Doctor Who Review: Closing Time

Right so, like probably half of the other reviewer on the internet will say, this year we've been spoiled. The last 3 weeks have been brilliant episodes that any other year each would be hailed as the best of the series. So when a good, not great, not special, just a good episode comes along, we get disappointed. And I mean there is a lot to be disapppointed about in this episode.

There's the use of the cybermen. They are used quite creepily in the first half of the episode, I especially liked the scars on their faces, could've made them even scarier than usual. But then the Doctor goes to their ship and him and Craig beat them with the power of love in about 5 minutes. They don't even lift a hand to stop him, and thus their threat is completely nulified. They weren't scary, the weren't even a danger to the Doc and Craig and so why should we care? That would be bad enough with a throwaway villian, but these are the cybermen, some of the aliens that have been with the series since the 1960s. They deserved better. And the other problems are... well, really there aren't any in the main episode, I'll get to the ending in a minute. The only problem is the enemies aren't a threat, so it's only one, but it's a big one. But although people will blow it out of proportion, I don't think that it completely ruined the episode. There's still a lot of good in it.

I really like James Corden as Craig. He's funny of his own, because he's such an awkward idiot and when him and Matt Smith are on screen together they really are just a perfect double act. That's my main draw to this episode, they were hilarious last year and they are hilarious this year. The Doctor talking to the baby was good, to begin with, it got a bit old, but Stormageddon was inspired. The supporting cast were again pretty funny, especially the moment where the Doctor explains the Cybermen's defeat to his friend is woman's wear and she says "why are you telling me this?". That moment had me laughing out loud. Even little touches like the scene with Amy and Rory and the slight nods to the Doctor having moved on since we last met him, almost leaving without getting involved because he's tired of it, show at least some effort was made to build more character over the 200 years between episodes, if not enough in my opinion. And last but not least, they brought back a cybermat and cybermats are brilliant.

So all in all, it's a very flawed episode, but I enjoyed it. It's not up to this series's standard but it's by far better than The Curse of the Black Spot and contraversially, I think it was better than Let's Kill Hitler. I'm definately disappointed, because if the plot had been as good as the Doctor and Craig's banter then we could've had something really special here, but we've still ended up with a pretty solid episode.

3/5

This bit is one of the best moments of this series.

So as I said, let's talk about the ending. I've not included it in the review, because, I'm not really reviewing it, more questioning and it didn't really connect with the rest of the episode, seemed more tacked on. Is anyone else fed of the eye-patch woman, or Madame Korvanian to give her, her real title. Because I really can't take her as a threat anymore, she's just too over the top and hammed up. She doesn't seem like a real character, more a characature of a villian. And River Song is in the spacesuit? Really? I mean the whole series has been leading up to her being in the suit and you'd think knowing Moffat that there would be some twist that it was actually someone else. But obviously not. And another song? REALLY. These songs and poem just make me cringe. Although it is nice to see the Silence again. So, I suppose we'll just need to see what happens next week.