Doctor Who: Time Heist

'Time Heist', the episode where the Doctor, Clara and two augmented humans rob the most secure bank in the galaxy without knowing why they're doing it or even what they're after. Doctor Who revels in being able to dramatically change tone and genre every week and 'Time Heist' takes the basic formula of a heist movie and twists it into a unique take on the genre that's miles away from the atmospheric thriller we got last week. Moffat said his goal for Series 7 was to make a blockbuster every week ('Take your best movie idea and give it to the Doctor to fill 40 minutes')  but I feel he's accomplished that a lot better with Series 8. The scripts haven't felt short-changed due to the running time and the ideas are much more fleshed out this time around. Speaking of Moffat, 'Time Heist' is the second episode of this season to be co-written by him, the first being 'Into The Dalek' which he co-wrote with Phil Ford. This time around he's splitting the writing duties with Stephen Thompson, who's Doctor Who past hasn't exactly had the best track record. 'Curse Of The Black Spot' and 'Journey To The Center Of The Tardis' were really mediocre stories, probably the worst out of their respective series. Not here though, the writers manage to pull off an entertaining script that zips along and manages to tie up every loose end satisfactorily by the time the credits roll. I'm not sure if the slight increase in quality is due to Moffat having a more active role in the script but this is nonetheless a solid episode.  

'Time Heist' gives the pre-credits zinger for last week's episode 'Listen' a run for it's money by segwaying from the TARDIS's ringing telephone to the Doctor and Clara stranded in a room holding memory worms with a briefcase on the table in the front of them. Two other people are also present, they're also holding memory worms and according to an audio file they've just consented to having their minds wiped. After some confusion the case in front of them clicks open revealing a tantalising gold light shimmering inside....cue the intro. If that doesn't immediately draw you in then what will? The silent star of the past two episodes has been director Douglas Mackinnon. Between 'Listen' and 'Time Heist' he's shown a wide variety of range that's made Doctor Who look really slick. The intro here for example and the slo-mo shots of the gang walking into the bank a few minutes later look really impressive and the Teller is a great, if misplaced practical effect. Contrast this with the slower, more moodier 'Listen' I think he's a real asset to the show and is definitely a director to watch considering what he's accomplished. I certainly hope they bring him back for Series 9!

Up until now the series has put a strong emphasis on Clara's POV but here the 12th Doctor is very much taking the reins. I'm fine with the companion taking a back seat for once and letting Capaldi do his stuff, because again he's having a ball with the role. We return to the less-caring side of his character seen in the first few episodes, his cold exterior once again unsheathing itself as he brushes a character's death to the side. What's interesting is that despite what the Doctor is saying Capaldi's performance is clearly stating the opposite, as *SPOILERS* death definitely had an impact on him. So maybe he's repressing his emotions now? This adds to my confusion about his character because in 'Into The Dalek' he is very clearly a grade A arsehole. I still can't get a latch onto who this Doctor is, which may be intentional or just the result of the writers not finding their feet with him yet. I'm hoping the Malcolm Tucker side of him keeps coming out though, his 'Shut up, shut, shut, shittity up!' is basically a PG-13 version of 'Fuckity bye!' from the Thick Of It and I am loving every second of this Doctor we see on screen.

Once you get past his mind rape abilities he ain't so bad, honest!

The supporting characters for this episode weren't bad either. Psi and Saibra were both decently sketched out characters considering the amount of screen time they had and were well acted by Jonathan Bailey and Pippa Bennet-Warner. Saibra is a carbon copy of Rogue from X-Men, wanting to get rid of her powers so she can 'touch' again. She's ok but Psi is probably the better of the two, his speech to Clara about 'seeing no-one' when his life flashes before his eyes was surprisingly powerful. I did grimace when he pulled out a USB key to display a hologram of the bank's interface though. Look, it's clearly a USB key guys, couldn't you have covered it up with something? It's a tiny thing but it took me out of the fiction for a second. 

My problems with this episode stem from the two 'antagonists': Ms Delphox is moderately entertaining as a villain but her character is just another amalgamation of all the previous female villains on the show: Miss Foster, Madame Kovarian, Ms Kinslet from last year, they're all pretty much playing the same confident business woman in a suit and it's starting to get repetitive. Why isn't there more variation with female villains on this show? Actress Keeley Hawes is great in the role but feels a little bit wasted because of her thin character. As for the 'monster' of this story, the Teller has a great look but ultimately comes off as a tad goofy. When I think of a monster that can turn my brain into soup a snail headed bull doesn't immediately come to mind. It's a nice design but he just wasn't very intimidating for me, and the effect of him actually caving someone's head in was a gruesome image but looked really fake. The radio waves emanating from his head everytime he uses his power also looked naff. Admittedly there was one really good jump-scare but that wasn't enough to convince me this being was going to hunt down and slurp everyone's brain out...but considering the ending to this episode that is probably for the best.

Also the most secure bank in the galaxy appears to be surprisingly pregnable despite what the episode tells us. How come they've got ridiculously large human size vents that you can use to get right to the main entrance of the vault? And what's with the endless line of corridors with different mood lighting? Why the endless (unguarded) corridors if the deposit boxes head directly down into the vault? In a universe with Time-travel and miniaturisation devices you'd think they would have put some sort of defence around the vault, right? The bank also seems vulnerable to attack, surely they would know in advance that a solar flare was coming to wipe them out? Most of these are nitpicks of course that never actually occurred to me while watching the episode but I would have at least liked an explanation about that solar flare that literally came out of nowhere! 

Where have I seen you before?

Nitpicks aside the best part of the episode is that ending, which pulls several twists out of it's sleeve. Two of them I saw coming a mile away, like the identity of the architect and the fates of Psi and Saibra, but the other two were smartly put together. There's also a massive clue in the title, once again showing what Doctor Who's unique brand of science fiction can bring to heist movies. Capaldi was fantastic during all of this, perhaps putting his best performance to date as the Doctor in his confrontation with the Teller. These handful of scenes elevated the episode a lot, a mystery is only as good as it's resolution and 'Time Heist' delivers.   

'Time Heist' is another great edition to Series 8, an enjoyable ride that never lets up thanks to a watertight script and great direction. I do have a few grumbles but nothing that majorly impacted my opinion of the episode. Five weeks in and 'Into The Dalek' aside we're still going strong. Bring on 'The Caretaker'!

Positives:

+ It's Doctor Who's take on a heist movie
+ Slick presentation, even pacing
+ Great pay-off 
+ Better than average supporting characters
+ The Teller was a great practical effect

Negatives:

- Ms Delphox was a paper thin villain
- The Teller wasn't as frightening as the episode wanted it to be 
- The bank itself could have been developed better
- A lot of repeating corridors 

Overall Score: 7,5/10