ANDREW'S
DOCTOR WHO REVIEWS 
This is the first Matt Smith story for me that works really
well. It rattles along, is funny, exciting, sometimes scary and action packed
and pretty universally well acted. Add to that the picturesque filming in
Croatia and we have a recipe for success.
Taking Amy’s fiancé Rory (Arthur Darvill) with them, the
Doctor and Amy travel to Venice in 1580. However, they find the City’s patron,
Rosanna Calvierri (Helen McCrory), has quarantined the City due to an alleged
plague, although the Doctor can find no trace of plague. As they investigate
they discover Guido (Lucian Msamati), a local boat builder, whose daughter
Isabella (Aleisha Bailey) has been taken into Rosanna’s Calvierri School for
Girls – the rumour is that girls who go to the School are never seen again.
Amy works her way into the School and lets the Doctor and
Rory into the building. They discover that the girls are being converted into
vampires. Amy meets up with Isabella who is only partially converted and they
escape, but Isabella shies away from the sunlight and is recaptured. She is
then thrown into the canal by the School where she is consumed by something
living under the water.
Whilst Amy and Rory confront Rosanna’s son, Francesco (Alex
Price) the Doctor confronts Rosanna and discovers that she and her son are from
the planet Saturnyne and that she is the last female of her species. The rest
of the males are living under the canals of Venice and the girls are being
converted to become compatible mates. Guido is killed saving the Doctor from
the converted girls and Francesco dies whilst fighting Amy and Rory. Rosanna,
knowing her plan has been defeated, commits suicide by jumping into the canal
and being eaten by the other remaining children of her species.
There’s a lot of fun to be had in this story, even though
the story itself is pretty straightforward. The idea of buxom vampire girls
chasing the Doctor through the streets of Venice is immediately always going to
work, the fact that it is turned into a realistic tale of alien menace is an
added bonus.
There’s lots of running around the streets of Trogir
(Croatia) which makes a great surrogate for Venice and which looks tremendous.
Some great swashbuckling from Rory, albeit in a comedic way and lots of action
keeping things moving.
Helen McCrory is great as Rosanna and there’s a lovely scene
with her and Matt Smith confronting each other which gives Matt a second change
to do the scene where he does that all important “Doctor facing off against the
enemy” routine which is one of those key things every Doctor should get to do.
All in all, this is a really enjoyable romp of a story which
rattles by a little too quickly and you end up wanting for more.
NEXT UP: AMY'S CHOICE
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2022
