Doctor Who: Time Heist - 20/09/14 (BBC One/HD - 7.30pm) Discussion

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  • CorwinCorwin Posts: 16,606
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    Flopflips wrote: »
    The flaw is, if he put the items into the deposit boxes, then he was already a member of the bank, and so he didn't need her to clone the DNA of someone else, as his would have done. And he could of accessed the bomb, rendering her placement on the team totally unnecessary.

    Unless I missed something?

    We see him place the bomb into the safety deposit box of the Man the shapeshifter copies so we know the Doctor has no problems accessing other peoples safety deposit boxes.

    The two with the rewards in may have belonged to the same man or some other random customers.


    However to do this the Doctor probably just landed in the Safety Deposit Access Room in the TARDIS.

    He couldn't use the TARDIS for the actual Heist due to the Solar Storm so had to have another way to be granted entry to the Safety Deposit Room.

    Hence the need for the shapeshifter to look like the customer whose box the Doctor was using to store the bomb.
  • FlopflipsFlopflips Posts: 146
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    Fudd wrote: »
    It could be argued she was a 'spare' in case anything happened to Psi - she could morph into another member of the bank if need be to access certain information.

    The argument has two flaws that it must account for, before becoming a viable explanation.

    His whole purpose was as a hacker, to unlock the vault locks. His machine mind couldn't unlock all the locks of the vault, how would she do it? Would she have completed the task before the sun flares? (I won't even go into the questions of :-If sun fried the hardest, most secure lock, then was the hacker needed at all? Would the other locks have held? And whether the hacker was needed.)

    It could also be argued that, seems the bank was run with clones, the information and employee data-base would need a higher encryption level than DNA. Would the vault dweller woman want her clones to have access to everything, as if they did what was to stop one of them taking over? And if so how'd she access the information? And if not how'd the vault dweller control her clones?
  • KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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    Fudd wrote: »
    I have the feeling they're going to be a 'future' version of the Paternoster Gang - popping up here and there when required. What made the Doctor pick those two in the first place?

    Oh please god, no. They were both so bland. And the male actor (no idea what his name is) was really awful.
  • FlopflipsFlopflips Posts: 146
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    Corwin wrote: »
    We see him place the bomb into the safety deposit box of the Man the shapeshifter copies so we know the Doctor has no problems accessing other peoples safety deposit boxes.

    Did we? I saw him access the box and remove the bomb but only after the shape-shifter unlocked it via DNA, and the green neon sconce thing on the wall.

    When did he place it in there?

    However to do this the Doctor probably just landed in the Safety Deposit Access Room in the TARDIS.

    I thought about this, and rejected if for a few reasons. Firstly the doctor lands in the vault, and he files the items in two separate boxes, increasing the likelihood that he'll get caught before the private vault. For someone so brilliant it seems a little stupid.

    Secondly, he files them under the correct designations - technology and whatever the other one was, why'd he bother using the bankings filing system? In fact why bother at all, if he had access to those two things, he could have hid them on the Tardis and gave them to them after he had his memories back (as his plan hinged on him getting his memories back.) Again needlessly jeopardizing his own plan.

    Thirdly, how would he ensure that no one else store items in the vaults - he'd have to hack the system and invent an inventory log or something.

    I stopped there, but if you think about it, am sure the list goes on.
  • Sufyaan_KaziSufyaan_Kazi Posts: 3,862
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    Thanks peeps for giving some answers, you know, every episode will have something unbelievable about it, but for me this one had so much bad logic. I'm just keeping my mouth quiet for now, and tried to only ask questions that weren't mean (!)
    Fudd wrote: »
    ......
    I have the feeling they're going to be a 'future' version of the Paternoster Gang - popping up here and there when required. What made the Doctor pick those two in the first place? Has he worked with them in the past (which we're unaware of at this stage)?

    ........)

    Yeah, why did he pick them, why did he think they deserved to be rewarded? Maybe he felt their gratitude could be useful in the future like you say as another paternoster style future help ......
    I agree with a lot of your points (especially the bit about self-loathing not being a trait exclusive to 12) so I'll give you my thoughts on some of your questions.

