The Vampires of Venice marks a return to Doctor Who for the ever comparable Toby Whithouse who previously wrote School Reunion for the David Tennant run and will return to pen a story for every subsequent Matt Smith Season. His first outing for the Eleventh Doctor is somewhat of a mixed bag but it is nowhere near the worst of series five. Join me as we take a trip to one of the nicest cities in the world and deal with some sexy vampire girls. This is The Vampires of Venice.
The episode begins in Venice in 1580 with a man trying to gain his daughter enter into the Calvierri girls school. She is accepted and ushered away with a shot facing towards Francesco who bares his fangs as it cuts away to Rory leaving a voicemail on Amy's phone. Rory is at his stag party the night before his wedding when the cake rolls in and out pops the Doctor who has replaced the stripper. He informs Rory that his fiancé tried to kiss him and that she used tongue. Rory's mates don't look pleased as the titles come crashing in.
The episode begins in Venice in 1580 with a man trying to gain his daughter enter into the Calvierri girls school. She is accepted and ushered away with a shot facing towards Francesco who bares his fangs as it cuts away to Rory leaving a voicemail on Amy's phone. Rory is at his stag party the night before his wedding when the cake rolls in and out pops the Doctor who has replaced the stripper. He informs Rory that his fiancé tried to kiss him and that she used tongue. Rory's mates don't look pleased as the titles come crashing in.
The Doctor gets both Amy and Rory into the TARDIS and offers to take them anywhere in time and space at which point he asks Rory what he thinks of the TARDIS and he says that "it's transdimesonally transendental" to which the Doctor replies "I like it when they say its bigger on the inside". This scene shows that Rory was skeptical of the Doctor in their initial encounter and researched various theories and scientific facts to try and discover if these things are possible.
They arrive in Venice surrounded by a throng of people, none of whom realises that they just arrived in a police box. They head to the city centre to seek out the Calvierri house and its mysterious patron, Rosanna. They watch from afar as the man from the opening tries to find his daughter within the bunch of Calvierri girls. He is greeted by a swarm of vampire girls and leaves dejected with the Doctor disappearing from Amy and Rory's side to investigate. He catches up with Guido and discovers that something changes about the girls once they enter the school and this piques the Doctor's interest in the matter. He manages to sneak in, with a distraction by Guido to be greeted by a collection of vampires in the basement. He tries to get them to "tell him the whole plan" and says "one day that'll work". He quickly escapes and rejoins with Amy and Rory screaming about Vampires excitedly at the top of their lungs. Matt Smith's utter excitement at the discovery of vampires goes to show how even though the Doctor is a centuries old Time Lord, he can still gain some enjoyment out of his travels.
After the regroup, the decide to let Amy enter the school to get some undercover information and to let the Doctor and Rory in to extract Amy and Isabella, Guido's daughter. Amy successfully enters via use of the physic paper and meets with Isabella. Before long she is taken away and discovers the true identity of the vampires, Saturnyians water aliens from the planet Saturnya which have used a perception filter to appear normal. The use of the perception filter creates an interesting plot point as it tries to translate the entire appearance of the creatures but when they show anger, the fangs remain to ward off enemies. Also, the perception filter doesn't know what to do about mirrors so leaves the reflection blank creating the appearance of vampires. They manage to escape but not before losing Isabella to Francesco who is left to drown by Rosanna for treason. In reality, she is eaten by the thousands of male Saturnyians who are living in the water.
After the execution, the Doctor sneaks into Rosanna's main chamber to have a discussion with her. During this he discovers that they ran away from the Silence and escaped through the crack in the skin of the universe. While this does further the series arc and tell us that people and objects can pass through the cracks, this is the first time this series that no physical cracks have appeared. While leaving, the Doctor informs Rosanna that he is doing his cause she didnt know Isabella's name. This shows how the Doctor stands up for the little people who even though normally don't win, will with him on their side. The group reconvene at Guido's house when they are attacked by the vampire girls. Guido sacrifices himself to stop Rosanna's fish girls and her plan to put Venice underwater. The Doctor manages to put a stop to her plan while Amy and Rory battle with Francesco and manage to kill him by redirecting sunlight.
The Doctor tries to convince Rosanna (whose perception filter has malfunctioned) to not kill herself, but to no avail. She tells the Doctor that "can his conscience live with one more dead race" before throwing herself into the water and being devoured by her own kind. The episode ends with Rory joining the TARDIS on a full-time basis as the Doctor notices that nothing but Silence has fallen on Venice.
The Vampires of Venice is an entertaining and somewhat diverting story that emerges the viewer into the world created and gains some sympathy from the lead villain. All in all, The Vampires of Venice receives a 7.5 out of 10 for strongly building on the series theme and for furthering the Doctor-Amy-Rory relationship that will become pivotal in a few episodes time.
NEXT TIME: AMY'S CHOICE
After the regroup, the decide to let Amy enter the school to get some undercover information and to let the Doctor and Rory in to extract Amy and Isabella, Guido's daughter. Amy successfully enters via use of the physic paper and meets with Isabella. Before long she is taken away and discovers the true identity of the vampires, Saturnyians water aliens from the planet Saturnya which have used a perception filter to appear normal. The use of the perception filter creates an interesting plot point as it tries to translate the entire appearance of the creatures but when they show anger, the fangs remain to ward off enemies. Also, the perception filter doesn't know what to do about mirrors so leaves the reflection blank creating the appearance of vampires. They manage to escape but not before losing Isabella to Francesco who is left to drown by Rosanna for treason. In reality, she is eaten by the thousands of male Saturnyians who are living in the water.
After the execution, the Doctor sneaks into Rosanna's main chamber to have a discussion with her. During this he discovers that they ran away from the Silence and escaped through the crack in the skin of the universe. While this does further the series arc and tell us that people and objects can pass through the cracks, this is the first time this series that no physical cracks have appeared. While leaving, the Doctor informs Rosanna that he is doing his cause she didnt know Isabella's name. This shows how the Doctor stands up for the little people who even though normally don't win, will with him on their side. The group reconvene at Guido's house when they are attacked by the vampire girls. Guido sacrifices himself to stop Rosanna's fish girls and her plan to put Venice underwater. The Doctor manages to put a stop to her plan while Amy and Rory battle with Francesco and manage to kill him by redirecting sunlight.The Doctor tries to convince Rosanna (whose perception filter has malfunctioned) to not kill herself, but to no avail. She tells the Doctor that "can his conscience live with one more dead race" before throwing herself into the water and being devoured by her own kind. The episode ends with Rory joining the TARDIS on a full-time basis as the Doctor notices that nothing but Silence has fallen on Venice.
The Vampires of Venice is an entertaining and somewhat diverting story that emerges the viewer into the world created and gains some sympathy from the lead villain. All in all, The Vampires of Venice receives a 7.5 out of 10 for strongly building on the series theme and for furthering the Doctor-Amy-Rory relationship that will become pivotal in a few episodes time.
NEXT TIME: AMY'S CHOICE
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