Closing Time ( TV story ) Closing Time was the twelfth episode in the sixth series of " Doctor Who " . It saw the return of Craig Owens from series 5 , this time as the " official " companion of the story ; so far , it also marks his final appearance . A huge time gap in the Doctor ' s personal timeline is implied to have taken place between this story and the previous . It ' s also shown how the Doctor got his stetson and TARDIS blue envelopes . It also saw the return of the Cybermat s , and the final time Cybus - model Cybermen are active . It also continues the theme of having Cybermen in the twelfth episode of a series ( something that ' s continued through Steven Moffat ' s tenure as show runner ) , which started back in " The Pandorica Opens " . Further , it answered the question of who is inside the astronaut suit that kills the Doctor at Lake Silencio . It ' s also shown that more than one Silent managed to avoid being killed in " Day of the Moon " . The episode is notable for being more humorous than serious , much like " The Lodger " ; like before , the comedy comes from the Doctor and Craig ' s interactions . Synopsis . Craig Owens is having enough trouble trying to care for his child . The last thing he needed was the return of his old friend , the Doctor . And it looks like he ' s not alone ; trouble seems to have once again followed the Doctor to Colchester , with a silvery shine . Plot . At a Sanderson & Grainger store in Colchester , two saleswomen ring up the final customers of the night . When one of the saleswomen , Kelly , laments being late for her date , the other , Shona , offers to cash up and clean out the changing rooms for her . The lights in the department store flicker ominously as Kelly leaves . Shona is left annoyed by the clothing and lingerie scattered in the changing room ; Kelly had better be thankful she ' s doing this for her . Shona begins picking up the clothes , noticing someone still using the stall at the far end . After repeatedly warning that the store is closing , she pulls back the curtain and screams in terror ; a Cyberman faces her . At the same time , Sophie prepares to leave for a weekend holiday . She expresses unease at leaving Craig in charge of the house ; however , Craig tells her that she needs this time to rest , as she is completely frazzled . Sophie tells him nervously that their respective parents , and " innocent people " may call to check up on him . She leaves and Craig begins calling everyone Sophie phoned to check up on him , telling them that he can handle things on his own . He then hears someone knocking on the door ; thinking Sophie came back ( like usual when she forgets something ) , Craig opens the door , saying he is coping on his own . In a humorous sense of deja vu , the Doctor is the one at the door instead of Sophie . With a smile , the Doctor says " Hello , Craig , I ' m back ! " Craig is left dumbfounded by the Doctor ' s appearance , asking how could Sophie get ahold of him . The Doctor claims he ' s just popped around to say hello , making a house call is something he ' s never done before . He comments that Craig " redecorated " , saying he doesn ' t like it ; Craig laughs , telling the Doctor that he lives in a house now . Since they ' ve exchanged pleasantries , the Doctor turns to leave , but notices the porch light flickering . His suspicions raised , he forces himself into the house . The Doctor begins scanning the house with the sonic screwdriver , noting that there are increased amounts of sulpher emissions and that the stairs are a mess . Craig tries to silence the Doctor , who ignores him upon noticing the sonic picked up a life signal . The Doctor rushes upstairs and swings up a door , demanding the occupant leave the planet ; however , he discovers a crying baby — it is Alfie , Craig and Sophie ' s son . The Doctor sits in the kitchen , watching as Craig tries to calm the crying Alfie ; the Doctor ' s blunder woke Alfie . Craig admits he can ' t cope on his own ; Alfie cries all the time . Craig even wonders if babies have " off switches " ; the Doctor quips " human beings ? No ; believe me , I checked . " The Doctor remedies the problem by shushing Alfie , who immediately quiets . Craig continues to request parenting hints , so the Doctor — who speaks baby — informs him that Alfie prefers to be called Stormageddon , Dark Lord of All ; that he refers to Sophie as " Mum ; " Craig as " not - Mum " ; the Doctor as " also not Mum " ; and everyone else as " peasants . " Craig wonders why the Doctor has come , refusing to believe that he ' s merely making a social call ; the Doctor explains he thought he try one out , since he never has . Craig explains that he checked the upstairs when they moved into their new house , and his next - door neighbours on both sides are humans ; he then jokingly asks if aliens are in his fridge . The Doctor , however , is merely on a bit of a farewell tour and Craig is his last stop . Nevertheless , as they converse , he is troubled by a story in the newspaper . Craig comments that the Doctor has his " noticing face " on , which he has nightmares about ( due to the Doctor telepathically sharing some memories with him in their last meeting ) . The Doctor insists he is not noticing anything , and even if he did , would not get involved this time . The Doctor departs with another goodbye , preparing to go see the Alignment of Exodor — which is locked in a Time stasis field , preventing him from making more than one attempt at seeing it . As he returns to the TARDIS , he continues to notice the flickering lights and taking scans with the sonic , but again tells himself that he will not get involved and is leaving . The next day , the Doctor has started a job at Sanderson & Grainger ' s toy department . He demonstrates a toy helicopter to excited children , explaining that while nearly 50 Pounds is a lot to pay for it , it ' s their parents ' cash , which would be wasted on boring things like " lamps and vegetables . " Craig arrives with Alfie , and is accidentally hit by the helicopter ; the Doctor greets Craig before sending his crowd away . Craig asks why the Doctor is still around ; the Doctor explains that he impulsively decided to get a job . The Doctor is happy to have been given a nametag , as he does tend to forget his name . Craig accidentally kicks a toy dog , which the Doctor picks up ; he reminisces about robot dogs , claiming they ' re not as fun as he remembers . Bidding them farewell , the Doctor places the toy on the ground as he notices a small robotic gadget whiz around the shop . He quickly begins inspecting the area it went past . Craig persists with the idea that the Doctor is in town to investigate something . The Doctor finally relents , explaining that recent disappearances of people have coincided with power fluctuations ; Craig is left confused as the incidents haven ' t been in the news . The Doctor shows Craig a newspaper , explaining the public ' s attention is more focused on " Britain ' s Got Talent " ; the disappearances are listed on other pages , therefore nobody sees the pattern . He escorts Craig and Alfie out of the store into a broken lift , which he repairs with the sonic screwdriver . Boarding the lift with them , the Doctor explains that someone has been using a teleport relay inside the shop and that the CCTV footage has been wiped , preventing any evidence . Suddenly , the elevator appears to dissolve around them . Craig is not immediately aware of it , thinking it another power issue . The Doctor , however , can see that they have stumbled upon the aforementioned teleport and are now onboard an alien spaceship . He tries to distract Craig by claiming to love him , but Craig turns and notices the ship just as a Cyberman approaches . The Doctor quickly explains that he doesn ' t actually love Craig , except as a friend , quickly reversing the teleporter and returning them to the lift . Explaining what a Cyberman is , the Doctor goes outside with Craig and attempts to scan space for a Cyber - ship ; there is no positive result . The Doctor orders Craig to take Alfie and leave Colchester , but Craig knows the safest place for him and his son is next to the Doctor . Flattered by Craig ' s trust in him , the Doctor allows him to stay and help investigate . He tells Craig to look around , notice everything and ask questions . He suggests that people will be more open to him because he has a baby ; this is why the Doctor usually brings a human companion with him , he says . They separate to cover more ground . The Doctor talks with Val , a chatty perfume saleswoman , who has mistaken him and Craig for romantic partners . Getting their wires crossed , the Doctor thinks she means the word in the professional sense , wondering if " partner " is a better word than " companion " . Equally off the same page , Val says the wording is old fashioned , ; there ' s no need to be indirect these days . Val then goes on to talk about an irrelevant scandal going on with two other employees . Seeing that he ' s getting no where , the Doctor decides to leave and ask someone else . As he leaves , Val mentions a silver rat with glowing red eyes ; this prompts him to turn around in shock , as he saw it as well . She takes him to the toy department , explaining that she wanted the " silver rat " for her nephew , but the stock room says they don ' t have such a thing ; she ' s not considered the possibility that it could have been brought in by a child from a different store . The Doctor , with a net to capture the suspicious " toy " , sourly says , " I bet they do . " In the meantime , Craig is less successful , poorly choosing lingerie as his investigation spot . His attempts to talk to Kelly , due to trying to act cool , are misconstrued as harassment and he accidentally knocks over a lingerie display while trying to escape the wrath of George , the burly security guard . He compliments George ' s uniform to try pacifying him , but is unsuccessful . At the same time , the Doctor hears the commotion and runs over to help . He is warmly greeted by Kelly and George . He introduces them to Craig , ending the tension ( they trust a friend of the Doctor ) ; the Doctor compliments George ' s uniform , but , unlike Craig , is thanked . Kelly mentions Shona didn ' t turn up for work , complaining about having to work harder to cover for her . The Doctor suspects Shona has gone missing as well . The two men look through the changing rooms where Shona was last seen . Craig is furious ; following the Doctor ' s orders humiliated him in front of his son . The Doctor tells Craig that Alfie thinks he