Episode Title: "The Vampires of Venice"
Writers: Toby Whithouse
Director: Jonny Campbell
Previously on "Doctor Who":
Narrowly surviving an encounter with the Weeping Angels, the Doctor (Matt Smith) became extremely concerned about the crack in time that seems to be following his latest companion, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). While Amy attempted to deal with the stress of her near-death experience, she finally told the Doctor about her impending wedding to Rory (Arthur Darvill) before unsuccessfully attempting to seduce him.
However, the Doctor realized that Amy's anxieties and the end of the universe may be related after he discovered that the explosion that will end time itself began on June 26, 2010 — the day of Amy's wedding.
Story:
The Doctor tracks Rory down at his bachelor party and sends him back with Amy to Venice in 1580, for a romantic date to reconnect with each other. While there, they become aware of an apparent clan of vampires masquerading as a school for girls. A boat-builder named Guido (Lucian Msamati) desperately tries to free his daughter Isabella (Alisha Bailey) from the school with little success. Agreeing to help him, Amy goes undercover at the school to help Isabella escape. They almost make it out of the building, but Isabella is caught and later killed.
The Doctor returns on his own to confront the seemingly head vampire, Signora Rosanna Calvierri (Helen McCrory). She offers an alliance, which he refuses. He also realizes that they aren't actually vampires, but are instead Saturnynians — a race of fish-people with vampire-like qualities. The Saturnynians attempt to sink Venice with a tsumani, which the Doctor thwarts by destroying her machine. Meanwhile, Amy and Rory successfully defeat her vampire son, Francesco (Alex Price).
Distraught by her loss, Calvierri commits suicide after her warning about the end of the universe and the advance of silence. The Doctor recalls her words as an otherworldly quiet descends upon Venice at the end...
Breakdown:
After the heights of the Weeping Angels two parter, "Doctor Who" was bound to come back down in quality.
Fortunately, a lesser episode of "Doctor Who" is still pretty good compared to most series.
Although I do think Arthur Darvill's Rory is going to make a really great companion. Amy and the Doctor are both extraordinary — which some may find hard to relate to. But Rory is refreshingly normal. He is the everyman that this show needs. This episode also indicates that Rory has made an effort to expand his understanding of the Doctor's world, by his quick grasp of the TARDIS and the science behind it. Equally amusing was the Doctor's annoyance that he couldn't give his favorite explanation.
The opening scene with the Doctor breaking up Rory's bachelor party was also very funny, as was the Doctor's direct way of telling Rory about Amy's attempts to kiss him before adding "she's a great kisser."
Rory and Amy also had their first adventure together as a couple (not counting "The Eleventh Hour") and seem to have a good chemistry with each other, even when pretending to be brother and sister with "references from the King of Sweden." Though the underlying conflict about their relationship with the Doctor wasn't really brought up as often as it should have been.
It was intriguing that Helen McCrory's Signora Calvierri seemed to share an attraction with the Doctor. But it wasn't explored beyond a few lines like "I'm a time lord, you're a big fish." Which may have been the line of the night.
The vampire girls had the right look and attitude for a story like this, but I'd rather they had been actual vampires or even space vampires rather than the vampire fish-people they turned out to be. Although the Doctor's explanation for why they had no reflections was very clever. It also demonstrated a new side to this Doctor — apparently he's very vain, as he's easily distracted by his own reflection in the mirror.
Where the episode failed was in regard to the more human stakes in the action. At the beginning of the show, the focus was on rescuing Isabella. But her father barely reacts to her death before committing suicide while blowing up the majority of the vampire girls. It didn't seem like that dealt with on any real human level and felt like a forced way to get him out of the rest of the story.
Surprisingly, this episode continued to place the season long storyline in the forefront, as the vampire fish-people arrived on Earth while fleeing the impending end of the universe. Calvierri warns the Doctor that they "saw silence and the end of all things." The conclusion of the episode also hit a chilling note, as the Doctor and Rory noted the eerie silence that suddenly fell upon Venice.
Overall, this episode was good enough. But I expect more out of "Doctor Who."
Crave Online Rating: 7.5 out of 10
