, and wrenching, and yet also comforting and cathartic for me. I think it's a wonderful, incredible portrayal of both Vincent and depression, and it will always, always be so important to me in so many ways. I love it so much, and I hope I've been able to adequately express that love in this review, because it just means so much to me. I needed this episode, and it feels like a gift to me.

      Obligatory list of things I love that didn't quite fit into the review proper –

      – Hooray for (uncredited) Bill Nighy cameo!

      – Roryyyyyyyyyyyyyy. 🙁 I'm glad he hasn't been forgotten, but it makes me sad to hear the Doctor say his name. And like I said above, poor Amy: she's subconsciously mourning him.

      – It was really neat for me to watch the Confidential for this episode, specifically the part where Tony Curran went to the Getty Museum in L.A. It was cool enough to see him looking at an actual Van Gogh painting, but the particular one they have is one of my personal favorites of his work: the Irises painting. It's such a beautiful painting, and irises are my favorite flower.

      – "He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world…"

      I intensely love that line, it resonates with me so much. Because it's true. Because I connect with it and it fits with the place I've reached in my own fiction preferences and writing style. And because it also sums up the episode itself, so that the episode really and truly feels like it's honoring Van Gogh and his work, rather than just being about him.
      • Tauriel_ says:

        March 30, 2011 at 1:59 pm

        Arctic_hare, I love you. Beautiful, fantastic, amazing, awesome review. I agree with every single sentence of it. *standing ovation*
      • echinodermata says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:05 pm

        This and Amy's Choice were the two reviews of yours I was most eager to read, and you don't let me down, and I love your brain and you make me want to hear your opinion on everything since I think you express them well. Just, perfect.

        "Not just for the amazing visuals of the night sky transforming into his iconic painting, but because of Vincent's words."

        We do as a fandom spend a lot of time discussing how visually impressive this episode is, but it truly is also astoundingly memorable for some of the dialogue. Just, THIS EPISODE!
      • E.L.S.O.S says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:09 pm

        All the plus ones in the world would not do these comments justice. You have captured the essence of wonder and made it even more beautiful to behold.
      • pandalilies says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:10 pm

        Thank you for another lovely in-depth analysis.
        Always a bonus. <3
      • psycicflower says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:14 pm

        Amazing review is amazing.
      • NB2000 says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:38 pm

        <img src="http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq100/nebula908/Gifs/BeingHuman/2ecelo5.gif"&gt;

        <img src="http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq100/nebula908/Gifs/DoctorWho/25qys2d.gif">for you, for this review.
        • burritosaurus says:

          March 30, 2011 at 2:43 pm

          Best two hugs ever.
      • @anagenesis4E says:

        March 30, 2011 at 4:31 pm

        All the upvotes for you.

        This is an amazing review.
      • swimmingtrunks says:

        March 30, 2011 at 7:50 pm

        I'm glad I really didn't have time to read your comment before now, because basically you took most of the words right out of my mouth, and said them better. That is some top-notch stuff there, and you should feel good about it.
      • __Jen__ says:

        March 30, 2011 at 7:57 pm

        I LOVE YOU, ARCTIC_HARE. <3
      • lunylucy says:

        March 30, 2011 at 11:04 pm

        Great write-up! <3
        Also, I don't usually watch the Confidentials so I had no idea there was a trip to the Getty involved! I go there often and the Impressionist room where Van Gogh's paintings are displayed is definitely one of my favorite places there.
      • notemily says:

        May 19, 2011 at 11:18 pm

        Man, I'm several weeks late to this review, but just the COMMENTS here are making me tear up. Wonderful comments from everybody on this one.
13. ldwy says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    Weird…I could only find this by manually typing it into the address bar. I assume it'll show up all the way later.

    I really really liked this episode. Sure it was kind of dorky, but I always love seeing the Doctor turn into a historical figures fanboy. It's awesome.

    Plus, I know once I talked with some lovely Markwatches fans in the comments of a Fringe liveblog about The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns.
    Well.
    Van Gogh is SEAN DEVINE!!!!!
    The actor is Tony Curran. I didn't even realize right away. I was staring at Vincent and staring at Vincent. I knew I knew the actor. And I could not for the life of me place him. And so I had to look him up and I was AMAZED AND EXCITED. 🙂
    • ldwy says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:31 pm

      Haha, I realize now I was SOOOOOOOOOOOO late to the loving-this-episode-and-loving-Tony-Curran-and-loving-his-portrayal party.
    • ldwy says:

      March 30, 2011 at 8:27 pm

      Okay, it's so late now I assume no one is going to see this, but I meant to post it yesterday and forgot, so I must post it now and that's that.

      We have had two MLotL sightings in a row!!!
      In yesterday's episode, "Cold Blood," Eldane was…
      get this…
      UNCLE JENTEE!!! The Butter Spirit!!!
      It was the same situation…I'm staring at this face and staring at this face, and then I realize who it is!!! But I have no idea of the actor, so I looked him up. His name is Stephen Moore.

      Possibly no one is as excited by this as I, probably, in fact, but I DON'T CARE. The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns was a huge part of my childhood, and I love it. 🙂
14. Araniapriime says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    Yes. This. <3 <3
15. enigmaticagentscully says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:38 pm

    This episode makes me cry every time.
    I’m an aspiring artist myself, and that scene at the end…Vincent finding out that his work MEANT something, not just to him, but to others too. That it inspired people and stood the test of time – and that, despite all he went through, his art was seen as some of the greatest that has ever been.
    I don’t care how cheesy it is, that is freaking BEAUTIFUL.

    It reminds me of the Doctor telling Charles Dickens that his work will be forever remembered, way back in season 1. Though this hit me harder I guess, because I’m not a novelist and because Dickens was popular when he was alive too…

    There are so many people who I just *wish* I could go back in time and tell them that it is all worth it, that they made a difference, even if no-one appreciates it during their lifetime.
    That, to me, is what time travel is all about, and I’m so glad the Doctor bent the rules, just this once, to bring joy to someone who so badly deserved it.
16. Anon says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    Unpopular opinion the first minute ruined this episode for me. The Doctor " I know evil when i see it" that line really pisses me off. Saying someone or something is evil is the laziest kind of storytelling there is. And since when does the man who continually tries to save the daleks look at a giant chicken and decide yep that must be evil, the daleks and davros are just misguided.
    • xpanasonicyouthx says:

      March 30, 2011 at 1:48 pm

      Haha what? How can that ruin the whole episode?

      Also I think Davros is pretty darn evil.
      • Anon says:

        March 30, 2011 at 1:54 pm

        I know it shouldn't but every time i hear that line it pisses me off. I expect more than to be told something is evil without any reasoning and it turns out the giant chicken wasn't even evil! That said i was very impressed with Tony Curran would like to see him in more things.
    • Stephen_M says:

      March 30, 2011 at 1:52 pm

      Just something to think about… the Doctor is WRONG in what he says. It's not evil, just old and frightened and abandoned and alone. Granted also vicious killer but still, not evil. If he hadn't had made that assumption the 'winning is no fun' line wouldn't have had the impact it did.
      • Anon says:

        March 30, 2011 at 1:58 pm

        Yeah i know he's wrong but there was still no need to say that line. I haven't seen all of classic who but i don't think i've ever heard the Doctor describe something as evil it just seem so out of place for him. I know it was just something to use as an excuse to see Van Gogh but they didn''t need an excuse cause it's Vincent Van Gogh.
        • nyssaoftraken74 says:

          March 31, 2011 at 3:57 am

          Actually, I can think of half a dozen exmaples of the Doctor labelling something `evil` in Classic Who without even trying. It is true that RTD's Doctor Who shied away from that, but I think I can forgive the usage in this case.
    • @Nycteridae says:

      March 31, 2011 at 5:13 am

      "There are some corners of the universe that have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything that we believe in. They must be fought!" –the Second Doctor, in, I think, Power of the Daleks? I also remember him calling stuff evil.

      Eleven is modeled a lot on Two (and Two is Matt Smith's Doctor) so I can see why there'd be a similarity. And, as pointed out, the Doctor thinking something is evil doesn't make him *right*. The fact that he was wrong in this case is the furthest thing from "lazy storytelling."
17. Minish says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    I have no idea how on earth I could possibly explain to you my feelings in words. I hope these gifs are apposite:

    <img src=http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj2/Zin23/AmericanIdolGirlCrying.gif>

    <img src=http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i435/Roguewave3/GleeHeatherYes.gif>

    I think that sums it up nicely.
    • pandalilies says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:02 pm

      Oh no! Bandwidth exceeded!
18. Kaci says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:45 pm

    Haters to the left, Mark (and Kasper), because I have missed your chat reviews! This is easily one of my favorite episodes of the entire series and I was so prepared to hate it after losing Rory in the previous episode (because a universe without Rory is NOT ONE I WANT TO BE A PART OF, OKAY) and it just smacked me on the side of the face with perfection. As someone who battled depression and suicide in my teens, this episode speaks to me on SO MANY LEVELS. That moment where Vincent cries while looking at his paintings in the museum is BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND HEARTBREAKING.

    Major applause for all three actors in this. Each one of the nailed it. And absolutely AMAZING writing.
19. Maya says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:45 pm

    This whole episode is just…wonderful. Richard Curtis pls to write every episode, yes?

    Hipster!Doctor thread now?
20. kaybee42 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:45 pm

    I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT EDGE POLICE IS MEANT TO MEAN AND I LOLLED!
    Question: what is 'edge police' meant to mean?
    and I HAVE THE PILE OF GOOD THINGS BAD THINGS SPEECH ON MY WALL 🙂
    This episode. just. This episode.
    • keepthepunkrock says:

      March 30, 2011 at 1:48 pm

      haha, mark is straight edge (meaning he doesn't smoke, drink, or do drugs), and we joke about there being an "edge police" that goes after people who do those things. so they're going to come after mark because he said he'd "break edge" (ie drink alcohol) for amy pond 😛

      also I LOVE THE PILE OF GOOD THINGS SPEECH <3 <i>the doctor understands
      • MowerOfLorn says:

        March 30, 2011 at 3:56 pm

        Ah, the review now makes far more sense!
        • mkjcaylor says:

          March 30, 2011 at 5:26 pm

          Yes it does, doesn't it! I hadn't heard that before either.
      • xynnia says:

        June 12, 2011 at 9:39 am

        Thanks for clearing that up 😀 Hooray for Mark! I'm straight edge too =3
21. Danielle says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:46 pm

    All of the tears FOREVER.
22. elusivebreath says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire show. I always love the historical episodes, because they are almost always about someone that I adore (Shakespeare and Agatha Christie FTW). Van Gogh, on the other hand, I know next to nothing about, even though The Starry Night is basically my favorite painting ever. And yet, this episode made me care so much about him.

    Like others have said, this episode was so beautiful! The colors, the lighting, it really is the *prettiest* episode I think we've seen. At the end, when Vincent, Amy and the Doctor are holding hands and looking at the night sky, that was absolutely BRILLIANT. FABULOUS.

    And at the museum, when Vincent got to see his work fully appreciated … I cried like a BABY. Overall, this is one of the better episodes of the series, and the show in general, IMO.

