The Vampires of Venice
Encyclopedia
"The Vampires of Venice" is the sixth episode in the fifth series of the British
science fiction
television series Doctor Who
, which was broadcast on 8 May 2010. It was written by Toby Whithouse
, who previously wrote "School Reunion
". Rory Williams
returns to the series in this episode, this time in the capacity of companion
. The episode centres on the Doctor taking Rory and Amy to Venice
in the year 1580. The city is protected by the House of Calvierri, but there's something in the canals, and the beautiful Calvierri girls cannot be seen in mirrors.
, believing Amy
's attraction to him is due to the stress from travel, gatecrashes her fiancé Rory
's stag party, and invites the two of them on a romantic trip courtesy of the TARDIS
. They land in Venice of 1580 and soon find trouble. The city's patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri, claims that a plague runs rampant outside of Venice, which she uses as an excuse to seal off the city, but the Doctor says this is false. When they try to learn more, they encounter Guido, a boat-builder, who is desperately seeking information on his daughter Isabella. Guido explains that Signora Calvierri runs a highly-praised school for the betterment of young ladies, which he was able to enroll Isabella into, but he now fears something is wrong. The Doctor and Amy and Rory investigate separately; they all come to the same conclusion: Signora Calvierri, her son Francesco, and the girls in the school are all vampires
, feeding on the blood of young women by biting their necks with long teeth. These vampires fear direct sunlight, and leave no reflection in a mirror.
Amy devises a plan to place herself inside the school with the help of Rory; after getting in, she will let the Doctor and Rory in through a canal entrance. Though she is able to unlock the necessary gate, Amy is discovered and taken to a chamber to be turned into a vampire. In her struggles, she kicks at Signora Calvierri and discovers that she is wearing a device that masks her true alien form. Isabella, who has yet to be fully converted, frees Amy and they escape along with the Doctor and Rory. Isabella hesitates on the threshold because she cannot handle direct sunlight; she is pulled back inside and the door closes. The Doctor tries to open the door but he gets shocked by electricity and collapses. Isabella is later thrown into a canal by Signora Calvierri and eaten by something that lives underwater.
The Doctor goes back inside to question Signora Calvierri; he confirms that she and the others are creatures from the planet Saturnyne, a race of aquatic beings with vampire-like tendencies, but wearing perception filters—the device Amy struck—to make them appear human; the filters are the reason for the lack of reflection. Signora Calvierri states they were fleeing from numerous cracks in time that threatened their planet, through some of which they heard only silence. Calvierri and her son fell through one crack into Venice, and are now seeking to sink the city and convert humans into "Sisters of the Water" in order to continue their race. When the Doctor returns to Guido's home to report, Signora Calvierri sends her transformed girls to attack them. Guido sacrifices himself for the others by blowing up several kegs of gunpowder that kill him and the girls. Signora Calvierri activates a device on a tower that begins to create the earthquakes and floods that will sink Venice. While Amy and Rory face and defeat Francesco, the Doctor climbs the tower and stops the device in time. The last of her kind, Signora Calvierri throws herself into the canal where her doomed offspring await, but not before tormenting the Doctor by reminding him that he is now responsible for the extinction of two species: her own, and the Time Lords.
In the aftermath of the incident, Amy and the Doctor invite Rory to continue traveling with them, but as the Doctor and Rory are about to enter the TARDIS, everything falls silent. Unnerved, the Doctor remembers Signora Calvierri's words: "We saw silence, and the end of all things..."
originally planned to write a different episode
set in "some sort of labyrinth", but after the idea had been developed for a while executive producers Steven Moffat
and Piers Wenger
thought that it was too similar to other episodes in the series, and asked him to write something else, while Whithouse's original idea was pushed to the next series
. He was asked to write "a big bold romantic episode" which would also serve as a "sort of reboot episode" and a good introduction to Doctor Who.
