![]() Back at Craig and Sophie’s, Craig is fielding a call from his Mom, assuring her, too, that he’s completely okay: “Craig Owens can do it on his own…no one is coming to help me.” Just then, there’s a knock on the front door, and sure enough, it’s the Doctor. She keeps asking for assurances from Craig that “he can cope.” Intercut with this is the closing time of a nearby department store, Sanderson & Granger, where one of the supervisors wanders through the darkened store after hearing noises in one of the dressing rooms. We begin with our old friend Craig seeing his now-wife Sophie off as she prepares to go spend the weekend with friends, apparently looking for a much-needed break. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s “Closing Time.” Now with the Doctor again facing his own, seemingly inevitable death, he seems to have forgone the denial stage exhibited by the last Doctor and gone straight to melancholic “acceptance.” So, given that in tonight’s episode The Doctor will be faced with a reunion with his old friend Craig (and perhaps a final confrontation with an old and recurring enemy), will his outlook on his last days change? Or will he continue his somber march to oblivion? ![]() As a final blessing, the Tenth Doctor received a little extra time to do what he should have been doing all along – saying goodbye to his friends and loved ones, settling all accounts, and passing into twilight being satisfied in an…um…incarnation (yes!) well lived. In the end, though, when his archnemesis the Master was resurrected and it came time for the Doctor to save the world (again), he overcame his enemy and faced his inevitable death. Instead of trying to face it with some stoicism and nostalgia, he instead fought against it tooth and claw, escaping into his own arrogance and at one point doing his best to run from what he knew was his destiny. ![]() During that period, the Tenth Doctor discovered that his time was coming to an end and, all told, he reacted to it quite badly. The last time the Doctor found himself in a situation similar to the one he’s in now, it was during the five “specials” that culminated David Tennant’s run as the Tenth Doctor. Our main focus then, as it was last week, falls upon the Doctor and his current death drive. Which, of course, I would never endorse T.P.-ing alone would be perfectly satisfactory. It’s currently available for anyone who has a Netflix streaming account, provided you haven’t canceled your membership in the last week and created a “Save-the-date” for Cabbage Night so you and your friends can egg Reed Hastings’s house. All told, it was a great example of one of Doctor Who’s more comedy-themed episodes, which they usually offer once or twice a season to bring down the tension of the larger story arch. ![]() And, in the process, making a new and loyal friend. ![]() Moving into Craig’s flat as his new roommate, the Doctor proceeds to turn his life upside down (albeit in a good way), getting him promoted at work and helping he and Sophie realize that they love each other while vanquishing the malevolent artificial intelligence that’s interfering with the TARDIS. Prior to tonight’s episode, he’s only had one appearance on the show, albeit a memorable one, which came in last season’s delightful episode, “The Lodger.” An obvious play on Hitchcock’s silent classic of the same name, “The Lodger” had the Doctor locked out of the TARDIS (with Amelia simultaneously locked it) due to a mysterious entity living in the flat right upstairs from Craig Owens, an average guy stuck in a unfulfilling job and lovesick for his best friend Sophie. Well, to be honest, there isn’t that much to say about Craig. Last we saw of him, he was forlorn and alone on the TARDIS, facing his oncoming death with dread and sorrow, but also with a touch of anticipation, having seen himself become the monster that the Anglican Marines in the future took him to be. The Doctor also confronted, and defeated, a monster that reflected his own existential dilemma – an ancient, world-weary creature drenched in the blood of its unintended victims. The departure was amicable, poignant, and touching, but it seems to be doubtful that we’ve seen the last of Amy and Rory, especially with only two episodes left in the season (and Amy still narrating the BBC America version of the opening). Last week, in a season that has become defined by its twists and turns, the Doctor and the Ponds (Amy and Rory Williams) went their separate ways, after the Doctor had, rightfully, became concerned that his adventures were too dangerous for them, and for Amy especially. ![]()
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