Doctor Who (TV Series) The Vampires of Venice (2010) User Reviews

I Had Hoped For Something A Bit Less RTD Inspired

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 8 May 2010]

One of the great strengths of DOCTOR WHO is that its format allows it be flexible . As season two of the new series shows one week we can have a terrifying horror story featuring Satan followed a week later by a post modernist black comedy with a well regarded comedian in a guest role . Unfortunately by season five there seems to be a lack of imagination involved . Time Of Angels / Flesh and Stone was an improvement on previous weeks but Vampires In Venice is a rather retro step from the improvement in the last two weeks , so much so that there's the feeling it's a left over story from the RTD era

The eponymous vampires aren't vampires at all , they're aliens from another planet disguised as vampires . Tooth And Claw also had a mythical monster - a werewolf - who wasn't a mythical monster at all but an alien pretending to be something it wasn't . Why do the production team insist on making mythical creatures of horror in to aliens ? Is that so there will be a big pay off climax involving lots of spectacular special effects ? Sometimes less should be more especially if spectacle replaces drama

Sadly much of the drama is spoiled in this story by the amount of humour .. Rory's stag night is ruined by the Doctor pouncing out of a cake which led to a laugh from me . Unfortunately the rest of humour fails to work because it's laid on with a trowel . Sexual innuendo raises its ugly head as characters complain " Yours is bigger than mine " something I'd hoped had disappeared with RTD Rory becomes a comedy character very much like Mickey as he throws insult and tries to defend himself with a broomstick from a vampire . Amy too fails to convince as she is abducted by vampires and makes jokes about Ofsted . Of course with this type of show there's a suspension of disbelief but it works against its own advantage when the human characters crack jokes in the face of death . The Doctor might be able to get away with it but not the human characters

All in all this is a fairly average story from Toby Whitehouse who wrote the very enjoyable School Reunion from season two . There are good aspects such as the wonderful production values and the good performances of the supporting cast but we've come to expect that over the last few years . Perhaps more worryingly Moffat seems to be resting on the laurels of the success RTD years . As soon as he took the job Moffat claimed that he wasn't in the nostalgia business but unfortunately nostalgia along with deja vu seems to be in abundance this season which whilst not being a bad thing one had hoped to see something a bit more radical

Better, but there are still timing issues. . .

[Safetylight · 7/10 · 8 May 2010]

This was a fun episode, but once again the new creative minds behind Matt Smith's Doctor were swollen on enthusiasm and good ideas, but starved on time. It's a real shame, because there is so much genuine good energy in this new series, but the hour time-slot just isn't a big enough canvas, and as a result, the finished product once again felt rushed.

Moffat should stick to two-parters. The previous Stone Angels two-episode story was wonderful; the pacing fit the amount of material. But Vampires, while not as horribly crammed as "The Beast Below", still suffered, particularly in the last quarter.

I want to point out that just because there is a lot of good intention and obvious skill in these new episodes, it should NOT be taken as a free pass. Episodes 2 and 3 of this current season of DW were so bad it actually hurt to watch them. They could have been brilliant, but instead they were disasters of which the creators should be ashamed.

Vampires was nearly good enough, worth a 7 out of 10, but it would have been an easy 9 had it been stretched out for another fifty minutes.

I shudder to imagine what this episode must have played like on American TV where an extra five minutes was cut out to make room for more advertising!

Good Mid-Season One-shot

[boblipton · 7/10 · 26 May 2010]

As the 2010 season hits its first break, it's a good point, I feel, to review it on the fly. So far, the season arc looks to be well-written -- Mr. Moffat seems to be keeping up his habit and talent of making ordinary things like statues, broken clocks, dust motes and cracks in the wall objects of cthonic terror -- even when they cut severely into the individual episodes. Comedy remains well-mixed into the drama and the ideas remain interesting.

Over all, I begin to suspect that this season will turn out to be one story in 13 parts, rather than the usual collection of vague hints and foreshadowings. I have some interesting speculations as to the nature of things, but I'll keep 'em to myself -- it's much more fun if you figure them out yourself, or not, and I could well be wide off the mark. There's no need to make more of a public fool of myself than some of my other reviews would indicate.

The individual episodes have been a mixed bag, with the three written by Mr. Moffat being excellent to perfect, the second and third occasionally painfully awkward and this one is...

