Live from Master Closet Studios, you’re listening to the only podcast on the internet recording during the Super Bowl pregame: it’s the Noobs and the Whovian!
My name is Austin and I’m the Whovian, and these are my sons Corbin and Tripp and we’re the noobs!
This is the podcast that introduces a whole new generation to Doctor Who by watching an episode each week and discussing it from the perspective of a dad who’s seen it before, and two sons who haven’t.
Welcome to Episode 89 covering series 6 episode 12: Closing Time.
Super-short Recap
This is the one where the Doctor, Amy, Rory, I mean just the doctor, go back to see his old buddy Craig, but something strange is happening. Turns out, there are cybermen right below a shop. Also, the Doctor’s time is running out.
Remember that one?
Production notes
- Story # 222
- Originally aired September 24, 2011 to 6.93 million viewers
- Written by: Gareth Roberts
- Directed by: Steve Hughes
Misc Trivia
- Gareth Roberts confirmed in an interview that the 200-year gap between the two Elevens in The Impossible Astronaut happens between The God Complex and this episode.
- This is the first season of NuWho to not have a two-part series finale
- It’s also the first episode to feature River Song that was not written by Moffat.
Cast
- Craig – James Corden
- I wanted to note that he was in the news recently for the stupidest reason ever!
- He’s famous for his Carpool Karaoke, which we mentioned last time Craig was on Doctor Who.
- Apparently, fans were shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU, to find out that he’s not actually driving but being towed during filming.
Checklist
- Name of the episode spoken in dialogue?
- Creature of the week
- Cybermen
- Cybermat
- CGI
- Bow ties are cool
- Hats
- Craig gave him the Stetson
- Doctor Who?
- Geronimo
- Running count – 7
- Stuff the Doctor loves
- Jiggery Pokery
- Sonic
- Turned a lamp into a dang planetarium
- It shot a beam at the cybermat, twice!
- It’s shielded from metastatic energy, of course! Don’t worry, I have an app for that.
- TARDIS
- Psychic paper
- Random
- Sonic
- Needless sacrificial death
- Jibberty Jabberty
- Silence will fall
- I didn’t realize that the silence that would fall would be my own death.
- The Question
- I didn’t know I would die still not knowing what the question is.
- Eye-patch Lady
- She wiped River’s memory of her
- The eye-patch is just a picture of the Silence. That’s why she can remember them
- The Doctor’s Rules
- Jammie Dodger sighting
- Running count – 3
- Existential Horror
Other stuff we noticed
- You’ve got so much to look forward to: mortgage repayments, 9 to 5, a persistent nagging sense of spiritual emptiness. Save the tears for later.
Who’s Who?
- Who is Amy?
- She’s become a famous model
- Her perfume brand is Petrichor – the smell after the rain. This was part of the password to get into the old TARDIS control room in The Doctor’s Wife.
- Who is Rory?
- He’s married to a famous model
- Who is River?
- She became a doctor today.
- Who is The Doctor?
- Social call. Bout time I tried one out.
- He has magic shushing powers
- They didn’t name the baby after him.
- Cross my hearts
- You’ve got your noticing face on. I have nightmares about that face!
- I’m going, I’m through saving them
- They gave me a nametag in case I forget who I am. Which is convenient as it does happen.
- The fob watch in Human Nature
- He’s a bit out of practice with kissing, but he’s had some wonderful feedback
- Craig said the safest place is right next to the Doctor because he always wins and always survives.
- I mean, I guess?
- He takes companions to act as alien chick magnets, like a baby or puppy
- It’s not my fault! It’s a coincidence, it’s what the universe does for fun.
- He’s very old, so near the end.
- When he was Stormie’s age, he dreamed of the stars. He owned the stage, gave it a 110%.
- I’m a stupid selfish man, I always have been.
- Craig: He needs someone, he always needs someone. He just can’t admit it.
- The Doctor always gives you a choice
Can we talk about Craig’s companion status?
- Is Craig a companion?
- We’ve kind of always gone with the rule: “someone who travels with Doctor in the TARDIS” which he didn’t.
- This is the second time that Craig saved the day with love. It was his love of Sophie that fueled his desire to stay which made him unsuitable as a pilot for the alien ship in The Lodger.
Classic who connection
- This is the first time we see Cybermats in NuWho. You may remember them from The Tomb of the Cybermen, but they were also in The Wheel in Space and Revenge of the Cybermen
- The Doctor said “Not a rat, a Cybermat!” which echoes the Second Doctor’s reaction to the Cybermats in The Tomb of the Cybermen.
- The Cybermen say “You will be like us” which is also what they said in Tomb of the Cybermen
- When looking at a toy robot dog the Doctor made a reference to K-9, whom we have already seen in NuWho, but originally was a companion of the Fourth Doctor alongside Sarah Jane Smith
- The Doctor made a comment about not liking how Craig had redecorated his apartment. The Second and Fifth Doctors made similar comments when looking at the new TARDIS after their time in The Three Doctors, the Five Doctors and Time Crash
- The Doctor mentioned that he sometimes forgets his identity when talking about name tags. This happened in The Fifth Doctor’s first serial Castrovalva.
Overall impressions
- Overall rating out of 10 –
- Jared – 9 cybermats
- Austin – 9 metal rats with real teeth
- Corbin – 8.5 Craigs
- Tripp – 9 lonely doctors
- Creep Level – out of 500
- Jared – 125
- Austin – 200
- Corbin – 175
- Tripp – 165
Theories
- What will happen with Eleven dying?
- Corbin thinks this will be the end of series 6 and they will avert Eleven’s death.
- Tripp
- Corbin’s whole theory
- The River, who is the impossible astronaut and the little girl, kills the Doctor in the season finale and that is why she is in Stormcage. Also, she is the Doctor’s wife.
- What happens with Amy and Rory?
- Tripp thinks we never see them again
- Corbin thinks they’re in the season finale
The Game Plan
- Next week we continue our mad dash to the series finale by watching the finale itself: The Wedding of River Song.
- After that, we have our first Timey Wimey of 2020: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure!
- The streaming on this is a little squirrely. It’s not on Prime, but it’s part of the Starz add-on. You can do this by going to Amazon or Hulu and adding it on.
Closing
Noobs and the Whovian is a production of Master Closet Studios, where it’s always smaller on the inside. Your Senior Producer is Austin Reason. Our Audio Engineer is Tripp Reason. Corbin Reason is our Production Editor. Special thanks to tardis.wikia.com for the trivia, Jared for the Classic Who Connection. Shout outs to Victor and Jared for their Patreon support.
You can find us at facebook.com/noobsandthewhovian or twitter.com/noobswhovian and email us at [email protected]. Consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/noobsandthewhovian. Please subscribe and leave a rating wherever you found us, and share us with a friend not because we’re a great show but because we watch one.
