Vincent and the Doctor ( TV story ) Vincent and the Doctor was the tenth episode of the fifth series of BBC Wales " Doctor Who " . It saw the Doctor befriend another famous figure in Vincent van Gogh and , quite darkly , explored the lead - up to his suicide . This episode also marked the first time that the Doctor is shown having an adventure along with one of history ' s greatest artist on - screen ; he had previously had at least three adventures with history ' s best authors . In " Doctor Who Confidential " , it ' s said that this episode shows how the " Doctor Who " has heart unlike most science fiction stories , which leave out the compassion / humanity . It was also the intention to introduce the concept of mental illness to a younger audience , so they could grow up with the knowledge that they needed to be patient and understanding with those who were afflicted with it . It also marked another of the few times that the Doctor was unable to save a life ; although in this case , it was because Vincent was tormented by inner demons that even the Time Lord couldn ' t reach . " " The Doctor cannot save someone from his / herself . Sometimes he can , but this was one of the few times he couldn ' t . " " Something left up to debate was creation of the paintings Vincent had yet to paint when he met the Doctor ; either Vincent painted them because he chose to , or because he saw them in the future , and knew he had to paint them . To date , Vincent is the last person to not say " it ' s bigger on the inside " when first shown the TARDIS . Along with " Amy ' s Choice " , this story neither features a crack in time , nor does it make any mention to the Silence . However , Rory ' s absence is alluded to , giving the episode a defined place in the season ' s story arc . Synopsis . While taking Amy to several peaceful locations , the Eleventh Doctor ' s trip to a museum takes turn for the worse : his interest is caught by a painting of a church by Vincent van Gogh . What troubles the Doctor is that there ' s a face in the church ' s window ; it ' s not a nice face , it ' s a curious , shadowed , creepy face with a beak and nasty eyes . The Doctor knows evil when he sees it and this face is definitely evil ; it may pose a threat to the one who painted this face into the church . Only one thing will calm the Doctor ' s nerves : a trip in the TARDIS to 1890 so the Doctor can find out from the artist himself . Plot . The Doctor and Amy visit the Musée d ' Orsay in Paris , winter 2010 . They walk into the exhibit filled with the works Vincent van Gogh , who is Amy ' s favourite painter . " She thanks the Doctor for bringing her to see the paintings . He accepts the thanks awkwardly . Seeing the Doctor fidgety , Amy asks him why he is being so nice to her , taking her to several places she wanted to visit and other peaceful locations , such as Arcadia and the Trojan Gardens . She jokes that she ' s suspicious , to which he defensively snaps that he is always nice to her , and that there was nothing to be suspicious about . Amy tells the Doctor that she was just joking , but wonders why he ' s not . Before she can question the Doctor further , a child says , " It ' s the doctor , " prompting them both to look behind them to see a child looking at the painting of Vincent ' s doctor . The child reads his guide pamphlet to a friend , explaining Vincent painted it shortly after his mental health started getting worse . Smiling , Amy resumes looking in her guide book , spotting " The Church at Auvers " directly on the wall in front of them . She and the Doctor rush up to it once a group finishes admiring the painting . Amy is excited to see it in person . Likewise , the Doctor notes that he feels like he can actually see the brushstrokes of the artist carving the colours into shapes . However , the Doctor ' s smile is replaced by a grim stare . Amy knows that when the Doctor looks like that something is wrong that he can ' t resist getting involved in ; she asks what ' s wrong . The Doctor points at the windows of the church , telling her to look at what is an ominous face sneering . Amy asks if it ' s a face , to which he grimly adds that it does not look friendly . " " I know evil , and I see it there in that picture . " " He immediately stops the curator , Dr Black , in the middle of an explanation , using the psychic paper to pose as an inspector . The Doctor asks to know when " The Church at Auvers " was painted , asking Dr . Black to be specific as possible . Dr . Black tells him that it was painted between the first and the third of June 1890 , one year before Van Gogh committed suicide . Complimenting Dr Black ' s bow tie , the Doctor grabs Amy ' s hand and drags her away . When Amy tells him she wants to see the rest of the paintings , the Doctor tells her that it ' s a matter of life and death — they need to