One of the greatest things about the Doctor Who format is that it allows you to tell an enormous variety of stories. So far in Series Six, we've had creepy scarefests with forgettable monsters in sharp suits, don't-judge-a-mermaid-by-her-song metaphors, explorations of long-standing relationships with weird sentient planetoids with smelly armpits, nature of humanity riffs with added gunge-people, allegories of state power against the individual, with the occasional lactating Sontaran, knockabout running paradoxes with Hitler in a cupboard, Matt Smith's "Fear Her"-style housecall with peg dolls and alien babies, the true meaning of "killing with kindness" and the nature of disappointment, and dark parodies on the nature of faith, with a distant cousin of the Nimon.
Closing Time was this series' razorblade soufflé, all froth and lightness on the surface, with glints of steel inside, moments of true, painful outrage, and a parable of paternity. Will it change our understanding of the Whoniverse forever? Hardly. Is it a high point of the series? Mmmaybe.
You could be forgiven for thinking that Gareth Roberts was recycling his Lodger script with the opening of Closing Time, but this is 21st century Who, so we're required to be generous and think of it as A Thing. It's Craig's Thing with the Doctor that he opens the door to find the idiot-haired timelord standing there, beaming.
The parallel streams of Craig's insecurity about his skills as a father and a piecemeal invasion by subterranean Cybermen were blended with a fair amount of fluff and plenty of Running About, as one expects of a Gareth Roberts script, but strand three – the Doctor's approaching 'death' and its effect on him – pulsed heavily wherever it landed, Smith stretching his acting chops as he tried to simply walk away from missing people and teleport energy was particularly impressive, resonating with both Ninth and Tenth Doctors as they went along, feeling the weight of their own impact on those around them.
Other high points included the first sight of a Cybermat on screen since Revenge of the Cybermen, and in almost the same moment, the discovery that having them leap off the floor doesn't look annnny more convincing in 2011 than it did back in the early 70s. And then of course there was the defeat of the Cybermen – people like Craig as the everyman he is, so it was a real punch-in-the-stomach moment to see him captured, strapped into a conversion alcove, to see the cyber-face close over his own, and the Cybermen announce that his phase one conversion was complete.
Cleverly of course, Roberts got two punches for the price of one, because any fan who wasn't punching the air as Craig's paternal instinct kicked in, fed back and the Doctor told the "metal morons" (greatest line by a Doctor to the Cybermen since Tom Baker's "tin soldiers", anyone?) that Daddy was home...might as well be a Cyberman themselves.
Of course, the oversimplification of the solution is a feature of Moffat-style Wibbly-Wobbly Who, so "defeating the Cybermen with Love" is doable these days, though older fans are probably at the point by now of wanting what Rose Tyler would undoubtedly have called "a bit more Spock" in the resolutions to stories, and perhaps a little less Harry Potter. Also, is anyone else finding the re-use of the Cybermen's "emotional feedback leading to an exploding head" routine a little reminiscent of the Dalek's old "self-destruct-when-my-vision-is-impaired" schtick?
As for Amy Pond becoming a model – meh. Not unbelievable, but – unless there turns out to be some overarching Deeply Clever And Important reason for Amy and Rory to be beggaring about in Colchester of an afternoon, it feels a bit manipulative to have them there, almost entirely to prod the Doctor's conscience again. On the other hand, it was good to have Craig's rebuttal of the Doctor's growing self-loathing with his faith (which itself was much less loaded than Amy's was, just an episode ago), to give some emotional light and shade to the increasingly dark story-arc. And the story-beat with the Doctor telling Stormageddon about the wonders of a normal human life had a decidedly Kapra feel too, adding to the feeling of a story in balance.
