This week, old friends and old enemies return, as the Doctor prepares for his final journey to Lake Silencio. But, is this “farewell tour” worth buying a ticket to? Find out in my review.

WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, INCLUDING A FULL PLOT SUMMARY. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE EPISODE, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Review: Doctor Who – Series 6 – Episode 12: Closing Time

In a department store, a worker checks the changing rooms for customers before they close. She hears something in one of the changing rooms. It is a Cyberman. She screams. Well, wouldn’t you?

About the same time, Sophie leaves her house aww, Sophie won’t be around for the adventure? Bummer. after making sure that Craig (James Corden) can cope with their son, Alfie. Of course, he can’t. Craig hears a knock on the door. It is the Doctor (Matt Smith) standing on his doorstep who says hello  and then turns to leave, until he sees the power flickering on Craig’s road. “I’m not noticing.” “I am done saving them.” – The Doctor. We also get to see the Doctor speak baby again, as he tells Craig that Alfie prefers to be called “Stormageddon

The next day Craig finds the Doctor working in a shop, in, where else, the toy department,  searching for the cause of the electrical problems.  People have been vanishing, and the Doctor is sure there’s a connection to the flickering power. Again, the Doctor’s superior intellect on display. When the Doctor tries to get Craig and Alfie out of the shop in a lift, “You mean like a “beam me up device in Star Trek?” they arrive in the Cyber-Ship, where a Cyberman stomps towards them. Mind you, the Cyberman look much the worse for wear. The Doctor reverses the teleportation before they are discovered, disabling the teleporter in the process. He tries to get Craig to leave him so he can investigate, but Craig believes the safest place to be for his son is by the Doctor’s side. Not so sure about that. He refuses to leave. Nice to see Craig put his foot down.

The Doctor gossips with his co-worker, Val. She believes Craig to be his romantic partner What?, Alfie their child What? and a “silver rat” has been sighted in the store.  “What?” There is a hilarious scene involving Craig investigating for the Doctor in the ladieswear department. There is also a cameo by Amy and Rory. The Doctor sees her, but she doesn’t see him. He almost calls to her, but stops himself. It turns out she is the face of a perfume called Petrichor, whose slogan is “for the girl who’s tired of waiting.” That night, Craig and Doctor hide in the store and capture a Cybermat.  They’re baaack! And it’s been a long time in coming too. It has been causing the power fluctuations by siphoning power to the Cyberman ship, but the Doctor is surprised by how little power it is drawing. He survives an attack by a Cyberman; it was made from malfunctioning spare parts. He is at a loss to explain how it could have returned to the store so soon.

The Doctor returns with Craig to his home to work on the Cybermat. When Craig leaves to get milk, the Doctor tends to Alfie’s cries, telling the baby he will die the next day. Why is he telling the BABY? The Cybermat becomes active and attacks the Doctor and Craig, but they subdue it. The following morning, the Doctor returns to the store on his own with the reprogrammed Cybermat. which the Doctor has named “Bitey” Craig soon follows with Alfie. The Doctor discovers that the Cyberman ship is not in space; rather, it crashed on Earth centuries earlier and is now buried beneath the store, connected to it by a secret door in a changing room. The power lines installed for the store supply power to the ship, and the crew of six plan to convert the entire human race when there is enough power. The Doctor is captured by the Cybermen. Well, i saw that one coming.

