That was done intentionally by the production team to appeal to new users (at least where series 8 is concerned). The idea behind it was that since the new doctor would likely attract new viewers one-parters would be more accessible to them, so if a new user missed an episode or two it wouldn't be detrimental to understanding the main story of the season.
***** The sad thing is, even if the creative time wants to play it safe that still doesn't excuse making like 70% of NuWho on Earth. The third Doctor was actually imprisoned on Earth by Unit and somehow it feels like he went on more space adventures than Smith and Capaldi. Time Heist wasn't awesome but it was at least a better direction than the Clara and Danny episodes. Wasting more then ten minutes of screentime on a companion's characterization is unnecessary and even detrimental towards a 45 minute story.
This episode was so forgetful for me that when i went into this review I was legitimately surprised to see the 12th doctor as i remembered matt Smith being the doctor in the episode
I like Time Heist. The Teller is fascinating and what it does is terrifying. I like that they experimented and did something different with a Doctor Who episode, by making it a bank heist. I like the mystery of their memories being wiped so we don't know what it's all about until the end. I like the two characters we're introduced to, especially the cyborg guy. There's a lot about it I liked. It was a really cool episode and a highlight of the series I thought. I actually like it better than anything else in series 8 except for Flatline.
The alien's design is just another rip on the minotaur. It even chases our characters through a labyrinth. The only thing different they did was pointlessly turn the horns into eyestalks.
With that whole "the show should make me want to watch more instead of me watching more because I feel obligated as a Doctor Who fan" thing, I agree with that. I actually feel like now a days I am watching more out of an obligation too and not because I am having fun with the show. I remember when I started getting into New Who that I would watch like two episodes a day and even sometimes three a day because I was so addicted to it but now I almost feel like I could stop watching the show completely and not care as now I will be lucky to watch an episode every other day.
It really feels like this was written as a two-parter but Moffat (co-writing credit, suprise suprise) decided at the last minute to make it a single episode and, rather than trimming the script, just chopped out every other scene. This would have been a glorious two-parter and I hope that Thompson gets the chance to adapt this into a Doctor Who novel that does the story justice. Although that might just deepen the tragedy that we never got this potentially great story with the matching visuals.
I've been a bit on and off with series 8 for the most part. I did find this episode to be my favorite just because it wasn't trying to be too over the top with its tone or plot. But I did just realize after you said it that I do not remember the names of those two partners which is a shame because I did like them. I did feel Ms. Delphox was a bit underused but I did love the mystery of the architect even though I I kind of figured it out earlier.I had hoped that this would have played a role in getting Gallifrey back though in some way even it turned out to be false.
I wish the Teller wasn't just an animal with psychic powers. Imagine if it talked to its victims in a really deep and profound voice. Imagine the discord between seeing this brutish humanoid slug and hearing an extremely intellectual voice that says extremely unnerving stuff about the people that are being targeted by the Teller and their thought process. Imagine if it tortured its victims with the power of words before invariably soupifying them? That would've been just gorgeous....
"Apathy" sums up my attitude at the moment too. It's just so deeply uninteresting, and has been for a couple of years now. The "all new and different series 8" is in reality "same old, same old".
I know this will never really fly with the bbc, but how about we start a 2 hour petition for NuWho or a 26 episode series. Moffat is making all of the episodes oneshots so that it is more accessible to newer viewers, but the format just doesn't really work. Most of the classic who serials felt long cause they were on average 3 hrs, this series feels short because it's 1 hr so cutting it off in the middle would be pretty sweet. Like I said, I doubt the bbc care what one American thinks about the show, but it's fun to dream (cause let's face it, if you can't dream, there's no point in watching scifi).
***** I used to get a little mad the Classic Who had so much padding in it's serials, until I realized that the reason for it was that each half hour was meant to be the fans fix for the entire week! From that angle it is reasonable for stories to feel longer, because each serial aired over month and a half. Nowadays, we could just pick and choose which episodes we like, not really knowing how good we really have it compared to the original audience. I feel the worst for the kids who grew up in the latter half of Classic Who, where good writing was scarce. I mean, could you imagine wasting a whole month on something like "Love and Monsters?"