Due to the fact it would take time to cover up all the modern shops found in present-day Venice, the episode was filmed in the coastal town of Trogir
, Croatia
in late 2009. The gondolas were filmed in the moat on Caerphilly Castle
and inserted with CGI
. The Venetians had colonised in Trogir. Locals were used in the marketplace, including a woman who had passed by the filming site with her goat. A small crew did go to Venice to take wide shots of the buildings that bordered the water but did not have walkways as they did in Trogir.
on 8 May 2010. Due to an extended episode of Over the Rainbow
which was shown afterwards, the episode aired at 6:00 p.m., the earliest start time for a Doctor Who episode since the series was revived in 2005. The final rating for this episode was 7.68 million viewers (7.28 million on BBC One and 0.4 million on BBC HD). It was the fifth most watched programme on BBC1 for the week ending 9 May 2010, and the thirteenth most watched across all UK channels. On Saturday, 8 May 2010, the programme was the second most watched, behind Britain's Got Talent
with 11.87 million viewers. These figures do not include the viewers for BBC HD or ITV HD.
" and "Flesh and Stone
" was released on 5 July 2010 and the Blu-Ray on 2 August 2010.
on guardian.co.uk
, described it as "beautifully shot" and went on to write: "the way every part of the vampire mythos was explained away by Who pseudo-science was delightful; the stand-off between the Doctor and Rosanna was beautifully played; the dialogue as cracking as you'd expect from Whithouse...and the climactic shot of the Doctor scaling the tower in the rain was just the correct level of broad brushstroke".
Gavin Fuller gave the episode a negative review in The Daily Telegraph
, calling it "highly disappointing" and "a tragically wasted opportunity." He criticised the writing and plot for "sheer derivativeness", noting that the opening scene was "similar in concept" to Whithouse's previous Doctor Who episode "School Reunion
" and thought the "aliens-posing-as-humans idea" was taken from that script as well. He went on to criticise Lucian Msamati
as Guido as it "seemed to be taken straight out of Othello
", negatively compared the love triangle
between the Doctor, Amy and Rory to the storyline with previous charactersRose
and Mickey
, and thought the ending was too similar to "The Idiot's Lantern
" and "Evolution of the Daleks
".
Patrick Mulkern, writing for the Radio Times
, echoed Fuller's sentiments in his review, saying "I must admit I yawn at aliens disguised as humans. We've seen it so many times now" and noted that Whithouse had used the concept in "School Reuinon" and his Torchwood
episode "Greeks Bearing Gifts
". However, he also thought that "the script delivers lots of heroics and funny moments for the Doctor, Amy and Rory", and he praised the "terrific cast", describing Helen McCrory
as "majestic".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was broadcast on 8 May 2010. It was written by Toby Whithouse
Toby Whithouse
Toby Whithouse is an English actor, stand-up comedian and screenwriter. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series Being Human. He also created the Channel 4 television drama series No Angels , and has written for BBC One's Hotel Babylon and...
, who previously wrote "School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
". Rory Williams
Rory Williams
Rory Williams is a fictional character portrayed by Arthur Darvill in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Having been introduced at the start of the 5th series, Rory joins the Eleventh Doctor as a companion in the middle of Series 5...
returns to the series in this episode, this time in the capacity of companion
Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
. The episode centres on the Doctor taking Rory and Amy to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in the year 1580. The city is protected by the House of Calvierri, but there's something in the canals, and the beautiful Calvierri girls cannot be seen in mirrors.
Plot
The DoctorEleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
, believing Amy
Amy Pond
Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
's attraction to him is due to the stress from travel, gatecrashes her fiancé Rory
Rory Williams
Rory Williams is a fictional character portrayed by Arthur Darvill in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Having been introduced at the start of the 5th series, Rory joins the Eleventh Doctor as a companion in the middle of Series 5...
