[S5E6] Vampires In Venice ##TOP##
Following from the end of "Flesh and Stone" where his companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) had kissed him, the alien time traveller the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) picks up Amy's fiancé Rory (Arthur Darvill) and takes the two on a romantic trip to Venice in 1580. There they are intrigued by a girls' school whose students appear to be vampires and discover that they are really alien refugees in disguise, who plot to make Venice their new home.
[S5E6] Vampires in Venice
The episode replaced a different script Whithouse had planned to write, and was designed to be a romantic episode that could also be a good introduction to the show. Whithouse chose the setting to be Venice, and vampires soon entered the plot as he felt they belonged in the setting. The episode was filmed in Trogir, Croatia in late 2009, with the old-fashioned village portraying Venice. The episode was seen by 7.68 million viewers in the UK and received an Appreciation Index of 86. The episode received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the comedy, production design, and acting of guests Helen McCrory and Alex Price, but thought that the plot elements were somewhat similar to a couple of other recent episodes.
Writer Toby Whithouse 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 (The God Complex).[6][7] 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.[6] Whithouse was asked to set it "anywhere in the world" that was romantic, and he chose Venice, which he called "one of my favourite places in the world". Whithouse believed that the vampires fit into the setting.[6] Whithouse had a positive experience writing the episode, reflecting that "writing on the show is a delight and a pleasure". As he was, at the time, executive producer of Being Human, he was pleased he only had to write the episode and not worry about the other aspects of production.[6] The major plot point of "sinking Venice" was conceived as Whithouse needed to use the identity of the location and it was a very aquatic city, and Venice was "constantly fighting" enemies in its history but this time it proved to be its own worst enemy.[8]
Several aspects of the episode had to be compromised due to budget constraints. The true form of the aliens could only be shown for a few seconds each as it was very expensive to do, and these shots were spread throughout the episode. In the original script a big monster rose out of the water in Isabella's death scene, but this would have been too expensive and Moffat was forced to ask Whithouse to make it "invisible". Many of the costumes in the episode were taken from artwork from the 15th and 16th centuries. This included veils that women wore, which were used for the vampire girls. Guido trades clothes with Rory when Rory must disguise himself as a Venetian to enter Amy into the school; this was an idea of Moffat's which Whithouse was against as he thought Guido was a "tragic character", but he eventually thought the sight of the character in Rory's stag party T-shirt was funny. McCrory's costume was designed to be similar to her alien creature to make the transition smooth. McCrory was coached to move like a fish, which she pursued diligently. Each pair of teeth for the vampires was unique and moulded to their mouths. They were hard to speak with and Alex Price's lines were re-voiced, though he commented he got "quite good" at speaking with them.[8]
Elsewhere, Guido feigns another attempt at breaking into the school to retrieve Isabella while the Doctor sneaks in through a side gate. He comes across a group of Rosanna's girls, noting that they have no reflection in a mirror. He realises they must be vampires. They threaten to call the steward unless he leaves, if he's lucky. They bare their fangs at him as he backs up to the exit, thanking them for the mystery. The Doctor meets up with Amy and Rory where they watched Guido previously; he and Amy are excited at having discovered vampires in Venice, which appals Rory.
The Doctor takes Amy and Rory to meet Guido, and they begin to strategise infiltrating the school. Guido suggests blowing their way in with gunpowder, which he has stacked in barrels, but the Doctor discards the idea. Amy proposes dressing in Isabella's clothing and having the Doctor pose as her fiancé; she will be admitted to the school, and, once inside, will open a trap door that leads down to the river, allowing them inside. However, Rory objects as he doesn't want others to think the Doctor is her fiancé. Amy counters that they've already seen the Doctor, but they haven't seen Rory, and offers to go with him as his brother. Rory again objects as they are dealing with vampires, to which the Doctor replies that they "hope" they are vampires. Amy catches onto the Doctor's train of thought: if they're not really vampires, what could be so bad that they don't mind being mistaken for them?
In 2010, the late actress Helen McCrory introduced her distinct boldness to Doctor Who, perhaps best known for her performances in Peaky Blinders, Penny Dreadful, and as Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. McCrory played Rosanna Calvierri, the vampires' queen in season 5, episode 6, "The Vampires of Venice," who had a lavish fashion sense that was only matched by her cunning plans.
At the lab, Matthew explains that there are hundreds of similar genetics labs, but they are the only one that studies creature origins. They are researching all three species- witches, daemons and vampires. They obtain many of their samples by extracting DNA from burial sites.
This mission is bound to attract a lot of attention though, something Diana is well aware of. That attention comes from Gerbert, who rallies the vampires to his cause, forcing Baldwin into line alongside Domenico. A war is coming, and it may well be arriving sooner rather than later. 041b061a72