should believe in himself more . He uses the sonic to scan the changing room and deduce s that a Cyberman took Shona the night before . The " silver rat " that Val saw is a Cybermat , an infiltrator that ' s been responsible for the electrical fluctuations ; it ' s harvesting power . The Doctor doesn ' t understand why the Cybermen would target a shop as opposed to a nuclear power station . To answer his questions , the Doctor decides to capture the Cybermat . Increasingly distressed by these recent events , Craig wonders why aliens only turn up in Colchester when the Doctor is around . The Doctor claims that it ' s merely coincidence , which is " what the universe does for fun " . As Craig goes to change Alfie , the Doctor then notices Amy and Rory walking in his direction from across the shop , unaware of his presence . A little girl named Allie stops Amy and asks for her autograph . As the Doctor hides so they don ' t see him , he notices Amy ' s photo on an ad for perfume called " Petrichor , " for " the girl who ' s tired of waiting . " The Doctor can only smile and think of the irony in the tagline . That night , the Doctor and Craig remain in the store after it closes and wait for the Cybermat . Craig laments telling everyone that he didn ' t need their help as leaving Alfie with a babysitter would be safer ; Alfie wishes it would be a hot one . Because Alfie wants to be attached to Craig , the Doctor gives them a papose . The Doctor captures the Cybermat easily enough . Meanwhile , in the basement , George is inspecting the fuse boxes when he is attacked by a Cyberman . The Doctor and Craig hear his screaming . The Doctor immediately rushes to his aid , but is knocked out by one of the Cybermen . On regaining consciousness , the Doctor finds Craig looking over him . The Cyberman did not kill him , because it was weak and made of spare parts . He expresses confusion as to how the Cybermen have travelled there , given that he shut down the teleport relay and it should ' ve taken them days to repair it . They return to Craig ' s house . As the Doctor examines the Cybermat , Craig tells him he ' s going to get more milk , leaving the Doctor in charge of Alfie . Alfie begins crying as soon as Craig leaves and the Doctor leaves the Cybermat unattended to go comfort him . The Doctor tells Alfie to save his tears for later as there ' s a spiritual emptiness of adulthood waiting for him ; however , the Doctor realises it ' s his old age talking , going on to say that he gave everything 110 % . The Cybermat , which has reactivated itself , sneaks up behind the Doctor . He is able to stun it with the sonic and escapes outside with Alfie . However , as he moves to go back into the house , he realises that the door has locked behind him and he has dropped his sonic screwdriver inside . Craig returns home , not realising the danger , and is attacked by the Cybermat . The Doctor hears Craig ' s cries for help , crashes through the back window and rescues him . Trying several times to hold down their adversary , the Doctor has Craig pin the Cybermat under a baking tray while he fries its memory with the sonic to make it benign . Later , as the Doctor reprograms the Cybermat , Craig wonders about its presence . The Doctor doesn ' t understand why the Cyber - ship needs so much power and why the conversions of the missing people are incomplete . He continues to feel guilt for letting Craig stay to help him , referring to himself as a selfish man who puts people in danger . Craig reminds the Doctor that , if not for him , the entire planet would be in ruin , leading the Doctor to tell him sadly that he will not be around for much longer — his time is running out and he is set to die tomorrow . However , when he turns back , Craig and Alfie have fallen asleep and apparently not heard a word he ' s said . He only smiles sadly . The next morning , the Doctor returns with " Bitey " the Cybermat to the shop . When Craig wakes , he finds a message from the Doctor that he ' s gone to stop the Cybermen . Sophie calls and leaves a message , saying she will be home soon . Craig readies himself and Alfie to go help the Doctor because , as Craig explains to Alfie , he wouldn ' t have him or Sophie if not for the Doctor . The Doctor always needs someone to help ; he just can ' t admit it . At the department store , the Doctor deduce s that secondary transport must exist . He runs into Val , barely paying attention to her . She says that he ' s found the silver rat ; the Doctor retorts " But where are the silver men ? " Continuing his search , he finds a passageway behind the mirror in the changing room where Shona was taken . He follows it down to a crashed Cyber Ship . While he investigates the control room , he is confronted by one of the Cybermen . The Doctor explains what happened . The Cyber - ship crashed centuries earlier with a single , dormant survivor . The town council began laying cables . The Cybermat activated and tunnelled to the surface to salvage power for the ship ' s systems . The Cyberman announces they will reemerge when they are ready and convert the planet ; six Cybermen are sufficient . The Doctor offers them a choice : deactivate willingly or be deactivated by force . As he prepares to make good on this threat , a second Cyberman appears and holds him in place . At the same time , Craig arrives in the shop and leaves Alfie with Val , warning her not to follow him ; unfortunately , she misunderstands the reason entirely . He finds the entrance the Doctor used and searches for something he can use as a weapon ; seeing a price gun , Craig reasons that the Cybermen won ' t know what it is and he can bluff . In the ship , the first Cyberman claims the Doctor will be their new leader , the second recognises that his binary vascular system makes him incompatible . Instead , they will use him for parts and discard what they don ' t need . Craig appears and threatens the Cybermen with his price gun . The Doctor orders Craig to leave . One of the Cybermen recognises Craig ' s compatibility and declares him their new leader . They begin preparing him for conversion , despite his protests , explaining that they take Craig ' s fear from him . The Doctor pleads with Craig to think of Alfie and finally declares that he is going to die tomorrow but he doesn ' t mind that , if Craig can " prove him right . " However , Craig is unable to escape or resist . The Doctor can only watch as the Cyber - armour assimilates Craig entirely . Above , Alfie seems to sense the danger Craig is in and begins to cry . This sound is picked up on the Cyber - ship and heard by all onboard . As the Cybermen declare that Craig ' s conversion is complete , something changes . Craig ' s emotional systems begin to reboot themselves after hearing his child crying . His face plate splits down the middle , springing open to reveal Craig . He fights his way out of the armour to get to Alfie . The Doctor realises Craig ' s rejection of the conversion triggered a feedback loop . The Cybermen begin to feel everything they cut out of themselves . This will lead to a very big explosion . As they realise that the way they came in is cut off , the Doctor remembers the teleport and fuses it back together . As they dematerialise , the Cyber - ship explodes . In the shop above , the lift doors open and Craig runs out , calling for Alfie . The Doctor informs Craig that Alfie has given him a " ten out of ten . " Craig boasts about blowing the Cyber - ship up with love . The Doctor begins to explain the exact process in its technical terms , but ultimately concedes that Craig indeed blew it up with love . Later , as Craig converses with Val — who has wrongly concluded that Craig and the Doctor are a couple — he realises that the Doctor has disappeared . He returns home to find the house spotless and the Doctor preparing to leave ; the Doctor has made the place spotless . The Doctor reveals that Alfie prefers the name Alfie now and is calling Craig " Dad " instead of " not Mum . " Craig realises that something is wrong and offers to help the Doctor in any way he can , but the Doctor is certain that no one can help him . He asks only if Sophie will mind if he helps himself to some of her TARDIS blue envelopes . Hearing he is going to America , Craig also gives the Doctor a Stetson before leaving . Sophie returns home ( having lost her keys again ) to find the house spotless . Although Craig insists that nothing happened all weekend , Sophie is astonished as Alfie happily calls out the word " Doctor who " . She then questions Craig again , now " very " sure that something had happened while she was away . The Doctor returns to the TARDIS , passing a trio of school children playing in the street . They stop their game and stare at him in wonder . He introduces himself , telling them that he was there to help and they ' re very , very welcome . At the Luna University in the 52nd century , River Song reads accounts from these children of the Doctor ' s last days . She opens her diary to a page that contains only the date and time of his death . Madame Kovarian steps out of the shadows chanting a mysterious nursery rhyme that she claims has to do with the Doctor . As River tries to remember who the woman is , Kovarian orders her not to bother because they ' ve been far too " thorough " with her memory . Two of the Silence appear behind River . Kovarian introduces them as River ' s " owners " , and calls her " Melody Pond " . River is astonished , prompting the woman to declare that she made River who she is : the woman who kills the Doctor . As River protests , two members of the Church enter the library with an Apollo astronaut ' s suit . They inject River with a sedative , and she loses consciousness . When River awakes , she finds herself submerged below the surface of Lake Silencio in the Apollo astronaut ' s suit — awaiting the Doctor . Story notes . Production errors . " to be added " Prequel . A brief prequel was filmed featuring Craig , Sophie and Alfie . However , unlike other Series 6 prequels this one wasn ' t released online prior to the episode . Instead , it was given the title " Up All Night " and released as the fifth chapter of the DVD / Blu - ray exclusive mini - episode TV : " Night and the Doctor " in the Series 6 DVD / BD box set in November 2011 . Home video releases . This episode , along with the rest of the second half of series 6 , was released on DVD and Blu Ray on the 10 October 2011 . The episode was later released in the complete series 6 , which included the first and second half of the series , was released on DVD and Blu Ray on the 21 November 2011 .