Project Who 50: No. 210

Project Who 50: #210 Vincent Van Gogh

Another in my character portraits leading up to the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, this time from the eleventh Doctor story "Vincent And The Doctor".

At this point I'd make a stupid joke that is rarely as hilarious as it seems in my head. However, I'd like to be serious for just a moment.

People often ask me why I like a crappy kids television programme like Doctor Who, and I usually spin some answer or another. However, I'd like to just take a moment to explain something. Doctor Who frequently opens my eyes to things that I don't know about, or understand. "Vincent And The Doctor" was a story that opened my eyes to just how challenging mental disorders are, and more than that, how difficult Vincent Van Gogh's life actually was.

I don't particularly like Van Gogh's work (but what the hell would I know about art anyway?), but I appreciate that Van Gogh's influence is one of the greatest that any artist has brought to the world. It saddens me no end to think that Van Gogh didn't know just how influential he actually was, and I hope, more than I can explain, that there is an afterlife where Van Gogh is living a peaceful life, knowing full well the impact he has had, not just on art, but on civilisation.

And I wouldn't really know anything about Van Gogh if it wasn't for Doctor Who. So this piece is part of Project Who 50, but also a tribute of sorts to Van Gogh, whose very existence created one of the greatest episodes of Doctor Who ever.

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things. Vice-versa the bad things don't always spoil the good things or make them unimportant."

Project Who-50: [link]