35.10 Vincent and the Doctor

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Steven Moffat had written the Comic Relief spoof Curse of the Fatal Death in which Richard Curtis was Executive Producer. With Vincent and the Doctor the roles are reversed for Moffat and Curtis as Curtis presents this superb story about Vincent Van Gogh.
Bill Nighy was unsuccessful in the running for the Ninth and Tenth Doctors. Glad that Nighy finally makes an appearance in Doctor Who. Although not as the Doctor, Nighy however does play a non-Time Lord doctor and has identical clothing to the Eleventh Doctor.
In 1996 I had seen the movie 1956’s Lust for Life starring Kirk Douglas as Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent and the Doctor with Tony Curran as Vincent does for me feel like the follow-up to my viewing experience of Lust For Life. Lust for Life presented the tragic figure of Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent and the Doctor, although with fictional blemishes to this portrait, presented a brief period in his life of being relaxed in his adventure with the Doctor and Amy.
A sad fact about Van Gogh is that he cut off one of his ears. In Vincent and the Doctor he still has both his ears, probably would have been disturbing for kids to see a one-eared man.
Not only does the picture of the First Doctor again makes an appearance this season we also see a picture of the Second Doctor as well.
Quite a funny moment when the Doctor and Amy scared each other after the Doctor was first chased by the Krafayis.
The Doctor showing Vincent his legacy in 2010 was quite emotional and accompanied greatly by the music.
Equally well done was the follow-up museum scene with Amy learning that Vincent still committed suicide even after his experience with the Doctor and Amy and when she looks at the Vase with 12 Sunflowers portrait dedicated to her by Vincent.

Confidential Cutdown 5.10 A Brush With Genius:
Very apt title.
Vincent and the Doctor director Jonny Campbell explained with Bill Nighy as the curator that he is one person people would listen to and that definitely appeared to be the case.
Vincent’s hometown was shot in Trogir, Croatia the same location for Vampires of Venice.
The J Paul Getty Museum was interesting to see.
Got more understanding with the final scene of the main episode as Steven Moffat explained that since not even the Doctor could fix Vincent’s inner demons, the final scene of Amy looking at the Vase with 12 Sunflowers was made all the more heartbreaking.

[matthewsee]

Adam Rogers, editor of Wired Magazine said in the Best of the Doctor BBC America special that Vincent having seen his portraits at the gallery in the future, our contemporary times, may have influenced him in drawing them back in his own time.

Notwithstanding the portrait of the exploding TARDIS, Vincent having already painted all the portraits that he remembered seeing at that gallery had no more motivation to live and therefore still eventually committed suicide.

[chase]

I thoiught this was okay. Rather sad, sad, sad on two counts: the suicide and the death of the monster. Sad and depressing really but not a bad story. Amy comes off good for only the second time in the entire two year stint she's foisted upon us and Smith is good, too. One of the last times he will bethis good. Good guest stars and music, too.

[matthewsee]

The Brilliant Book 2012 reminded me that the Doctor and Amy met Vincent in 1890 a year before his suicide in 1891.
During their brief visit Amy brought in a bright light to Vincent’s life considering that he will take his own a year later.
Coincidentally exactly 100 years later in 1991 I was going through a very dark part of my life caused by a classmate who ironically is also called Amy.
In contrast to Doctor Who’s Amy providing a brief spark of light to Vincent’s life, the Amy of my situation did the exact opposite.
Unlike Doctor Who’s Amy who was not able to prevent Vincent committing suicide despite providing a light to his life, I still manage to live on with my unpleasant experience with then classmate Amy.

[matthewsee]

Saw Vincent Van Gogh: Painted With Words a documentary which had Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent Van Gogh and Jamie Parker as Vincent’s brother Theo.
It was presented by Alan Yentob.
In fact I saw two versions of this same programme that of the full version of 80 minutes and the version that I saw on ABC1 Australia which ran for 50 minutes.
The noticeable difference between the two versions is that Yentob appears on-screen in the full version but his on-screen appearances were excised for the shorter 50 minute version, hearing only his narration instead.
Vincent Van Gogh: Painted With Words was originally shown on the BBC on April 5 2010 and Vincent would again be on the BBC exactly two months later on June 5 when he depicted in the Doctor Who episode Vincent and The Doctor in which Vincent was played by Tony Curran.
Included in Vincent Van Gogh: Painted With Words is the fact that Vincent had been very close to his brother Theo.
Theo however was not in the Doctor Who episode.
Between the last time I saw Vincent and the Doctor and seeing the two versions of Vincent Van Gogh: Painted With Words I had completely forgotten about Theo.
I can only speculate the reason Theo wasn’t in Vincent and The Doctor is that he would have been a distraction for the audience in seeing Vincent having a fondness for Amy. It is a problem that would have existed if Rory had been in it and Rory had apparently been killed off in the previous episode Cold Blood.
I think the way Vincent and The Doctor had been written is that it was designed to have three core characters in the Doctor, Amy and Vincent.
There simply wasn’t any room for Rory and Theo without making them looking like spare characters.

[matthewsee]

Vincent and the Doctor’s Gallery:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV97JeWFRc4

With my wife Karen Gillan.

[matthewsee]

Doctor Who - Chances (with lyrics):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4aVKQZaSmY

Song by Athlete played in Vincent and the Doctor (with my wife Karen).