annabunches.net/_posts/media/2011-09-28-doctor-who-closing-time.html

---
layout: post
title: 'Doctor Who: Closing Time'
date: '2011-09-28T19:20:00.000-04:00'
author: Anna Wiggins
tags:
- Craig
- Media
- The Silence
- Cybermen
- Doctor Who
- Madame Kovarian
- River Song
modified_time: '2013-10-22T11:19:51.673-04:00'
blogger_id: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209116010564764361.post-375218274321415709
blogger_orig_url: http://www.stringofbits.net/2011/09/doctor-who-closing-time.html
---

The Lodger was brilliant, easily Gareth Roberts' best contribution to the series up to that point and one of my favorite episodes. So, when I heard about a "sequel" story involving Craig and written by Roberts, I was excited. When I learned it had Cybermen in it, well... Cybermen don't have the best track record, but I trusted Roberts to deliver a pretty good Cybermen story.<br/><br/>And he did. In fact, 'pretty good' is a very appropriate adjectival phrase for the episode. It wasn't brilliant. It doesn't risk dislodging The Lodger as Roberts' best episode. But it was a fun, light-hearted romp involving Cybermen with some very interesting moments. I was particularly amused by the Doctor's conversations with Stormageddon, and the return of the Cybermat.<br/><br/>But there's not a whole lot more to say about the episode itself. Well, maybe a few things. What made The Lodger work so well was the way it thrust the Doctor into an ordinary life and watched his reaction to it; we see the Doctor trying to be (and thoroughly enjoying the idea of being) a regular bloke. He plays football, he has his own room in a flat, he interjects himself into the drama of Craig and Sophie. At times it feels like the Doctor has been dropped into the wrong show, and at other times it feels like he has fallen out of the Mediasphere altogether and landed in a day in someone's life. And the Doctor in these situations creates a wonderful, postmodern story about a mythic figure interacting with the ordinary world, and which highlights the advantages and wonder that can be found in mundane life.<br/><br/>And Closing Time tries to replicate that feeling, with the Doctor emphasizing that he's just there for a visit, and later with his getting a job at a department store. But it doesn't pan out; I'm not certain if it is because his motives are too clearly otherwise, or simply because the tone of the story isn't quite right, but the Doctor doesn't feel convincingly a part of everyday life this time.<br/><br/>Aside from that, the pacing in this episode is interesting. At first it felt like the pacing was off - like the story was progressing too slowly. But by the end of the episode, I realized that the slow pacing was, if not intentional, then well-chosen; along with more classic-feeling Cybermen (see the Cybermat) we get a classic series sense of pacing condensed into 45 minutes. The result is quite enjoyable, and a nice bit of a breather after the intense episodes we've had so far since the series picked back up. It feels like the calm before the storm.<br/><br/>Speaking of the storm... it's time for<br/><br/><h3>The Wedding of River Song Speculation</h3><br/><br/>I have to apologize to Night Terrors. I didn't realize the creepy rhyme the dolls sing was actually tied into the overall arc, rather than shoehorned in as a last-minute arc connection. I definitely have to give the episode a bit more credit in retrospect for weaving that bit in.<br/><br/>So, let's have a look at that rhyme. Kovarian has given us the end of the first stanza, so the dolls' version goes something like this:<br/><br/><blockquote><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>And what now shall we play?<br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>Now summer's gone away<br/><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>And what then shall we see?<br/>Tick tock until the day<br/>That thou shalt marry me<br/><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>And all the years they fly<br/>Tick tock and all too soon<br/>You and I must die<br/><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>We laughed at fate and mourned her<br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>Even for the Doctor<br/><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>He cradled her and he rocked her<br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>Even for the Doctor<br/></blockquote><br/><br/>The first stanza is a little vague, although it's easy enough to see a metaphor between summer and youth - neither the Doctor nor River are particularly young any more. After that, though, the parallels to the Doctor and River are pretty straightforward. I wouldn't normally do this line by line, but I'm in the mood to be thorough.
Import blogger data. 2016-04-11 22:01:00 +00:00			`---`
			`layout: post`
			`title: 'Doctor Who: Closing Time'`
			`date: '2011-09-28T19:20:00.000-04:00'`
			`author: Anna Wiggins`
			`tags:`
			`- Craig`
			`- Media`
			`- The Silence`
			`- Cybermen`
			`- Doctor Who`
			`- Madame Kovarian`
			`- River Song`
			`modified_time: '2013-10-22T11:19:51.673-04:00'`
			`blogger_id: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209116010564764361.post-375218274321415709`
			`blogger_orig_url: http://www.stringofbits.net/2011/09/doctor-who-closing-time.html`
			`---`

