Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Keeley Hawes, Jonathan Bailey, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Trevor Sellers, Ross Mullan, Mark Ebulue, Junior Laniyan, Samuel Anderson.
Think of the most precious commodity or product you can lay your hands on, how good it will feel in your hands and the power you could wield with it, the people you might be able to bend to your will for even just a glance of it. Such things are what drives the world and yet many miss the point, it is not about having the latest gadget in which to download a picture of a cat onto the internet, nor is it Time, which is a more noble outlook, but Love and acceptance and that is really what is at the heart of the latest Doctor Who story, Time Heist.
When the pictures of Keeley Hawes were revealed in her character’s costume during the course of filming, there was much speculation on just who she was, so many went down the route of the re-appearance of The Rani, a character so steeped in Doctor Who mythology that the two stories with the much missed Kate O’Mara in seem no so out of touch with the modern world. It seems that guilt is a heavy burden even for the fans of the programme let alone those who try to bust into the most heavily secured bank in the world in the latest episode of the series, Time Heist, that the thought of somehow not seeing some resolve to a previous favourite is one in which self-reproach sits at the heart of all involved.
If there is a negative to be found in the story Time Heist then surely it sits in the character of Saibra, played very well by Ms. Bennett-Warner, but for whom the over stated reason for her joining the team was one of acceptance and wishing to appear normal. In a programme that has done so much good in its time with advancing the idea that diversity, to be different and distinct, is to be admired then to have a character that craves to be the same as everybody is something in which just doesn’t seem right. Even if played out with the noblest of intentions, in this case to be able to touch another Human being without taking on their features, it somehow feels that the writing was not taken far enough in its exploration of that intention.
The introduction of a new alien species, in this case The Teller, can be hit and miss, especially if it’s a possible one-off appearance in the annals of the programme. Yet this creature who can turn brains to soup and can see the hidden guilt in anybody’s minds was as powerful an introduction as you could ever ask for. A being in which to feel trepidation and fear of but who ultimately is like the lion with a thorn in its paw, once you remove the danger, once you expose the pain it is in, it becomes something in which the audience cares about passionately.
If carrying around guilt is torture then the longer a person lives, the length of rope that they place around them can stretch for yards and yards, each inch a wrong done, each foot a mistake never rectified, if that is the case then The Doctor has the biggest guilt in the Universe and is carrying so much around that the Tardis needs more room. Peter Capaldi has got this down to a fine art and has really immersed himself into the role in such a quick fashion that it is unsurprising to find him becoming a firm fan favourite so early in his tenure.
The Doctor can solve many problems, Time is the easiest of them all, regret and the search for love and acceptance may be is what keeps him going.
Ian D. Hall