The Vampires of Venice

207 – "The Vampires of Venice"
Doctor Who episode
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byJonny Campbell[2]
Written byToby Whithouse[1]
Script editorBrian Minchin
Produced byTracie Simpson[2]
Patrick Schweitzer[3]
Executive producer(s)Steven Moffat
Piers Wenger
Beth Willis
Music byMurray Gold
Production code1.6[4]
SeriesSeries 5
Running time50 minutes
First broadcast8 May 2010 (2010-05-08)
Chronology
← Preceded by
"Flesh and Stone"
Followed by →
"Amy's Choice"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"The Vampires of Venice" is the sixth episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on 8 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Toby Whithouse, who previously wrote "School Reunion", and was directed by first-time Doctor Who director Jonny Campbell.

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.

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.

  1. ^ "Doctor Who's showrunner Steven Moffat reveals the writers for Series Fnarg". Doctor Who Magazine (417). Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics: 4. 7 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Shooting on Matt Smith's first series enters its final stages...". Doctor Who Magazine (417). Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics: 6. 7 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Doctor Who: introduction, cast and crew". BBC Press Office. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  4. ^ "Get ready for the thirty-first amazing series of Doctor Who". Doctor Who Magazine (419). Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics: 6–7. 4 March 2010.