Time Heist

What did you say earlier? Un-shut up.

Time Heist is a fun little story as long as you don't think about it too hard. Like most heist stories, if you poke at it a bit too much some unfortunate holes appear.

Plot Summary

The story is very Ocean's Eleven. The Doctor and Clara are teamed up with two other folks (Psi and Saibra) and told that they are to break into the Bank of Karabraxos. They've had their short term memories wiped but are told that the object they desire is in the bank and each of them has a specific role to play. They break in but the security measures appear to kill two of the party before completing the mission. The Doctor and Clara are captured but are freed by their compatriots thought dead. They break into the final vault and find Madame Karabraxos is holding the companion of the teller hostage. The teller is an alien who can sense and eat the thoughts of others. The Doctor and his companions free the companion and set her and the teller free on another world while the Bank of Karabraxos is destroyed by a solar flare.

Analysis

I like this one. It's a bit more action-y than the new series tends to get in a normal episode. It follows the normal pattern of a heist movie where the team is assembled, there is a fake out, it looks like things are going south with some members getting caught and then the big twist at the end revealing the purpose of the heist.

This episode is fun with the Twelfth Doctor starting to show elements of the less abrasive Doctor that he will emerge as at the end of the series and into Series Nine. You also have an interesting villain in the form of Ms. Delphox/Madame Karabraxos. It's actually a bit of a shame that she isn't given more screen time. There is also the attractive, disheveled suit look that Clara has. Very nice look for her.

Now, like any heist movie, there are a few flaws. The two biggest ones are why the teller did not kill the Doctor when they were discovered in the vault and how Psi and Saibra were able to replace the guards with themselves? If you look too closely, this is where things fall apart a bit, but I didn't find them egregious.

I remember hearing that some fans were disappointed that the twist at the end when the purpose of the heist was to rescue the teller's mate and set them free (a more romantic ending). I don't really understand that as it made much more sense. The others needing things I understand. What could the Doctor possibly want that is squirreled away in a bank? Information perhaps, but helping to rescue a nearly lost race is much more in line with the personality of the Doctor than anything else.

I'd watch this one again easily. I'd probably put it in the fourth position for episodes of Series Eight and easily watchable again.

Overall personal score: 4 out of 5