Episode 203: The Van Gogh episode of Dr. Who

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This week on Fable and the Verbivore, we’re unpacking the storytelling from a favorite episode of Doctor Who titled “Vincent and the Doctor”.

*Warning - this podcast episode touches on the topic of depression and hints at suicidal ideation.”

We both enjoy Doctor Who and especially this episode featuring Vincent van Gogh and it seems we’re not alone. But, we’ve never had the opportunity to dig in and really ask the question why. So, since we’re leaning in to exploring some of the things we love in this season of the podcast, we felt it was a great time to explore something we both connect with deeply and talk about what elements are used that make the story so great.

This story occurs halfway through the fifth series of the show in episode 10, but can serve as a standalone story. It features Matt Smith as the Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, and Tony Curran as Vincent van Gogh and was written by Richard Curtis who also wrote screenplays for the films Four Weddings and a Funeral; Love, Actually; Knotting Hill; Bridget Jones’s Diary; Bridget Jones Edge of Reason; and About Time.

In this conversation, we unpack the choices that they made in this episode that made for storytelling with a lot of depth. Things like:

  • Its function as part of the show - It works both as a part of the series that grapples with a loss from the episode prior and a stand and a standalone story with a clear beginning, middle, and end

  • The overall tone - Though this story deals with a complex and difficult topic, the tone is honest, but also hopeful, thoughful, and vibrant.

  • The clever framing of the story - The choice to start with the museum makes it feel at least up front like it’s a monster story, which allows them to cloak their broader purpose. Ending it there, allows there to be tension over what (if anything) has changed with his paintings.

  • The design of the monster - Only Vincent can see it and it has deadly stakes (kills people). But in the end we find out it’s blind, afraid, and misunderstood

  • The care with its subject matter - The scenes allow for a thoughtful exploration of the complexity of depression — both the ebbs and flows and the layers of emotions

Towards the end of our conversation, we talk about endings that are small in scope but have been setup well to create big emotional impacts. We feel strongly that this is a great example. We also touch on the more subtle endings we enjoy — the end scenes of Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the use of the word “always” in the Hunger Games series, and the reveal of Snape’s patronus in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

The Verbivore mentions episode titles Midnight, Blink, and The Girl and the Library. That last episode should title have been The Girl in the Fireplace.

Books and Films Mentioned:

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Bethany Stedman