'Doctor Who' Series 6, Episode 12: "Closing Time" - Recap & Review

***WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS***

In the previous episode of "Doctor Who," the Doctor dropped off his companions Amy and Rory back on Earth and set off on his own. Even though this episode, "Closing Time," is set in the present day for the Doctor it's been 200 years since he left Amy and Rory. This brings him up to the age he was when he was shown being killed by the Impossible Astronaut in the first episode of the series. This means that the Doctor's death is imminent and he appears to be making a few stops to see old friend.

The episode has him stopping in to visit Craig, played by James Corden. They briefly shared an apartment in "The Lodger" in the previous series. Since then Craig has found himself in a new house with a baby boy and left on his own with the baby for the first time as his wife takes some time for herself. The Doctor stops in under the premise of just saying hello, and seems determined to keep it at that. However fluctuating power catches his attention and mention of missing persons draws him into a mystery rooted in the local mall.

The reunion between the Doctor and Craig is certainly a welcome one. The dynamic between them was always fun and the fact that Craig now has a better sense of what the Doctor is all about gives it a different feel from before as well. Corden does great work playing Craig as the overwhelmed father and Smith's Doctor has some great moments spawning from his ability to "speak baby." The fact that baby Alfie would rather be called Stormaggedon in and of itself is a glorious gag. Jokes of that nature are sprinkled throughout and give the episode a great light feel, which is a bit of a welcome relief given the somber mood of the whole sixth series.

Ultimately it turns out that the Cybermen are behind the disappearances. Though they have appeared twice since Matt Smith began his tenure as the Doctor this is the first full blown Cybermen story of the current regime. Long time fans may take delight in the fact that the "C" insignia which marks the alternate world Cybermen is not found on these Cybermen. This may be taken to mean that they are the current incarnation of the Cybermen from the planet Mondas as shown in original run of the series, rather than the Cybermen created by Cybus Industries from a parallel Earth which became the current standard. The use of the old school Cybermat creatures, which were never seen being used by the Cybus Cybermen, would also seem to bare this theory out.

The way in which the Cybermen were defeated could have come across as cheesy but it's handled extremely well. Essentially the Cybermen attempt to convert Craig, but upon hearing his crying baby the love for his son allows him to fight back causing an overload that breaks the Cybermen's emotional inhibitors. It helps that the disabling of the emotional inhibitor has been used as a way to defeat the Cybermen before. Combined with the emotional resonance of Craig's own journey to becoming a proper father the idea is perfectly sold.

There are other great emotional beats as well, such as the Doctor spotting Amy and Rory but stopping himself from approaching them. Though to them he may only have been gone a matter of days for him it's been 200 years and Matt Smith shows that longing in his face wonderfully. The idea of the Doctor stopping in to say hello to Craig echoes the 10th Doctor visiting his old companions just before his regeneration, bringing it all full circle to the idea that the Doctor will in fact die.

The buttoning scene at the end featuring River Song is a bit tacked on, but ultimately necessary. While it does nothing for the story being told in this episode it does the required set up for the series finale quickly and efficiently. At the end of the episode River Song, now a doctor of archeology is recaptured by the Silence and placed in the astronaut suit to wait for the Doctor beneath the surface of the lake. This would seem to confirm River as the Impossible Astronaut, which has been hinted for some time. However it still leaves the question of why, since she personally no longer wishes to harm the Doctor. Hopefully all will be answered in the series finale.