    - The Doctor reacting to Saibra's hug was just another sign of how much he hates physical intimacy in my book .
    - We often see goodbye scenes on screen, especially when we're supposed to have a deep emotional bond with the characters, but I would love to see them again.
    - I think Psi downloaded information on all the information about the criminals into his head so he had guilty knowledge of their actions, which to him might even feel like his actions (it's not clear how his brain works).
    - Handles kept reminding him to do it in Time of the Doctor but IIRC he never got around to it.
    - With the phone thing, he needed to give Delphox the number so that they could even be there to rob the bank in the first place. As for the solar storm, presumably either Karabraxos told him about it or he sussed out the best time to rob the bank himself, as he has the entirety of the bank's timeline at his disposal so he could land the TARDIS at any point, sees that he can't land when he needs to so plans the rest of the scheme around that and parks nearby at the opportune time.
    - I got the impression that it had already locked partially onto Clara's thoughts. Also, it was established that Psi can block his thoughts and we know that the Doctor has superior mental powers, so out of the three of them, she was clearly the most vulnerable. It's also worth pointing out I don't think she's hiding Danny at all, he knows she's going on dates, she's made no secret of that.

    it did look more like he was nursing an injury, but maybe I need to watch it again. Also, is it me, or did saibre say something like she would have to imitate the doctor again, but she didn't actually imitate him at all right?

    The whole sun storm thing doesn't make sense to me, Minky said something on another thread which helps, but here goes (with the risk of being flamed ...) the only way this makes sense to me is:

    Current doctor is called by dying karabaxos and told of her regret for trapping the monster. He realises the only way to free it is to study the bank for weaknesses and events that would help, to plant help in the bank, to use the worm's, to select the right gang, to put a ship in orbit, and then start do it but first wipe his own memory of planning it and make himself think he jumped from phonecall to holding worm to his ear. Is that what happened? It took me a while to clunk all that together in my head (!) Now that I have, this puts the episode in a much better light, because of the way it was shot, kind of like reverse reveal mode, sort of like Memento the movie. Now, there's a thought, Nolan brothers do Doctor Who ....

    Anyway, there are still loads of things that just so happen to fall into place too conveniently in the episode .....

    Clara is not hiding that she's going on dates, in fact she's not hiding anything because the Doctor doesn't need to know her personal life as far as she is concerned. But she's not telling him who she is going on a date with, especially after what happened in the last episode, when in fact for that very reason that is something she should probably (and will) share one day ....
  • FuddFudd Posts: 167,001
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    Flopflips wrote: »
    The argument has two flaws that it must account for, before becoming a viable explanation.

    His whole purpose was as a hacker, to unlock the vault locks. His machine mind couldn't unlock all the locks of the vault, how would she do it? Would she have completed the task before the sun flares? (I won't even go into the questions of :-If sun fried the hardest, most secure lock, then was the hacker needed at all? Would the other locks have held? And whether the hacker was needed.)

    If need be, they could remove his memory chip which retained the details of the bank and the information required. He removed it more than once in the episode. The shapeshifter could have then changed into a guard escorting prisoners or another worker at the bank for the upper floors and... well, they would pray they weren't caught for the lower floors, just as in the episode.
    Flopflips wrote: »
    It could also be argued that, seems the bank was run with clones, the information and employee data-base would need a higher encryption level than DNA. Would the vault dweller woman want her clones to have access to everything, as if they did what was to stop one of them taking over? And if so how'd she access the information? And if not how'd the vault dweller control her clones?

    I think the clones did have access - the Director simply oversaw everything from the vault but the day-to-day running seemed to be left to the clones. Her punishment for errors and rule by fear seems to have been used as a deterrent.

    Saying that, her vault seems to be protected by code rather than DNA. Would the clones know this as part of her?
  • FuddFudd Posts: 167,001
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    The_Judge_ wrote: »
    Yeah, why did he pick them, why did he think they deserved to be rewarded? Maybe he felt their gratitude could be useful in the future like you say as another paternoster style future help ......