speak to Vincent Van Gogh ! The TARDIS materialises in Auvers - sur - Oise . The Doctor and Amy begin their search for van Gogh . Finding a café featured in one of his paintings , the Doctor questions two waitresses cleaning the tables outside . They say van Gogh is a mad drunk who never pays his bills , and , when the Doctor says he ' s a good painter , they laugh heartily . The café owner rushes out , followed by a red - headed man trying to bargain with him . The owner exasperatedly informs him the painting is no good for a trade ( given that it will frighten the other patrons ) ; the man must either pay or leave . The Doctor watches Amy look in awe at the painter , to whom the Doctor wordless confirms is indeed Vincent . The Doctor offers to pay for Vincent ; either for the drink or the paining , which would allow Vincent to pay for a drink . Vincent van Gogh turns around and demands to know who the Doctor is . The Doctor tells him that he ' s new in town . Vincent tells the Doctor that there are some things he needs to know : 1 ) He pays for his own drinks ( this earns more laughter ) , 2 ) If the Doctor wants to stay in town , he better not buy his painting , or he ' d get laughed out of town ( everyone nods ) ; 3 ) Amy ' s cute , but the Doctor should keep his big nose of of other people ' s business . Before the painter can resume haggling with the café owner , Amy offers to buy a bottle of wine which she will share with whomever she chooses , to which Vincent agrees . The cafe owner doesn ' t have a problem with this , so long as the drinks are payed for . Inside the café , the Doctor introduces himself properly . Vincent misunderstands the title and believes him a doctor sent by his brother ; the Doctor explains that he ' s not a medical doctor . Trying to make casual conversation , the Doctor learns from Vincent that he has arrived right before he is to paint the church . Amy sees a painting Vincent has with him and quickly corrects herself when she praises it as one of her favourite paintings . The painter then wonders if Amy is from Holland like himself , due to her accent ; Amy honestly says no , but the Doctor " corrects " her and says " yes . " Vincent and Amy begin flirting , but stop at a scream from outside . In the street , they find a young girl has been brutally killed . Her mother pushes her way forward . Upon spotting Vincent ( who everyone considers a madman ) , she takes out her grief on him , blaming him for her daughter ' s death . The crowd throws stone s at him , and the Doctor , Amy and van Gogh leave hastily . The Doctor learns this is the second recent murder . Vincent asks the Doctor and Amy where they are staying , which the Doctor takes as an invitation to stay at Vincent ' s studio . At the studio , Vincent apologises for the mess his collective works make and leads them inside . When the Doctor keeps asking about the church , Vincent catches this and begins wondering what he ' s up to . However , he puts a pot for coffee on one of his works , prompting Amy and the Doctor to tell him to treat them better as they are precious . Explaining about how he paints , Vincent tells them that he believes that there is so much more than what the normal eye can see . Having travelled throughout all of time and space , the Doctor says that he doesn ' t need to be told . After a bit too much coffee , Vincent begins rambling on about how he hears the colours ; the Doctor tries hearing for the voices of the colours as well . Vincent then explains that every time he leaves his home , he can hear the world yelling at him to capture the mysteries on canvas . The Doctor calmly tells Vincent that he has had enough coffee and offers to make some calming chamomile tea . However , he then notices that Amy is not in the room any more , as he hears her screaming from outside . Vincent and the Doctor find Amy on the ground . She says that something attacked her while she was looking at the paintings . Vincent begins screaming in horror and backs away from them . The Doctor thinks that he is having some kind of fit as Vincent charges past them with a pitchfork ; the painter tells them to run as he swings the pitchfork around . The Doctor encourages Amy to take cover while he calms Vincent . However , Vincent yells for the Doctor to duck as he is swept off his feet by something large and invisible . Realising Vincent is " not " having a fit , but can actually see the beast , he grabs a stick to help fight it . As he cannot see it , the Doctor uselessly swings the stick around to help cover more ground ; Vincent wards the creature off . Vincent tells the Doctor , who is still swinging the stick around , that the beast has left . The Doctor asks Vincent what the creature looked like ; Vincent says that he ' ll show them . . Leading them back inside , Vincent whites out a canvas of flowers — much