Well, it's a standard Dr. Who-against-a-monster with a few nice grace notes thrown in. Rory, as played by Arthur Darvill, is not such a dope: a bit slow on the uptake, but he knows what he wants and, given a little time, understands what is going on; his angry statement that the Doctor makes people dangerous to themselves is a fine piece of insight. There are some nice twists and meta-fun as the writer of the "School Reunion" episode in Series Two plays with the form and lets us see there are things that are scarier than vampires.

The cast has actually gone on site -- not Venice, but elsewhere on the Adriatic Coast, where the shooting is, one presumes, a bit more practical: still, handsomer than the usual abandoned quarry or garbage dump. The skillful camera movement and thoughtful, subjective camera placement continues, with some nice lighting to suggest late Renaissance paintings and if, as a friend of mine complains, there are costuming issues, they seem to be common to BBC productions these days with the ladies from THE TUDORS able to skin out of their apparel on a moment's notice. The editing is brisk and stylish -- I noticed a well-positioned swish cut in episode 4.

If I have any problem with the season, in fact, it seems to be a certain awkwardness in defining the relationship between the Doctor and his current lead companion, Amy Pond. Matt Smith plays the current incarnation with a lot of bounce and a nice, fast diction. It's pleasant not to see him slammed on the head every episode with the best outcome being that nobody dies; but his relationship with Amy looks to be sometimes friendly and sometimes as if he is keeping an eye on her for her relationship with the Cracks in Space and Time. Perhaps the definition of that relationship is the point of this season, like Moffat's mini-series, JEKYLL, but it leaves me uncomfortable for the moment.

Moffat seems to be clearing up some of the holes left from previous management -- the previous episode noted that no one remembers the giant Cyberman stalking around Victorian London and the Daleks have vanished from human consciousness as of episode 3. Even the worst written of the episodes -- #3, with the Daleks resurrected in collectible colors -- have their interesting moments and amusing lines. And certainly there is still much to look forward to with Richard Curtis writing one episode and a big season closer. I am confident I will enjoy the rest of this season, but I surely hope we get a better idea of who Matt Smith's Doctor is -- because what I really care about is answering the second word of the show's title.

Somewhat hit and miss

[Malcius · 10 May 2010]

I agree with the comments that this would have made a good two-parter. Throughout the Doctor Who revival many single episode stories have felt rushed and this is no exception. The lack of multi-part stories means that a staple ingredient of classic Who, the cliffhanger ending, has been reduced to an occasional tool, generally towards the end of a season story arc. Arguably this makes such cliffhangers more effective when they occur, but still, it would be nice to see a few more.

A bit more time would also allow the historical settings to be explored a bit more. The fact that the 'vampires' were in Venice scarcely amounted to more than costumes and architecture (and apparently this was actually Croatia according to a newspaper review), apart from a vanishingly short lecture by the Doctor on Venice's historical situation. In the early days historical episodes meant the Doctor and companions having misadventures in the historical context. In the revival (and, I think, later classic DW), it's always about some aliens/monsters with their own agenda, messing about with history (aliens in Vesuvius, Daleks in Manhattan, Daleks in WWII, Cybermen in 1850s London, etc.). It would be nice to have some genuine historical episodes again occasionally.

Concerning the comment asking why the vampires had to turn out to be aliens, this has always been the case with both new DW and classic DW. At the heart of the DW ethos everything has to have a scientific (or pseudo-scientific) rationale or, failing that, be left ambiguous.

One reviewer comments that the 'crack in the wall' references are too obvious. However, I like the way these are building up a sense of tension for the overall plot arc and possibly hide some more subtle clues that may lead to an explanation of the crack. Obviously, with such a progression, the season finale will have to deliver a suitably climactic resolution to the crack.

Kinkiest episode ever, though done with considerable wit and high production values

[jrarichards · 7/10 · 5 June 2016]

On the plus side, "The Vampires of Venice" has real-life Venetian (or at least quasi-Venetian) locations and is visually exquisite, as are a number of the actresses appearing! The story is moderately strong, paying endless homage to vampire legends while at the same time having a great deal of fun with them. Indeed, this episode is laugh-out-loud funny in many, many places. Helen McCrory is just excellent as the female villain, and there are some extremely enjoyable interactions within the Rory-Amy-Doctor triangle. There is nevertheless a huge dose of eroticism here - more so than in any previous "Doctor Who" episode; and while this naturally has its appeal for the more mature viewer, that viewer may feel quite uneasy watching in the presence of younger family members, given that Dr Who had long been regarded as family viewing. Apparently no longer...

