Who Reviews Vincent and the Doctor by Alex Wylie

If you grew up with Blackadder, but were less enamoured with say, an endless string of samey romantic comedies starring Hugh Grant as Hugh Grant, then you've be forgiven for being uncertain of a Richard Curtis penned Doctor Who episode. Vincent and the Doctor is his first and thus far only offering. And it is my favourite kind of New Who episode.

It may come with age that one finds oneself fancying the historicals more, and especially where there is a central historical figure, a message and a powerful emotional punch. Yes, a punch that runs the risk of Titanic's 'Iceberg Syndrome' – yes, most adults know Van Gogh suffered mental health issues and was a self-destructive alcoholic destined to take his own life, just as we knew that Mount Vesuvius would erupt and kill the people of Pompeii. But it is of course in the telling of the story, so let's revisit an episode which I have to admit, has been a personal favourite of mine since first airing and, though an early Moffatt/Smith era episode, I think the best Historical since Girl in the Fireplace. I will also admit that the 11^th Doctor era was, and still is, my favourite of all New Who, with this a particular gem.

The Doctor takes Amy to the Muse Dause in 20?? as a treat because he knows she has lost her fiancée, Rory (yes, yes, later, later) and the Doctor notices an alien life form in one of the paintings. The Doctor and Amy have to go back and investigate, and become part of the life of one of the greatest artists who ever lived...

Once you get over the writer feeling the need to explain Van Gogh's Scottish accent as the TARDIS translator being a bit haywire (when no one else in Provence sounds French anyway and I sense Moffat's hand in this!). Look, French peasants sound like working class people from the North of England and Dutch people sound Scottish in France, all right? So anyway, the moment the Doctor raises a painting and then lowers it to reveal the real scene of the Provence cafe brought to life just takes you right into the story. Tony Curran as Van Gogh is exceptional and the whole cast seem on full form this week.

The story builds to the fantasy of showing an unappreciated person what they really meant to the world, but they cannot save his life. Time cannot be rewritten this time. Now, the central metaphor is arguably clumsy: Vincent being the only person to see the Monster represents both his mental torment and his artistic genius, and yet the monster is gone from the vase painting at the end. That, and there's the use of music to enhance the emotional experience. But what the episode gets right it gets right enough. We can excuse them a few indulges.

Not until Rosa or Demons of the Punjab would a Doctor Who episode be this emotional or this meaningful.

Say what you like about Richard Curtis (seriously, do), when interviewed at the time he said he wanted to get people talking and thinking about mental health, and to try to understand sufferers of conditions like bi-polar. Whether the episode is successful in this, who can say? But it is certainly one of the most beautiful and powerful episodes that Doctor Who has ever produced.