to Amy and the Doctor ' s horror — and proceeds to draw the creature on it . The Doctor is shocked by what it looks like and decides that something in the TARDIS can help identify what it is . He instructs Amy to look after Vincent and make him comfortable as possible ; he then jokes to her , asking Amy not to " let any invisible monsters in the house " . He tells them he ' ll be back before they can ask where he ' s gotten to ; he then immediately returns to scare them silly , telling them not to ask too fast . Unknown to the Doctor , the invisible creature hadn ' t gone too far from the studio and begins stalking him . By the time the Doctor gets back into town and to the TARDIS , the creature attempts to attack . However , the Doctor enters the TARDIS right before it can get to him . Inside , the Doctor rummages through a drawer full of junk , apologising to the object he is looking for as he thought it was an embarrassing gift from a dull two - headed godmother with bad breath ( twice ) . Pulling out a portable device , the Doctor hooks it to the printer on the console . He smiles at the mirror - like attachment on the device , and it shows his first two incarnations and his personal information . Seeing that it works , the Doctor shows the device Vincent ' s painting , which it misinterprets as a parrot and polar bear , unable to clearly make out what it is . Annoyed , the Doctor tosses the painting aside ; he grumbles that Vincent will have to try painting something better . It ' s dawn by the time the Doctor exits the TARDIS . Strapping the device to himself , the Doctor does not notice the creature reflected by the device . Having got a clear image of the creature , the device beeps , giving the Doctor the information about it ; he mistakenly believes that it needed some time to get it right . Reading the information , the Doctor feels sorry for the " poor , brutal thing , " wishing to see it again soon . Upon seeing the beast ' s reflection , he calmly says " but not " that " soon " , before running off to escape it . To obstruct the creature ' s path , the Doctor drops debris behind him to slow the creature as he hides behind a corner . Using the mirror on the device , the Doctor finds that it has left in a different direction . He turns around , only to be scared by Amy ; he demands to know why she left Vincent unguarded . Amy explains that though she loves his artwork , she finds it hard to like Vincent ' s snoring . The next morning , the Doctor wakes Vincent , who steps into the courtyard to see Amy surrounded by sunflower s ; she tells Vincent it ' s her way of thanking him for saving her yesterday . Amy suggests he paint them , but Vincent explains they are not his favourite ; Amy is confused by this , as Vincent will paint a picture of them . Vincent explains he finds them complex , half - living and half - dying , but it would be a challenge , to which the Doctor responds that he believes that he ' ll rise to the occasion . Giving Vincent a print - out of the creature , the Doctor explains that it ' s called a Krafayis . They travel through space in packs , a brutal race of scavengers . This one has apparently been abandoned . It will kill without mercy until it is killed — unlikely , given its invisibility . Nonetheless , he assures Vincent they can stop the killings if he will paint the church . Vincent agrees and the Doctor informs him that , afterwards , he and Amy will leave . Once Vincent has departed , the Doctor expresses concern at putting him in such a dangerous situation ; if he is killed , half of the paintings on display in the Musée d ' Orsay will vanish . After a while , the Doctor and Amy have gotten tired of waiting for Vincent getting ready . Wondering what is keeping him , the Doctor finds the painter lying in bed , sobbing . He is devastated the Doctor and Amy are prepared to leave him , like everyone else . The Doctor tries to console and encourage Vincent , whose mood becomes more violent . He orders the Doctor to leave ; shocked , he complies . Outside Vicent ' s room , the Doctor runs into Amy , who wonders what they ' re doing . The Doctor explains that they ' re leaving ; Vincent has a fragile psyche and will kill himself in just a few short months ; trying to force Vincent might accelerate his suicide and cause the disappearance of his final works . They will have to try finding the Krafayis without Vincent ' s help , hoping it will still arrive at the church without the presence of the painter . However , right before they can leave , Vincent arrives , calmed and ready . On the way to the church , Amy tries to talk to Vincent about his depression . Vincent explains that his moods sometimes bother him for months at a time , but they got lucky today ; he adds if she can " soldier on , " then he can too . This confuses her , which prompts Vincent to reveal he