Against all odds...

[W011y4m5 · 7/10 · 29 November 2020]

The story behind this episode's creation is almost as interesting as the adventure being depicted on screen because "Vampires of Venice" wasn't meant to actually exist; initially, guest contributor Toby Whithouse had written "The God Complex" for this slot - intending for it to be filmed & aired as part of Moffat's debut season in 2010, S5 - but after Steven decided there were too many narratives with characters running through endless corridors, Toby's first script was ditched & consequently, he was tasked with creating an entirely brand new, noticeably different installment to replace it - with his original tale instead being pushed back a year to Series 6.

That's not all; Neil Gaiman revealed that he'd read Whithouse's original screenplay & thought it far superior to the final version that was broadcast a decade ago - as the episode (quite brazenly) was cut substantially during post due to the fact that its length exceeded the allotted runtime given by the BBC schedule. In fact, Neil was so impressed by the unseen draft, he & Toby kept in touch so that they could hopefully work together on a future project. Years later, this would eventually result in Showtime hiring Toby as showrunner for the upcoming adaptation of Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" trilogy of novels - executive produced by Gaiman (who cultivated the modern retelling) - but the point is... The numerous issues during Vampire's production are no secret; in fact they're well documented, actually - & many of the maligned ideas featured aren't from the credited writer either.

For instance, "Guido" was intended to be a sympathetic & tragic character but hardly any of that translates visibly throughout - & the light hearted, comedic shirt swap moment between himself & Rory was included at the behest of Moffat - irrespective of Toby's dislike of it. Moreover, the Satyrnynes were meant to have a larger visual presence throughout but due to the budgetary constraints & the cost of CGI, multiple expensive sequences were cut. Furthermore, additional scenes were removed as they were considered "too scary" & director Johnny Campbell's decision to move the Doctor's dramatic entrance from the cake to before the titles sequence also proved controversial. The list goes on etc. Thus, we're left with the remnants of what was supposedly an incredible outing for Matt Smith's Doctor & considering the sheer amount that was mercilessly axed from it - or reluctantly changed, it's a genuine surprise to see that anything holds up at all - & yet despite its obvious flaws (which no doubt were exacerbated by the tumultuous creative process that this Venetian tale endured), we have a somewhat decent episode - nowhere near as high as Toby's usual standards but that's understandable, given the troubled circumstances of its creation - yet it does boast some truly wonderful moments, interspersed from beginning to end - particularly with Helen McCrory's beautifully written & performed nemesis of the Time Lord, Rosanna - who genuinely deserves appreciation for her captivating portrayal, stealing the limelight with her fearsome portrayal. As a whole, it's a mixed culmination - held together by the sturdiest of foundations set by Whithouse (that withstood every obstacle thrown at them), testament to the strength of his abilities - & although the nightmarish journey from script to screen may have possibly diminished its potential, its resilience in the face of that is however admirable & so there's still a plethora of great things to love / sink your teeth in to.

Not really vampires but mediocre nonetheless

[dkiliane · 6/10 · 16 March 2019]

I do love this season overall but it definitely has its middle of the road episodes and this was one of them. I tend to not enjoy the lets turn common occult folklore into a sci-fi thing in Doctor Who and this is no exception. The villains are rather lackluster and as hard as they try to paint a sympathetic backstory for them I find it rather uncompelling.

It does have its funny bits with the Doctor and Rory, who at this point seems poised to be the next blundering Mickey to Amy's Rose. Fortunately this is corrected later in the season and even this episode treats him as a more well-rounded character even if he still tends to be the butt of many of the jokes.