's stag party, and invites the two of them on a romantic trip courtesy of the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
. They land in Venice of 1580 and soon find trouble. The city's patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri, claims that a plague runs rampant outside of Venice, which she uses as an excuse to seal off the city, but the Doctor says this is false. When they try to learn more, they encounter Guido, a boat-builder, who is desperately seeking information on his daughter Isabella. Guido explains that Signora Calvierri runs a highly-praised school for the betterment of young ladies, which he was able to enroll Isabella into, but he now fears something is wrong. The Doctor and Amy and Rory investigate separately; they all come to the same conclusion: Signora Calvierri, her son Francesco, and the girls in the school are all vampires
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
, feeding on the blood of young women by biting their necks with long teeth. These vampires fear direct sunlight, and leave no reflection in a mirror.
Amy devises a plan to place herself inside the school with the help of Rory; after getting in, she will let the Doctor and Rory in through a canal entrance. Though she is able to unlock the necessary gate, Amy is discovered and taken to a chamber to be turned into a vampire. In her struggles, she kicks at Signora Calvierri and discovers that she is wearing a device that masks her true alien form. Isabella, who has yet to be fully converted, frees Amy and they escape along with the Doctor and Rory. Isabella hesitates on the threshold because she cannot handle direct sunlight; she is pulled back inside and the door closes. The Doctor tries to open the door but he gets shocked by electricity and collapses. Isabella is later thrown into a canal by Signora Calvierri and eaten by something that lives underwater.
The Doctor goes back inside to question Signora Calvierri; he confirms that she and the others are creatures from the planet Saturnyne, a race of aquatic beings with vampire-like tendencies, but wearing perception filters—the device Amy struck—to make them appear human; the filters are the reason for the lack of reflection. Signora Calvierri states they were fleeing from numerous cracks in time that threatened their planet, through some of which they heard only silence. Calvierri and her son fell through one crack into Venice, and are now seeking to sink the city and convert humans into "Sisters of the Water" in order to continue their race. When the Doctor returns to Guido's home to report, Signora Calvierri sends her transformed girls to attack them. Guido sacrifices himself for the others by blowing up several kegs of gunpowder that kill him and the girls. Signora Calvierri activates a device on a tower that begins to create the earthquakes and floods that will sink Venice. While Amy and Rory face and defeat Francesco, the Doctor climbs the tower and stops the device in time. The last of her kind, Signora Calvierri throws herself into the canal where her doomed offspring await, but not before tormenting the Doctor by reminding him that he is now responsible for the extinction of two species: her own, and the Time Lords.
In the aftermath of the incident, Amy and the Doctor invite Rory to continue traveling with them, but as the Doctor and Rory are about to enter the TARDIS, everything falls silent. Unnerved, the Doctor remembers Signora Calvierri's words: "We saw silence, and the end of all things..."
Production
Writer Toby WhithouseToby Whithouse
Toby Whithouse is an English actor, stand-up comedian and screenwriter. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series Being Human. He also created the Channel 4 television drama series No Angels , and has written for BBC One's Hotel Babylon and...
originally planned to write a different episode
The God Complex
"The God Complex" is the eleventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 17 September 2011.-Plot summary:...
set in "some sort of labyrinth", but after the idea had been developed for a while executive producers Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his...
and Piers Wenger
Piers Wenger
Piers Wenger is a British television producer who has been Head of Drama at BBC Wales since January 2009. His work includes the BAFTA-winning Victoria Wood drama Housewife, 49 and the 2007 adaptation of Noel Streatfeild's novel Ballet Shoes....
thought that it was too similar to other episodes in the series, and asked him to write something else, while Whithouse's original idea was pushed to the next series
Doctor Who (series 6)
The sixth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who was shown in two parts. The first seven episodes were broadcast from April to June 2011 and the final six episodes from August to October. Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill continued their roles as The Doctor, Amy...
. He was asked to write "a big bold romantic episode" which would also serve as a "sort of reboot episode" and a good introduction to Doctor Who.
Due to the fact it would take time to cover up all the modern shops found in present-day Venice, the episode was filmed in the coastal town of Trogir
Trogir
Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 12,995 and a total municipality population of 13,322 . The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
in late 2009. The gondolas were filmed in the moat on Caerphilly Castle
Caerphilly Castle
Caerphilly Castle is a medieval castle that dominates the centre of the town of Caerphilly in south Wales. It is the largest castle in Wales and the second largest in Britain after Windsor Castle...
and inserted with CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. The Venetians had colonised in Trogir. Locals were used in the marketplace, including a woman who had passed by the filming site with her goat. A small crew did go to Venice to take wide shots of the buildings that bordered the water but did not have walkways as they did in Trogir.
