Doctor Who s08e05 "Time Heist" - SPOILERS

[The_Silversword]

I thought it was alright for a "filler" episode.

 

[delericho]

Honestly, if they wanted to make the TARDIS not an option for breaking into the vault, their best move would be to make the vault actually TARDIS-proof, and thus scarily high-tech.

I thought the vault was TARDIS-proof, and impregnable except during the solar storm. And that's why he wasn't using the TARDIS - he needed to be there at exactly the right time and if he'd attempted to 'cheat' with the TARDIS then he'd have blocked his own efforts.

Mostly, though, it just wasn't a very good episode.

 

[tomBitonti]

Isn't there a problem of cause and effect?

After all, the doctor instigates the rescue by giving Madama Karabraxos his number during the rescue?

Some of it was creepy: The man with the sloped forehead was somewhat disturbing.

The hacker who remove his memories was a nice touch. Although, the character seemed too similar to the fellow who had the snap-on/snap-off brain implant back from season one.

I thought the solar storm was strange; why put a bank in such a vulnerable location? And not give it shields, nor an ability to shunt to a safe location. All of those items lost from the bank (I presume).

And, how good can the security be if the guards were so easily replaced?

And the doctor, hating? I would expect him to temper that a bit.

Anyways, IMO, some nice moments, but not the best of episodes.

Thx!

TomB

 

[Nellisir]

I thought it was decent. I liked the NPCS, I mean, Cy (Borg?) and NotMystique. The whole thing with Karabraxos was kinda weird.
I'm just chalking it up as another episode meant to give us one or two pieces of information that will be important later.

I do really like Capaldi, though. And Clara. He's oddly childlike in his dealings with her.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Unlike most people here (apparently!) I loved this episode. I thought it was the best Capaldi episode yet and one of the best Dr Who episodes I've seen in years.

I love the fact that the Doctor is in control the whole time - he engineers the whole thing (including getting his memory wiped so that he can't blow the gaff early to the mental creature - but only at the appropriate time).

I liked the fact that he engaged the right people for the heist, gave them all excellent reasons for working with him, and his excellent reason was to prevent the extinction of a race.

I liked having a smart, savvy doctor who saves the day with his smarts and his planning.

I liked the non linear nature of the adventure.

(I'm not worried about whether the tardis could be used at that particular moment. They've prohibited the tardis for various reasons before and I'm over that now. We know that he can and did use the tardis to get into the vaults to plant cases of various stuff prior to the actual heist; he just had to do something different at the moment when he could free the creature)

If we could have more episodes of the calibre of this one, I'd be well pleased.

 

[Morrus]

I liked the NPCS, I mean, Cy (Borg?)

Psi.

(I'm not worried about whether the tardis could be used at that particular moment. They've prohibited the tardis for various reasons before and I'm over that now. We know that he can and did use the tardis to get into the vaults to plant cases of various stuff prior to the actual heist; he just had to do something different at the moment when he could free the creature)

That bugs me to hell. Maybe it can't be used at this particular moment for reasons unexplained, but we know it could have been used yesterday - because he did, and he placed cases for them.

There must have been something cut out of the episode. No way did the writer not explain that. I hate the current obligatory use of the term "lazy writing" for anything that differs from what the viewer wanted to happen, but in this case that would actually be a valid case of astonishingly lazy writing if that were so. The only expanation is that the director decided to cut a vitally important explanatory scene.

 

[Umbran]

Huh. That makes the TARDIS a bit rubbish!

Um... that storm *did* wash over and seemingly destroy all the structures on the planet. Not being able to land in the midst of such forces makes it rubbish?

Note that the Doctor *frequently* has issues landing the TARDIS at the exact time and place he desires. Always has.

 

[Umbran]

Isn't there a problem of cause and effect?

After all, the doctor instigates the rescue by giving Madama Karabraxos his number during the rescue?

Happens all the time. Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.

I thought the solar storm was strange; why put a bank in such a vulnerable location?

They didn't say that such things happen regularly. Disasters happen.

Or, if you don't like that information, need we note that we build entire cities in areas highly vulnerable to flood and earthquake without proper protection?

And the doctor, hating? I would expect him to temper that a bit.

Not this incarnation. And yes, he hates himself.

 

[Morrus]

Note that the Doctor *frequently* has issues landing the TARDIS at the exact time and place he desires. Always has.

Him not having full control certainly used to be a major part of the show. It's not really a current thing, though. He happily flies to the end of the universe, tows planets, has a star at the center of his spaceship, burns up a star to talk to Rose. The TARDIS superposed to be invulnerable.

I know it can be justified. Anything can be. It's a 50-yr old sci-fi show. I'm not even going to begin to try and argue anything continuity-esque with anybody about this show.

But being blocked by a solar flare just seems a bit... pedestrian... for the most advanced race in the entire universe.

 

[Umbran]

Him not having full control certainly used to be a major part of the show. It's not really a current thing, though.

I think you'll find it still misfires frequently, whenever the plot demands it.

For example - in Girl in the Fireplace, how and why, exactly, do they end up on the Madame Pompadour? He was, for no particular reason, aiming for a random point in the utter vastness of space, and there just *happened* to be a ship there? No, he wasn't targeting the temporal distortions of the time windows, or the energy output of the engines - he notes, and is surprised by, those only after landing!

Or how about The Time of the Doctor - in which he's followed a signal to a planet, along with a just about everyone capable of space travel. And... he can't tell it is Trenzalore. Never mind that in his own timeline, he's already been there, to visit his own tomb!

The Doctor's ability to navigate is... questionable.

But being blocked by a solar flare just seems a bit... pedestrian... for the most advanced race in the entire universe.

It isn't just a solar flare. It is a solar flare big enough to fry a planet. And note that the issue isn't that the TARDIS would be damaged, just that he couldn't land properly.