There is a lot of good acting here at least (villains aside) and the subplot of a merchant father unsuccessfully trying to save his daughter from being turned to what he thinks a vampire (but in truth is really buck toothed giant shrimp aliens) is the highlight of the episode but is unsatisfactory cut short halfway through when she is fed to the male aliens. I feel like their is some sort of sexual exploitation commentary trying to be had but gets lost in the ridiculousness of the episode and to be honest comes way too close to the camp nonsense prevalent in the RTD era. 6/10

The Vampires of Venice

[MrFilmAndTelevisionShow · 9/10 · 6 April 2021]

I actually very much liked this episode, another episode of the Doctor have his morality tormented by some evil alien species. I thought it was a classic Doctor arrives in place expecting a holiday or some such event only to find a sinister plot going on. Classic Doctor Who (in my view).

VAMPIRES! But wait... they're aliens...

[wetmars · 6/10 · 28 February 2021]

Good scene at the start after the titles. So awkward, lol. The Doctor lands his TARDIS in Venice 1580 for a romantic trip for Amy and Rory. Fun sets. Great acting. A father is trying to find her daughter, Isabella. The Doctor asks the father why is he trying to get her out? The father responds that something magical happened to her. She didn't even recognize him. Had an animal-like face. Weird using a phone in 1580 instead of 2010. Rory and Amy hear a scream and, they go investigate what's going on? The father again tries to find her daughter. The Doctor helps him by going alone himself. The vampires find him and question him. I love the first incarnation reference, lol. The Vampires threaten the Doctor. He runs away from the Vampires and meets up with Amy and Rory. They go to the father's place to make a plan on how to rescue his daughter. Amy meets up with Isabella to discuss the vampires. The Doctor, Rory, and the father go on a boat to explore the place. Amy explores the place as well on her own but, she gets caught by the vampires. The Doctor pulls out a LED light since the torch went out. Amy gets bitten by the Vampire Queen. The other vampire drinks her blood. The Doctor and Rory run from the vampires again. Amy tries to kick the Vampire Queen and, it is revealed that the Vampire Queen isn't actually a vampire. They're aliens. Amy gets rescued by Isabella and, the Doctor uses the LED light against the vampires. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory finally escape from the vampires but, Isabella couldn't escape. Because the sunlight affects her since she is a vampire. I feel bad for the father. A parent's nightmare is when their children have disappeared. Isabella gets drowned by whoever lurks under the water. The Doctor meets up with the Alien, asking why they are here in 1580. The Alien reveals that her kind and her people ran from the Silence. The Doctor leaves and heals up the wound on Amy's neck. "Shut up. Brain thinking. Hush." lol. The Vampires once again find the gang. Yet, we begin another intense chase scene. I was starting to like the father but, he sadly died. The Alien fills the sky with fire spawning a very violent thunderstorm, a great moment when the Doctor lashes out at Amy. The Doctor plans to save Venice. Rory insults the other vampire and, it's pretty funny. Amy uses light to destroy the other vampire and, it worked. An earthquake happens, the Doctor climbs the bell-tower to solve whatever that thing is inside the top of the bell-tower. It stops raining. The Alien Queen jumps into the water. The Doctor has done it yet again!

Thoughts? This episode did not work at all. It's forgettable. The fish alien CGI did not age well. It still has decent stuff in it like, Murray Gold's music. I cannot think of anything to say about this episode.

6/10.

A wedding present for Amy and Rory

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 9 May 2010]

After the events in the previous episode where Amy threw herself at The Doctor he decides he must do something for her and her boyfriend Rory; unfortunately his way of telling Rory wasn't the best idea, I don't think many men would be happy to have a stranger appear at their stag night and tell them that their girl friends are good kissers. Luckily this doesn't end in a fight and Rory comes back to the Tardis and the three of them are on their way to sixteenth century Venice for a romantic break. Of course it doesn't turn up quite the way he planned it and they soon find themselves confronting what appears to be a group of vampires as they attempt to help a local man get his daughter back. The plan to get her out is a little risky, the vampires are in a girls school so Amy is enrolled so she can let The Doctor and Rory in, unfortunately things don't go as planned and Amy is soon at the mercy of of creatures who as it turns out aren't vampires at all.

I enjoyed this episode; it had a good mix of scares and laughs... although I could have done without the "yours is bigger than mine" quip when The Doctor produced a larger torch than Rory's, that just seemed puerile. As a previous reviewer said it is a shame this was a single episode story, the moment Amy was bitten by the leading 'vampire' would have made a great cliffhanger of the sort we got in the old days, it would have also meant the ending would feel less rushed. Rory was a decent addition to the team and didn't damage the excellent dynamic that has built up between Amy and The Doctor.

