Is The Vampires of Venice Series 5’s Most Underrated Story?
Guest contributor Anthony Retondo revisits the story five years on.
It’s no secret that “Doctor Who” can be a very divisive series amongst the fanbase. I’ve heard some call certain episodes a masterpiece while others pan it no end. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. I believe that the wide variety of fans is one of the reasons “Doctor Who” is such a great show. With a great number of different opinions the writers can take that input to knowledge and help the show to keep evolving. It also means that it’s a show with a greater chance of having something for everyone.
In most cases I fall into the majority when it comes to favoring certain episodes, but there is one that I am surprised time and time again to always see rank so low on episode ranking lists, and that is the Series 5 adventure “The Vampires of Venice.” It’s easy to see how on the surface the episode seems corny and forgettable. But I believe that a number of unique inclusions and great writing make “The Vampires of Venice” not only one of the most memorable episodes of Series 5, but —and I’m playing with fire here — one of the best episodes in the entire series that doesn’t center around the main plot of its season.
The Initiation of Rory Williams
Though not the most important reason I love this episode, I feel that Rory’s inclusion helped it become more memorable than a lot of others. “The Vampires of Venice” could easily be considered a filler episode (One that does not really develop the main plot of the series). The vampires themselves are forgettable and some of the extras are awkward and unmemorable. But by having Rory enter the TARDIS for the first time “Vampires” became a much more important story with a terrific subplot woven in. It’s not like “Night Terrors,” an episode that features little more than the monster and a simple plot.
“The Vampires of Venice” instead gave us the dynamic between Rory and Amy to help develop the characters and the main plot of Series 5 itself. It’s an episode that provides both a fun plot and some smaller key moments that pushed the series’ main plot. This is also one of the reasons why I love Series 5 and Moffat’s take on Doctor Who in general. Even the episodes that don’t seem to be integral to the series on a surface level include something to connect it all and make the series feel well-paced. “The Vampires of Venice” is one of the finest examples.
A Great Villain
“The Vampires of Venice” did something that few fans of the show give it credit for, and few even realize. The Doctor is a legend. He’s ended wars, started them, brought entire civilizations to ruin and changed the lives of many. It only makes sense that he would be notorious amongst all of time and space (Moffat played with this idea in Series 6 of course) And yet, too often do I feel that in a singular episode of “Doctor Who” the villains are some sort of new threat who are just discovering who the Doctor is for the first time.
Rosanna was a fine exception to that trend and a breath of fresh air. It makes too much sense that some villains out there are bound to know who the Doctor is, aside from the main players like Daleks and the Master. And while Rosanna was not the deepest or most intriguing villain I still found her knowledge of the Doctor added a whole new layer to what would could have been an otherwise subpar episode. The two of them clashed, if only briefly, and it took me by surprise upon first viewing it.
Rosanna: Where are you from?
The Doctor: Gallifrey
Rosanna: You should be in a museum, or a mausoleum
And their prior recognition of each other lead to a few interesting scenes of dialogue as well as a villain who not only pushed the Doctor to his physical limits, but almost his emotional limits as well. In “Vampires” he is faced with the difficult choice he must inevitably make: One species has to die so that one may live. Rosanna challenged the Doctor’s morals and even offered him a seat in their empire. Though this idea wasn’t explored nearly enough I still feel that this relationship between the two turned Rosanna into a cut above the rest when compared to other villains who either don’t even communicate with the Doctor or just don’t have any sort of connection with him.
But Rosanna was almost the last of her race, and that similarity with the Doctor bred a fascinating dynamic. In a small way she was also more sympathetic and relatable than other villains. In the end she was just looking out for her own people, even if the ends did not justify the means. Still, it spawned an interesting moral question. Just how far would one go to save their own race? I feel that the raising of these morality issues brought an average episode of “Doctor Who” up to a great one.
Exploration into the Doctor’s Character
“The Vampires of Venice” is filled with moments that I feel point to underlying ideas in the series that should be mentioned more. And Toby Whithouse helped bring up yet another dangerous fact about the Doctor, albeit one that was explored in the past before.
But even though the idea of the Doctor being a danger to people had been explored prior, “The Vampires of Venice” still excels beyond normal filler episodes by including some of these darker and more thought-provoking themes. Again, it was only brief but I found it so refreshing when Rory Williams actually took a moment to confront the Doctor and call him out on his antics.
“You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves,” he says, leaving the Doctor shocked.
It’s a moment that I enjoy greatly because it’s one of the few times where the Doctor is thrown offguard, and by a human being, who seem to always look up to him as a superior figure. The Doctor is not a perfect person, far from it, and Whithouse’s decision to explore the darker side of the Doctor was not only more mature, but a revolution for a small-time episode like “Vampires”.
And this brief moment was given a great punch line when the Doctor lashes out at Amy in the end, realizing the error of his ways and helping Rory. I found this idea interesting to think about. “Doctor Who” is a show about having a lot of fun, and taking a second to actually look at the ramifications of all of that fun is a step in the right direction if the show wishes to evolve and mature.
To me, this is one of the core reasons why “The Vampires of Venice” is one of the best “filler” episodes, because it doesn’t just settle for a good monster of the week script. It goes beyond by including several fascinating themes of the Doctor.
Humor
I’m going to make a gutsy statement here and say that “Vampires” is the funniest episode in Series 5, and most impressively, it balances the humoristic elements with the serious ones quite well. There are too many moments to list that make me laugh when I watch this episode. The Doctor popping out of the cake, The moment he checks himself out in the mirror, The terrific part when he’s told there’s nobody upstairs, only to immediately state that he knew that was going to be the case.
This was an episode where Matt Smith’s Doctor really started coming to its own. Because of his quirky attitude and jokey remarks in the episode we got a sense of how playful and sometimes childish the Eleventh Doctor can be. This was an important step in the evolution of his character. His brilliantly subtle motions during the library card scene immediately come to mind.
Being funny is one thing, but I feel that these witty and brilliant jokes once again helped elevate “Vampires” above other normal episodes. And that is because the humor lent itself to the adventurous nature of the series. It made it feel more exciting and fun for the audience. It’s not unlike Doctor Who to juggle dozens of emotions all at once, so it never felt off-putting to have an episode with both a great deal of humor and drama.
I can understand why “The Vampires of Venice” often ranks low amongst fans. The effects are subpar and the extras like Isabella were boring and forgettable. It also tries to juggle a lot of plot points and seems silly just upon looking at it. But to me, the addition of a better-than-average villain, dramatic themes, some moments that push Series 5 forward and terrific humor make it one of the best episodes aside from an epic finale or premiere.
It doesn’t stand up to filler titans like “Mummy on the Orient Express” or “The Girl in the Fireplace,” but it is a perfect combination of everything that makes “Doctor Who” so good. That’s the main reason I love this episode so much. Because through all of these elements (a good villain, an emotional subplot and humor) it creates a perfect mixture of what the entire series is about, which is something I don’t feel can be argued for many other filler episodes.