    Also, chat review FTW 😀
23. nanceoir says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    Aw, a chat log with Kasper! Good times, good times. 🙂

    This is a seriously amazing episode that I'm sure others will write much more eloquently about, but I just wanted to mentioned something I noticed while listening to the Series 5 soundtrack (and subsequently watching this episode). The music Murray Gold writes for when Vincent first steps into the TARDIS: it totally sounds like Jawas are rollin' up in their sandcrawlers and want to make you a deal on some robots… right? It's not just me and my brother who hear it? (Oh god, oh god, tell me someone else hears it.) 😀
24. liliaeth says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    I have to say, I'm not a fan of chat transcripts. I tend to think they miss the whole meaning of an ep. They're annoying to read and quite simply just not all that interesting.

    So I have to say I was seriously disappointed to see you decided to do one for the ep I most looked forward to see you reviewing. Since this just happens to be my favorite ep of New Who.
    • nyssaoftraken74 says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:00 pm

      I'm thumbing you up because you are entitled to express your opinion without being thumbed down.
    • Ellen says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:13 pm

      Agreed.
    • ihavetoknow says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:30 pm

      I agree and hope people don't continue to vote you down for it (honestly, people!). I find them hard to read and follow and full of random tangents, which is fine for some episodes, but not for this one.
      • Jaxx_zombie says:

        April 2, 2011 at 3:36 pm

        How do you end up with -47?
    • CJBadwolf says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:58 pm

      Right there with you liliaeth. While I liked the reveal of plot points in simulated real-time, it doesn't make up for the distracting format and the sort of…well, disappointment of sorting through the kind of friendship-reaffirming-but-completely-inane chatter that's usually private between friends and rightfully so. It's good, it's honest, it's healthy, it's true…and it's dreadful to sift through as an outsider.

      Just one fellow's opinion, Mark is under no requirement to write for me specifically, and it isn't like I'd quit reading Mark Watches if it were to continue.
    • t09yavorski says:

      March 30, 2011 at 5:02 pm

      I agree only because there seemed to be an unwarrented number of keysmashes. I can understand this episode was awesome and Mark was in a public place so he had to contain himself somehow but they are hard to read around.
    • Goldensage says:

      March 30, 2011 at 5:21 pm

      As I said in my comment later, I agree. This is my first time reading a chatline of yours, and though the real-time nature was nice, I'd rather see a normal writeup with bulleted points in the end.

      I enjoy reading through your impressions, Mark. The chat log gives me keysmashes, but not much else. but less overall coherency than your normal reviews. I just got 'omg this episode is awesome' from it. Which is great, but you usually add a little more. I like keysmashes, but only as part of your writeup, or the bullets.

      I'd really like to hear your thoughts in a writeup for the rest of the season – I get more of your reaction, and that's why I read this blog. Because I enjoy seeing the reactions of someone who is NEVER PREPARED watch through my favorite shows.
    • GrrSong! says:

      March 30, 2011 at 5:43 pm

      I agree. All I get from chat transcript are capital letters, non-sentences, and keyboard smashes, with a number of "omg"s thrown in for good measure. It tells me absolutely nothing about the episode at all, or what Mark thinks about events (other than keyboard smash/omg, which give me no information at all). I value Mark's well thought out reviews very much – they are coherent, intelligent, and a pleasure to read. This? Not at all. A confusing mess.

      On the other hand, Mark isn't doing this for me. He's doing this for himself. And as such has the right to post in whatever form he wants. And long may he continue to do so!
    • afinchwashere says:

      March 31, 2011 at 1:08 am

      Agreeing completely with this – I was looking forward to Mark's insights and thoughts on this episode, and all i got was … keyboard mashes. Mark can obviously do whatever he wants, but it's just terrible that it happened to be for this episode.
25. NB2000 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    YAY IT'S HERE AND YAY YOU LIKED IT OMG YAY!

    I can't even begin to break down my thoughts on this episode, it's just TOO GOOD. TOO BEAUTIFUL. Bless you Richard Curtis please come back and write MOAR EPISODES!

    This episode was also filmed in Croatia along with Vampires of Venice and it looks GORGEOUS. There's something about the outdoor scenes, in Vincent's garden and on the road to the church that look almost like a film rather than a television show. The use of colour is really lovely, the sunflowers on the casket in the pale landscape, the irises in the vase during the first fight with the Krafayis. Most of all, the Starry Night scene. So beautiful and poignant:
    <img src="http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq100/nebula908/Gifs/DoctorWho/Starry-Night.gif"&gt;

    Tony Curran is amazing, seriously wonderful throughout the episode. He looks so much like Vincent, really good match. I love every second of him with Amy and part of me does wish she could have stayed and married him because HOW CUTE ARE THEY?!

    Over-sharing personal moment: the BBC ran a "If you have been affected by the issues in this episode please visit *website*" voiceover during the end credits and I very seriously considered doing just that.
    Dr. Black's (OMG BILL NIGHY HI!) speech about "Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world – no-one had ever done it before. Perhaps no-one ever will again." had me in floods of tears and still does every time I rewatch.
    • thefireandthehearth says:

      March 30, 2011 at 1:53 pm

      Oh god that gif. RIGHT-CLICK SAVE!
    • psycicflower says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:44 pm

      I love that channels offer phonelines and website information after episodes like this to help people with similar issues. I think it's a great thing to do.
      • NB2000 says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:47 pm

        ITA, especially for this episode. Like I said I was very tempted to check the website after watching.
26. Albion19 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:49 pm

    So, so happy that you loved this! And for the record I love these kind of reviews!
27. thisyearsgirl says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:49 pm

    This is one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who ever, I love it so much <3 It's also the only episode of DW that ever made me cry, and not just once either – every time I watch it the tears start flowing.

    It basically renewed my interest in S5 too, which after 4 (imo) boring episodes in a row was losing me rather quickly.
28. who_cares86 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:50 pm

    Tony Curran. BEST GUEST STAR EVER. End of. Seriously where did they find this guy. It's hard enough to find someone who can act their socks off, or looks just like Van Gogh but to find both qualities in the same man. Thumbs up for the casting department and a field of sunflowers for Tony.

    Also compliments to Richard Curtis and the production team for not skirting around Van Gogh's mental condition. This episode is the only Doctor Who episode ever followed by a "If you've been affected by the issues raised in the programm call this number." notice and that's right. There's no reason Doctor Who can't be used to raise awareness. Whether it's for something relatively harmless like dyslexia or something serious like depression and mental issues.
    • ldwy says:

      March 30, 2011 at 8:38 pm

      I agree so so so much. I couldn't believe how much Tony Curran looked like Van Gogh, initially, but what blew me away very quickly was his amazing portrayal of a very complicated individual that we all have some degree of knowledge and preconceived notions about. That's a real feat, and I was truly impressed and moved by the performance.

      Seriously where did they find this guy.
      The only other thing I've seen him in, he was a snarky leprechaun version of Mercutio. No lies.
29. burritosaurus says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    THIS

    Kasper!: BOWTIE SOLIDARITY
    Mark Oshiro: IT’S LIKE A POLITICAL PARTY OF BOW TIES
    Mark Oshiro: where they just saunter about and be witty

    is why I love you and Kasper and wish that I could listen to all of your conversations forever.
    • ldwy says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:35 pm

      Hahahaha, oh my gosh, me too. We can be the ultimate eavesdroppers. Yes, please.
      • burritosaurus says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:45 pm

        We'll just need a TARDIS and an invisibility cloak and probably some popcorn. Oh, and extendable ears, maybe.
        • ldwy says:

          March 30, 2011 at 2:47 pm

          Oh, well if that's all….Let's get going 🙂
30. TropeGirl says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    Oh god. I love this episode. So much. For how it handles depression (spot on, in my experience of it) and does the Starry Night effect and how it changed my perspective on Van Gogh. I'm in Amsterdam right now and I went to the Van Gogh Museum yesterday (not the one in the episode, so it didn't have Starry Night or anything) and when I walked around, I could hear the music from the episode when Amy saw the updated sunflower painting. Then I actually saw one of the sunflower paintings and I saw his signature where his dedication to Amy was and I just felt so moved. This is why I love Doctor Who – it enhances my life. And now when I go rewatch the episode, I can go back knowing more about the paintings. Art enhances life, life enhances art. It is so beautiful.

    P.S. I've missed the chat transcripts. Reading your immediate reactions and OMG-ness really made me feel like I was watching with you and seeing your reactions, which is really what makes Mark Reads/Watches great. 😀
31. Aimee says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    Seriously one of the most beautiful episodes of all time and you pick this one to do a chat transcript. 🙁 Really wanted to read one of your usual indepth Who reviews for it.
32. Tauriel_ says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    There are many great and awesome Doctor Who episodes, but "Vincent and the Doctor" is much more than that: It's BEAUTIFUL. There's no other way to describe it. From the way how it portrays mental illness and depression, through the Doctor's brooding on how "sometimes winning is no fun at all", to the Doctor's point how the good things and bad things don't necessarily cancel each other out, it is all pure brilliance. It's one of the very few Doctor Who episodes that made me cry.

    Tony Curran is THE BEST CASTING OF A HISTORICAL CHARACTER EVER. Period. And not only he looks like Van Gogh, he's also a fantastic actor to bring out the complexities of the character.

    The scene where they're lying on the grass and the starry night that transforms into his painting is magical and gorgeous. And the scene at the museum where Vincent hears the curator praise his work is heartthrobbingly beautiful.

    Also:

    Vincent: (pointing to a switch on the TARDIS console) "And that one?"
    Doctor: "That's the friction contrafibulator!"

    I see what you did there, Richard "Blackadder" Curtis! 😀

    Also also:

    I NOW SHIP VINCENT VAN GOGH/AMY POND PAIRING. Who's with me?
    • redheadedgirl says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:02 pm

      ULTIMATE GINGER FOR THE WIN
    • Mary Sue says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:18 pm

      They would have the palest little babies ever who'd get sunburnt under flourescent lights.
      • Tauriel_ says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:34 pm

        But they'd be the gingerest ginger ever! 😀
    • NB2000 says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:54 pm

      Doctor: "That's the friction contrafibulator!"

      I see what you did there, Richard "Blackadder" Curtis! 😀

      <img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/NB2000/LOLCats/Gifs/Untitled-6.gif"&gt;
      HOW DID I NOT GET THAT UNTIL NOW?! It's not like I own two sets of Blackadder DVDs or anything *is dumb*
      • Tauriel_ says:

        March 30, 2011 at 3:44 pm

        Slightly off-topic, but this GIF made me realise that we have to convince Mark to watch and review "The Curse of the Fatal Death". 😀 Because Rowan Atkinson makes a pretty awesome Doctor. <3
        • NB2000 says:

          March 30, 2011 at 3:53 pm

          That sounds like an excellent idea.

          Rowan Atkinson is always awesome IMO.
          • Tauriel_ says:

            March 31, 2011 at 3:42 am

            Well, I'm not too fond of Mr. Bean, but the rest of his stuff is pretty good – and Blackadder is AWESOME and HILARIOUS.