Lacks Bite

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 6/10 · 7 January 2019]

This episode has some decent bits but is disappointing for me overall. Writer Toby Whithouse has talent and wrote School Reunion which is a real favourite of mine. Sadly this story is rather lacking in bite (pun intended). I think it is a bit flat, muddled and a bit silly in places. I find some bits too daft for my taste.

I do not like the scene at the end of the previous episode where Amy tries to seduce the Doctor the night before her wedding. In this episode there are references to that and the fallout for poor Rory. It makes fun of her attempted infidelity and of Rory which I find unfunny and unpleasant. It makes me uncomfortable and detracts from my enjoyment of the episode.

The story is rather too derivative, not just from vampire stories which one would expect, but also from other Doctor Who stories. It has similarities to Whithouse's earlier, far better story School Reunion in some of the content. The 8th Doctor Audio Adventure 'The Stones of Venice' from the Monthly Big Finish Series (which isn't a favourite of mine) has a lot of its ideas lifted for this too. In addition there is a scene where the Doctor climbs a tower in a storm which seems rather copied from the 10th Doctor story Evolution of the Daleks.

Doctor Who often repeats ideas but the problem is that this one doesn't give those ideas a fresh quality or oomph. It feels a bit lazy. It could have had nice acknowledged references to The Stones of Venice or used ideas more interestingly but it just seems a bit of a throwaway filler.

The story also has a couple of dodgy effects and an unimpressive climax in my opinion. I think it needed more effort.

This is not awful and has a few nice bits of dialogue and performances but for a Doctor Who episode I find it disappointing sorry.

My Rating: 5.5/10.

Solid as a rock!

[Jared-Star · 9/10 · 18 December 2021]

In memory of the dearly departed Hellen McCrory, I decided to review her one Doctor Who contribution. Which, is a very solid episode.

The plot, when said out loud, is admittedly quite strange (as is most of Doctor Who to be fair), but Toby Whithouse constructed a well-paced mystery with some neat twists. It's got a great balance of comedy and seriousness. Such as Rory switching clothes with a 17th century Venusian as a disguise. Leaving a 17th century Gondola pilot wearing a stag night shirt!

The performances by all the cast were great. They were all clearly comfortable in their characters and knew what they were doing. Everyone had great chemistry. The way madam Calvierri was portrayed in both the writing and performance was masterfully done. You could easily envision this as a 2 hour classic episode. I did not want to leave Venice by the 45 minute mark.

All in all, this is a solidly paced mystery with some neat elements. The way it keeps its continuity and connects to the series plot is smartly handled too.

The Piranha People...

[Xstal · 5/10 · 10 December 2021]

The Doctor, Amy and for the first time Rory go back in time to Venice for a particularly slimy story, it's a filler about vampires nothing notable or gory, until you realise they're a school of fish displaced from their territory.

The worst bit is the CGI which is unexemplary, Lazarus-like and poorly done good for the lavatory, fingers crossed it's just a small insignificant transitory, and the next attempt is overwhelmingly better and a lot more compensatory.

Very much on the in the middle

[MurderFaceMesa · 5/10 · 23 May 2010]

First off, I know nothing of all the minds behind the show. Been a fan for a long time to when I was a kid and it came on KQED or PBS. Now, I enjoy the over all plot line of 'The Cracks in Time', this show needs that seasonal theme and it is working so far (But we all kind of going to come back to the new Daleks).

The idea of Vampires being aliens, in fact they were pretty sick looking aliens sort of like hairless rabid fish mice my slight problem is why is it always earth? Spend some money BBC and lets try more planets, I enjoy time but I would like to see more planets.

Now the sub plot line, fell flat, to quote another reviewer 'Rory is the new Mickey' which was someone I never cared for. Comic cannon fodder works, but it takes someone with a very, very select sense of comedy timing. Who ever is writing this, need's to cut back a bit. Capt. Jack made a great male side kick, his comic timing was more Cary Grant, no Rory's Jerry Lewis. He might improve over time if he remains a traveling man. But I hope the jealous theme doesn't play too much into the rest of the season.

