The Vampires of Venice (8 May 2010)

The Doctor and Amy cross swords in more ways than one with a horde of blood-sucking vampires in 16th century Venice.

Director:

Jonny Campbell

Writer:

Toby Whithouse

Stars:

Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Matt Smith	...	The Doctor
Karen Gillan	...	Amy Pond
Arthur Darvill	...	Rory
Helen McCrory	...	Rosanna
Lucian Msamati	...	Guido
Alisha Bailey	...	Isabella
Alex Price	...	Francesco
Gabriella Wilde	...	Vampire Girl
Hannah Steele	...	Vampire Girl
Elizabeth Croft	...	Vampire Girl
Sonila Vjeshta	...	Vampire Girl (as Sonila Vieshta)
Gabriela Montaraz	...	Vampire Girl
Michael Percival	...	Inspector
Simon Gregor	...	Steward

Storyline

Amy's fiancé Rory is having his stag night just before their wedding and none other than the Doctor who pops through the cake. He's soon aboard the Tardis where they travel to 16th century Venice where the Doctor is intrigued by Lady Rosanna Calvieri who runs a prestigious school for girls. Guido is Venetian who is now trying to get his daughter Isabella out of there when they all realize the school is a nest of vampires. The Doctor thinks they're made it too easy for them to learn about their vampirism and thinks they are hiding something far more sinister.

---

Plot Keywords:

vampire | 16th century | domineering mother | mama's boy | venice italy | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 2010 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Castell Coch, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Wales, Embassy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

49 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Doctor says he doesn't want to run into Casanova. David Tennant, the previous Doctor, played Casanova in Casanova.

---

Goofs

The TARDIS translates every line to the Doctor, Amy and Rory. However, several times the Doctor is called "signor".

---

Quotes

Rory Williams: The only thing uglier than you is... your mum!
Francesco Calvierri: [Turning towards Rory] Did you say something about mummy?

---

Connections

References SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)

---

Soundtracks

"Doctor Who Theme"
(uncredited)
Written by Ron Grainer
Arranged by Murray Gold
Performed by BBC National Orchestra of Wales

User Reviews

Better, but there are still timing issues. . .

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!