Time Heist

"The Doctor robs a bank". The idea sells itself, really. But Time Heist was never going to be that straight forward. The result is an episode that remains action packed and fun throughout, but all feels a bit too familiar. Doctor Who is infamous for its use of running, especially down corridors; Time Heist is essentially a corridor running montage for its entire middle act. But the idea keeps it interesting. The episode is also boosted by, yet again, great performances from Capaldi and Coleman. Here, we were also taken away from all the story arcs and serious questions posed so far; a necessary break, which allowed the episode some breathing room. Without this, Time Heist could have been the biggest misfire of the series. But, thankfully, we were left with an episode that, whilst overstuffed and repetitive, was consistently fun and engaging enough to act as a solid piece of TV drama.

The 45 minute time restraint is sometimes Doctor Who's biggest burden, but never more so than here. Time Heist has so many ideas and so much to tell, it struggles to fit everything in, which results in the first half of the episode feeling cluttered and choppily edited. It wouldn't surprise me if the rough draft of this episode was well into an hour long. I actually think Time Heist would have worked as a two-parter. This first half could have acted as a set up (which is, inevitably, needed; they are robbing a bank, after all) and only just delved into the action towards the end, with the resolving part acting as an extended version of the episode's final half. By the time the episode ends, and with so much thrown at you in the final ten minutes, the previous 35 all felt so rushed that it doesn't really make sense. This might improve upon repeated viewings, but even then, the ending felt a bit familiar. Did the whole Alien Love Story thing remind anyone else of last year's Hide?

But, Time Heist probably winds up as the series' most overall enjoyable episode thus far. This was a perfect example of how to have fun without resorting to silliness, which is where Robot of Sherwood faulted. It was also nice to have some side characters that were a bit more fleshed out. Both Psi and Saibra were well developed and welcome additions to the cast; I only feel they could have been even stronger has this story been split over two episodes. This also applies to the episode's antagonist; Ms Delphox, played brilliantly by Keeley Hawes. Whilst she was certainly a creepy villain, she wound up too formulaic in the Female Villain role, and her motives weren't explored enough. Whilst there does seem to be a lot of criticism here, I still really enjoyed Time Heist. It was no match for last week's masterpiece, but it wasn't the show's weakest episode this series, either. Its ideas were too big for its runtime, and there were minor character issues, but it was entertaining, funny and action packed enough to remain interesting throughout. It just won't top any fan favourite lists.

I love a good time heist, and this episode delivered with that. This season keeps getting better. Wowza! I love this season.

This episode hooked me right from the get-go and I was invested for the rest of the ride. "Time Heist" is an interesting, exciting episode with a few nice twists up its sleeve and an excellent monster to protect them.

As is usual by this point, the Doctor and Clara were incredibly entertaining and fun to watch. Their banter never fails to make me smile.

The episode's supporting cast were very good too. Psi, Saibra, and Ms. Delphox all proved to be very interesting characters with enough depth to keep me invested in their respective dilemmas.

The Teller, for me anyway, will go down as one of the best monsters introduced in Series 8. Its introduction scene is easily the best monster introduction in recent years.

The production design was excellent and the world of the Bank of Karabraxos was wonderfully vibrant. For the most part, the episode is well paced but it's definitely an episode that could have used a few more extra minutes at the end.

Overall, "Time Heist" was a highly enjoyable episode with good supporting characters and a few interesting twists.

Finally an episode which creates some interesting characters and where all the praise does not go to Capaldi's performance (which was also excellent, isn't he good!).

Time Heist has the feel of an episode of the classic era, i.e confusion about time and more running about similar looking corridors, which is excellent. The characters of Saibra and Psi were brilliantly written and preformed, I really did start to feel a connection to those two and it would be great if they were to appear again at some point. What the resent series have been lacking is the creation of interesting characters that connect with the audience instead of just focusing on the Doctor, Clara or any other recurring characters. The plot had a confusing edge which kept me concentrated at all times. The Teller was a very interesting new monster which was a nice to see and Keeley Hawes perfectly suited the role of a scary business woman and she had an Umbridge-like feel to the character.

Overall not the best episode ever, but certainly one that can be remembered as a benchmark for more futuristic, weird time episodes which D.Who should be aiming for. Could this be the second step towards a return to form.

Time Heist revolves around The Doctor and Clara who finds themselves in an unlikely team joined together to rob the most secure bank in the world. This episode had given me mixed feelings while it was running. It started off with a fast paced tone and we instantly go to the bank heist. Everything is absorbed by the audience immediately and it felt a bit rushed. The episode goes at different directions every time which then makes the episode more interesting as it progresses. However, The Doctor was quite different in this particular episode. He had the Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock mood all through out the episode. There are even a couple scenes, and one in particular that The Doctor depicts the High Functioning Sociopath. I am not against this, but if this certain thing goes on. The Doctor might just steal the spotlight from Sherlock in the years to come. Peter Capaldi brought another brilliant performance, I would love to see an episode where he is in a limited place and just stuck and have to talk to people and insults popping out everywhere (An episode like Midnight) because he never fails to entertain while on screen. Clara still remains to be a main stay in both the show and the audience's liking and the new characters introduced who will most likely return for more future roles yet to be explored. The villains portrayed in the episode were interesting enough and the scenes depicting Clara scared and terrified and each turn the episode takes add to the intensity of the episode. Having the most secure bank in the world to be robbed was an interesting idea alone, but in Doctor Who. An ordinary episode just isn't enough.

It isn't a perfect episode, but it was thrilling and quite refreshing. An enjoyable episode with different turns in the narrative. A solid performance by Capaldi who has great potential to be in the top 5 list of Doctors.

Verdict: 8.1/10