Closing Time (TV story): Difference between revisions

== Story notes ==

* Working titles were ''Carry-On Lodging'', ''Everything Must Go'', ''The Last Adventure'' and ''Three Cybermen and a Baby''. ([[REF]]: ''[[The Brilliant Book 2012]]'')

* In ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'' the different versions of the Doctor give their ages as 909, and 1103. Writer [[Gareth Roberts]] confirmed in an interview that this is indeed two hundred years after ''[[The God Complex (TV story)|The God Complex]]'' for the Doctor and that he spent these years "waving" at Amy and Rory through history books. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'')

* [[Gareth Roberts]] said in an interview that he was considering bringing Craig back when he saw [[James Corden]]'s performance in ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'', saying that "it already felt like he was one of the ''Who'' family".

* During one of the scenes, BBC Radio 1's [[Greg James]] was visible behind Craig. Greg James named his character "Carlos".

* This is the first and only televised episode in which [[River Song]] appears in that wasn't written by [[Steven Moffat]]. However, Moffat did write her scene, albeit uncredited.

* [[Steven Moffat]] was pleased with ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'', an episode he called "quite close to my heart", and wanted to bring Craig back. He commented that it was a change of pace for [[James Corden]], who usually was cast as "[[Double act|the funny one]]"; as Craig he is "the straight man to the wacky Doctor".  

* Keen for the Doctor and Craig's escapades to continue taking place in a mundane, everyday environment, [[Gareth Roberts]] considered settings such as a [[hospital]], a [[police station]] and a [[supermarket]] before finally settling on a department store.  

* Sophie's role was minimalised due to [[Daisy Haggard]]'s commitment to the play ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becky_Shaw Becky Shaw]'' at the Almeida Theatre in [[London]].

* [[Gareth Roberts]] was instructed to include only a fleeting appearance for Amy and Rory, because the episode would be in production alongside ''[[The Girl Who Waited (TV story)|The Girl Who Waited]]''. This was necessary to ensure that there was sufficient time to record all thirteen episodes of the season, as well as the preceding Christmas special.

* [[Steve Hughes]] compared the Doctor and Craig to famous comedic duos such as [[Laurel and Hardy]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbott_and_Costello Abbott and Costello], and [[Simon Pegg]] and [[Nick Frost]].

* It was [[Gareth Roberts]]' ide to include the Cybermen. He felt that the personal nature of the storyline would benefit from a familiar foe, and he was also aware that, with the exception of some cameo appearances, the season otherwise featured only brand-new enemies, and he thought "there should be a sense of history about the Doctor's final battle to save Earth before he heads off to meet his death". He felt that this was consistent with the theme of "death and lingering darkness" that had run throughout the season.

* [[Gareth Roberts]] decided that the Cybermen should lurk in the background for much of the episode in the manner of Sixties stories like ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'' so that they would not detract from the interplay between the Doctor and Craig. As such, he also decided to resurrect the Cybermats.

* [[Steven Moffat]] proposed that the new Cybermat should sport fangs, making it more of a physical threat.

* Craig and Sophie's child was originally a girl, first named Grace and later Tess.  

* Sanderson & Grainger, was partly devised as an homage to an influential teacher from [[Gareth Roberts]]' youth whose surname was Grainger.

* Originally, the disappearances were not a new phenomenon, but occurred every few decades, to be accompanied by strange graffiti. Various electronic and mechanical components were also going missing, and it was this trail which led the Doctor to the store.

* Alfie was portrayed by seven different babies, usually paired in twins, because of strict rules about baby hours. Several dummies were used as well. [[James Corden]], who was about to become a father, learned tips from the mothers.

* The first draft was much different - the disappearances were not a new phenomenon, but occurred every few decades, to be accompanied by strange graffiti. Much was made of the history of a market which had been held for centuries on the site of the shopping centre; the Cybermat would have been found entombed within its foundation stone. It transpired that the being responsible for the kidnappings was a Cyberscout (referred to as "the Guardian"), which had operated on automatic for centuries, with the graffiti part of its reconnaissance procedure. Over the years, the Guardian had gradually replaced its defective parts with human limbs and organs when it periodically awoke from dormancy. Now nothing was left of the original Cyberman, and it was protecting Colchester from the other Cybermen which lay underground in suspended animation. After an ending in which Craig destroys the Cybermen with a wrecking ball was dismissed, the climax subsequently hinged on the Doctor transmitting the Guardian's personality into the reactivated Cybermen, overwhelming them.

* The Doctor being able to "speak baby" was added late in development. [[Steven Moffat]] came up with the idea while writing ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]].''  

* The episode comprised Block Six of season six (actually the seventh to go into production).

* [[Beth Willis]] picked [[Steve Hughes]] to direct based on his work on ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Girls_(TV_series) Land Girls].''

* Since the regular producer, [[Marcus Wilson]], would be overseeing ''[[The Girl Who Waited (TV story)|The Girl Who Waited]]'', line producer [[Denise Paul]] was promoted to producer for this episode.

* When a check was performed on the Cyberman costumes originally created for [[Series 2 (Doctor Who)|Series 2]], it was found that many were now in a dilapidated state. Fortunately, this ideally suited the script, which meant that they would eke out one more appearance before being retired.

* Much of the episode was filmed in Howells department store in [[Cardiff]]. As the store had to be closed, they filmed over four or five nights, sometimes going until 6:00 in the morning. [[Steve Hughes]] said it was a "drain" on the production team, while [[James Corden]] recalled it made the cast and crew "lightheaded" and "hysterical".

* Craig and Sophie live on the fictional Sheckley Street, in reference to American science-fiction writer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sheckley Robert Sheckley].

* On the first day of filming, [[Matt Smith]] broke one of the Cybermat props when he hit it with a frying pan in the scene where Craig is being attacked, and it was subsequently repaired with tape.

* The couple who owned the house used for Craig and Sophie's new home allowed the filming to take place in order for it to be an experience for their two young boys. Production at the house also went into the early hours of the morning.  

* The window of the sliding door in the house that the Doctor jumps through to save Craig from the Cybermat was too small, so the production team built another one. The new door was too big for shatterglass; instead, glass that breaks into chunks was used, wired with a small explosive that would crack the glass when [[Matt Smith]]'s stuntman jumped through it. [[Steve Hughes]] wanted it to look as if the audience was crashing through the window with the Doctor; he spliced together shots of Smith filmed running up to the door, the stuntman jumping through it, and Smith landing with shards of glass thrown over him.

* A scene in the stock room in which a warehouseman is killed by a Cyberman while assembling a mannequin was cut.

* The Cybus Industries logo, which had been used on the Cybermen since their redesign for the revived series was covered up for the Cybermen in this episode, as well as the ones which had previously appeared. This is because the Cybermen in the modern series originated from a [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]], while the prime universe has its own Cybermen from the planet [[Mondas]], as seen in the classic series. As the Cybermen that feature here were barely surviving, the production team made them look broken down and as if they had been cannibalising parts to survive. The suits were already worn to an extent, as they had been used so often in the five years since they were made.

* The Cyber Controller conversion equipment was built around [[James Corden]].

* The Cybermats were redesigned to appear more high-tech. The top was designed to recall the head of a Cyberman, and piranha-like teeth were added to suggest that they were converted animals, just as Cybermen were converted humans.

* Three versions of the Cybermat were made. The first was simply a "stunt double" which did not have teeth and was meant for being thrown around or laid still. The second was a cable-controlled "close-up" version that had teeth and thrashed, and was used for when the characters handled it. The third was radio-controlled to dash along the floor. [[The Mill]] created a computer-generated Cybermat that leapt up to attack Craig.