    Did he think they deserved to be rewarded or that they needed something to tempt them into robbing the bank?
    The_Judge_ wrote: »
    it did look more like he was nursing an injury, but maybe I need to watch it again. Also, is it me, or did saibre say something like she would have to imitate the doctor again, but she didn't actually imitate him at all right?

    "See I don't have your face now."
    "Yeah, I kinda miss that."
    "Oh, shut up."

    I missed that. Bad scripting or a hint at what is to come???
    The_Judge_ wrote: »
    The whole sun storm thing doesn't make sense to me, Minky said something on another thread which helps, but here goes (with the risk of being flamed ...) the only way this makes sense to me is:

    Current doctor is called by dying karabaxos and told of her regret for trapping the monster. He realises the only way to free it is to study the bank for weaknesses and events that would help, to plant help in the bank, to use the worm's, to select the right gang, to put a ship in orbit, and then start do it but first wipe his own memory of planning it and make himself think he jumped from phonecall to holding worm to his ear. Is that what happened? It took me a while to clunk all that together in my head (!) Now that I have, this puts the episode in a much better light, because of the way it was shot, kind of like reverse reveal mode, sort of like Memento the movie. Now, there's a thought, Nolan brothers do Doctor Who ....

    Basically. The Director calls the Doctor saying he gave her the phone number so she could call for help. She presumably lays out the task at hand in detail with all the different issues that they will need to work through i.e. getting through the floor, the code to the vault, telling the Doctor where to access schematics of the bank etc. She may even reveal that the bank was destroyed by a solar storm which would narrow the Doctor's timing down to a the second as he could research the history of the bank itself. I think the Director would have given the Doctor most of the information needed. He wouldn't need to research it himself.
    The_Judge_ wrote: »
    Clara is not hiding that she's going on dates, in fact she's not hiding anything because the Doctor doesn't need to know her personal life as far as she is concerned. But she's not telling him who she is going on a date with, especially after what happened in the last episode, when in fact for that very reason that is something she should probably (and will) share one day ....

    The Doctor hates soldiers. I have the feeling she's concealing Danny from the Doctor for that reason - she fears the Doctor will refuse to take her travelling if he knows she has a close connection to a former soldier who has killed someone who wasn't a solider.
  • ryanr554ryanr554 Posts: 4,013
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    Best episode of this season by far. It felt more like Dr Who than any other episode before it. We get an actual Alien that isn't a cyborg/hypothetical and it is actually pretty scary. Moffat does seem to love Aliens that affect your memory though. Still loved it.

    The plot got a little confusing at the end though. Is there any reason why he couldn't have Tardised in there and help the alien escape? The best reason I can come up with is because the main villain (I forget her name) told him what happened they day he broke into the private vault so he had to follow her instructions or else he would be changing time.

    Next weeks episode looks rubbish though. It looks like a conglomeration of School Reunion and The Power of Three.
  • niceguy1966niceguy1966 Posts: 29,560
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    hatton93 wrote: »
    Best of the series so far for me, last weeks was great but the ending left me disappointed, this time I felt that everything was answered and it all made sense. Plus I actually wanted to know how it was going to end! Rather than just watching to the end for the sake of it, and unlike last week I was rewarded.

    For me it was the best of the series so far, mainly because it had a plot that made sense.

    I liked the two new accomplices, Clara was not too dominant but still making an important contribution and The Doctor had a little more Tucker to him (which I like).

    I hope this is a sign of things to come. No more arrows fired at spaceships please!
  • Dave3622Dave3622 Posts: 1,819
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    Si_Crewe wrote: »
    Yikes!

    Another episode which, at first viewing, seemed as utterly pointless as last week's (which I genuinely couldn't remember until I referred back to the thread here).

    Much as I'm usually against it, I really hope there is a heap of convoluted stuff going on here that will only be spotted upon re-watching after the series is complete cos, if there isn't, there's an awful lot of dead wood in this series IMO.

    I really enjoyed this weeks episode. How can an episode be considered 'pointless' just because there's no ongoing theme? Frankly, other than 'Bad Wolf', the story arc's have been detrimental to nu'who in my opinion.
  • garbage456garbage456 Posts: 8,225
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    sonic157 wrote: »
    This was the first "Excellent" for me. It held my interest throughout and I'll be keenly watching the repeat for any thing I've missed the first time. This was so much more meaty than last week's episode and Peter Capaldi had much more to work with.