Sigh. I want to love season 8, but so far it's one, long "MEEEEEEEEEEH" that stretches for the duration of the series so far. I'm sure it'll get longer as more episodes are added and then end up being as long as the whole bloody series. When series 8 started I didn't believe anything with Capaldi as the Doctor could be so dull. If any writing team can fail to make good use of ALL THIS DAMN POTENTIAL, however, then these guys are it. Every single episode so far has ended with me going "what the hell just happened!?" And then shrugging because my apathy levels are rapidly rising, the outrage of how lame Deep Breath was and didn't have to be a distant memory. I wish the writer(s) would stop promising it'll be epic, dark, wibbly wobbly and bonkers and just tell us a damn good story.
I have a long list of problems with this story and one being the continuation of people dying but come back alive so they all can enjoy a happy ending *rolls eyes*
I actually liked the episode and i like where this season is going,of course there wasn't a 10/10 episode yet but we're only in the 5th episode. Anyway,if you don't feel like reviewing Doctor Who anymore,I would like you to review other shows like 'Sherlock' for an example.
True, maybe I'm just impatient :) I wanna keep going with it for the time being though, I'm interested to see what the newer writers they've got in the second half have got for us. I've actually been planning on starting a review series of other shows, more a general overview than the more indepth ones like I do here. I really like Sherlock, series 3 was a bit of a letdown but as a whole I think I've preferred to it Moffat's recent work on who
If Stuart starts reviewing Sherlock what is he supposed to post during the 2 year gaps between seasons? Don't get me wrong, Sherlock is a great series, but as a fan 3 episodes every 2 years seems a bit cheap. Good writing takes time but no show needs that much teaser time.
***** Season 4 airs in 2016 (unless you count the Christmas special in 2015, which doesn't really count cause it's a special), Season 3 aired in 2014, Season 2 aired in 2012, and the show premiered in 2010. You don't see a pattern there?
Oh, I wonder who the mysterious voice-disguised hooded figure will turn out to be...it can't be the doctor, 'cos that would be too obvious...oh, it's the doctor.
I loved the alien design and that the female was not human gender coded.... like, not every species on earth does small pretty female and bug ugly male. So why do so many aliens? Ug. Insert “imagination”
I see what you mean. I've felt like this about series 7 and a bunch of other older stories, not this one though. My problem with this episode was that it just didn't make any sense. Karabraxos having regrets on her death bed didn't go well with how she was portrayed in the episode, and since she had so little screen time it also ment absolutly nothing to me. There's also the fact that the Doctor didn't know her when she called him, so him doing a favor to a random old woman who called him out of nowhere also made no sense. I wanted to like this one too, but it just bothers me so much.
Yeah, it was a total "too much stuff not enough time" problem. Especially provoked that sort of reaction from me cause as its probably clear, I have a hard time with that whole "suspension of disbelief thing" if the writing is a bit jumbled
I didn't think the Doctor was was doing it for Karabraxos, more because it was a chance to rescue a species, which is something the Doctor would want to do anyway.
While I really enjoyed TIME HEIST, due to the wonky nature of the time-travelly, mind-wipey, gorgeously-filmed goings-on... I do agree that it only half-presented the story elements and characterization. Such a shame. Still, it's an enjoyable romp, and one that I place on my rewatch list every so often when I want some fairly cheesy escapism. Just my 2 cents. Thanks for these reviews!
I still like it but I get why others dislike its overusage. First, it shouldn't be with Capaldi's Doctor, it's a whimsical, upbeat theme for a Doctor who is neither. Furthermore, its application is basically the literary equivalent to holding up a sign that reads "insert suspense here."
even at the risk of being tagged as a newbie, who hasn´t got a clue of the dr. who universe in its complexity, i´ve to emphasize that i enjoyed and like this episode (like many other)! I can´t help myself but why are grumbling so many dr. who fans about their favorite tv show, nitpicking every little issue of the scriptwriting. i do not know any other tv show were the screenwriters are under such a massive surveillance. especially this guy named Moffat. i didn´t know his career and his overall standing in england but it seems to me that he´s not very popular and even hated. but hey folks it´s an entertaining scifi tv-show which has an amazing runtime over 50(!)years! i can´t understand all these permanent naging! by over-analysing and searching eagerly for plot holes and lore crudities it´s almost a miracle this fantastic series wasn´t slaughtered by its own foes.... oh, sorry i meant fans, of coz.