Broadcast
"The Vampires of Venice" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 8 May 2010. Due to an extended episode of Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow (2010 TV series)
Over the Rainbow is a British television talent series which aired on BBC One from March to May 2010. It documents the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Dorothy in the forthcoming Andrew Lloyd Webber stage production of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and a...
which was shown afterwards, the episode aired at 6:00 p.m., the earliest start time for a Doctor Who episode since the series was revived in 2005. The final rating for this episode was 7.68 million viewers (7.28 million on BBC One and 0.4 million on BBC HD). It was the fifth most watched programme on BBC1 for the week ending 9 May 2010, and the thirteenth most watched across all UK channels. On Saturday, 8 May 2010, the programme was the second most watched, behind Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
with 11.87 million viewers. These figures do not include the viewers for BBC HD or ITV HD.
DVD release
A Region 2 DVD containing this episode together with "The Time of AngelsThe Time of Angels
"The Time of Angels" is the fourth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 24 April 2010 on BBC One. It is the first episode of a two-part story written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith; the second episode was...
" and "Flesh and Stone
Flesh and Stone
"Flesh and Stone" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, the episode was first broadcast on 1 May 2010 on BBC One...
" was released on 5 July 2010 and the Blu-Ray on 2 August 2010.
Reception
The episode received mixed reviews. Daniel Martin, writing for The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on guardian.co.uk
Guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
, described it as "beautifully shot" and went on to write: "the way every part of the vampire mythos was explained away by Who pseudo-science was delightful; the stand-off between the Doctor and Rosanna was beautifully played; the dialogue as cracking as you'd expect from Whithouse...and the climactic shot of the Doctor scaling the tower in the rain was just the correct level of broad brushstroke".
Gavin Fuller gave the episode a negative review in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, calling it "highly disappointing" and "a tragically wasted opportunity." He criticised the writing and plot for "sheer derivativeness", noting that the opening scene was "similar in concept" to Whithouse's previous Doctor Who episode "School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
" and thought the "aliens-posing-as-humans idea" was taken from that script as well. He went on to criticise Lucian Msamati
Lucian Msamati
Lucian Msamati, sometimes credited as Wiina Msamati, is a British-born film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:Lucian Gabriel Wiina Msamati was born in the United Kingdom and brought up in Zimbabwe by his Tanzanian parents, a doctor and a nurse, he is the eldest of four siblings...
as Guido as it "seemed to be taken straight out of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
", negatively compared the love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
between the Doctor, Amy and Rory to the storyline with previous charactersRose
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
and Mickey
Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Noel Clarke.Mickey is introduced as the boyfriend of the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, and a recurring character on the programme...
, and thought the ending was too similar to "The Idiot's Lantern
The Idiot's Lantern
"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
" and "Evolution of the Daleks
Evolution of the Daleks
"Evolution of the Daleks" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 April 2007, and is the fifth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is the conclusion of the two-part story begun in "Daleks in...
".
Patrick Mulkern, writing for the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
, echoed Fuller's sentiments in his review, saying "I must admit I yawn at aliens disguised as humans. We've seen it so many times now" and noted that Whithouse had used the concept in "School Reuinon" and his Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
episode "Greeks Bearing Gifts
Greeks Bearing Gifts (Torchwood)
"Greeks Bearing Gifts" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the seventh episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 26 November 2006.-Synopsis:...
". However, he also thought that "the script delivers lots of heroics and funny moments for the Doctor, Amy and Rory", and he praised the "terrific cast", describing Helen McCrory
Helen McCrory
Helen Elizabeth McCrory is a British actress. She portrayed Cherie Blair in both the 2006 film The Queen and the 2010 film The Special Relationship. She also portrayed Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films....
as "majestic".