Harry -
Sarah, do you remember all the ballyhooing whenever John Nathan-Turner convinced the BBC to let him shoot a Doctor Who story overseas? Overseas!
After they shot some of "Arc of Infinity" in Amsterdam, JNT set his sights further. He made a pitch for New Orleans, but that got shot down, so he pitched Venice, and that got shot down. Finally he convinced the powers that be to let him shoot "The Two Doctors" in Seville, and the result was a colourful romp set in Spain.
Sarah -
Lanzarote, here we come!
Harry -
Nowadays, great blocks of Doctor Who are filmed even further out and it's just part of the business. David Tennant shot in Italy. Matt Smith in Utah. Jodie Whittaker has gone as far as South Africa. It wasn't until sometime after it first aired that I learned that 'The Vampires of Venice" was shot in Croatia, in a picturesque town on the Adriatic coast. Trogir certainly has the look and feel of Venice.
La Serenissima is where the Doctor has taken Amy and Rory as a make-up/wedding present, having ruined Rory's stag do with a mega-awkward entrance that had me roaring.
Sarah -
That scene is hysterical. Matt Smith’s comedic timing is spot-on. In an attempt to save Rory and Amy’s relationship on the verge of their wedding, The Doctor brings both of them on their own adventure in 1580 Venice. What could go possibly wrong? Well, quite a bit, as one might expect.
Rory’s first trip with the Doctor is a memorable one. I love that Rory, still in his stag party shirt, doesn’t react to the TARDIS the way the Doctor expects. The look of disappointment on his face is classic.
Harry -
Unlike most guests, Rory is decidedly unimpressed with the Doctor's antics, but he's happy to join Amy for the trip.
Sarah -
We discover Venice is under quarantine, which we all relate to these days, where Rosanna Calvierri and her son run a school for young women. I liked the Hammer Horror vibe -- “Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen” -- of the school scenes.
Harry -
Ah, Rosanna Calvierri, played by the wonderful Helen McCrory who just recently passed away, so sad to hear. The school for young women is a front for some very Hammer Horror business. The girls are cut off from the outside world, while Senora Calvierri's son Francesco is caught by Amy and Rory in the act of attacking a woman in a very vampiric way. If the title of the story wasn't a giveaway, these early scenes definitely were. The TARDIS team conclude that they have discovered a vampire hive in the centre of Venice and they've got to put a stop to it.
Only, all of that was a red herring of the alien kind. Just when the Doctor thinks he's got things sorted, they begin to unravel. Amy agrees to infiltrate the school so she can investigate up close, only to be unmasked and captured. Rory then rounds on the Doctor as very few companions ever have, accusing him of goading people into risking their lives to impress him. And it turns out the vampire thing was completely wrong. The "vampires" are fugitives from the planet Saturnyne, desperate to save their race by converting humans into hybrids so that their line can continue to propagate. Whew!
Sarah -
I love that the vampires aren't actually vampires.
Harry -
What started as a lighthearted romp gets pretty heavy. There's a lot to unpack here. Rory made a valid point, but ultimately it was Amy's decision to enter the villain's lair. Was it in order to help the people of Venice, or was it to impress the Doctor?
Sarah -
I would vote for impressing the Doctor. Rory is spot-on in describing what the Doctor does to his companions.
My favorite scene is when Calvierri and the Doctor face off. She’s definitely got his number:
Calvierri: Where are you from?
Doctor: Gallifrey.
Calvierri: You should be in a museum. Or in a mausoleum.
We also get our first mention of the Silence and more information on the crack from Calvierri: “There were cracks. Some were tiny. Some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people, and through others we saw Silence and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours, and the crack snapped shut behind us. Saturnyne was lost.”
While the Doctor understands why she is doing what she is doing, he can’t let her get away with it.
Harry -
Was the Doctor too hung up on his vampires theory that he completely overlooked the aliens? And when it came time to thwart the Saturnyns' plot, did he not willingly commit an act of genocide, or at least contribute to the annihilation of their race? Whew!
Sarah -
One wonders if things could have gone differently if Calvierri had remembered who Isabella was. That seems to be the moment when the Doctor decided he can carry the weight of another dead race.
Harry -
Before we wrap up, I did want to comment on how beautiful this story looked. Trogir-as-Venice was very convincing, presented with some brilliant camera work and interesting angles.
This story was much darker than I remembered, but it was compelling both on the surface and for all the nagging character conflicts beneath.
Sarah -
I really enjoyed this rewatch. It’s an effective story that moves along quickly.
Best Line:
Rory! That's a relief. I thought I'd burst out of the wrong cake, again. That reminds me, there's a girl standing outside in a bikini. Could someone let her in and give her a jumper? Lucy? Lovely girl. Diabetic. Now then, Rory. We need to talk about your fiance. She tried to kiss me. Tell you what, though. You're a lucky man. She's a great kisser. Funny how you can say something in your head and it sounds fine.
Favorite Moment: Calvierri and the Doctor face off
Lasting Image: Guido in Rory’s stag party shirt
7/10
Harry -
Best Line:
RORY: What happened, between you and Amy? You said she kissed you.
DOCTOR: Now? You want to do this now?
RORY: I have a right to know. I'm getting married in four hundred and thirty years.
DOCTOR: She was frightened. I was frightened. But we survived, you know, and the relief of it, and so she kissed me.
RORY: And you kissed her back.
DOCTOR: No. I kissed her mouth.
Favourite Moment: Rory's stag party.
Lasting Image: Calvierri exposed as a Saturnyn.
8/10
Our marathon continues with Story #208: Amy's Choice...
