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| Clara finds a clue in the vaults of the most secure bank in the galaxy. |
1 episode. Approx. 47 minutes. Written by: Stephen Thompson and Steven Moffat. Directed by: Douglas MacKinnon. Produced by: Peter Bennett.
THE PLOT
The Doctor and Clara find themselves in a darkened room opposite two stangers: Psi (Jonathan Bailey), a hacker who has upgraded himself with machine parts; and Saibra (Pippa Bennett-Warner), a mutant whose form changes to mimic anyone she touches. They hear recordings of their own voices, telling them that they have consented to a memory wipe. Then a screen activates and a mysterious figure calling himself "The Architect" informs them that they are to rob the Bank of Karabraxos, the most secure bank in the galaxy!
Before they even have a chance to think, guards prepare to storm their hideout. The Doctor takes charge, setting a trap for their pursuers while getting everyone out safely. He tells the others that they must go through with the robbery - The recordings indicate that they already agreed to it, and finishing the job is the only way they will ever find out why.
This will be no easy crime to get away with. The bank's head of security, Mrs. Delphox (Keeley Hawes), is aware that a plot exists. She is waiting for them with the highest and deadliest security, including a beast known as "The Teller" (Ross Mullan) which can sniff out a person's hidden guilt and which feeds on mental energy - leaving the subject's brain nothing more than soup...
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: Takes charge of the situation immediately. Psi protests briefly, wondering who voted the Doctor as leader (apparently "mostly it's the eyebrows"), but goes along; the Doctor just naturally projects a certain authority borne of experience. We also see, not for the first time this season, just how much this new Doctor relies on Clara. The teaser sees him desperately trying to convince her to travel with him on another adventure, even as she's preparing for a date with Danny... And at the end, it seems clear that he's put himself in deliberate competition with Clara's boyfriend. Not necessarily an expression of interest in Clara, so much as a clear tendency of this Doctor to compete with every perceived rival (as seen in Robot of Sherwood and Listen).
Clara: Jenna Coleman has come into her own in a big way this season. I love the look of sheer horror on her face when she's caught in the Teller's mental grip. Coleman and the lighting sell the moment perfectly - and the Doctor's desperate cry of "Clara!" when he realizes just who has become the creature's target reveals what's been clear enough throughout the season - That for all the swiped and barbs he aims her way, he is more emotionally reliant on her in his new form than ever before.
Danny: Only glimpsed for a moment, but the episode quickly establishes that he and Clara are in the second month of their relationship - Getting serious, in other words. The Doctor's final words of the episode indicate that it's only a matter of time (judging from the "Next Time" trailer, not very much of it) until the full Doctor/Clara/Danny triangle will come together.
THOUGHTS
After four very strong episodes, Series Eight finally stumbles with this anemic would-be caper. Time Heist is visually stylish and offers up good performances, but it's devoid of anything resembling substance. That's not necessarily crippling for a caper, a genre which tends to get by on style, pace, and cleverness. Unfortunately, while the visual style is there, the pace sags noticeably at several points, and it's neither funny enough nor clever enough to make up for it.
Guest star Keeley Hawes is wasted as an uninteresting one-note baddie, leaving me confused as to exactly why they bothered to hire an actress of her caliber. Jonathan Bailey and Pippa Bennett-Warner fare better as the Doctor and Clara's teammates, because they get a lot more to do and are allowed to emerge as sympathetic figures as a result. But after a good early scene showing exactly how dangerous the Teller is, the rest of the episode more or less runs in place until the end... And a late twist sees any tension that might have built up evaporate in an instant.
Oh, and did anyone watching fail to guess the identity of "The Architect" before the 15-minute mark?
If you want a really good Doctor Who bank robbery story, pick up the Big Finish audio, The Selachian Gambit. It offers a better script, a faster pace, and vastly more entertainment value. Time Heist is pretty to look at and is perfectly watchable... But by this season's thus-far very strong standards, it stands out as a very empty bit of midseason filler.
Overall Rating: 4/10.
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