            Also, Blackadder Back and Forth looks weirdly like Doctor Who… 😀 His time machine is pretty similar to the TARDIS. 😛
        • helle says:

          March 31, 2011 at 4:18 am

          YES YES YES Curse of Fatal Death must definitely be watched. We just need to band together on the next episode-voting page.
          …Plus it's only like, 20 minutes long so it's not like it takes too much time out of his life. 20 mintutes of concentrated awesome.
    • nyssaoftraken74 says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:07 pm

      >Vincent: (pointing to a switch on the TARDIS console) "And that one?"
      >Doctor: "That's the friction contrafibulator!"

      >I see what you did there, Richard "Blackadder" Curtis! 😀

      Wow, I've never spotted that! And I call myself a Blackadder fan?
33. Alexander says:

    March 30, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    Want to have your mind completely blown?
    Today is Vincent Van Gogh's birthday!!!!

    Also episode=perfection
34. Gus-Gus says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    Mark Oshiro: THIS IS LIKE THE MOST PERFECT EPISODE OF TV OF ALL TIME

    YES. THIS. Bawled my eyes out. Love this episode-best of TV and certainly the best WHO of all time. I cannot imagine anything being better. Ever.

    Cried a little just reading your transcript. I can't even put into words the love I have for this episode. There are none.
35. pandalilies says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    I'm glad to see this format again!

    Mark: this is easily the best episode of series 5

    I think I agree with you. It gets me every time. EVERY. TIME.
    All the tears forever.
    And his speech at the end? EPIC TEARS.
36. who_cares86 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    Putting this in a seperate post. The actual right way to pronounce Van Gogh in Dutch. Yeah it is fucking difficult for non-natives. Also it has Stephen Fry in it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLTQv8RH1TE
    • ffyona says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:15 pm

      I never knew! So, kind of Hoch (if you pronounce the 'ch' as if you were saying 'Loch') (as if you were saying 'Loch' properly, not 'Lock').
      • who_cares86 says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:43 pm

        Yes it's pronounced like Loch except with a G. The gh doesn't exist in modern dutch so it's pronounced as ch.
    • WingedFlight says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:39 pm

      Oh, neat! When I was in elementary and we learned about him, the teacher pronounced it "Van Go," so when I watched the episode I was so confused at everybody saying "Goff." Turns out both ways are wrong!

      Now I'll just sit here for a bit and practise pronounciation: Van (phlegm)o(morephlegm).
      • Meenalives says:

        March 30, 2011 at 2:49 pm

        I think "Goff" is the standard British pronunciation. I was confused too. I can get pretty close to the right pronunciation (my year of college German at work) but I think I'll stick to van Go, or I'll probably get some funny looks.
    • ihavetoknow says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:39 pm

      Stephen Fry makes every better!
    • VicarPants says:

      March 30, 2011 at 8:20 pm

      Lordie, I have a Dutch surname and the traditional pronunciation has a similar glottal loogie at the end so we never try it out except for shits and giggles among family.

      ETA: SUE PERKINS I NEED MORE OF HER IN MY LIFE.
37. karate0kat says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:10 pm

    This episode is so beautiful, both visually and emotionally. It makes me cry every time, yet also makes me feel really happy. IDEK.

    Oh, BTW, I won't post it because I know Mark doesn't watch trailers and I get why but NEW SERIES 6 TRAILER OUT TODAY AND IT IS FUCKING EPIC LIKE NOTHING ELSE GO WATCH NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • NB2000 says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:57 pm

      My mind has been thoroughly blown by that series 6 trailer. I don't think I've ever been this impatient for Easter.
      • who_cares86 says:

        March 30, 2011 at 3:05 pm

        We are not prepared. I mean how can we be prepared for the series if we weren't even prepared for the trailer.
        • psycicflower says:

          March 30, 2011 at 3:14 pm

          I bet Moffat is sitting at home cackling about our reactions and how unprepared we are.
    • echinodermata says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:18 pm

      <img src="http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee390/echinodermatasonata/tumblr_livw4cpkBU1qc60bxo1_500.jpg"&gt;
      (Source)
      • psycicflower says:

        March 30, 2011 at 3:20 pm

        And then watch it again and again and again and …
      • NB2000 says:

        March 30, 2011 at 3:23 pm

        So so true! *has not stopped freaking out all afternoon/evening*
        • Plummy says:

          March 30, 2011 at 4:23 pm

          FREAKING OUT SO MUCH!
    • @anagenesis4E says:

      March 30, 2011 at 4:43 pm

      Oh god, yes. None of us will be prepared for Season 6.

      *points to echinodermata's post above*
      Still freaking out.
    • Tauriel_ says:

      March 31, 2011 at 3:46 am

      Oh, TOTALLY! I watched it about 5 times in a row, there's so much stuff… it's creepy and epic and looks FANTASTIC.

      We have never been less prepared. Never ever.
38. Starsea28 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:11 pm

    I'm a heretic because I did not cry once in this episode. But I think it is beautiful and important and when it comes to the two piles, it is definitely on top of the pile of good things.

    What I find most sad, because I'm a heretic, are the oblique references to Rory. The Doctor trying to make up to Amy for Rory's death (WHICH HE CAN'T EVEN DISCUSS WITH HER BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER HIM), when he says Rory's name so naturally after Amy's, when Amy says "I'm not the marrying kind" and I want to yell "But you WERE, Amy, once!" and when Vincent says "I hear the song of your sadness" (so fucking beautiful) and tells her he understands and Amy says "I'm not sure I do", GOD MY HEART. I feel like it's a response to what happened to Donna. We never got to see the effects of what happened to her. We were just told about them. Here, we see the consequences of loss – when you lose someone or something, you mourn. There's a pain, even if it's phantom limb pain.

    Tony Curran = amazing.
39. Mary Sue says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    Aw. Kaspar!Chatlog yay funhappytimes!

    Anyway, I think this was the most visually beautiful episode of Doctor Who ever.
40. Angie says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:15 pm

    OMG I have been waiting forever for this day. Vincent and the Doctor. This is in my top five favorite Doctor Who episodes of ALL TIME. I'm wishing now I had typed up my thoughts and ~feelings~ beforehand, but I didn't.

    Vincent and the Doctor is sumptuous in every aspect. From the opening shot of the golden wheat to the glorious image of the night sky described by Vincent. The colors are so vibrant. Cinematically gorgeous.

    I want to point out everything I love in this episode, but that would take way too much time and space.

    The way it portrays Van Gogh's mental and emotional states and his passion for his art and his wonder at the world around him, and his compassion for the people and (blind aliens) around him… wonderful, pitch-perfect. Vincent and the Doctor has some of the best dialogue in the entirety of Doctor Who. It never feels trite.

    The performances from Matt, Karen, and the (amazing guest star) Tony Curran are incredible. Tony Curran, please be in more things. I may be harboring a slight crush. Also, Bill Nighy, FINALLY in Doctor Who! And his performance is wonderful, too, showing genuine admiration and respect for Van Gogh, and also bowties. His character could have been so dull and dry in the hands of a lesser actor.

    I first got teary when Vincent was in his room, weeping at the prospect of being abandoned and alone yet again. And I cried for the frightened and alone alien whose name I can never spell. And for really real starting when the Doctor, Amy, and Vincent were lying under the stars. And when they said goodbye. And when they took Vincent to the Musee in 2010. And when Dr. Black professed his admiration for Van Gogh. The day I don't shed a tear while watching this episode, I will realize that my heart has died.

    I loved the humor in the episode as well. And the gadgets.

    My main complaint about the episode isn't the albino space turkey, but the song during the Vincent at the Musee scene. I find it jarring and out of place. But it's a very minor complaint.

    Honestly, I did a mental head/desk when I saw this review was going to be in chat form. I sighed and started to read. BUT THEN I got wrapped up in it, and I cry-laughed through the last third of the review.

    I love this episode so much.
41. Narcissaa says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    OH GOD READING YOU WATCHING THE SCENE WITH VINCENT IN THE MUSEUM. COULD NOT HAVE ASKED FOR THIS TO BE MORE EMOTIONAL. MY EYES ARE LEAKING.

    THANK YOU.

    <img src="http://i.imgur.com/4EuEY.gif"&gt;
    • ihavetoknow says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:40 pm

      OMG THAT MOVIE IS HALF MY CHILDHOOD
42. Caroline says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    Up until this episode, I hadn't really liked series 5 at all. (Unpopular opinion, sorry. I just got really attached to Ten and Donna.) But then came "Vincent and the Doctor" which made me realize just how much I did like Eleven after all.

    I bought the DVD box set of series 5 specifically so I could rewatch this episode before your review. Popped it in last night and discovered that DVD IS DEFECTIVE. Right in the middle of THIS EPISODE. There would have been much keyboard mashing if I'd had one in front of me.

    Enjoyed the chat transcript though. 🙂
    • kohlrabi says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:52 pm

      I'm the same. I haven't liked series 5 really at all but this episode was great. Well, other than the invisible chicken thing. And Karen finally really connected with me on the acting. She almost got tears in my eyes. No, seriously, I cry for everything so the fact that this series hasn't elicited a tear means I really haven't liked it. Makes me more excited to watch the last 3 episodes tonight though! Maybe they'll have me bawling like I should be!

      And I'm very sorry to hear about your dvd. I think I would have murdered someone. You didn't though, did you…?
      • Plummy says:

        March 30, 2011 at 4:25 pm

        I am exactly with you guys about Season 5–I just posted a comment about it, actually! It took me so long to get used to new everyone because I was so in love with Tennant and Tate…but this episode. THIS EPISODE. Was pretty awesome…it made me love the new cast with all of my (crotchety) heart.
      • Caroline says:

        March 31, 2011 at 9:07 am

        Same here. Up until this episode, I found Amy Pond (not the actress because she's adorable, but the character) soooo annoying. Then I watched this one and I became I HEART YOU AMY POND!

        There has been no murder yet, and there will not be so long as I get a replacement set. *gameface*
43. doesntsparkle says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:19 pm

    I love this episode, it's beautiful and sad and perfect.

    As a depressive, I'm really impressed with the way that they handled the subject. Popular entertainment doesn't unusually deal with the subject this well. Richard Curtis, I'm sorry for mocking Nottting Hill.

    I'm relieved that Mark loved it, and I missed the Kasper chats.
44. Angie says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    I'M SORRY IF THIS HAS BEEN POSTED ALREADY, but it's worth repeat viewings.