River being 'revealed' as the Impossible Astronaut at the end of the episode was strangely anti-climactic though, for all Alex Kingston's yelling, and while in theory everything's now all neatly ribboned-up for the finale, the fact that we've been trained to expect two-part climaxes in new Who leads to a feeling that, somehow, there isn't the expectation, the anticipation that we're used to leading into the final episode. But with the how-the-heck-do-they-get-out-of-thatness of the Impossible Astronaut's "no, really, he's dead" set-up, and the insane images in the preview, I'm betting there's still enough bang in the Eleventh Doctor's buck to take us on one phenomenal rollercoaster ride before Series 6 brings its curtain down.
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
It's been a reoccurring theme during this part of series 6, and tomorrow I shall be uploading and posting the song from the prequel and this weeks episode. But right now, I bring you the song from the prequel in text form.
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Doctor, Brave and bold,
He turned away from violence.
When he undersit,
The falling of the silence
If any part of this is wrong, comment and I will change it. :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
It's been a reoccurring theme during this part of series 6, and tomorrow I shall be uploading and posting the song from the end of the episode. But right now, I bring you the song from the prequel in text form.
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Doctor, Brave and Good,
He turned away from violence.
When he understood,
The falling of the silence
If any part of this is wrong, comment and I will change it. :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
It's been a reoccurring theme during this part of series 6, and tomorrow I shall be uploading and posting the song from the prequel and this weeks episode. But right now, I bring you the song from the prequel in text form.
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Tick Tock, Goes the clock,
Doctor, Brave and Good,
He turned away from violence.
When he undersit,
The falling of the silence
If any part of this is wrong, comment and I will change it. :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
Sanderson & Granger. Hello Craig, I'm back. Last night my telly went off in "Top Model". I'm coping on my own. Somethings wrong. We didn't call him the Doctor. Stormageddon. Not Mum. The Alignment of Exador. I am going away now. "The Doctor, Here to Help" Someones been using a "beam me up" star Trek Teleporter. Your my Baby. Those where the days. Silver Rat Thing. Talk to me about Ladieswear. Aliens in Colchester. Amy & Rory "For the girl whos tired of Waiting" A nagging sense of spiritual Emptiness. I have an app for that. My time is running out. Come along, Bitey. You are the Doctor. Your designation is Cybercontroller. Alfie, I'm home. Its nice for baby to have two daddies who live each-other. "Doctor" River and Kovorian and 2 silence. Doctor River Song.
Be sure to tune in next week for the final part of season 6 :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
Character Options have released more details about the series 6 range of action figures, this contains figures from episode 9-13. Here they are below, to see the whole wave in detail, click here. Thanks to the Doctor Who Site! :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
Issue 7 of Fish Fingers & Custard contains the following:
- Whooverville Review and interview with convention organiser Steve Hatcher - What Does Doctor Who Mean To Kids? - Torchwood: Miracle Day - I Love Who: Harry Sedgewick previews a chapter of his new Doctor Who book, exclusively for the fanzine - 31 Things Less Painful Than Watching Journey's End - And Much More!
Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures set designer, Edward Thomas, had an interview and Comic Con international, and YouTube user Twit has uploaded it. :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures set designer, Edward Thomas, had an interview and Comic Con international, and YouTube user Twit has uploaded it. :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures set designer, Edward Thomas, had an interview and Comic Con international, and YouTube user Twit has uploaded it. :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/5510996/">What Did You Think Of Doctor Who 611 The God Complex</a>
Another poll after 612 :)
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
Everyones wearing them, an eye patch over their over their right eye, it looks like I am right, its something to do with remembering seeing the Silence, I have said this since we saw River Song in one in season 6 part 1 :) After all, it can't be a fashion statement!
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
Here are 25 photographs from Doctor Who 613 The Wedding of River Song, they are smaller then the official BBC ones, which I expect to see Tuesday morning, but they are of a pretty good resolution still!
Warning IMHO they are very spoilery, if you want to see them, click here, as always they are the last 25 in the album - If you don't I think you may need to leave the internet for a week!
Thanx to www.pizquita.com for the pictures!
This post started on "Life, Doctor Who & Combom" at www.combom.co.uk
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