			The Lodger was brilliant, easily Gareth Roberts' best contribution to the series up to that point and one of my favorite episodes. So, when I heard about a "sequel" story involving Craig and written by Roberts, I was excited. When I learned it had Cybermen in it, well... Cybermen don't have the best track record, but I trusted Roberts to deliver a pretty good Cybermen story.<br/><br/>And he did. In fact, 'pretty good' is a very appropriate adjectival phrase for the episode. It wasn't brilliant. It doesn't risk dislodging The Lodger as Roberts' best episode. But it was a fun, light-hearted romp involving Cybermen with some very interesting moments. I was particularly amused by the Doctor's conversations with Stormageddon, and the return of the Cybermat.<br/><br/>But there's not a whole lot more to say about the episode itself. Well, maybe a few things. What made The Lodger work so well was the way it thrust the Doctor into an ordinary life and watched his reaction to it; we see the Doctor trying to be (and thoroughly enjoying the idea of being) a regular bloke. He plays football, he has his own room in a flat, he interjects himself into the drama of Craig and Sophie. At times it feels like the Doctor has been dropped into the wrong show, and at other times it feels like he has fallen out of the Mediasphere altogether and landed in a day in someone's life. And the Doctor in these situations creates a wonderful, postmodern story about a mythic figure interacting with the ordinary world, and which highlights the advantages and wonder that can be found in mundane life.<br/><br/>And Closing Time tries to replicate that feeling, with the Doctor emphasizing that he's just there for a visit, and later with his getting a job at a department store. But it doesn't pan out; I'm not certain if it is because his motives are too clearly otherwise, or simply because the tone of the story isn't quite right, but the Doctor doesn't feel convincingly a part of everyday life this time.<br/><br/>Aside from that, the pacing in this episode is interesting. At first it felt like the pacing was off - like the story was progressing too slowly. But by the end of the episode, I realized that the slow pacing was, if not intentional, then well-chosen; along with more classic-feeling Cybermen (see the Cybermat) we get a classic series sense of pacing condensed into 45 minutes. The result is quite enjoyable, and a nice bit of a breather after the intense episodes we've had so far since the series picked back up. It feels like the calm before the storm.<br/><br/>Speaking of the storm... it's time for<br/><br/><h3>The Wedding of River Song Speculation</h3><br/><br/>I have to apologize to Night Terrors. I didn't realize the creepy rhyme the dolls sing was actually tied into the overall arc, rather than shoehorned in as a last-minute arc connection. I definitely have to give the episode a bit more credit in retrospect for weaving that bit in.<br/><br/>So, let's have a look at that rhyme. Kovarian has given us the end of the first stanza, so the dolls' version goes something like this:<br/><br/><blockquote><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>And what now shall we play?<br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>Now summer's gone away<br/><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>And what then shall we see?<br/>Tick tock until the day<br/>That thou shalt marry me<br/><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>And all the years they fly<br/>Tick tock and all too soon<br/>You and I must die<br/><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>We laughed at fate and mourned her<br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>Even for the Doctor<br/><br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>He cradled her and he rocked her<br/>Tick tock goes the clock<br/>Even for the Doctor<br/></blockquote><br/><br/>The first stanza is a little vague, although it's easy enough to see a metaphor between summer and youth - neither the Doctor nor River are particularly young any more. After that, though, the parallels to the Doctor and River are pretty straightforward. I wouldn't normally do this line by line, but I'm in the mood to be thorough.