A pile of good things

Doctor Who Episode 5.10: Vincent and the Doctor

• I was not expecting anything from this episode, believing it is the usual historical character episodes where they tack a (very unconvincing) alien explanation to whatever mystery that character was involved (Agatha Christie's 10 days disappearance, Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Won), but was pleasantly surprised it wasn't the case.

• On reflection, that would be wrong, so so wrong to stick those ridiculous jokes to someone who suffered from mental illness. In fact the episode tackles the issue of mental illness at a Saturday 7pm slot, to the point of giving a helpline at the end; this bravery should be commended upon.

• In the "lots of sunflower outside van Gogh's house" scene, Amy was very... "inviting". (I mean, very inviting to be portrayed...)

• Richard Curtis. Big name that I don't know. Nor the films he has written. I suppose now I know how those films are like. Dr Black's 100-word speech, when read on paper, may not appear that outstanding, but the way Bill Nighy delivered it, the acting from everyone, the direction, the music, all added together. And the next scene showing Amy's sadness when she found out that, after all, history have not been changed and van Gogh still killed himself. And the Doctor's speech. Very moving, beautifully and marvelously written and shot. As good as "Father's Day". They will go down history as some of the best scenes this show has ever made.

• The giant chicken monster is poor, but this is completely irrelevant. The sheer brilliance of the last 10 minutes overcomes any shortcomings of the previous 35 minutes. Though one have to ask, why does it always have to be like this (Utopia, Cold Blood, ...) But still, I'm more than happy to take this. To quote the Doctor:

The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things.
The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa,
the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant.
And we definitely added to his pile of good things.