Let's get some stuff out of the way. Firstly, this episode was doomed to fan scorn for the sole reason of not being an hour-long gore montage of cyber-conversion. That's a tremendous pity; people who dismiss this story for "wasting" the Cybermen ignore that a dying, rusting legion whose ship is trapped underground is actually a very cool and evocative image. So, to put it to bed once and for all: the Cybermen thrive across myriad interpretations by their very nature (or un-nature). It's good when they're just robot soldiers, it's *better* when they do body horror, but the best upgrade is when they do both, in different stories and settings.

Secondly, this script was puportedly written by vintage DOP piece of humanshit Mx. G*reth Roberts. Any trans homies and allies who wish to review-bomb the story for that reason alone have my full blessing.

Anyway! I like Closing Time a lot, and certainly way more than I expected to given the circumstances. It's sharp, it's moving, and it's very, *very* funny. I don't know if Matt Smith is at his best in Series 6 but he's definitely at his most chucklesome; better comedic timing than the previous series, but it comes before he goes into full on caricature arm-waving mode in 2013.

Sure, the plot resolution kind of sucks, but that's not the point! The point is the Doctor embedding himself in a toyshop; the point is the sadness in his eyes when he confronts his own mortality; the point is the love that he has for his friends and that they have for him, in that quiet, delicate way that Smith sells so well. How can I dislike that?