Ah... doctor who...

[mimialelouilla · 3/10 · 9 May 2010]

It's a really bad mark for me... I'm a great fan of doctor who, and this one was just too disappointing... The main problem was all the intentions. When you watch this episode, you see what they wanted to show with this travelling, or this weird scene where you've got the impression that the chickens are the main characters, but it doesn't work. It just looks like the work a student in realisation would have done with a lot of money and all the naïvety that you can have when you're really young. Another really bad thing is the total lack of subtlety they show in regard to this "crack" story. Bad Wolf, Vote for Saxon,the bees disappearing, all those clues were really good, and gave you this feeling of being tricked, or just blind... But the "crack in the wall"... please! It's too much! And the last scene of this episode was just one of the most clumsy things I've ever watched. Doctor who can do better, really, they showed it to us, and I just hope they'll show it again!

The Doctor, Amy and Rory travel to Venice, and I wish they hadn't.....

[Sleepin_Dragon · 5/10 · 30 August 2015]

Venice 1850, The Doctor takes Amy and Rory on a wedding Party. They land by a finishing School run by the beautiful Rosanna girls are being taken in, but something is happening to them, they have become Vampires.

Some fun in this one, the stripper music starts, and out of the cake pops....The Doctor, love it. Isabella's father donning an Amy and Rory tee shirt was also nice.

Seeing Helen McCrory I had enormous hopes for this one, one of my all time favourites, what was she to do with the part she was given? She did a good job, The show likes its big female villains, and she is more then a match for any of them, Gomez, Barber, Hawes, but the part was just so wrong for her. I think she was pregnant during this, why didn't she wait for a bigger part like the Rani or terrible Zodin, or something better then a FISH VAMPIRE!!! talk about too good for the part. I really did not like Francesco, Alex Price is a good actor, but the character just awful.

Best bit Rosanna's demise, she does a grand job, and her dig at The Doctor is a good one.

The scenery is lovely, the episode looks lavish, particularly the girls walking across Venice with their parasols, but...

It's just so off the mark, it feels like it belongs back in Series 2, not the disaster that Victory of the Daleks was but still it's not good, it's lacking something, maybe I just don't like the story. Should have worked, but it didn't 5/10

Sinking your teeth in.

[meritcoba · 3 May 2017]

The nonsense continues as the group ends up in Venice where everybody speaks the king's tongue. Nevermind about that, it is just a funny line. It is 1580.

Let's copy and paste the script. Vampires equal women in danger, which equals Amy in distress. There are them vampires hiding in a building recruiting women, therefore Amy goes in and attempts to open the backdoor for the others, the one the good Doctor will later open with his magic stick when they are on the run. The plan goes wrong, of course. We cannot have Amy escape danger that easily.

Vampires get killed by daylight, but this happens on and off, depending on when it is needed for the story. At some point it becomes clear that letting go of any consistency and realism makes comedy fail somehow. I know that in the next episode I will no Ionger care that Amy gets into danger. She gets saved anyway, the monsters get defeated and nothing bad comes from it.

What is the reason to watch this? It is predictable, the quirky attitude of the doctor gets tedious, there is nobody to relate to and nor is the situation.

There is one redeeming aspect in this episode. How do you feel about exterminating an entire species, doctor?

Now, that is something to sink your teeth in.

Not again

[warlordartos · 1/10 · 18 March 2021]

How can this rubbish be rated a 7/10. Way too over rated. This is Tooth and Claw all over again but with Amy and Rory instead. This is like the 4th time that the plot has been too related to Tooth and Claw. Guys it is time to think of something new

The Vampires of Venice

[studioAT · 5/10 · 4 March 2022]

This episode feels like Moffat trying out whether The Doctor, Amy and Rory could happily work aboard the TARDIS as a trio, and it's a largely hit and miss affair.

The CGI in particular hasn't aged overly well in the last 12 years, though it still doesn't look great in modern episodes. That BBC budget only goes so far!

Helen McCrory (sadly no longer with us) is given a bit more to do than the average 'Who' villain, but this is, as I said, a largely hit and miss affair.

As with S5 in general actually.

Not the best one

[louiewv7336 · 3/10 · 20 August 2021]

Just was not that interesting. It felt like this episode was rushed.