How can anyone call Dr Who a kids show? It may have begun with that in mind but it's hardly that these days. It being light on innuendo and explicit scenes just makes it good TV, not expressly intended for kids. It just needs to be more story driven and not effects driven television. Old Dr Who was able to be good with guys running around wearing paper mache masks and dressed in garbage bags.
the dialogue is terrible in this episode from the description of the "bank of the superrich" that "has never been breached, you're gonna do it" that sounds like it's from a bad YA novel to the melodramatic and edgy characterization of Psi and Saibre. Psi, not the gamer but a hacker who had to delete his family from his memory cause he's so brave and cool and Saibre who can't touch anyone cause she'll transform into them. She has no friends because "Could you trust someone who looked back at you with your own eyes?" This is so bad and fake deep. The Umbridge clone is also really bland. Also every single joke misses. But I love the monster and apart from some bad CGI of the planet, the story looks amazing. The lighting's great in the underground and there are some inventive shots. Capaldi is such a great actor but i feel second hand embarassment from the lines he has to deliver here.
For me, this episode was really great.
i did really love time heist
Time heist could have been great in 2 parts but why does season 7 and 8 have no 2 parters?
That was done intentionally by the production team to appeal to new users (at least where series 8 is concerned). The idea behind it was that since the new doctor would likely attract new viewers one-parters would be more accessible to them, so if a new user missed an episode or two it wouldn't be detrimental to understanding the main story of the season.
Because the production team are halfwits.
***** Even a 90 minute episode would be great. Tacking on that extra 20 minutes to the runtime would be enough to explain the story.
***** The sad thing is, even if the creative time wants to play it safe that still doesn't excuse making like 70% of NuWho on Earth. The third Doctor was actually imprisoned on Earth by Unit and somehow it feels like he went on more space adventures than Smith and Capaldi. Time Heist wasn't awesome but it was at least a better direction than the Clara and Danny episodes. Wasting more then ten minutes of screentime on a companion's characterization is unnecessary and even detrimental towards a 45 minute story.
This episode was so forgetful for me that when i went into this review I was legitimately surprised to see the 12th doctor as i remembered matt Smith being the doctor in the episode
I like Time Heist. The Teller is fascinating and what it does is terrifying. I like that they experimented and did something different with a Doctor Who episode, by making it a bank heist. I like the mystery of their memories being wiped so we don't know what it's all about until the end. I like the two characters we're introduced to, especially the cyborg guy.
There's a lot about it I liked. It was a really cool episode and a highlight of the series I thought. I actually like it better than anything else in series 8 except for Flatline.
It would work much better
as an old fashioned 4 x 25 minutes
from the old Who era.
The alien's design is just another rip on the minotaur. It even chases our characters through a labyrinth. The only thing different they did was pointlessly turn the horns into eyestalks.
With that whole "the show should make me want to watch more instead of me watching more because I feel obligated as a Doctor Who fan" thing, I agree with that. I actually feel like now a days I am watching more out of an obligation too and not because I am having fun with the show. I remember when I started getting into New Who that I would watch like two episodes a day and even sometimes three a day because I was so addicted to it but now I almost feel like I could stop watching the show completely and not care as now I will be lucky to watch an episode every other day.
It really feels like this was written as a two-parter but Moffat (co-writing credit, suprise suprise) decided at the last minute to make it a single episode and, rather than trimming the script, just chopped out every other scene. This would have been a glorious two-parter and I hope that Thompson gets the chance to adapt this into a Doctor Who novel that does the story justice. Although that might just deepen the tragedy that we never got this potentially great story with the matching visuals.
Love the last bit of the review! XD
I've been a bit on and off with series 8 for the most part. I did find this episode to be my favorite just because it wasn't trying to be too over the top with its tone or plot. But I did just realize after you said it that I do not remember the names of those two partners which is a shame because I did like them. I did feel Ms. Delphox was a bit underused but I did love the mystery of the architect even though I I kind of figured it out earlier.I had hoped that this would have played a role in getting Gallifrey back though in some way even it turned out to be false.