    I'm somewhat puzzled to find myself out of line with so many other posters as this hasn't happened in the past.

    I also voted excellent. This was my 3rd out of 5 episodes
  • henry_hopehenry_hope Posts: 761
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    Great romp.
    Loved the idea of bankers being clones. They do look and sound like clones whenever i watch them in the city!

    Another episode, another mood change in the anthology of this series....all of them appealing to different sorts of fans and all of them so well written and executed.
    This is Dr Who at full power!
  • Irma BuntIrma Bunt Posts: 1,847
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    I really enjoyed tonight's episode. Preferred 'Listen' but this was a good, solid, fun story. Was worried it was about to over complicate itself again when they finally made it to the main Vault, but luckily everything was explained quite cleverly.

    I feel Psy would make an EXCELLENT permanent male companion. Half man/half computer so different, with plenty of clever skills (e.g. Downloading) he could bring to stories, but still with plenty of humanity to be relatable to the audience. I loved him tonight.

    Same here. I thought he was excellent and hoped he was going to stay aboard the Tardis. Sexy, too.

    I enjoyed the episode as a whole. As you say, it was good, solid fun with great visuals. Of course, one saw the "twist" with the Teller coming a mile off. But that doesn't detract from another enjoyable episode.
  • Irma BuntIrma Bunt Posts: 1,847
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    Oh please god, no. They were both so bland. And the male actor (no idea what his name is) was really awful.

    I thought he was excellent. We were all yearning for him to become a proper companion in this house...
  • TalmaTalma Posts: 10,520
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    The_Judge_ wrote: »
    Clara is not hiding that she's going on dates, in fact she's not hiding anything because the Doctor doesn't need to know her personal life as far as she is concerned. But she's not telling him who she is going on a date with, especially after what happened in the last episode, when in fact for that very reason that is something she should probably (and will) share one day ....

    Clara isn't hiding anything? This isn't a normal date, (fair enough if it was new teacher Fred Smith she fancied) this is the man who they met last week as a child, when she used her knowledge of him as an adult to try and sort out his fears, she's met the man who may be her own great grandchild by him, thanks to the Doctor. The same Doctor who kept asking her did she know of any connection to the child and she kept lying to him.
    Fudd wrote: »
    The Doctor hates soldiers. I have the feeling she's concealing Danny from the Doctor for that reason - she fears the Doctor will refuse to take her travelling if he knows she has a close connection to a former soldier who has killed someone who wasn't a solider.

    The Doctor doesn't seem to like soldiers, or at least has a rant now and then, but he also believes in fighting for the right reasons, and not long ago some of his best friends were in the military. He also gave Rupert a dream of Dan the Soldier Man, thereby presumably encouraging him in his interest. Clara's meant to be, after all she's been through, very perceptive and understanding, and should be bright enough to evaluate all that and be honest with the Doctor instead of acting like a teenager keeping her 'date' secret. It just doesn't ring right that she's being so coy and secretive with him.
  • RFSRFS Posts: 7,627
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    I thought this was pretty good - nice interactions with the Doctor and Clara... getting better.
  • SladenSladen Posts: 258
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    I voted Excellent for this one. I think it'll be remembered as a classic Capaldi episode.
  • James FrederickJames Frederick Posts: 53,184
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    The_Judge_ wrote: »
    Yeah, why did he pick them, why did he think they deserved to be rewarded? Maybe he felt their gratitude could be useful in the future like you say as another paternoster style future help ......

    Time loop

    He picked them because Ms. Delphox already told him he would pick them

    I know they were not in the vault (well not to her knowledge) but she did see them and know what happened to them
  • GDKGDK Posts: 9,477
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    saralund wrote: »
    I see 12's attitude to Clara as that of a father who doesn't want some young man messing with his daughter.

