User Reviews

My dad's name was Vincent. He was an artist...an incredibly talented, wonderfully gifted, unknown artist. He was also a great man - kind, loving, patient, thoughtful, gentle, wise, and introspective...the greatest man I have ever known. I, as do my entire family, consider his artwork to be comparable to the greats...Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Monet, etc. His artwork, however, will probably never be seen by anyone other than our family. When he passed away, it wasn't money (he didn't have any anyway - starving artist really did ring true) or trinkets of his that we fretted about dividing up - it was his artwork.

I am new to the Doctor Who series, having been sucked in by my teenage daughter who only started watching the series in the winter of 2012. I just purchased Series 5 as one of her early birthday gifts (she turns 16 tomorrow). She had already seen this episode, but I had not, until we watched it this morning. My father passed away two days after her first birthday, so the anniversary of his death is also fast approaching. At his funeral, we played the song "Vincent (Starry Starry Night)" by Don McLean, so the timing of seeing this episode today is a little eerie...but not in a bad way, just a little more than coincidental though. My dad's way of saying hello to me, letting me know he's still around.

In the ending scene, the Doctor takes Van Gogh to view his own artwork on display at a museum in Paris. The Doctor engages the Curator in conversation and asks his opinion of Van Gogh - so that Van Gogh can hear the Curator say how much he was loved, and considered not only the world's greatest artist of all time, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived...well, that's how I feel about my dad. I suddenly burst into tears, crying uncontrollably. Not since my father passed 15 years ago have I cried so hard. All I could think was how wonderful it would have been for my father to have had the same experience - for him to have known his artwork was loved and appreciated by not only his family, but by the world.

This was truly a riveting, magnificent, and touching episode. It will stay with me for quite some time.

For those who get a bit of a sinking feeling when they know an episode with the Doctor meeting somebody famous from history is coming along, fear not, this one is really, really great in parts, offering a wealth of thought and insight on the subject of Van Gogh (and, while the episodes featuring Dickens and Shakespeare and even Churchill could not fail to inspire, this one far outstrips them). You might have thought that playing the great artist would be challenging for even the world's most accomplished actors, yet (one at least has the impression that) the wellish-known Tony Curran makes an extremely good job of it, choosing to show Vincent as a rather red-blooded man of real-life passions, if afflicted by moments of misery and despair. Like all the Provencal inhabitants portrayed, he speaks in a rural British accent - in his case in fact Scottish, giving rise to a shared (somewhat Allo Allo-like) joke with Amy about her also being from Holland, as opposed to local! There is quite a bit of wit in there, a pretty daft monster of the week, some exquisite Mediterranean settings, Bill Nighy doing a really great and high-class job as an art expert who takes English-speaking visitors around the Musee d'Orsay; and the whole building up to possibly the sweetest 5-10 minutes you've ever seen at the end of a TV episode. Perhaps the Doctor is assuming inappropriately Godlike powers in helping put right history's injustices, but the inspired idea of showing Vincent in plain terms how wrong he is in his low self-evaluation is cathartic for all concerned, and a true moment of magic TV, which has millions of viewers cheering it on. The fact that it ultimately makes little difference - at least on the broad-brush scale (if you'll pardon the pun) is just more testimony to the genius of this episode, yet not quite the limit thereof, given an outstanding (earlier) moment when the artist tries to show the Doctor and Amy what he sees when he looks at the night sky. It would be interesting to know, one day, just how many kids watching were inspired into an interest in art by this one 2-minute fragment. If the answer is zero, I'll eat my hat...

I was a bit skeptical about this episode before watching. Written by Richard Curtis - so perhaps some kind of Brit Rom Com type approach. Or, perhaps - a Black Adder kind of approach would be taken.

I was more than pleasantly surprised.

The bad points, the 'monster' - well, lets just admit it - it's invisible for budgetary reasons. And when you can see it - well, it looks a bit like it was drawn by a 10 year old! The good points, I'm really liking Matt Smith as the Doctor - I like the references to previous incarnations (William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton this week). I like the way he is quirky, in ways that make me reminiscent of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. I like the fact he plays the Doctor as such a pragmatic but insightful soul.

I thought the story with Vincent Van Gough worked really, really well. I've visited the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, near Arles where Van Gough stayed for a year just prior to his death, and whilst the episode isn't a factual historical reference to how he was as an individual - I think that Tony Curran's acting really conveyed his mental anguish.

The final scenes when Van Gough was taken to the the Musée d'Orsay in Paris - and shown how much respect there was for his work, was fantastically acted by all (Tony Curran, Bill Nighy, Matt Smith and Karen Gillen).

After Vincent was taken back from Arles, and The Doctor and Amy went back to the museum - my 8 year old asked 'Will Van Gough Die?'.

The most impressive part of the episode for me, was the way a UK TV show, mainly aimed at children didn't skirt around the issue of mental illness - which purveyed Van Goughs life. And as part of the program - showed that no matter what to you try to do for some people, sometimes it won't change their life entirely.

