Night of the Living Dolls

Get behind the couch, it’s Doctor Who time again!

Night Terrors or “Beware of Cupboards”

The things that go bump in the night traumatize a young boy, who traps everything scary in his dollhouse.

Shadows talk and climb stairs as an older woman boards an elevator. A young boy named George refuses to go to bed, scared by the elevator. His mother tells him to put things he doesn’t like in the cupboard. He asks her to “do the thing” and she flicks the lights four times. He insists it must be five and she does it again. He then chants “Please save me from the monsters” over and over before lying down.
Mom and Dad talk about him in the living room while George turns on his flashlight. As Mom says George needs a doctor we go through time and space to the Doctor on his TARDIS. He gets the message and makes “a house call.”

OH DEAR GOD, BBC-AMERICA, I THOUGHT YOU HAD DROPPED IT! I TAKE BACK ALL THE NICE THINGS I SAID ABOUT YOU LAST WEEK. LOSE THE STUPID AMY INTRO!

The TARDIS materializes on a street as Rory and Amy get out. Amy says she guesses it can’t be all “planets and history.” The Doctor says they are going to the scariest place in the universe—a child’s bedroom. George tries to sleep as he hears heavy breathing and squeaking, but it’s only the little lady who got in the elevator in the cold open. The Doctor and the Ponds get in said elevator as George’s dad goes through pictures. Poor Goerge is a minute away from having a panic attack while everyone knocks on the door. Amy runs into twins, the Doctor gets mistaken for a repairman, while Rory talks to the landlord.

George peers out his window to see the Ponds. Rory suggests letting the monsters gobble him up as the Doctor spots poor George. He says he ran into a guy with tin cats (perhaps he should’ve brought along his tin dog) and sends the Ponds down a floor. They get in the elevator and it suddenly turns into the Tower of Terror from Disney World. When the elevator reaches the lobby, it is empty.

The Doctor knocks on George’s door. His father, Alex, believes the Doctor is from social services. George is still tormented as the old lady drags the bags to the dumpster. She talks to herself and thinks she’s going insane. A bag moves and she tells George to come out of there. She scolds him for nearly scaring her to death and threatens to tell his parents. And then gets sucked into the garbage bags.

Alex says George is almost eight, never cries, and should’ve grown out of “it” by now. Alex says George is scared of everything—clowns (“Understandable” the Doctor mutters), his toys, baths, the lady across the way, etc. The Doctor says he’ll help George. Meanwhile, Rory and Amy wake up in a dark room and Rory concludes they’re dead. “Again!” The next thing he decides is that the TARDIS has gone wacky again with the Doctor back where they left him and they are in the past. As they walk on, a shadow passes behind them.

George’s lamp falls over and Alex rushes in, afraid his son is having a nightmare. George wonders if the Doctor is coming to take him away but he says he wants to talk about the monsters. Meanwhile, Rory and Amy are trying to find the door. Amy discovers a wooden pan painted copper. She finds a lantern and they get some light. Opening a drawer, they are startled to see an eyeball. Shades of “The Eleventh Hour” until they discover it is glass. Rory’s flashlight flickers and they decide to  get out of there.

The Doctor plays with a Rubik's cube while Alex thinks it was something George was either watching or reading. The Doctor tells George he loved bedtime stories, like The Three Sontorans. Wonder what they made their houses of? Anyway, the Doctor discovers the cupboard as Alex explains anything scary goes in there. The Doctor is about to open it when a knock comes to the door. Next, a Raven will fly in and quote “Never more.” Actually, the landlord enters to collect his rent, but the family is on hard times. The Doctor distracts George with his sonic screwdriver, turning on the boy’s electronic toys. The landlord’s pit bull growls at Alex and the landlord calms him down. The Doctor tells George to give him a smile.

The Doctor scans the cupboard and is surprised, scared, by the readings. Alex gets an offer from the landlord. He shows the man out and then tries to open the cupboard. The Doctor stops him, saying that the monsters are real. Back in Amy-and-Rory-land, they find a door but it doesn’t have a handle. As Amy discovers the clock has painted on hands, a girl’s laugh rings out.

Alex tries to throw out the Doctor, but he refuses to leave. He says that George’s cry for help echoed throughout time and space, calling the Doctor. He tells Alex that monsters are real.