    ETA: Oh damn, I can't get it to embed WTF. This is what you should watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d5FVXQ5d7o
    • ldwy says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:41 pm

      That is absolutely beautiful and fantastic. Thank you so much for posting it!!! It had me tearing up all over again.
    • Openattheclose says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:58 pm

      Beautiful! The ragged men in ragged clothes.
    • kohlrabi says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:22 pm

      Oh how beautiful. I'm not surprised someone did this though, I thought of this song immediately after watching this episode. They're both wonderful and go together perfectly!
    • ihavetoknow says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:42 pm

      Wow. That was beautiful. That song :'(

      Thanks for posting!
    • Fuchsia says:

      March 30, 2011 at 8:59 pm

      That was wonderful, thanks for posting it. I started crying all over again.
45. Heather says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    I'm so glad you liked this episode. It is easily my favorite Doctor Who episode of all time, and I was super surprised when I found out a bunch of people didn't like it. It's just the perfect mix of gorgeous imagery and humor and heartbreaking sadness and I love Vincent more than I love any other for-one-episode-only side character.
    • arctic_hare says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:26 pm

      I side-eye anyone who doesn't like it. Seriously. Maybe it makes me a horrible person, but I don't care. I legit can't understand not liking this one. It's just such a beautiful, wonderful, heartfelt, honest, respectful, etc. portrayal of depression. I can understand disliking any other episode, but not this one. It just baffles me.
      • sabra_n says:

        March 30, 2011 at 6:39 pm

        I remember I watched this episode about a week after it aired because while I was fine with S5, I wasn't frantic to watch each episode right away….then when I finished, running off to read any review or commentary I could find. I was so desperate I went to the TWoP boards, where the first several commenters on the episode thread hated it. It was bizarre – I can't comprehend hating this episode.
        • arctic_hare says:

          March 30, 2011 at 6:58 pm

          I remember that, I think that was the point where I finally threw up my hands and abandoned the boards there. And then in the recaplet, Jacob referred to the super-sad scene with Vincent curled up on the bed weeping as Eleven "dealing with Vincent's bipolar bullshit" and I was just done with the site in general forever.
46. redheadedgirl says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:24 pm

    KASPER KASPER YAY KASPER ILU

    Everyone else has said everything I could say, except that Mark ahs the most beautiful keyboard smash EVER. YAY
47. ScarecrowCeno says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:24 pm

    Best episode of season 5 by far. I think this gets the perfect balance of emotion and adventure. One of the best representations of depression ever on television . One moment fine, the next a mess, then happy as can be again… and even typing that makes it soudn SO much more simple than the complexity they manage to get across on screen. Simply astounding.
48. buyn says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:25 pm

    Rolls around in the glory of a perfect episode and a perfect chat log. Okay, anyway, this episode? Makes everyone cry. Even robots… okay I haven't tested robots. But I bet they would.
    • nyssaoftraken74 says:

      March 31, 2011 at 4:02 am

      Disclaimer – no robots were harmed in the making of this blog!
49. Minish says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    The other one's gone now too.

    THE UNIVERSE HAS TURNED AGAINST ME. =(
50. Anseflans says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:31 pm

    So yeah, I just rewatched this episode while reading along with the review, and yeah, I CRIED MY EYES OUT. AGAIN.
    When we got to Vincent at the museum I was like 'Don't cry Mark!', but then I was like 'IT"S OKAY MARK WE CAN BOTH CRY TEARS OF SADNESS AND JOY FOREVER BECAUSE IT'S TOTALLY OKAY TO CRY'.

    Oh God, this episode, where do I begin? As you said, everything is perfect, I had so much to say but now I don't have any coherent thoughts and Vincent and Amy and the sunflowers and THE ULTIMATE GINGER and I'll stop rambling now.

    One of my absolute favorite episodes, if not the best.
51. masakochan says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    Summary of my thoughts on this episode: This episode is good, and everybody who worked on it should feel good!

    Mark Oshiro: hahahahaah I WOULD BREAK EDGE FOR AMY POND

    FHDSAFD SRSLY. MARK. THE CAST OF THIS SEASON. It makes me happy that I figured out that I was bi a few years ago. OTHERWISE THE CAST OF THIS SEASON WOULD BE MAKING ME SO CONFUSED.

    And to the people who ever want to call this episode cheesy, or say that the song at the end makes it overkill:

    <img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2416mgj.jpg"&gt;

    That is all.
    • Tauriel_ says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:43 pm

      VERY appropriate GIF! 😛
    • barnswallowkate says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:23 pm

      And to the people who… say that the song at the end makes it overkill

      It should make it overkill but somehow it doesn't. The awesomeness of this episode just keeps growing.
      • sabra_n says:

        March 30, 2011 at 6:40 pm

        Tony Curran carries it at that point, with good supporting work from Smith and Gillan.
52. Chels says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:40 pm

    I agree! this was definitely a beautifully written episode; and the speech about Van Gogh is so amazing makes me cry all the time 🙂 just perfect!

    By the way, the full trailer for series 6 was released today. Be sure to check it when you’re done with s5 🙂
    • ihavetoknow says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:44 pm

      I just finished watching it! Not long now! Easter weekend is going to rock.
53. awildmiri says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    I sobbed little baby bitch tears watching Vincent in the Museum. He's probably one of my favourite single-episode guests in all of NuWho.

    What really broke my heart was wondering if seeing all that love for him and dedication in the future and then having to go back and live with derision and mockery just made dealing with that in his depressive bursts even harder. Vincent, why so tragic. ;A;
54. arctic_hare says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    Yeah, this is by far my favorite AIM review. I loved reading Kasper's enthusiasm for the episode and seeing them share the joy and heartbreak of it. I wasn't sure at first about having such a format for this episode's review, but I had an afternoon snack of my words (tasty with a bit of bean dip!), and I LOVE IT, I think it's great. I got all emotional again just reading Mark's immediate reactions to things.
    • ldwy says:

      March 30, 2011 at 2:44 pm

      Yes, I agree, seeing Mark's reactions "in real time" is great for such an emotional episode. I would have loved a "here are my thoughts" review just as much, I'm sure, but this totally works. And it's nice to have Kasper back. 🙂 It's a little like two reviews in one.
      • arctic_hare says:

        March 30, 2011 at 3:57 pm

        It is, yeah! It was a really nice treat.
      • MowerOfLorn says:

        March 30, 2011 at 4:09 pm

        I agree. Its like a live blog, but obviously not in real time. Its pretty sweet.

        On that note, this is why I think episode 13 (the finale) of this season would be epic in liveblog/chat form, with actual deconstruction as a side dish.
55. Bonnie says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    OMG this is one of my favourite episodes ever. As a major art geek I was so excited to see Vincent Van Gogh (And as a major doctor who geek I did my next three art essays on Vincent VAn Gogh and his paintings). And then it’s just so beautiful and the sunflowers and the invisible monster and then in the end Vincent finds out eveeryone did love him but he kills himself anyway and I have all the tears.

    Other bits I like for less emotional reasons;

    The bowtie brigade. Definately feeling the love there. Amy Bowties are cool.

    Doctor Forever. When Vincent’s painting and he needs to use Paitence for once. “Is this how time usually passes? Really slowly and in the right order?

    Amy and Vincent. Their children would have been the ultimate gingers:(

    Also Rory! Rory is gone. And everyone knows but Amy. brb sadfacing forever.

    I especially like the point you brought up about the similarities between Amy, the Doctoe and Vincent. Very true and something I realy haven’t noticed before- one of the reasons I like reading your reviews.

    In conclusion this episodeis beatiful and sad and terrifying and funny.

    Just like Doctor Who should be.
56. Ashley says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    I really need to re-watch this one. I remember loving it, though. It made me want Van Gogh pictures and now I have four in our dining room! Cafe Terrace, Starry Night, Lilacs, Sunflowers. It's so unfair how he wasn't appreciated in his lifetime 🙁
57. Bryn says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:44 pm

    I only just discovered your blog, and I've been loving your Doctor Who posts (enough that I went back and re-read all the past ones — no, really — but please count me as a vote against the chat-transcript method of blogging. I found that a lot less interesting than your other method, and it certainly wouldn't have induced me to read your archives if it had been the first post I found.
    • ihavetoknow says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:51 pm

      Welcome!
58. ldwy says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    Haha, yes, I saw the other link below right after posting. I was reading the comments chronologically, and hadn't gotten there yet. It does make sense that the tv presenter would add extra emphasis for teaching, while naturally it might be quicker and softer. Thanks for the explanation 🙂
59. swimmingtrunks says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    Doctor Who has given me a lot of cries. Journey's End is tragic, Family of Blood wrecks me, but at this point in my, Vincent and the Doctor delivers the kind of cry I want. It's not manufactured sadness, but really raw, complicated emotion that's much more based in real life. And as horribly sad as it is, it's also uplifting and life-affirming, somehow, in the midst of its focus on depression.

    The topic of depression is handled so well- this is far from a heavy-handed PSA or after school special. It doesn't overwhelm the episode, but is still an integral part of it. The irrationality of the disorder, inconsistent and unexplainable, is really hard to deal with for the sufferers and those around them that want so hard for them to get better, but can't seem to help them. The Doctor's speech at the end makes such an important point for those people: you can't expect to "fix" someone who is depressed, but that shouldn't stop you from making the effort to give them a good time. Though it might not seem to amount to anything, it's not necessarily ineffectual or hopeless.

    As an artist, the validation the Doctor gives Vincent really gets to me. Usually the way they validate the historical figure in these episodes makes me eye-roll, and they obviously can't do this every time, but here what they did was so powerful. Also, Dr. Black's speech is perfect. I love that he made it personal, instead of drawing out statistics or simply saying, yeah people are still looking at your art for ages to come! That's only so meaningful to a point, but to hear that what you've created has really touched someone, possibly many someones, especially when you've been hearing your whole life that people didn't like it or get it at all.

    Uhg, my time is unfortunately cut short today, so I leave it at that. I am so unbelievably glad you loved this episode, Mark! Happy birthday Vincent!
    • arctic_hare says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:42 pm

      THIS. All of this. Especially on the validation the Doctor gives Vincent. It's the kind I'd want myself. And as a writer, having received wonderful praise from people before, the way Vincent talks after exiting the TARDIS sounds so much like myself. But we viewers know it won't last forever, and for me it didn't last forever either. It's so painfully familiar and real.
60. nyssaoftraken74 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    I love this episode to bits. The writing, the acting and the visuals are all stunning. To have 45mins of prime time TV, a children's show, devoted to (a) a brilliant artist and (b) a study of depression is amazing. For myself, though, I have no experience of depression or emotional illness (if that's even the right term) so I don't feel like I can begin to comment on that aspect of the story. What I will say is, after I first saw Vincent and the Doctor, I think I had a better understanding than I did 45mins earlier. And I think that's the highest compliment I can give any piece of drama.
61. widerspruch says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:49 pm

    Dear God this episode makes me cry from how beautiful it is.

    And I swear, i was reading the transcription (which I love btw) and I was almost crying when I got to the part when you began crying because IT IS THAT INTENSE. This episode is absolutely wonderful.
62. shyfully says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:50 pm

    This episode is one of my favorite episodes, if not my very favorite, ever. Everything about it is amazing. IT MAKES ME LAUGH IT MAKES ME WEEP

    I love that the fallout from Rory’s death isn’t so simple. He isn’t forgotten completely, but at the same time, there can’t really be a mourning process, at least on the surface. The Doctor remembers and you can see him struggling with it. But, of course, he can’t tell Amy about it. And then Amy. Oh, Amy. She breaks my heart. The way she is so, so sad, but she doesn’t know. Vincent picks up on it. I wonder why the Doctor stopped them. Well, I guess that since she can’t remember, it would only upset and confuse her to continue being pressed about it. It makes me so sad that the Doctor is taking Amy to everywhere she likes- and she seems to be very into history, it seems- and Amy doesn’t know why he’s being to nice to her.

    Also, I love how we can see how meaningful Rory and Amy’s relationship was even with him not being a character anymore. When she says that she’s not the marrying kind, that really hit me. When Rory existed, Amy did want to get married. But with him gone, she can’t see herself ever getting married. And she doesn’t even know. She so much more subdued, her manner is very different from earlier in the season. She still is excited about things, sure, she’s not completely different, but she takes everything so much more seriously.