I wish the Teller wasn't just an animal with psychic powers. Imagine if it talked to its victims in a really deep and profound voice. Imagine the discord between seeing this brutish humanoid slug and hearing an extremely intellectual voice that says extremely unnerving stuff about the people that are being targeted by the Teller and their thought process. Imagine if it tortured its victims with the power of words before invariably soupifying them? That would've been just gorgeous....
Pretty much the entire first half of season 8 I felt was playing things INCREDIBLY safe.
"Apathy" sums up my attitude at the moment too. It's just so deeply uninteresting, and has been for a couple of years now. The "all new and different series 8" is in reality "same old, same old".
Oh the ending reveal of how the Dr did it was missing the "Saw" theme when jigsaw reveals how it was done
"I am the Doctor" is Moffat's saw song. :)
I think the Saw theme would work better lol
I know this will never really fly with the bbc, but how about we start a 2 hour petition for NuWho or a 26 episode series. Moffat is making all of the episodes oneshots so that it is more accessible to newer viewers, but the format just doesn't really work. Most of the classic who serials felt long cause they were on average 3 hrs, this series feels short because it's 1 hr so cutting it off in the middle would be pretty sweet. Like I said, I doubt the bbc care what one American thinks about the show, but it's fun to dream (cause let's face it, if you can't dream, there's no point in watching scifi).
***** I used to get a little mad the Classic Who had so much padding in it's serials, until I realized that the reason for it was that each half hour was meant to be the fans fix for the entire week! From that angle it is reasonable for stories to feel longer, because each serial aired over month and a half. Nowadays, we could just pick and choose which episodes we like, not really knowing how good we really have it compared to the original audience. I feel the worst for the kids who grew up in the latter half of Classic Who, where good writing was scarce. I mean, could you imagine wasting a whole month on something like "Love and Monsters?"
dngn4774 Er, Love and Monsters is New Who.
Latter classic Who was aces.
Kinda glad I missed this one.
There were quite a few episodes this series that I wasn't really "feeling". But the ones that hit really did.
you know there is such a thing as being too hard to please
Keep going Stuart
Sigh. I want to love season 8, but so far it's one, long "MEEEEEEEEEEH" that stretches for the duration of the series so far. I'm sure it'll get longer as more episodes are added and then end up being as long as the whole bloody series. When series 8 started I didn't believe anything with Capaldi as the Doctor could be so dull. If any writing team can fail to make good use of ALL THIS DAMN POTENTIAL, however, then these guys are it.
Every single episode so far has ended with me going "what the hell just happened!?" And then shrugging because my apathy levels are rapidly rising, the outrage of how lame Deep Breath was and didn't have to be a distant memory. I wish the writer(s) would stop promising it'll be epic, dark, wibbly wobbly and bonkers and just tell us a damn good story.
I have a long list of problems with this story and one being the continuation of people dying but come back alive so they all can enjoy a happy ending *rolls eyes*
I actually liked the episode and i like where this season is going,of course there wasn't a 10/10 episode yet but we're only in the 5th episode.
Anyway,if you don't feel like reviewing Doctor Who anymore,I would like you to review other shows like 'Sherlock' for an example.
True, maybe I'm just impatient :) I wanna keep going with it for the time being though, I'm interested to see what the newer writers they've got in the second half have got for us.
I've actually been planning on starting a review series of other shows, more a general overview than the more indepth ones like I do here.
I really like Sherlock, series 3 was a bit of a letdown but as a whole I think I've preferred to it Moffat's recent work on who
If Stuart starts reviewing Sherlock what is he supposed to post during the 2 year gaps between seasons? Don't get me wrong, Sherlock is a great series, but as a fan 3 episodes every 2 years seems a bit cheap. Good writing takes time but no show needs that much teaser time.
dngn4774 Because Christmas 2014 and some time in 2015 is a large gap.
***** Season 4 airs in 2016 (unless you count the Christmas special in 2015, which doesn't really count cause it's a special), Season 3 aired in 2014, Season 2 aired in 2012, and the show premiered in 2010. You don't see a pattern there?