    Yes, but I think that's not all of it - it was emphasised in Deep Breath that he needs Clara. Inside he's still scared and has an emotional attachment.
  • GiraffeGirlGiraffeGirl Posts: 13,619
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    I thoroughly enjoyed that. It was a genuine Doctor Who episode, with a self-contained plot which had a climax and a story to it. It may not have directly connected to any series arc but it was none the worse for that.
  • CorwinCorwin Posts: 16,606
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    Flopflips wrote: »
    Did we? I saw him access the box and remove the bomb but only after the shape-shifter unlocked it via DNA, and the green neon sconce thing on the wall.

    When did he place it in there?

    We see it in the memory Montage near the end of the episode. We see the Doctor choose his team, meet them and then place the Three suitcases in the Bank the first of these into the Safety Deposit Box of the Customer. Finally he records the Architects speech.

    As to the Doctor placing the Reward items, yes it would be tricky but it seems the most likely scenario.

    Otherwise the Doctor would have to have opened every Safety Deposit Box on the chance of finding two Items that would be the exact two things his team really wanted.

    The whole point of Safety Deposit Boxes is that only the Customer knows what is in them (Do you think the Bank would let a Customer keep a bomb in one if they knew?) there would not be a database the Doctor could hack that would give him info on the contents of every box.

    Most simple scenario, Doctor picks his team, finds out their hearts desire, searches throughout Time and Space for the two items and places them in Safety Deposit boxes.
    Fudd wrote: »
    Did he think they deserved to be rewarded or that they needed something to tempt them into robbing the bank?



    "See I don't have your face now."
    "Yeah, I kinda miss that."
    "Oh, shut up."

    I missed that. Bad scripting or a hint at what is to come???


    Pure speculation but I suspect there was a scene where when they first meet the Shifter turns into the Doctor that never made the cut.

    We briefly see this first meeting between the Doctor and the Shifter in the memory montage where they shake hands. My guess is that she turned into the Doctor at that point to show her powers but the scene was cut.
    ryanr554 wrote: »
    The plot got a little confusing at the end though. Is there any reason why he couldn't have Tardised in there and help the alien escape? The best reason I can come up with is because the main villain (I forget her name) told him what happened they day he broke into the private vault so he had to follow her instructions or else he would be changing time.

    The Doctor explains that during the Solar Storm is the only time the final lock to the Vault will open. However the Storm would also make it impossible to accurately navigate the TARDIS and yes he would have been told by Karabraxos that it was during the Solar Storm that he did the heist.
  • Sufyaan_KaziSufyaan_Kazi Posts: 3,862
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    Fudd wrote: »
    Did he think they deserved to be rewarded or that they needed something to tempt them into robbing the bank?



    "See I don't have your face now."
    "Yeah, I kinda miss that."
    "Oh, shut up."

    I missed that. Bad scripting or a hint at what is to come .........

    Yeah, I thought so. There were other examples like this. When did saibre touch the guard in order to become him. Why did bank security know they entered the bank at the beginning, but then didn't realise that later the two of them had returned and taken suits from two guards, presumably knocking them unconcious.

    I haven't voted yet. Last night my feelings were poor to average. After reading some responses to my mails, (thanks), and I can see maybe how the cycle of events could actually have unfolded then I'm leaning towards average/good
  • AirboraeAirborae Posts: 2,648
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    Not a bad story. Psi would make a great companion as he stood up well against Peter C. Just one small question. Was Psi gay at all? His mannerism and his relationship with Saibra looked more like a gay man and his **** hag going to a gay bar somewhere. That is not meant to be a negative comment btw, but it would be good to have a gay companion for once.
  • CD93CD93 Posts: 13,939
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    Enjoy the RadioTimes butchering : http://www.radiotimes.com/blog/2014-09-20/time-heist
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,057
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    I'm not going to try and think too hard about the details of the story - I just really enjoyed the whole thing.

    I think episodes which centre on a mystery are usually the most fun, and this was great. I loved Psi and Saibra too and hope we see them again.

    I thought Keeley Hawes was good. Not quite as good as Sarah Lancashire was as Ms. Foster in 'Partners in Crime' but great fun all the same.

    I'd like Missy to turn up again at some point. Whilst I disliked the overly-heavy story arcs of seasons 5-7, this one seems to have vanished almost entirely!

    Apart from that, thumbs up!
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