Doctor Who-Vincent And The Doctor

                     While admiring the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh at Paris's Musee' d'Orsay,the Doctor becomes concerned over the presence of a Griffin like creature he sees pained into the window in Van Gogh's painting 'The Church Of Auvers'. He and Amy then journey to 1890 Provence where they find a town's people menaced an some invisible force they cannot see. They of course round on the tortured Van Gogh as the culprit when the Doctor and Amy convince the painter to allow them to stay in his home to discover the source of the problem. While getting a first hand look at Van Gogh's work as it was being made the Doctor,confronted by rather coherent descriptions of a creature Vincent claims to be seeing,uses a discarded piece of equipment on the TARDIS to decipher that what is being seen is a creature called a Krafayis,a violent alien race who exist beyond the human visual spectrum. 

                           The Doctor,Amy and Vincent than retreat to the actually church where they find,fight and where Vincent unintentionally murders the creature who turns out to be blind and frightened. Though creating emotional conflict within Van Gogh,the Doctor and Amy then begin to focus on another mission: to restore the despondent and misunderstood artist's faith in himself and keep him from his inevitable suicide. To help this out the Doctor invites Vincent to join him back in the contemporary Musee d'Orsay in order for him to experience first hand how revered his artwork would become. Convinced at Vincents assertion that he is now a happier man the Doctor and Amy return to the museum in the future to find that,while they were unable to prevent the painter from taking his life,that the Krayfayis has not only disappeared from 'The Church Of Auvers" but his famous Sunflower painting now includes a dedication "To Amy",with whom Van Gogh had fallen in love.

                           Without a doubt this is the most emotionally engaging and creatively sweeping Doctor Who episodes I've ever seen. While the protagonist the Krafayis serves no other purpose than to showcase the emotional torment of Van Gogh,it's Tony Curran's brilliant portrayal of the painter that moves this story along. Not to mention a memorable cameo by Bill Nighy.Here Vincent becomes one of the Doctors companions. They are not only moved by the painters caring and kindness towards not only Amy but the Doctor as well,but also by watching a man tormented by mental illness and loneliness by being denied the opportunity to be successful with his art. The Krafayis do showcase another possibility. In his being the only individual in this story who can see the creature,who not even the time lord can see,one is left to wonder if Van Gogh's dreamy creativity and fantasy prone personality was based not in mental illness but by a thought process more advanced than he could comprehend. And in the end,while she still has no specific memory of Rory,Amy's compassion and hurt at not being able save Vincent from ending his left as well as the Doctors similar emotions showcase their awareness of this is indeed very strong.