Oh, I wonder who the mysterious voice-disguised hooded figure will turn out to be...it can't be the doctor, 'cos that would be too obvious...oh, it's the doctor.
What about the Aliens in 'Voyage if the Damned'
I M A G I N A T I O N
I loved the alien design and that the female was not human gender coded.... like, not every species on earth does small pretty female and bug ugly male. So why do so many aliens? Ug. Insert “imagination”
I see what you mean. I've felt like this about series 7 and a bunch of other older stories, not this one though.
My problem with this episode was that it just didn't make any sense. Karabraxos having regrets on her death bed didn't go well with how she was portrayed in the episode, and since she had so little screen time it also ment absolutly nothing to me. There's also the fact that the Doctor didn't know her when she called him, so him doing a favor to a random old woman who called him out of nowhere also made no sense.
I wanted to like this one too, but it just bothers me so much.
Yeah, it was a total "too much stuff not enough time" problem. Especially provoked that sort of reaction from me cause as its probably clear, I have a hard time with that whole "suspension of disbelief thing" if the writing is a bit jumbled
I didn't think the Doctor was was doing it for Karabraxos, more because it was a chance to rescue a species, which is something the Doctor would want to do anyway.
I didnt think about that... That actually makes a lot of sense...
Darker tone hahahaha I've seen a more darker tone on emmerdale than NuWho - it's more CBBIES lol
While I really enjoyed TIME HEIST, due to the wonky nature of the time-travelly, mind-wipey, gorgeously-filmed goings-on... I do agree that it only half-presented the story elements and characterization.
Such a shame.
Still, it's an enjoyable romp, and one that I place on my rewatch list every so often when I want some fairly cheesy escapism.
Just my 2 cents.
Thanks for these reviews!
The pay off I was looking for never came, I agree that new who is a struggle to watch for us older viewers. Wish we could take over and run it.
That 11th doctors theme is really getting annoying. Great video tho!
I still like it but I get why others dislike its overusage. First, it shouldn't be with Capaldi's Doctor, it's a whimsical, upbeat theme for a Doctor who is neither. Furthermore, its application is basically the literary equivalent to holding up a sign that reads "insert suspense here."
even at the risk of being tagged as a newbie, who hasn´t got a clue of the dr. who universe in its complexity, i´ve to emphasize that i enjoyed and like this episode (like many other)! I can´t help myself but why are grumbling so many dr. who fans about their favorite tv show, nitpicking every little issue of the scriptwriting. i do not know any other tv show were the screenwriters are under such a massive surveillance. especially this guy named Moffat. i didn´t know his career and his overall standing in england but it seems to me that he´s not very popular and even hated. but hey folks it´s an entertaining scifi tv-show which has an amazing runtime over 50(!)years! i can´t understand all these permanent naging! by over-analysing and searching eagerly for plot holes and lore crudities it´s almost a miracle this fantastic series wasn´t slaughtered by its own foes.... oh, sorry i meant fans, of coz.
How can anyone call Dr Who a kids show? It may have begun with that in mind but it's hardly that these days. It being light on innuendo and explicit scenes just makes it good TV, not expressly intended for kids. It just needs to be more story driven and not effects driven television. Old Dr Who was able to be good with guys running around wearing paper mache masks and dressed in garbage bags.
I'm going to be original and say I wished this was a two parter .It was good but would of been better if given more time.
Farscape did the bank heist story better.
Understatement of the century.
the dialogue is terrible in this episode from the description of the "bank of the superrich" that "has never been breached, you're gonna do it" that sounds like it's from a bad YA novel to the melodramatic and edgy characterization of Psi and Saibre.
Psi, not the gamer but a hacker who had to delete his family from his memory cause he's so brave and cool and Saibre who can't touch anyone cause she'll transform into them. She has no friends because "Could you trust someone who looked back at you with your own eyes?" This is so bad and fake deep. The Umbridge clone is also really bland.
Also every single joke misses. But I love the monster and apart from some bad CGI of the planet, the story looks amazing. The lighting's great in the underground and there are some inventive shots. Capaldi is such a great actor but i feel second hand embarassment from the lines he has to deliver here.
I hated it , so over produced