Doctor Who: Closing Time Review (4/5)

Closing Time is a bit of a strange one: it's neither the first in a two-part finale (the structure previous seasons took with Episode 12), nor a standalone adventure with minor dialogue references to the arc. It seems to struggle under the weight of reintroducing Craig from last year's great The Lodger (4.5/5) and the Cyber-Men, then setting up the finale with what felt like a tacked-on scene at the end. First though, back to the main plot: the Doctor has to make one final house call before his death, meeting up once more with James Corden's hilarious Craig and his baby Alfie, only to discover that a nearby department store houses a spaceship full of Cyber baddies who he must stop before it's too late. Surprisingly, the Cyber force were actually more of a sub-plot, a backing narrative to the tale of Craig and Alfie working to build their love as father and son, with a little help from the Time Lord. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good 'love and family conquers all' storyline, but here this was as much of a shortcoming as a strength: a strength, in that Cyber-stories do sometimes beg the question of how to innovate past "We will convert everyone!", yet a shortcoming, as unintentionally Gareth Roberts finds himself placed behind The Curse of the Black Spot, The Almost People and Night Terrors, all of which saw the father/son bond used in some form to save the world in the episodes' denounements. It's no less effective and heartwarming this time around, however I do hope the writing panel for the show can stretch their climax boundaries a little bit further in Season Seven, lest Doctor Who become a little too repetitive on the eve of its fiftieth. I enjoyed Closing Time, but as it is when you've got stories like Let's Kill Hitler, The Girl Who Waited, The God Complex and The Wedding of River Song (let's be honest- that'll be brilliant) surrounding it, a story which rehashes elements from the series' past and attempts to set up the finale with a scene that, while effective, feels absurdly different from the fourty-five minutes that came before it, just doesn't feel as impressive as it should. A good episode, then, rather than a great one.
(Image: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Doctor-5.jpg)