Guys it's probably alright to take this one off the site, you know. He literally says that he's "Dr. Fotheringown", not "Dr. Who". God. It's not even funny.

This minisode feels like all of the worst aspects of Series 6 consolodated together; needlessly convoluted, kind of cringe-inducing, and split into two parts for no apparent reason.

There's a really domesticity to Amy and Rory's time on the TARDIS that I'm not sure has ever been repeated, and it makes for very pleasant viewing on a rewatch. ☺️

Henceforth I'm a Yarvelling truther.

Sorry, man, but these gel with me. I love the pulpy art and complete tonal mismatch with the target audience; any pair of panels from this is way more interesting than any episode of the original Daleks serial. Far more dignity here than Big Finish's recent "Genesis of Terror", too.

Irresistible stuff. I'm convinced that, if they published a "TV Century 22", world world peace would be achieved within a fortnight.

Oh, sure, daleks can stare at beautiful paintings in Dalek annuals, but when I do I "need to get on with studying" and am "making a mockery of the university's astronomy department".

CRIME CRACKERS.

Cracking down on crime...

John looks like a dickhead. I'd smack him. It's unfair that the Klepton creepers look like the 456, because for one beautiful second I thought Dr. Who might sell John to them as drugs.

My favourite bit was in part four when it looked like Dr. Who burnt John alive. My least favourite bit was the panel afterwards where John was revealed to be alright.

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?

Kind of a weird prequel in retrospect because Craig has a completely different attitude when the episode actually starts, so what is it actually establishing? 🤔

Feels like it's missing an ending beat but way too charming for me to care ☺️