We hear the older lady begging for help as a shadow passes by. Amy and Rory continue to explore what I believe is a dollhouse while a little girl continues to laugh. Amy says they are getting closer and Rory says, “They?!” They approach a door slowly as the laughter continues. They open the door as an 18th century doll appears. They walk off and the doll moves in the shadows.

Outside, the Doctor wonders if he should open the cupboard. Poor Alex is pulled into his debate. Meanwhile, the landlord channel surfs and complains that nothing is on. As he gets up to get his meal, he starts to get pulled into the floor. The dog barely responds. Alex and George watch in terror as the Doctor opens the cupboard. But there is only clothing and…a dollhouse…inside. The Doctor asks about when George was born and Alex can’t seem to remember when he was born. The Doctor flips to a picture of a not pregnant Claire (his wife) a month before George was born. Alex then remembers his wife can’t have children.

The Doctor asks George who he is as everything starts to shake and glow. The cupboard opens and tries to pull in Alex and the Doctor. He keeps saying “Please save me from the monsters” as they get sucked in.

Rory talks about missing lights and just keeps rambling. Amy calms him down as the landlord pleads to keep them away. One of the dolls pops out and captures him. He turns into one of them as the laughter continues. Amy tells Rory to panic. The child’s voice says they want to play. In the dining room, the Doctor wakes up and starts calling for George. Alex is still reeling in shock. Alex wonders how it can be bigger and the Doctor says it’s more common than he thinks. The Doctor tells Alex that they are in a doll house or a house for giant termite, handling the wooden food. The Doctor says Alex was the victim of a perception filter that changed his memories. As they pass a mirror, one of the dolls can be seen inside.

Meanwhile, Amy and Rory are still trying to keep the dolls out. The Doctor tries to figure out who would be attracted by Claire’s inability to have children. Alex hears the elevator and reminds the Doctor that George is terrified by it. Amy suggests letting the dolls in and surprising them, pushing past them. Rory arms himself with a mop. They rush forward but Amy is caught. Rory is frozen in fear as his wife is turned into a doll. Rory runs away as Alex notices the lights turn on five times. George does it five times like that. The Doctor can’t figure out what he is as a doll approaches Alex and the Doctor. He uses the sonic screwdriver. “You got a gun?” Alex exclaims. The Doctor tells him it’s not  a gun.

Outside, George continues to stare at the cupboard while Alex and the Doctor run away from the doll.
The Doctor says that Doctor is a Tensa. He’s an alien child that has sought out Claire and Alex. The Doctor tells George that he has to believe he is safe. That only he can stop the monsters. Rory finds the Doctor and learns about Amy becoming a doll. The Doctor tells George to open the cupboard and free them. George opens the cupboard and the dolls stop moving. He is now standing in the dollhouse but the dolls start moving again. The Doctor realizes that George felt rejected after hearing about his parents’ struggles. George calls out “Dad” and Alex rushes to save him. Alex hugs him and says he is his son. He promises never to send him away.

The cupboard opens and it is day. The old lady gets out of the garbage bags, deciding it is her medication’s fault. Amy and Rory get out of the lift. “Was I…?” Amy asks. “Yeah,” Rory tells her. The landlord arrives back in his apartment, hugging his dog. Claire comes home to find the Doctor and Alex playing with George. Claire is happy that George is better. Alex and the Doctor talk. The Doctor assures Alex that George will be okay, though he’ll pop back around puberty.

The Doctor finds Amy and Rory. They get in the TARDIS. The Doctor asks where they want to go. As they debate, a child’s nursery rhyme is heard as we focus on the Doctor’s death date.

Talk about creepy. Great work from Daniel Mays who played Alex, conveying that the episode was really just a tale of parental love. Amy and Rory seemed to be mostly comedic relief this go-round, with the main focus on the Doctor and Alex. I wonder if that means there’s a Rory and Amy focused episode filming simultaneously as this. 

Next week: Virtual reality to a whole new level. Oh, look, it appears to be a Rory and Amy centric episode.

Quote of the Episode

“You’re not from social services, are you?” Alex to the Doctor after a speech about stars

Exchange of the episode

“Mind’s a bit blank. I was just turned into a wooden dolly.”—Amy
“Excuses, excuses.” –the Doctor