"Closing Time"

There has been a sense of impending doom throughout this run of Doctor Who and we know that the Impossible Astronaut will soon rise from Lake Silencio. However, as was the case the last time he knew the end was approaching, the Doctor won’t go without a farewell tour. Before he sees the Alignment of Exedor, he decides to catch up with an old friend...

Gareth Roberts always brings a real sense of joy to his Doctor Who scripts and, indeed, the first thing that must be said about "Closing Time" is just how much fun it is. The story is simple, yet satisfying, with the immediately appealing prospect of a Cyber-warship that crashed on Earth millennia ago being reawakened, and Roberts weaves elements from stories as far apart as Doctor Who and the Silurians and "Rose"- the disappearance of Shona is very similar to Rose’s discovery of the Autons. Even the denoument is satisfying, despite the ‘love conquers all’ solution being used again. However, the heart of the story is, again the Doctor’s relationship with Craig. Before, he helped Craig find the love of his life, now he teaches him that he has what it takes to be a father. The story is full of the great lines one expects from Roberts, but there is a real depth to the characters and the way that the Doctor can talk to Stormageddon/ Alfie about being old and showing him his first glimpse of the stars in the same story as the Doctor tasting a piece of chalk and comically frightening a woman in a changing room would be bathetic in the hands of a lesser writer, which Roberts is anything but.

James Corden again makes Craig a thoroughly likeable and real character- I’m sure his abject terror at the responsibilities of fatherhood have been felt by most young fathers. There is a wonderful supporting role for the inimitable Lynda Baron in her third appearance in the show and I must say that Holli Dempsey’s reaction to being shushed by the Doctor is hilarious. Matt Smith plays with helicopters, bonds with babies and makes kissy-face at Craig (I hope, for Daisy Lowe’s sake, that his real one is better) and is astonishing. But, of course, that is no surprise.

After the virtuoso shows in the directors’ chair in recent weeks, Steve Hughes opts for a more basic approach which works very well with the material. The scenes in the Cyber-lair are atmospherically shot and the only real flaw is that the attack on Craig in his house could have been mounted better. however, with great scenes such as the Doctor and the planetarium and the fantastic scene where Craig is almost converted more than make up for it.

On his own, after briefly seeing Amy and Rory and deciding to leave them be, The Doctor is soon off to keep his appointment in America and we find out (as if we needed to) who the Impossible Astronaut is, in a coda that rounds off a story that is, without the slightest shadow of a doubt, the best Doctor Who story to feature the Cybermats!

NEXT: "The Wedding of River Song"