Craig leaves Alfie with Val and follows the Doctor into the tunnel. Amazing. Last year Craig was afraid to go upstairs. Now he is following the Doctor underground to a crashed Cyber-ship. He too is captured and put into a conversion machine. This is a punch-in-the-gut scene. Are they really gonna kill Craig? The Doctor reveals his own impending death and urges Craig to fight, but the conversion appears to be complete–until Alfie’s cries over the closed-circuit television echo in the ship. And, man can that baby cry.Craig fights the conversion, sending the Cybermen into overload as they feel the emotions they have repressed. He blew them up with love. awww. The Doctor and Craig teleport away as the ship explodes. The Doctor slips away unseen, but Craig returns home to find that the Doctor has used time travel to clean the mess from the previous night. The perks of owning a TARDIS. The Doctor tells Craig that Alfie now has a much higher opinion of him, and leaves just before Sophie returns, acquiring a set of TARDIS blue envelopes from Sophie’s stationery drawer and a Stetson hat from Craig as parting gifts. Mysteries solved. Craig tells Sophie that nothing out of the ordinary has happened, but Sophie becomes suspicious when the baby utters this first word: “Doctor”. Now, where could he have learned that word from….

Nearby, the Doctor tells the TARDIS this is their last trip and offers some parting words to a small group of children. “I’m the Doctor. I was here to help. And you are very, very welcome.” Who simply think he’s mad. In the far future, River Song, a new Doctor of Archaeology, reviews eyewitness accounts by those children, and also notes the date and location of the Doctor’s death.  She’s still looking for that good man. Unfortunately, it appears she’s going to find him very shortly. She is interrupted by Madame Kovarian and agents of The Silence; Kovarian tells River that she is still theirs, and will be the one to kill the Doctor. Finally. This is the scene that has been replyed over and over again where Madame Kovarian says “And this is where it begins.” This scene really finally shows how cruel and sadistic Madame Kovarian is. This is the scene that really makes you anticipate the point where she will get hers. After this scene, you know you will have no sympathy for this woman when her end finally arrives. They place her in an astronaut’s suit and submerge her in the lake to await the Doctor. And, from here, we know what happens next. Or, do we?……. All the answers come next week, as we are invited to The Wedding of River Song.

The Verdict: This story is a worthy successor to The Lodger, James Corden’s first outing. There is humor and drama in a healthy mix, as The Doctor embarks on his last adventure saving humanity, and Craig tries to deal with the double whammy of being left alone with his baby and the Doctor dropping in on his life again, the events of which again concern an alien incursion. This time, however, Craig is bound and determined to be more of a help, much to the Doctor’s dismay. He sees himself falling into the familiar pattern of taking a human along and putting them in danger. This episode sees the return of the Cybermen, and their “metal rat” scouts, the Cybermats. The Cybermen in this instance have been buried beneath the Earth after their ship crashed. They are damaged and desperate. This makes them extremely dangerous. The scenes of the Doctor working in the toy department are hilarious, and you imagine if he ever did get a “real” job, that it would be something like this. The best part is that, in the end, the Doctor is rendered powerless, and it is Craig, with a little help from a crying Alfie, who defeats the Cybermen, blowing them up with love. The last few scenes between the Doctor and Craig are particularly touching, with the Doctor tidying up his house so he won’t get in trouble. In addition, we see the Doctor take the TARDIS-blue envelopes from Sophie’s stationary cupboard and Craig gives the Doctor his Stetson, setting the final two pieces for the Silencio Lake affair in order. The Doctor then leaves, giving his final statement to three children, whose accounts are later recorded. The final scenes, which begin with River Song, having just been made a Doctor of Archaeology, going over those eyewitness reports. The events that follow serve to fill in some more pieces of the puzzle, explaining that the Silence “own” River and explaining how she gets in the suit and in the water. It also serves to display the full nature of Madame Kovarian’s cruelty and serves to really make us want the Doctor to bring her down. And, I have to say, that creepy nursery rhyme song is starting to haunt my dreams…. So, now the stage is set. the players are in place, and the Doctor is on his way to Lake Silencio for a date with an impossible astronaut. it all comes full circle next week. How will it end? is this really it for the Doctor? And what, exactly, does the Wedding of River Song entail? We’ll all find out together on October 1st. Till then, don’t forget to watch the prequel. This series has been a wild ride, and it’s not over yet. The final twists and turns before series six pulls into the station come next week. Bring it on home, Steven!