Closing Time

Closing Time
by Gareth Roberts
Originally Broadcasted: September 24th, 2011

The Doctor tries out social calls and drops in on his old friend Craig Owens and his new son Alfie. Together they investigate some odd going-ons in a local department store that The Doctor just so happens to get a job at. Deep beneath the store lies an army of Cybermen, looking for the perfect candidate for Cyber Controller...

After the smashing success of The Lodger the previous year, funny man James Corden returned to Doctor Who for another go-around in Closing Time. This time, instead of battling the unknown enemy upstairs, The Doctor and Craig are up against the Cybermen! Closing Time is one of the funniest and most heartwarming episodes of Doctor Who. It's a great example of the opposing emotions that this show provides. My personal favorite gag in this episode is how we learn that The Doctor speaks baby, and that Alfie's real name (according to him) is Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All. The Doctor knows he's near the end of his life, for he's about to be shot at Lake Silencio in Utah, so he really doesn't want to get tangled up in things. We see him trying to decide what to do, and then all of a sudden he has a job at the toy section of a department store! Craig joins him to investigate (and as another running gag, the two are seen as a gay couple) and they find a Cybermat running amuck. Cybermats haven't previously been seen since 1975's Revenge of the Cybermen. They're used as plague carriers and energy thief's by the Cybermen. This leads The Doctor and Craig to the evil beings themselves, and they actual try to convert Craig into Cyber Controller. But through the sounds of Alfie's crying, Craig manages to break free and reverse the conversion process, the first time we've seen this successfully done in the history of Doctor Who. The Doctor gets deep with Craig, and we see a true, strong friendship. Truly mates. Amy and Rory are not featured in this episode, as they had previously left The Doctor, but they do have a wonderful cameo though. The Doctor sees them walking through the same store, and someone asks Amy for her autograph. The camera then pans to her face on a giant billboard for a makeup line. Looks like the Ponds are famous! But as things are tied up here, we cut to River Song, who's given the task of killing The Doctor. "Tick tock, goes the clock, 'til River kills The Doctor."

Luke's Rating: 8/10