can hear her sadness and believes that she has recently lost someone . He also points out she is crying , which she hadn ' t realised . The Doctor listen in , surprised . They stop in the road as a funeral procession , for the girl who was killed last night , passes ; everyone glares at Vincent . Amy questions the Doctor , wondering what his plan is this time . However , the Doctor tells her he ' s got something " like " a plan , " only more greatness " ; he ' s armed with overconfidence , a sonic screwdriver and the device in his briefcase . At the church , Vincent begins to paint . The Doctor spends the time talking to Vincent about his past meetings with Michelangelo ( who took the job of painting the Sistine Chapel despite being afraid of heights ) and Pablo Picasso ( who he tried getting to paint normal faces ) . As it becomes night , the Doctor becomes frustrated as the Krafayis is not punctual , confessing to Amy that something doesn ' t feel right . Vincent sees the beast in the window . The Doctor goes inside , ordering his companions not to follow . Vincent questions Amy as to if she will follow the Doctor ; she responds , " of course , " prompting Vincent to tell her he loves her . Inside , the Doctor " fights " the creature , but when his device is destroyed , he prepares to retreat . Outside , Amy and Vincent hear the chaos . Amy runs inside , calling for the Doctor . The Doctor attempts to exit the church , but bumps into Amy . Despite being annoyed that she disobeyed him again , he forces her to hide in the confessional with him . They whisper to each other as the Krafayis attacks them . The Doctor remarks the Krafayis has incredible hearing . As it tears the confessionals apart , Vincent appears , brandishing a chair to distract the beast , allowing the Doctor and Amy to escape . The Doctor tries stunning the beast with the sonic screwdriver , but since he can ' t see it , he can ' t tell if he has the right setting ; Vincent says the attempt to stun the beast pleased it instead . As a result , the Doctor gives up on the idea of stunning the Krafayis . They take refuge in another chamber ; Vincent blocks the door with his chair . Thinking quickly about why the Krafayis was left behind , the Doctor accidentally refers to Vincent as Rory while rambling ; Amy is confused by this , but the Doctor quickly covers up his mistake . Vincent tells them to wait there as he has an idea , promptly leaving out another exit . In Vincent ' s absence , the Doctor attempts to reason with the creature ( thanks to the TARDIS translation circuit ) , telling it he too is alone and he knows how it feels ; he offers to help the creature . However , the Krafayis does not respond , instead stopping its attempts to break down the door and everything goes silent . After a moment , the Doctor thinks he managed to get the creature to listen to reason . However , this notion is dispelled immediately afterwards as the chamber windows blow out . The Doctor and Amy take over behind a tomb , as they hear the beast enter the room . Vincent returns with his easel , holding it like a weapon . He says the creature is making its way around the edges of the room . The Doctor calls himself an idiot for not noticing this sooner , saying he is getting old ; Amy tells him he can do his self - reflection later as they have a pressing matter . Slapping himself , the Doctor explains that the Krafayis was left behind because it is blind , but he yells his deduction . Vincent points out " " that would explain why it has now turned around and is now running right at us ! " " As it attacks , Vincent stabs the Krafayis with the legs of the easel . It collapses , badly wounded and dying . It begins crying it is afraid , and the Doctor consoles it as it dies . Vincent mourns he didn ' t mean to kill it , only wound it , and that he understands its lonely existence . The Krafayis was lashing out in fear , just like the people who hate Vincent for being a madman . Amy , Vincent , and the Doctor lie in the grass outside the church ; Vincent says they are lucky to still be alive to see the wonders of the world . Vincent encourages them to see the world as he does ( we see the night sky turn into Vincent ' s " Starry Night " painting ) , saying the blackness of the sky is actually multiple shades of blue . Using his telepathy to briefly look into Vincent ' s mind , the Doctor sees the sky as the painter does . Smiling , the Doctor admits that he has seen many amazing things in his life , but nothing quite as wonderful as what Vincent sees . Vincent tells his friends he will miss them when they ' re gone . The next morning , Vincent attempts to give his self - portrait as a parting gift , but the Doctor , knowing what it will be worth one day , refuses it . The painter takes this in stride ; he ' s used to having his works of art refused . Vincent