In the tradition of Doctor Who battling a alien in the past of Earth history, this episode is the same as others. BUT, the cast. the historical figure, and the ending, specially the ending, it's what make the difference of this episode.

I'm an art teacher, and for many years I though how would Vincent Van Gogh will react to know how people love his art in the present. And this episode gave some idea about that. And that special ending caused to me, to write about, in my first review in IMDb.

Although I gave some hint of the episode, I think it's best to see it, than to read about it.

In the same way that Vesuvius, Shakespeare, Queen Victoria etc appeared in other episodes, here is a real life character Van Gogh, painting and being manic. However the subtle handling of his illness, the compassion of those that cared for him, the reverence of his talent and the sadness of his life is all done in such a beautiful way, with some first class acting by Van Gogh, that the episode left me using my t shirt as a tissue. Well done all, a remarkable episode. My 11 year old son rated it too, but was shocked at mum crying like a baby. Again - Dr Who educates - and I don't think that kids see their minds opening, but it surely happens with episodes like this. Beeb is fab.

This season of Doctor Who has been an impressive departure from the previous 4 seasons of the show since it has returned.

Vincent and the Doctor was another step in the right direction.

A well written and well characterised story where the Doctor travels back in time to meet Van Gogh after spotting a monster in the window of a church in one of his pictures. They meet him, the monster cannot be seen, well it can by Van Gogh and that is it. Hence this plays to the madness he had.

The story is not just about the monster, it is about Van Gogh and advancing the ongoing story arc. It also fulfilled that function as well.

We also had a really, really, touching moment when Van Gogh was taken to the future and listened to the curator speaking about his genius. Note to RTD - THAT is how to do emotion.

All in all this was a satisfying story, well acted, well written and Matt Smith was brilliant. The heir to Tom Baker. No goofy gurning but a real Doctor like presence. Moff made a stroke of genius when he cast him.

I opened my imdb account just to leave this review and I hate opening accounts.

This episode made me cry. The guy who plays Vincent Van Gogh was absolutely amazing. I've had quite a few favorite moments in movies that did this, but few moments on TV get your heart racing and give you goosebumps.

This episode contained one such rare precious TV moments. I highly recommend anyone checking out reviews to watch this episode.

The Vag Gogh seeing his legacy scene at the end of the episode is really something.

Yes. I am aware that there is an invisible chicken alien in the episode. :D

I found this to be an enjoyable episode even though the monster of the week was rather poor, this was because the monster was only there to give The Doctor and Amy an excuse to visit Vincent van Gogh. During a visit to a exhibition of van Gogh's work The Doctor sees that there is a monster in the window of a church in one of the paintings. He immediately sets off with Amy to see Vincent and investigate the monster. When they find him Amy is somewhat starstruck, a reaction he didn't expect as everybody who knows him thinks he is a talentless lunatic. It turns out that Vincent is the only person who can see the monster although since it was a CGI parrot-dinosaur it was probably a good thing that it was invisible and we could only see it when we were shown Vincent's point of view or the Doctor's when he used a device that let him see it... till it broke. Surprisingly the monster was defeated with over ten minutes left to go. This gave the Doctor time to take Vincent to the future and see the exhibition of his work and hear the curator describe him as the greatest artist of all time. While this is a happy scene it serves to make the final scene all the sadder; after taking Vincent home they return once again to the museum where Amy hopes to see lots of new paintings but history has not been changed greatly by Vincent learning he will be considered great, he still committed suicide soon after the events shown. There are two small changes though; the monster is no longer in the church window and one of his sunflower paintings is dedicated "to Amy"

Given the rather unconvincing monster which we learnt little about one might expect this to be a less than impressive episode but I really liked it. Tony Curran was great as Vincent and the always excellent Bill Nighy put in a nice cameo performance as the museum curator. The real strength of the episode was the strength of the characters and the way they interacted, this meant the final was far more moving than it would have been if more time had been spent on the monster and less on the characters. Last week Rory was erased from time but in a tense scene The Doctor accidentally called Vincent Rory suggesting some slight memories of him exist so there is still some hope that he could still be saved.

Vincent and the Doctor proves Doctor Who can appeal to everyone, this was an episode that tried to do something that the original early episodes did, took a historical figure, and constructed a story around them. The story is almost irrelevant, as it's the complex relationships between The Dr, Amy Pond and Vincent that drive the story. If you can ignore some of the flaws such as Vincent's accent and pair of ears, as well as ignoring the rather badly designed monster, you can witness possibly Doctor Who's best story to date. It doesn't matter how many times I sit and watch this, I never tire of it. One day let's all hope that more historical figures are brought into the show.

With the exception of the wonderful multi-Doctor 50th Anniversary Special 'The Day of the Doctor', I would say this episode is the peak of the Matt Smith era. It is written by Richard Curtis, famous for writing Blackadder, Four Weddings and a Funeral etc. And he does a fabulous job. It is deep, at times utterly, beautifully moving and at other times really fun and interesting so you could not ask for much more.