    There isn’t a lot I can say about it all that hasn’t been said more beautifully because this episode literally eats up all my words. The main plot, while interesting, falls behind the emotional plot, which is clearly the focus. Basically, from the moment they bring Vincent to the museum, I’m crying. I love what the Doctor said about like being made up of good and bad things and that they don’t cancel each other out. I, well, love isn’t the right term, but I am pleased by the fact that Vincent still killed himself and that it isn’t treated like it was a selfish thing for him to do, that he didn’t appreciate what Amy and the Doctor did for him or something.

    This episode is just so beautiful and I’m not up to the task of writing about it! I teared up watching it and then writing this and then reading people on the spoiler blog talking about it and then reading your review. SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS EPISODE It’s just sad and beautiful and hopeful yet realistic and heartbreaking and amazing because there are bad things and good things and they don’t cancel each other out but coexist and DOCTOR WHO SUMMED UP MY EXISTENCE

    Also, seriously, I love that this kind of story about depression was shown to children. I am really somewhat obsessed with the messages shows for children give and this episode just knocks it out of the park. It doesn’t condescend or talk down to anyone. It’s simple yet complex. It’s amazing and more stories about depression, suicide and pain should be shown to children. Hell, to adults, not just swept under the rug so society can pretend they don’t exist. There’s a reason why Van Gogh is mostly remembered outside of the art world as “that ~crazy~ guy who cut his ear off lololol”.

    So just, this episode is so amazing. It’s a wonderful story to tell and I love how Amy, the Doctor and Vincent all have so much pain in them and all help each other, in some ways. They don’t fix each other because you can’t fix anyone, but they bring light to each other and understanding and love. It’s so, seriously, so beautiful.
    • arctic_hare says:

      March 30, 2011 at 3:52 pm

      This is a wonderful review. <3 Well said on how the good things and bad things coexist, and I totally agree with this kind of thing NEEDING to be shown to children and adults. I also hate with a fiery passion how Van Gogh is remembered like that outside the art world. He is so much more than that!
    • Tauriel_ says:

      March 31, 2011 at 3:49 am

      FANTASTIC REVIEW!!!

      When she says that she’s not the marrying kind, that really hit me. When Rory existed, Amy did want to get married. But with him gone, she can’t see herself ever getting married. And she doesn’t even know.

      THIS. So much this.
63. WingedFlight says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    This is one of my favourite Doctor Who episodes. Even if the plot itself wasn't heartbreaking and wonderful, I would love it just for the colours and sets and the overall feel that the entire episode takes place inside a painting. Just – the colours are so RICH. The sets are so detailed and match the paintings and – GAH. Words cannot express.

    So, when you add in the amazing acting of Tony Curran and Karen and Matt and Bill Nighy and the fantastic little details of plot and such (the mentions of Rory practically killed me *sob*) this is one fantastic episode. Absolutely brilliant.

    Also, I believe a lot of the lines they gave Vincent were actual quotes from the real Vincent Van Gogh, taken from letters and such. The sunflowers line, for example. (Correct me if I'm wrong – I read this on some other blog or something a while back.)
64. Kirei says:

    March 30, 2011 at 2:59 pm

    This was probably my favorite episode of season 5. Just, the way it dealt with depression and artistic expression and "winning not being fun" and the whole "pile of good things" speech… I loved it all so much and I was so moved. Definitely one of the better, if not the best, actual-character-from-history DW episodes, IMO!
65. MsImpertinence says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:07 pm

    Best. Episode. EVAR!

    Ugh, I don't know of any other episode of Who that can make me cry just reading about it.

    No Mark, you can't go straight for Karen Gillan, because she's MINE! …..and I'm straight, but not when she's involved. 😛
66. Goldensage says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:12 pm

    I'm not a fan of the chat transcripts either – I vastly prefer your writeups. Seconding lilaeth here.

    Apologies for wall of text – I'm not very good at organizing my thoughts.

    That being said, I LOVE this episode. I love that it starts in the Musee d'Orsay – my favorite museum EVER. (It is seriously amazing. I fangirled over the museum when they took Vincent to it in the end.)

    This episode is beautiful and poigngant, and well done and the scenery is gorgeous.

    The Doctor is guilty, and Amy doesn't remember. The casting for van Gogh was absolutely spot-on.

    My favorite part of this episode was the Starry Night scene, without a doubt. I've always loved that painting, and it was an absolutely beautiful use of cg. I cried when van Gogh was at the Musee d'Orsay – it was just beautiful.

    This episode was beautiful and poignant. And the music is fantastic – one of my favorite episodes on the soundtrack. The stargazing music always gets me.

    When I finally convinced my mom to watch Doctor Who with me, this was her favorite episode.

    And I totally watched Love, Actually, because I knew Richard Curtis wrote it – I hadn't seen any of his work before this episode. (Love, Actually is fantastic, btw.)

    From here on out, the episodes are all fantastic.
67. grlgoddess says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    This episode is just purely gorgeous. Visually, emotionally, on every level. Although I didn't get why Amy was crying when they were walking to the church. And who's this Rory that keeps being brought up? I don't remember a Rory ever existing in Doctor Who. :/
68. MowerOfLorn says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:21 pm

    This is such a beautiful episode.

    Seriously, I caught the ‘next time’ bit at the end of Cold Blood, and it just made me want to watch it all over again. Unfortunately I don’t have time to do that *sniffs*.

    Everything is just so wonderful. The colours and visuals are beautiful, the acting is superb, and Van Gogh’s characterisation is wonderful. When I first realised that this was going to be an episode about Vincent I said “Um…didn’t he commit suicide?” I was afraid the writer’s would skip over this, just make it another fun historical romp, like the Shakespeare Code. I was also afraid that the depression would be handled badly, and become overly preachy, like so many of these episodes do. It was executed so much better than that, though. It was done very realistically, in my opinion, and I have had many friends struggle with the disease.
    And like all good Doctor Who episodes, it balanced the emotion of funny and emotional brilliantly. Magical moments include the starry sky scene, Van Gogh seeing the 21st century art museum, the Doctor explaining that bad things don’t always spoil the good things….and that one, incredibly quick moment where the Doctor says “Rory” instead of “Vincent.” My heart died.

    As for funny moments- that weird monster spotting device, the posters getting burnt off the TARDIS, the Doctor posing in front of the statue, and Amy sitting in the middle of a million sunflowers. Seriously, I laughed out loud at that scene. Subtle, Amy, subtle.

    If I were going to criticise this episode for anything, it would be for hyping up Van Gogh too much. Yes, he’s a wonderful artist, no doubt about that, but it seems a little bit forced that the Doctor is calling him the greatest painter who ever lived. It’s a small qualm, however, in a sea of love.

    The interesting thing, is that everyone I’ve talked to loves this episode- with the exception of my sister who basically said “eh, it’s boring.” Sacrilege, sacrilege!
69. kitish says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    My favorite episode of all time. I literally had the creys just reading your reaction to Vincent. I lose my shit every single time I watch this episode. I absolutely adore the way they handle depression and I just can't even describe all of my ~~feelings~~ for this episode. It is beautifully done.
70. Selthia says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    Yeah, I didn't really like the chat format (sorry). It's fun seeing immediate responses in a chat log, definitely, but it's kind of taken out if you aren't watching at the same time along with the person, so you really are seeing keyboard mashes. I kind of prefer the more collected thoughts reviews unless it's a liveblog or whatever, but that's me. I did try to read most of the log though.

    I absolutely LOVE this episode. I'm not terrible fond of the monster, just because I really don't believe you NEED a monster every episode, and this one would have been fine without it. I seriously thought they'd do something like throw paint on it so everyone could see it's shape (I KNOW, THAT"S A SILLY IDEA) so I was kind of "what" at how it got killed. I loved that you had to see it in a mirror and I wouldn't have minded the monster switched to another episode, I just think the placement was weird. Vincent as as subject can easily hold up on his own.

    This episode, though, is how you do a historical episode, especially compared to the Shakespeare one.

    The scene where Vincent seems to understand the true wonder of the universe is particularly fun, even if the transition to it is a bit jarring (maybe that was on purpose, considering the subject and Vincent) . I love that he gets so passionate about the subject that he's practically frothing and wild with it when he gets right into Eleven's face, the Doctor actually seems a little intimidated by that passion and by Vincent. I thought it a great reversal, and it also happens to tie in well with the Doctor's speech about his inability to See the universe in one of the Bridging episodes (the one between the Angel episode and Vampires in Venice). The Doctor's acts like he's seen everything but he's a lot more blase and cool (a Been There, Done That attitude) about it than Vincent and here he is, he's confronted with someone trying to express that sheer wonder and joy that the universe can inspire. It's interesting that at this point in the episode, the Doctor tries to make a getaway by awkwardly changing the subject.

    -I laughed pretty hard at Vincent practically gessoing over an old painting and leaving coffee on another: that disregard for your own work was perfectly captured. The quick "his left..I mean your right, his left!" model mistake was a cute side joke. The Doctor getting absolutely bored and harassing Van Gogh while he was working was amazing. (Anyone else wondering how he was painting in the dark as fine as he was in the day, cause they certainly didn't bring lights with them?) This episode is basically a Vincent love letter and an art love letter and importantly, they did a great job on it.

    The starry night and museum scenes are both amazing, but the starry night scene even more: I found this one affected me far more than the museum scene, which don't get me wrong, is a lovely scene too. I just think everything works better in the Starry Night scene: the Starry Night scene benefits by standing on it's own (without the curator narration or loud music, you can see for yourself it's beautiful without being told it). Wonderful use of sound (for the wind through the trees), beautiful use of CG and the acting and music is absolutely gorgeous. "From Vincent, With Love" is a gorgeous track. This scene gets me to tear up every damn time.

    Scenes like the Starry Night scene are how you do it and I think it pretty much sets a general example for what to expect from Series 5, compared to RTD's. Not to say every episode has been brilliant (Victory of the Daleks, I'm looking at you).

    I found just that scene alone far more emotional and better done, not to mention the episode in general. (especially compared to the Shakespeare episode, which really only had a cardboard Shakespeare basically being a vehicle for producing Shakespeare jokes rather than taking interest in him as a layered person or his works as serious figures/works of interest). I'm not saying NO FUN OR HUMOR ALLOWED, Vincent and the Doctor definitely had it, but the Shakespeare episode just felt a bit hollow in comparison and in general, lacked heart. Not a huge fan of Shakespeare of his works but I thought that episode kind of cheapened it. Not every single old episode was bad, there were some great ones (Utopia, Midnight, the Impossible Planet are some examples of HELL YES), but I do think in terms of atmosphere and handling, the series in general is improved under Moffat. We aren't hammered constantly on the head with everything and we are left breathing room to guess at others and think for ourselves.

    You don't need a crap ton of Doctor being a god speeches, you don't always need bombast. Something quieter and subtle will do the trick. Oh Starry Night scene, that ended up being a love speech to you.
71. barnswallowkate says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:29 pm

    Add this to the list of things that make everyone but me cry. It at least makes me feel wibbly inside, does that count? I swear I'm not a robot.

