Vincent and the Doctor

Vincent and the Doctor is a solid story elevated to excellence by a few incredible scenes near the end. Those scenes never fail to bring a tear to my eye.

A masterpiece. Watch it right now.

Also, turns out it is written by the same man who directed "The Boat that Rocked" - great movie, no wonder this episode is so good.

I had the biggest cry I've ever had to any episode of Doctor Who watching this yesterday. Seeing Vincent understand the true scale of his legacy, followed by the gentle report of his death from Bill Nighy might be the most profound thing the show has aired over its 60 years. Amy and The Doctor improved the end of Vincent Van Gough's life immensely - but his depression was not something that could be so easily fixed. Managing to deliver this message in a child appropriate way is no small achievement.

The overwhelming focus of this story is Vincent, Amy and The Doctor's conversations with each other an Vincent's personal emotional journey as they explore his demons. The misunderstood, mostly invisible alien "menace" of the week takes a back seat, and quite right too. It is very strange to have nearly everything wrap up 2 thirds of the way into a script, then get to dedicate all of that focus onto character moments. The continuing drama of the missing Rory is played very well here and subtly, not interrupting proceedings for anyone who missed last week.

I would love to see Richard Curtis come back and have a second go at this little show. He has had such a huge impact for a one off writer. Moffat was very good at getting celebrity writers involved in the show during his early seasons (also see: Simon Nye and Neil Gaiman). I'd like to see more of this.