The story is that Amy and the Doctor visit the Musee d'Orsay in Paris where the Doctor sees a 'scary face' in one of famous artist Vincent Van Gogh's paintings and decides to travel back to the time Van Gogh was about to paint the picture to investigate. They find Van Gogh in 1890 and befriend him whilst encountering the creature the Doctor was looking for. The creature is invisible but Van Gogh can see it as he sees differently to others.

The creature itself is the weak point of the story as it is not very convincingly realised with slightly below par effects. That is not the kind of thing I judge too harshly though, otherwise many great Doctor Who stories of the past would be marked down for the limited effects of the time. I do think the creature could have been done better but the quality of other aspects of this story make up for it and effects are never something I count as hugely important in Doctor Who. The creature's death is sad and unfortunate but is symbolic in the story's themes of the suffering of those who are scared and misunderstood.

There is humour, fun and joy in many scenes in the Doctor and Amy's interactions with Vincent who is magnificently portrayed by Tony Curran who depicts his brilliance and his struggles with mental illness as well as anyone could possibly hope. The fabulous Bill Nighy also puts in a terrific appearance as museum art expert Dr. Black. It is a hugely enjoyable set of performances which entertain and educate. Truly wonderful.

It brings the best out of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.

The incredible scenes when they show Vincent the impact his work and his talent have over a hundred years later are extremely emotional and delightful making you wish the Doctor really had been around in real life to allow Van Gogh such an insight which he would surely have deserved.

The highlighting of mental illness so sensitively means a lot to me and is a massive plus.

People who enjoyed it should look up the song 'Vincent' by Don McLean.

An absolute cracker.

My Rating: 10/10.

This episode of Doctor Who is one of the most beloved episodes since the show returned in 2005 but I just cannot see why this is the case. You see as much as I did enjoy "Vincent & The Doctor" there were a lot of things about it that don't quite elevate it to that level for me.

The monster is the most obvious failure but there's also the sense of it being very much a filler episode and the fact that Van Gogh still kills himself so the whole thing was a waste of time. Not that I dislike the episode mind you, it just doesn't hold its own against many others.

Still there is a lot to like about it. Pitch-perfect acting, the direction is exquisite, the script written by the one and only Richard Curtis is utterly beautiful (despite many many flaws) and the emotional story is nailed to perfection. There's just something about it that doesn't click with me but I can't quite put my finger on what it is.

If you want a properly emotional episode of Doctor Who then I'd recommend "The Girl Who Waited" or "Doomsday" or "Journey's End" or "Death In Heaven" before this one. I'd give this episode a 5/10, maybe a 6 if I felt generous? It's an episode with a lot of potential but missing that vital spark of life.

I appreciate that "Vincent and the Doctor" is a popular - even beloved - episode of Doctor Who, which often makes lists of the 10 top stories ever. But I have strongly dissenting opinions about it.

In my view, this episode is a really schmaltzy mess, which explores (exploits?) van Gogh's horrible mental agony in a trite way. I feel as though Richard Curtis' brilliant idea for the story boils down to this: "Wouldn't it have been nice if the Doctor gave van Gogh a pat on the back a few months before he committed suicide?"

Well...yeah, I guess. I suppose you could make an argument that van Gogh's awareness of his posthumous fame makes his life (and suffering) more worthwhile, somehow. But the whole concept leaves me cold. For one thing, we all know perfectly well that van Gogh died in total ignorance of his future impact. For another, not all mentally ill or suicidal people can be comforted in this way, of course. "Don't worry, dear, you'll be famous after your death." Yeah, but what if you're ordinary and not talented and you'll never be famous? In other words, this strikes me as a shallow exploration of mental illness, relevant only to the very unusual case of van Gogh.

Also, why doesn't the Doctor just save the guy's life? At the end of the episode, why doesn't Amy insist that they travel back in time and make a real effort at rescuing van Gogh? In a sense, it's quite cruel of the Doctor and Amy to breeze into his life, cheer him up for a few days, and then leave him to die! What's so inspiring about that? I guess they really needed to move on and fight some rubber Silurians or something.

Of course, you could argue that the Doctor is forbidden from changing history. Sometimes. Okay, but I think that issue should have been the focal point of the entire episode. The Doctor could've declined to save van Gogh, while Amy could've insisted on trying. That would've been good drama - like The Aztecs, a way smarter episode of the original series. But instead, Curtis focuses most of his attention on a stupid invisible monster that adds precisely nothing to the plot, apart from feebly echoing van Gogh's inner demons. (Is the production team really too chicken to drop the monsters for even ONE story?)

In short, the emotion in this episode feels...fake to me. I don't think that Curtis really challenged his audience to confront the realities of death and depression in a meaningful way. Instead, he constructed the script as a kind of cathartic tear-jerker. Yes, it makes the viewer a BIT sad, to see emo van Gogh crying with (temporary) joy while emo music plays in the background. But once you've shed your emo tears, what happens? The Doctor moves on and lets the guy die!

Uh...lovely, I guess. Inspirational, I suppose. To some people. But not me. This is not the best, but rather one of the worst episodes of the show. It makes something awful from history into an excuse to tug on heartstrings for no real purpose. Ugh.