    I adore the following things:
    – This episode
    – Mark
    – Kasper
    – The Doctor complaining about time/talking about being sorted with a small screwdriver
    – Amy being awesome (the ultimate ginger!) and gorgeous
    – Vincent & the actor who played him touching my heart (even if he didn't touch my tear ducts)
    – The Starry Night scene through the end of the episode

    <3
72. @anagenesis4E says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:33 pm

    The ending of this episode always makes me cry. Even reading that part in your chat with Kasper, Mark, made me tear up remembering it. Vincent and the Doctor is the best episode of the season, IMO. Just, this episode. i love it.

    Also, I kept switching around this episode and the next in my head, and I thought that you wouldn't get to it tomorrow. So, seeing you link to this episode's review on twitter earlier was a nice surprise.
73. Aimee says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    UGH same.
74. Plummy says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    I LOVE CHAT TRANSCRIPTS! I love seeing the blow-by-blow reactions, how excited you get, and how you and Kasper feed off of eachother's enthusiasm. 😀 The only thing that would be better than chat transcripts would be if they also included list time/overall analysis, because I am greedy and I want it all! 😀

    I really enjoyed this episode. It took me a bit longer than most to really transition to the entire new cast for Season 5, but at this episode I was completely, 100% in love with everyone. In the past few episodes I was enjoying everyone, but it was this episode that really sold me.
    • drippingmercury says:

      March 30, 2011 at 9:23 pm

      Mark did chat/general review mash ups during Mark Reads Harry Potter. They really are the best of both worlds!
75. Vicki_Louise says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    First of all: I LOVE the convos between you and this mysterious Kasper fellow. SO DEAL WITH IT. Your reactions are always so honest and full of excitement for whatever your watching (or reading), and everything you say is exactly the same as how my brain reacted. It makes me feel nostalgic…. you only get to experience something for the first time once, so seeing your reactions is like reliving it all over again. <3

    Second of all: BEST EPISODE OF SERIES 5 SO FAR, ONE OF THE BEST EVER. YES I AM BRINGING OUT THE CAPITALS, VINNIE DESERVES THEM. DEAL WITH IT.

    Third of all: My dad's name is Vincent and he has a piece of his ear missing. THIS EPISODE IS TOTES ABOUT MY DAD. MY DAD IS BESTIES WITH THE DOCTOR. DO NOT RUIN MY FANTASY.

    Before this episode i was so worried that i hadn't found an episode of series 5 that i fell in love with from the first viewing and fell even deeper in love with on every subsequent viewing. Then Richard Curtis rocked up and said 'imma make you cry, make you feel more alive, human and hopeful about life than you've ever felt before. And just to prove my skills imma give you an invisible misunderstood lonely alien to love. And some jokes. Well, impressed yet?' I love Richard Curtis, Love Actually is one of my favourite films. He's such a human writer, he really gets under the skin of his characters to show the very best and sometimes worst sides of them. Christ i love him!

    GOD I ADORE THIS EPISODE SO HARD. It's the most stunningly beautiful episode i think there's ever been. And it's not just a skin deep beauty, it's got a beautiful story, characters and relationships between those characters. I'd even go so far as to say this episode truly has a heart and a soul. It's another episode where it's less about the aliens and monsters and more about the characters and their relationships and experiences. These kind of episodes always find their way onto my favourite's list.

    Before Amy's Choice i'd found Amy Pond really difficult to fall in love with. There's so much to love about her, but there are decisions that have been made by Amy (technically they're the Moff's decisions) that have stopped me from falling in love with her. They felt like a barrier. But since Amy's Choice Amy seemed to be a little more subtle and a lot more emotional and caring. When i watched this episode i finally fell in love with Amy! She was so kind and caring towards Vincent and because Amy felt such an inexplicable sadness and loneliness she tried her hardest to make Vincent happy and well again, i really loved seeing that side to her.
    • Vicki_Louise says:

      March 30, 2011 at 4:05 pm

      Continued:
      The Doctor and Amy's characters are so perfect in this episode, i love the way Richard wrote them.

      My mum is a massive Claude Monet fan, i've grown up with his paintings (not the originals, unfortunately) on the walls, so i didn't really know very much about Van Gogh. But as soon as this episode aired i went straight on the internet to learn about him and look at some of his paintings. There are so many! Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them! Van Gogh was an extraordinary man, though he only ever sold one painting, he kept on painting and painting because he loved it so much and literally couldn't stop. The passion he had for painting is inspiring. It shows you that no matter how bad things get remember to hang on to the things you love with your fingertips. That's definitely a philosophy i subscribe to. I was depressed a few years ago and even contemplated suicide, i came so close to it that i had to stab a chair to stop from stabbing myself. But i dragged myself back from it, i clung onto the things i love most: Doctor Who, Harry Potter, photography and trying to get people to understand the condition i have. And the people i love most: my mum, dad, nan, grandad, the rest of my family and my friends. Those people and things saved me, and now i'm feeling more emotionally stronger than ever!

      Here is a copy of an email i sent to Doctor Who Magazine (which they printed wooooo!) which pretty much sums up why i love this episode so damn much.
      "I made the mistake of reading some reviews of Vincent And The Doctor, and though most of them were generally positive (one was so negative it made me want to throw my laptop out of the window), every reviewer asked the same question, was Vincent And The Doctor, Doctor Who?. I thought it was the very definition of Doctor Who. It may be a show about a 907 year old alien that travels through time and space in a blue police box, but at it's heart Doctor Who is about people, our strengths, our weaknesses, our successes, our failures, our passions, our relationships, our hopes and our fears. For me, Vincent And The Doctor was the most honest, frank and realistic portrayal of a human being (real, or made up) that i have ever seen in a TV show or film. It has given me a genuine passion to find out more about Vincent Van Gogh and his beautiful works of art. And i, for one, would like to thank everyone involved in making such a wonderful episode." 🙂
      • Vicki_Louise says:

        March 30, 2011 at 4:14 pm

        I love when the sky becomes one of Van Gogh's paintings, it's a really beautiful touch to an already beautiful episode.

        My favourite part is definitely when the Doctor takes Vincent to the gallery, it made me cry but it also made me ridiculously happy and optimistic. Tony Curran did a wonderful job as Van Gogh and i loved that he got to show Van Gogh's darker side. I think it was fantastic that they highlighted the depression of Van Gogh's nature and didn't try to shy away from it or lessen it somehow.

        Amy's name being on the sunflowers painting was so lovely and Karen's acting just blew me away. I love Kazza. "The ultimate ginge. Brighter than sunflowers." <3

        "We didn't make a difference at all."
        "I wouldn't say that. The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant. And we definitely added to his pile of good things."
        Some of the most beautiful and true words i've ever heard. <3

        This episode deserves all the hearts. <3333333333333333
76. Fusionman29 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    Trivia!

    A. * The episode makes numerous direct and indirect references to van Gogh’s most famous works, though artistic liberty was taken in regard to their chronology and the locations in which they were painted. While the setting for the episode was ostensibly Auvers-Sur-Oise, the last place of residence and resting place of van Gogh, where he painted Church at Auvers, inspiration for the set decoration of his home and the cafe he frequented (or rather was frequently thrown out of), came from works he previously produced while living in Arles several years before (Bedroom in Arles, Cafe Terrance at Night). Also, while the episode suggested Amy Pond inspired van Gogh to paint sunflowers, particularly Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, to which he then ‘dedicated’ to her, they were, in fact, painted in 1887 and 1888.

    B. Among the posters covering the TARDIS are those for the cafe Au Tambourin at 27 Rue Richelieu in Paris, which was the first place to exhibit van Gogh’s artwork in Paris.

    C. The episode was incorrectly entitled, Lend Me Your Ear. However, no mention or reference was made in the episode regarding van Gogh’s ear at all.

    D. Unlike most stories in this series, this story focuses much more on characters than plot, and has hints and references to van Gogh’s struggle with bipolar disorder and suicide, something the series has not explored very much before. In fact, a message and phone number for the ‘BBC Action Line’ was broadcast following the ‘Next Time’ trail, for those wanting more information on ‘issues raised in this program.’ AWWWWW

    E. Bill Nighy was not credited for his role.

    F. Numerous positive or affirmative references were made in the episode to van Gogh and Amy’s hair colour, perhaps in a conscious effort to address the accusation by some viewers of the program being ‘anti-ginger’ (the so-called ‘ginger’ controversy).

    Any other trivia?
    • redheadedgirl says:

      March 30, 2011 at 4:03 pm

      D made me choke up a little.
    • Hypatia_ says:

      March 30, 2011 at 5:09 pm

      F. Numerous positive or affirmative references were made in the episode to van Gogh and Amy's hair colour, perhaps in a conscious effort to address the accusation by some viewers of the program being 'anti-ginger' (the so-called 'ginger' controversy).

      I've never understood this. The Doctor clearly wants to be ginger, two of the most badass companions to date (Amy and Donna) have been gingers. I've heard the "anti-ginger" accusation before, but I've never been able to get why.
      • Goldensage says:

        March 30, 2011 at 5:24 pm

        I think it's a cultural thing – red hair is associated with the Irish, and the Irish and the British don't exactly have the greatest history.

        Despite that, I still find the 'anti-ginger' prejudice baffling. I think red hair is gorgeous.
      • Fusionman29 says:

        March 30, 2011 at 8:28 pm

        Did you ever hear of the so called "Gay Agenda" people thought RTD had? I see it as the same level of madness.
        • Hypatia_ says:

          March 30, 2011 at 8:40 pm

          Depends on what people mean by "gay agenda". If they mean "a vast global conspiracy by homosexuals to gayify the planet, to which end RTD created such characters as Captain Jack Harkness and those two little old ladies in 'Gridlock' and inserted them in Doctor Who in order to warp the minds of small British children" then that's obviously ridiculous. If they mean "RTD added in lots of queer characters in a casual manner and generally portrayed non-heteronormativity as positive and unremarkable" then they're right.

          I don't remember ever seeing anything negative about gingers at all, so that's even weirder to me. There's more teasing about red hair in Harry Potter, and I don't remember anyone ever accusing JKR of being anti-ginger. Plus, who the hell is actually against gingers? Red hair is gorgeous.
          • Fusionman29 says:

            March 30, 2011 at 8:43 pm

            I'm 90% sure it's the first one not the latter.
        • Tauriel_ says:

          March 31, 2011 at 4:13 am

          Hey, and what about Moffat's Scottish agenda? 😛 Little Amelia saying that moving to England was "rubbish", the Doctor saying "You're Scottish, fry something", and she still kept the accent as an adult, and the Scottish wanted their own ship in TBB, and Amy commenting on Dr. Bracewell's Scottishness in VOTD, and now Vincent Van Gogh has a Scottish accent (which is actually a Dutch accent in French translated by the TARDIS). It's obviously a Scottish plot! 😛

          (I fear there are some aliens from the galaxy of Andromeda, who want to turn everyone into Scotsmen so that they can win Wimbledon! It's a plot, I tell you!)
    • Tauriel_ says:

      March 31, 2011 at 4:09 am

      I remember there were some idiotic people complaining about Matt Smith's line in The End Of Time 2: "And still not ginger!", saying that it was anti-ginger. I mean, what the fuck? Are you people out of your minds??? He WANTS to be ginger, he likes it! GAH! I hate stupidity.

