Doctor Who 8.5 "Time Heist"

Every once in a while one desires a little mindless entertainment… apparently. In “Time Heist” there is entertainment to be had, but you had better check your brain in at the start, because everything falls apart once you really think about things too much. Never mind that the big “mystery”—Who is the architect?—is fairly apparent from the start.

Too many other questions keep rearing their heads. Why does the Doctor take Clara with right from the moment he answers the phone? (Why does he at all for that matter?) Did the architect really think that multiple people on his heist-team would be prepared to commit suicide? Did he think banking (sorry) on that eventuality was a good idea? Was this whole elaborate scheme the best way to accomplish the goal? (One need remember that, with a time machine the intended wrong-being-righted could have been prevented easier than resolved.)

All that said, it is a fun episode. The Teller is a fascinating alien. The jokes (“It’s just a phone call!”) are well crafted. And the banted between the new Doctor and Rose is solidifying well. (I will never tire of his endless inability to see Clara as a pretty, young woman. That is a refreshingly alien trait that the show has failed to bring since the re-launch in 2005.)