admits that , despite his experiences over the last couple of days , he won ' t do well on his own . As the Doctor and Amy depart , he gets an idea , asking Amy if she ' s had the same one ; she doesn ' t as she ' s thinking about grabbing breakfast at the café . The Doctor calls to Vincent ( who looks out his window , half - dressed ) , telling him to tidy up as there is something he wants to show him . They take him to the TARDIS , which is now covered in circus posters ; the Doctor slices through them with the TARDIS key and opens the doors of his time machine . The Doctor reminds Vincent about how they talked about the wonders of the universe before showing him inside . Seeing the inside , Vincent examines the outside and returns to the Doctor and Amy . He enters , amused , asking how " he ' s " " crazy " , while they ' ve managed to remained sane . The Doctor explains some of the buttons on the console , secretly steering the TARDIS . Vincent is amazed by all the Doctor has told him and asks that they come back to the café , and explain more about the wonders of the universe . However , the Doctor tells him that there is something they wish to show him first . Stepping outside , they reveal to Vincent they ' re now at the Musée d ' Orsay in 2010 ; the time vortex energy has also reduced the posters covering the TARDIS to cinders . Explaining where they are , the Doctor and Amy lead Vincent into the museum , leaving his hat back in the TARDIS to avoid arousing suspicion of his identity . Led through the building , Vincent looks in awe at the exhibits , then is even more surprised when he is led into the section dedicated completely to his paintings . While Vincent stares at people enjoying his work , the Doctor finds Dr Black again , asking if he can summarise where Vincent stands in history . Dr . Black is taken aback , as it ' s a " big question " . Amy positions Vincent close enough to hear his response , as Dr Black praises Van Gogh for turning his pain into incredible beauty , calling him not only the world ' s greatest artist , but also one of the greatest men of all time . Vincent is reduced to tears by these words and the Doctor starts to apologise , thinking this was too much for him . However , Vincent explains he ' s crying out of joy ; now he knows that people will love his paintings . He hugs Dr Black and thanks him for his kind words before leaving with his friends . Dr Black is confused , and suspects the truth before thinking better of it . Vincent is returned to 1890 , where he comments on what has happened and thanks the Doctor for truly helping him where other doctors have not ; the Doctor is equally joyous , bidding his new friend farewell . He then tells Amy that should she grow bored of the Doctor , she may return and they will have a big family . Amy tells Vincent that she ' s " not the marrying type " ; the Doctor is subtly distressed to hear this . Leaving for home , Vincent hears the TARDIS leave and turns back to see it gone . He then leaves , happy , and sure he will use his experience to change himself into a new man . The Doctor and Amy return to the Musée d ' Orsay . Amy is certain their time with Vincent changed him . Having seen people ' s lives turn out better from meeting them , Amy believes that they have prevented Vincent from committing suicide and spending a longer life painting . Ecstatic at the prospect of seeing new paintings , Amy happily skips back into the exhibit . However , to her shock , there are no new works . To her furthering sadness , she overhears Dr . Black still announce to tourists that Van Gogh still went through with committing suicide at the age of thirty - seven . Amy is heartbroken that they didn ' t make a difference in Vincent ' s life at all , but the Doctor rejects this . He says that good things can ' t remove the pain of bad things , but bad things can ' t spoil the good things and they certainly added a large amount of good to Vincent ' s life . The Doctor shows Amy that the face of the Krafayis is no longer visible in the window of the church . Another change becomes evident as they prepare to leave . Amy sees Van Gogh ' s painting of sunflowers , now dedicated to her . Amy jokes that if she had children with Vincent , they would have had really red hair . The Doctor jokes back , saying it would be the " Ultimate Ginger " . Amy cries as they both laugh . The Doctor comforts her . Amy notes that the picture is brighter than real sunflowers . Story notes . Ratings . Overnight viewing figures were 5 . 0 million . Official viewing figures was 6 . 29 million viewers . Home video releases . BBC Video - " Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Four " was released on Monday 6 September 2010 ( UK Only ) on DVD and Blu - ray , featuring " Vincent and the Doctor " , " The Lodger " , " The Pandorica Opens " and " The Big Bang " .