      Also, we've had two amazing red-haired companions (Donna and Amy), and now we have Vincen Van Gogh, who is also an amazing character.

      I think the Twelfth Doctor should finally be ginger, maybe then they'd shut up. "I'm finally ginger. Ginger is cool." 😛
77. fantasylover120 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    Being an artistic sort this is my favorite ep of Season 5. It's only my second favorite historical ep because my first favorite one is The Unicorn and the Wasp which only beats this by a tiny bit because it's AGATHA CHRISTIE and mystery and Doctor Who and Donna Noble and the thirties all rollled in one.
78. bookling says:

    March 30, 2011 at 4:17 pm

    ADFGHJKL THIS EPISODE. TBH, I am a teeny tiny bit disappointed that you did the chat review for this one – not because I hate Kaspar or the chat reviews, but only because I kind of wanted to read more about your reactions to this episode. BUT IT IS OKAY BECAUSE YOU OBVIOUSLY LOVE THIS EPISODE THE PROPER AMOUNT. I think we were all a little worried that somehow you wouldn't love it! And we got to really see all your excitement, so that's good.

    First of all, HI IT'S VINCENT FUCKING VAN GOGH.

    <img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TZAJt16ekYI/AAAAAAAABxM/DxeymwN87Rc/510_amyexcite.gif"&gt;

    <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TZAJyULZrNI/AAAAAAAABxQ/ovpM9skCpRM/510_vincentdrink.gif"&gt;

    Can I drink with Vincent, please? OMG I WOULD DIE. I would also totally have his babies.

    <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TZAJ7bF1H7I/AAAAAAAABxY/w2ciEj5IOwg/510_vincentsunflower.gif"&gt;

    And this episode is just SO BEAUTIFUL. The colors everywhere are perfect, and the way they pulled in sunflowers and fig trees and all of the imagery from Van Gogh's paintings is great. Every shot is just GORGEOUS. Karen Gillan certainly helps.

    <img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TZAJ0XI-BbI/AAAAAAAABxU/Eg44J_3fR2M/510_vincentcry.gif"&gt;

    But probably the best thing about this episode is the way it deals with Vincent's depression. He seems completely fine in one scene, and in the next he's inconsolable. The Doctor trying to comfort him in his bedroom (ALSO HIS BEDROOM OMG JUST LIKE IN THE PAINTING) reminded me of how friends will try to tell you to cheer up, but it doesn't help because it's not as easy as just deciding to cheer up because you're fucking depressed. I liked that the Doctor backed off when Vincent told him to, though – so many people wouldn't respect that.

    <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TZAJ7uQMEjI/AAAAAAAABxc/UfGxqITvPQk/510_vincentmuseum.gif"&gt;

    And then the "pile of good things" speech. FAVORITE SPEECH EVER. Even if they couldn't take away his depression, or stop him from killing himself, the Doctor and Amy were still able to add to his pile of good things. That's AMAZING. I just… it's so beautiful. RICHARD CURTIS PLZ WRITE MORE DOCTOR WHO OKAY.

    Furthermore, how amazing must it have been for Vincent to see all his paintings in the museum and hear Dr. Black talk about him as the greatest artist of all time? UGH MY CREYS.

    <img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TZAJrIEJY_I/AAAAAAAABxE/5u2Rc1EUlAY/510_amycrying.gif"&gt;

    I also love how Amy is mourning Rory without even knowing she's doing it. It's wonderful that it's not really that Rory never existed – he did, Amy still had all those experiences with him, but she can't remember any of it and somewhere inside, she still knows she's lost something. I love that Vincent understands that sadness.

    And finally, a few funny gifs:

    <img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TZAKABJQIhI/AAAAAAAABxg/aG6DshcpO54/510_watchingyou.gif"&gt;

    <img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TZAJqNK3GzI/AAAAAAAABxA/OyIQOFncaNo/510_ofcourse.gif"&gt;
    • arctic_hare says:

      March 30, 2011 at 4:23 pm

      I love your whole review, but I especially want to quote this –

      But probably the best thing about this episode is the way it deals with Vincent's depression. He seems completely fine in one scene, and in the next he's inconsolable. The Doctor trying to comfort him in his bedroom (ALSO HIS BEDROOM OMG JUST LIKE IN THE PAINTING) reminded me of how friends will try to tell you to cheer up, but it doesn't help because it's not as easy as just deciding to cheer up because you're fucking depressed. I liked that the Doctor backed off when Vincent told him to, though – so many people wouldn't respect that.

      – for truth. I've been there, I know what it's like to have friends mean well but not get it because it really isn't that easy. So much love to the Doctor for respecting him and backing off. Between that and his attempt to be understanding towards Vincent about depression (that was sadly cut off because Vincent understandably needed to concentrate – LOL BEEN THERE TOO, I can't have people talk to me when I'm trying to write!), I fell even deeper in love with the Doctor this episode. And then he did his speech on the good things and bad things and just – ALL THE TEARS AND LOVE FOREVER.
    • __Jen__ says:

      March 30, 2011 at 7:13 pm

      This whole review is wonderful. <3

      The Doctor trying to comfort him in his bedroom (ALSO HIS BEDROOM OMG JUST LIKE IN THE PAINTING) reminded me of how friends will try to tell you to cheer up, but it doesn't help because it's not as easy as just deciding to cheer up because you're fucking depressed. I liked that the Doctor backed off when Vincent told him to, though – so many people wouldn't respect that.

      THIS. My dad's apparent favorite thing to say to me during bouts of depression is/was, "You're just not trying hard enough to be happy", which… is just not on. I actually made him sit down and watch this episode and that scene in particular. Hopefully it changed his outlook a bit.
79. jsh357 says:

    March 30, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    Have you ever read the Letters of Vincent Van Gogh? It's one of my favorite "Books" of all time, and seeing this episode was like seeing them come to life. That last scene in the art museum is one of the most moving things in existence.
    • Tauriel_ says:

      March 31, 2011 at 4:15 am

      Do you know that they were made into a documentary film? It's called "Painted With Words" and it stars BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH as Vincent. <3
80. VicarPants says:

    March 30, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    Totally gorgeous episode from start to finish and I wholeheartedly agree with all the points previously made about the big and beautiful and tragic things, so I'm just going to make note of my favourite absolutely facetious moment–

    "That's ketchup and that one's mustard."
81. Cathy (catd94) says:

    March 30, 2011 at 5:34 pm

    This episode is probably one of my favorites of Season 6
    &omg it made me cry so hard and I still cry every time I watch it
    just everything was so so perfect and asdfjkl;kdlsfja

    that is all
82. Radagast says:

    March 30, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    By the by, if anyone didn't see this on its UK broadcast, they may not be aware that the BBC did an excellent service by mentioning their depression-assistance website/helpline during the closing credits.

    "If you have been affected by the issues raised in this programme, visit bbc.co.uk/headroom or dial…"

    Alas, the site has moved on, but it was there at the time.
83. Fuchsia says:

    March 30, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    This episode is what made me watch Doctor Who. I had seen one episode from the first series a while back, and had meant to watch more of the show but never did. Then this episode premiered. I didn't watch it, but everyone on tumblr was talking about it, posting gifs from it, quoting it, etc. And I loved what I saw. An episode about van Gogh? Yes please. I was an art student and he's one of my favourite painters, I even did my huge senior project on him.

    But I don't like to jump into shows in the middle, so I went to the first episode and watched them all in order. Just to get to "Vincent and the Doctor". And it was worth it. I've enjoyed pretty much every episode (with the exception of the few duds like Fear Her) but this, this is my episode. I've struggled with manic depression my entire life and the way it's portrayed here is completely spot-on. And the whole episode is beautiful. The camera work, the setting, the interactions between the Doctor, Amy and van Gogh… just beautiful. I love it. This is my #1 rewatched episode of all Who. No wonder why.

    Also, at first I was a bit wary of seeing the chat review style for this episode. I like those reviews, by the way, but since I'm so protective of this episode I was worried that it wouldn't be as wonderful and thoughtful as this episode merits. But in the end, I liked it because I got to see your raw reaction, no idea what's happening until it happens (lol is this about van Gogh?). Nice. And lol on watching at the airport– when I was flying out of New York over New Year's, I watched a couple episodes of Supernatural while I waited for my flight. What's worse than obviously crying in an airport due to something you're watching? Visibly JUMPING OUT OF YOUR SEAT and almost screaming due to something you're watching. Hahaha.

    Oh, ETA: One of my favourite Who lines: "Is this how time normally passes? …really slowly… in the right order?" Oh Doctor, ILU.
84. roguebelle says:

    March 30, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    :/

    NGL, Mark, if you had to bring back this format, I'm way of the disappointed you chose it for this episode. It's amazing, and it deserves a more thoughtful review. If you absolutely had to indulge in this, I would've rather it had been, oh, any other episode from this season.

    ::takes herself modestly to the left, for in this circumstance she is, in fact, a hater::
    • mkjcaylor says:

      March 30, 2011 at 8:20 pm

      I'm upvoting you because I definitely agree. I would have preferred a long tangential review.
    • ffyona says:

      March 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm

      You get an upvote. If that counts as hating, I wish all haters would be as polite. 🙂
85. sabra_n says:

    March 30, 2011 at 6:29 pm

    "Vincent and the Doctor" is a beautiful hour of television, and one of my favorite episodes of anything, not just Doctor Who. I've basically been sitting on my hands waiting for you to get to this episode roughly since "Turn Left".

    When you mentioned the crispness of the cinematography in "The Eleventh Hour", I wanted to tell you to just wait until you saw this. From the first instant, with the closeup of a stalk of grain, "Vincent and the Doctor" started distinguishing itself visually. That shot looked like something I would take with the macro lens of my camera to capture the sharpness of the hulls, the substantiality of the spikelet. And Tony Slater-Ling's cinematography only took off from there – as everyone has said, the starry night and Amy among the sunflowers stand among the most gorgeous things Who has ever done. I loved the blue of the irises in Vincent's yard at night, the lilac of Amy's nails. Thanks to all those closeups with a shallow depth of field, the objects in Van Gogh's France have texture and heft and a remarkable amount of roundness for something shot in two dimensions, which of course only makes sense when your subject is a painter who applied his oils so thickly to the flatness of his canvases.

    Oh, and Amy's outfit is the prettiest! My coloration is nothing like hers, but I would wear that coat and scarf in a hot minute. /girly moment

    Then there's the other kind of beauty in "Vincent and the Doctor". See, I'm not particularly prone to empathizing with fictional characters. I love stories, I can get wildly enthusiastic or angry or voluble about them, I can decide that I like to watch or read about certain characters and hope for good things to happen to them in their stories, but that's about it for me. So it isn't very often that an episode of television will sneak behind my eyes and suddenly have me covered in tears. But this one did. I cried for about twenty minutes straight, uncontrollably – snotty, sniffly, wailing sobs. I'd never cried that much for any piece of television, but this one just…hit the right place, I suppose.

    There's a quote I quite like from an Alan Bennett play called The History Boys: "The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours".

    Depression is isolating and lonely and unique to the individual sufferer, but Richard Curtis managed to reach out and take a lot of hands with his depiction of it nonetheless. And it's precisely because depression is so lonely that seeing it reflected back so accurately caused such a strong reaction among viewers. "Vincent and the Doctor" offered no magical cures or platitudinous reassurances. Instead it embraced complexity with Eleven's speech about piles of good things and bad – life is beautiful and it hurts, often at the same time. I loved so much that the Doctor and Amy didn't fail – that by giving Vincent a couple of days of companionship and fellowship and love, they made his life just that little bit better.

    I know that the alien subplot was weak, that the Doctor's voice was a bit inconsistent, that Dr. Black's speeches descended to about 80% hooey by the end of the story. But I think of this episode as being perfect nonetheless – sad and funny and gorgeous and wise, and gifted with a great guest performance by Tony Curran. I've never looked at sunflowers the same way since watching it.
86. SueW says:

    March 30, 2011 at 6:31 pm

    That guy who plays Vincent looks just like a friend of mine! http://www.facebook.com/#!/adbrown1967
87. __Jen__ says:

    March 30, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    I am late to this post, but I had to pop in to say how much I love this episode and that YOU MADE ME CRY AT WORK, MARK! Shame on me for reading it at work, I know, but I couldn't wait. I am not usually a crier, but this episode gets me EVERY TIME, and apparently reading about other people watching it will make me cry as well. Even beyond Vincent's story, Amy's deep-seated sorrow over Rory just kills me. On most days, it is my absolute favorite episode of Doctor Who. Having struggled for pretty much all of my life with depression, and having close family who also suffer, it just really means a lot to me to see this representation of the illness on family television. Every family should watch this episode, I think. I can't really write about it with any more coherency than that.

    That's not to say it's all sad; this episode is full of humor and beauty, but others have gone into that in fantastic ways Basically I love seeing the Doctor slightly off-kilter, and want to be BFFs with him. He's just so honestly interested in people and their lives (even though he can get a bit impatient), while striving to see the beauty in everything. I just love him and I love Amy Pond and I love this episode and I love this show.

    <3 <3 <3 <3
88. always amy says:

    March 30, 2011 at 7:42 pm

    Oh this, I'm crying right now. Doctor who just breaks my heart, picks it up, mends it, and then breaks it again.
    All my love and all the tears for this story
89. pica_scribit says:

    March 30, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    Maybe I am branding myself as a soppy sentimentalist, but this may be my favourite episode of Season 5. It was definitely the one I remembered most vividly after my first viewing of the series. FLOODS of tears! Does anyone else now want to travel back in time just to give Vincent Van Gogh a hug? A fitting tribute to a great artist, ranking right up there with the song "Vincent" by Don McLean.

    Starry, starry night.
    Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
    Swirling clouds in violet haze,
    Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.
    Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
    Weathered faces lined in pain,
    Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

    Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
    How you suffered for your sanity,
    How you tried to set them free.
    They would not listen, they did not know how.
    Perhaps they'll listen now.

    *sniff*
    • VicarPants says:

      March 30, 2011 at 8:34 pm

      Oh lawd that song.

      *has something in her eye*

      *and it's not an Angel*
    • pica_scribit says:

      March 31, 2011 at 12:28 am

      I should have known to look for that. Thanks for the link.
    • cdnstar says:

      April 4, 2011 at 6:14 pm

      Can not upvote enough.
90. ladylarla says:

    March 30, 2011 at 8:01 pm

    Oh Mark I am so glad you loved this one. I have been waiting for you to reach this point for ages, my friends are probably glad that I will now finally stop saying Marks going to watch Vincent and the Doctor.

    Having struggled with depression and having been obsessed with Vincent since I was 6 , there are really no words for me to describe this episode. I can watch it on repeat and cry each time and marvel at the imagery each time. I love the empathy Amy and the Doctor have for Vincent. Just having someone there sometimes is enough, someone who cares even more magical. That they added to his good pile, makes me happy….I will live in a state where all this happened and they gave Vincent joy for his happy pile. 🙂
91. aeriat says:

    March 30, 2011 at 8:03 pm

    I LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH. OMG.

    No. Words.

    When I went to the Met in New York, I got to see the actual self portrait that they use in this episode. I freaked out a tiny little bit. Not just because it was in Doctor Who, of course. I'm also a gigantic art nerd, so seeing anything done by Van Gogh was amazing in and of itself. BUT STILL. IT WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE AWESOME BECAUSE OF THIS EPISODE. DON'T JUDGE ME.
92. Cheryl says:

    March 30, 2011 at 8:07 pm

    Absolutely, totally awesome episode. Loved it. Tony Curran's resemblance to Vincent was amazing, and he did such an awesome job with the role. Everyone was great, and I think I squee'd a bit when I realized Bill Nighy was Dr. Black. In the Confidential for this epi, someone said Bill Nighy was cast as Dr. Black because they needed someone who was capable of…I forget their wording, but they wanted someone who could act the hell out of a character who only appears briefly twice.

    I loved the way Vincent's depression was handled. This episode should be required viewing for any screenwriter who plans to have a mentally ill character in their script. It was great to see Vincent portrayed as a real person and depression given an even-handed treatment. It was incredibly moving and, I think, a brilliant tribute to a fantastic artist.
93. Fuchsia says:

    March 30, 2011 at 8:36 pm

    <img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lif209wvsH1qbvyrlo1_500.jpg"&gt;

    Forgot to post this earlier. It's beautiful.

    And also:
    <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/kretch1967/gifs/Doctor%20Who/21joolj.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    I want to dance in the TARDIS with Amy and Eleven why am I not best friends with them?
    • MowerOfLorn says:

      March 31, 2011 at 4:05 am

      The painting ( I assume its a painting) is simply beautiful; I love it!. The colours are so crisp, and it would make an amazing poster.
      • Fuchsia says:

        March 31, 2011 at 7:38 am

        This is actually the cover of someone's moleskin notebook (but I don't know what medium they used). Which just makes it more amazing, in my opinion. Making beautiful things out of ordinary, every day objects.
        • tanglehymn says:

          April 3, 2011 at 1:22 pm

          I don't know if this will ruin it for you (hopefully it won't)… the piece is done on the inside (although the cover is a great idea) and it's just normal black pen, colored pencil and white gouache for the stars and the font/lettering.

          <3
    • Tauriel_ says:

      March 31, 2011 at 4:16 am

      All the upvotes for the lovely GIFs. 🙂
94. agrinningfool says:

    March 30, 2011 at 9:06 pm

    This episode.. means more to me than any other episode of Doctor Who I have ever seen. I still can not bring myself to watch it again.

    As an artist, a sufferer of depression, and someone who truly has had a shit lot in life recently..
    this episode.. is such a wonderful gift.
95. MoonshoesPotter says:

    March 30, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    This episode! Finally! As a person who was taught by their mother to worship Van Gogh since childhood, this episode met my expectations and then BLEW THEM ALL AWAY. From when they take Vincent to the museum to the end I am a blubbering mess. A genius painter out of his time. Called mad for his depression, regularly gets stones thrown at him by children, and yet can still express such beauty in his work. He absolutely deserved to see how much the world adores him now. It's heartbreaking to know The Doctor never really did show him that. Sometimes it's more of a comfort to just pretend The Doctor is real.
96. xghostproof says:

    March 30, 2011 at 9:41 pm

    Oh man, I missed aim chat reviews! Even though this is an episode I might have preferred a regularly formatted review for, I do like that we get to see the pure raw reaction, and it makes me more excited to make my friend watch s5 with me (I sadly know that s1-4 aren't really her cup of tea but just…know that s5 is something she'd enjoy, damnit!)

    Mark Oshiro: BOWTIES ARE COOL

    Mark Oshiro: OH MY GOD

    Mark Oshiro: NIGHY AND MATT SMITH

    Kasper!: BOWTIE SOLIDARITY

    Kasper!: RIGHT

    Kasper!: RIGHT

    Mark Oshiro: EXACTLY

    Mark Oshiro: IT’S LIKE A POLITICAL PARTY OF BOW TIES

    can I just say how much I grinned at this exchange? ALSO how much I want to use "bowtie solidarity" for something? IS THIS MY NEW TUMBLR URL? POSSIBLY.
    • Tauriel_ says:

      March 31, 2011 at 4:17 am

      I think "BOWTIE SOLIDARITY" should be made into a T-shirt. Who's with me?
97. canyonoflight says:

    March 30, 2011 at 9:56 pm

    I need to re-watch this episode. If Jesus did write it, I would start going to church again. It is the most perfect Dr. Who episode OF ALL WIBBLY-WOBBLY TIME. I just saw a gif of Vincent crying in the museum and I'm about to lose it. I can't believe you watched this in an airport. This is how I imagine Mark made it to the gate:

    <img src="http://i.imgur.com/cmvCZ.gif&quot; alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
    • masakochan says:

      March 30, 2011 at 10:31 pm

      Oh god… that image will be perfect for Deathly Hallows Part 2.
    • Fuchsia says:

      March 31, 2011 at 7:48 am

      Wonderful gif usage!
98. Wookie_Monster says:

    March 30, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    I wasn't impressed by the plot, but the depiction of mental illness was really really good, especially compared to usual TV standards (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, HOUSE, AND YOUR EPIC FAILISODE)
99. Brie says:

    March 31, 2011 at 5:19 am

    I was waiting for you to get this episode!!! Honestly I am not the biggest fan of Season 5 because I didn't feel much emotional connection to the characters but this episode. THIS EPISODE! One of my favourites ever! Such a beautiful, poignant piece. I just want to hug Van Gogh and never let go. The writing, casting and directing was just exquisite.
100. jennywildcat says:

     March 31, 2011 at 8:16 am

     ARGH! The day Mark watches "Vincent and the Doctor" and I am away from the internet because of work!! Oh well, I can post about it today.

     First: YAY for Kasper-Chat Reviews!! ^_^

     Second: How wonderful is it that the Doctor and Amy take Vincent to the Musee d'Orsay to the exhibit of all his paintings? I think about historical figures that I admire and, if I had a time machine, I'd like to bring them to the present day to show them how their influences have impacted our lives or even just to see their own success (especially if they never knew success while they were alive).

     Third: Personal Story Time!

     TL;DR: "Doctor Who" is an awesome and uplifting show. It's helped me through so much crap in my personal life this past year and the quote at the end of this episode is one of my all-time favorites. I love it so much, I made this and it's hanging on my wall:

     <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Jenny_Wildcat/Show%20Off%20Crafty%20Things/241082337.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Image Source,Photobucket Uploader Firefox Extension">

     Last summer when I discovered Doctor Who, I was going through some really nasty crap with my family and some other very terrible, terrible things. Doctor Who was pretty much the only good thing going on in my life and it was truly a blessing for me. There was so much negativity going on around me and it was weighing me down so much. I didn't realize how bad it was affecting me until I found something positive to look forward to and enjoy and get excited about. Maybe it's strange to say this about a science fiction show, but It would not be an exaggeration to say that Doctor Who saved my life last summer. It is my pile of good things.

     (I even made a fan tribute video called "My Pile of Good Things" – but it's spoilery so I can't share it here)

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