Line #30 Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist


1	[[WMG:[[center:[-''[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]]'' [[Recap/DoctorWho recap index]]\
2	'''Twelfth Doctor Era'''\
3	'''Series 8:''' [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath 1]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E2IntoTheDalek 2]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E3RobotOfSherwood 3]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E4Listen 4]] \| '''5''' \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E6TheCaretaker 6]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E7KillTheMoon 7]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E8MummyOnTheOrientExpress 8]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline 9]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E10InTheForestOfTheNight 10]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater 11]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E12DeathInHeaven 12]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWho2014CSLastChristmas CS]]\
4	'''[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor <<< 2013 Specials]]''' \| '''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice Series 9 >>>]]''']]-]]]
5	!Time Heist
6	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dw_85_time_heist.jpg]]
7	[[caption-width-right:350:Having guilty thoughts while reading this article? Better scroll down or the creature in the center will turn your brain into soup.]]
8	[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see the RadioTimes magazine poster for this episode:]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/time_heist_poster_9729.jpg The Doctor meets a vixen: cunning like a fox. [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Colder than frostbite. Casually calculative. Cutthroat to the core.]][[/labelnote]]]]
9	->Written by Steve Thompson and Creator/StevenMoffat\
10	Directed by Douglas Mackinnon\
11	'''Air date:''' 20 September 2014
12
13	->''"The bank of Karabraxos is impregnable. The bank of Karabraxos has never been breached. You will rob the bank of Karabraxos!"''
14	-->-- '''The Architect'''
15
16	JustForFun/TheOneWith the hologram-projecting USB plug.
17	----
18
19	Clara, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E4Listen once again,]] has a date! Things with Danny Pink seem to be going swimmingly, which is nice, and she's even bought a brand new suit and heels for the occasion. The Doctor [[ObliviousToLove doesn't really get it]], but on the bright side, he ''does'' point out those heels would be great if she ever needs to grab something from a shelf. Clara's just about to leave, when the phone rings. The ''TARDIS'' phone rings.
20
21	There aren't many people in the universe who have that number -- one exception being [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E6TheBellsOfSaintJohn the woman in the shop who gave it to Clara]], who they still haven't managed to identify. Like a moth to a flame, or [[{{Metaphorgotten}} a mad alien man with big eyebrows to an upcoming adventure]], the Doctor goes to pick it up. Clara warns him not to -- that's how ''adventures'' start, don't you know -- but the Doctor ignores her. After all, WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong
22
23	[[SmashCut The Doctor hastily drops the worm he's holding, disgusted,]] and looks around to see Clara and two other interesting people. One of them, Psi (Creator/JonathanBailey), appears to be a cyborg, and the other one's Saibra, a woman in vaguely-Gothic looking dress [[BodyHorror starting to sprout the face of a worm herself.]] A [[TheFaceless deep voice]] crackles through a speaker on the table: they've all agreed to rob the Bank of Karabraxos, a whole [[PlanetOfHats banking planet]] for the sort of people who can buy their own star systems. And they've definitely agreed - he's got their pre-recorded consent to prove it. Of course, the Bank of Karabraxos does this nasty thing where they kill anyone who so much as sets foot there without notice, and there's a rather insistent man with a blowtorch trying to get in and incinerate them right about now, so it looks like they're going to ''have'' to rob the bank [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse if they want to get out alive.]]
24
25	You may have noticed there was a fairly big gap between the events of that paragraph and the last one. The Doctor and company noticed too, and they intend to find out what the hell happened. But first, they have to contend with an AffablyEvil security head, a million and one locks, [[KillItWithFire walls full of flamethrowers]] and, deadliest of all, the Teller; a terrifying beast that'll turn your mind to soup so it can feed on your guilt...
26
27	And, if they can, look really cool doing it.
28	----
29	!!Tropes:
30	* ActorAllusion:
31	** Creator/PeterCapaldi tells people to "[[Film/InTheLoop shutity up!]]".
32	** The bank computer is voiced by Kevan Brighting using the same LemonyNarrator voice as he used for ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable''.
33	* AirVentEscape: To the point of being lampshaded. All the vents have the warning "No Entry Under Any Circumstances". The Doctor and crew [[CantYouReadTheSign entirely ignore said notices]].
34	* AllThereInTheScript: Mr Porrima, the bank customer copied by Saibra to gain access to the safety deposit boxes, is only identified in the credits, not in dialogue.
35	* AlmostKiss: Followed by a mutual GetOut when Clara and Danny are interrupted by a student.
36	* AndIMustScream: Having your mind erased until you're just an empty husk. This was why the Doctor chose to give Saibra a MercyKill, or at least he thought he did.
37	* ApocalypseHow: A massive solar storm threatens to destroy the bank. Given the visuals, it would probably depopulate the planet if there was anything other than the bank there.
38	* TheAlcatraz: Even those incarcerated in the bank who haven't been mind-wiped can't escape, because the Teller will pick up their guilty thoughts.
39	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The Doctor tries to convince Clara out of her date and mentions the places they could go, like the Satanic Nebula, the Lagoon of Lost Stars and... Brighton.
40	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The Teller's ability to reduce its victims' brains to soup somehow also caves in their skulls, the bone going from a nice convex dome to a concave section where the forehead and front half of the top should be. It makes the victims actually ''look'' like their heads are empty, and is all the more horrifying for it.
41	* AskAStupidQuestion: Clara asks Psi why he would choose to forget everyone he ever loved. Psi, obviously, does not remember why he made that choice.
42	* BatmanGambit: The Doctor deliberately makes the teleport devices identical in design to atomic shredders, not to confuse the bank staff, but because of what he knows about himself. The only thing that would get the Doctor to the vault, and keep his spirit up despite all the danger, is to give him something to run from. The one thing the Doctor runs from more often than anything else: [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd death]].
43	* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: The theory behind the shredders is to die quickly rather than having one's mind devoured by the Teller, before they're revealed to be teleporters.
44	* BigBad: Madame Karabraxos, the owner of the bank and the one responsible for imprisoning the Teller's mate in order to force his co-operation. Unusually, she's also the BigGood, as her older self was the one who hired the Doctor to put right her past wrong.
45	* BigShutUp: "Shut up, shut up, shuttity up up up!"
46	* BlackDudeDiesFirst: The Teller's first onscreen victim is a black bank-goer.
47	* BlessedWithSuck: Saibra's powers can't be shut off, which keeps her from ever touching people without assuming their form. Which means simple handshakes and, sadly, intimacy are to be avoided.
48	* BodyHorror:
49	** The Teller makes soup out of people's brains. It wouldn't be so nauseating if their brain fluids didn't leak out through their tear ducts afterward, or their heads didn't cave in.
50	** In her first few moments on-screen, Saibra demonstrates how unpleasant her power can be when she starts to imitate the memory worm she's touching.
51	* BuffySpeak: The Doctor and Clara both say that "a thing" will happen.
52	-->'''Saibra:''' That's your plan? A thing will happen?
53	* CantHaveSexEver: Saibra effectively suffers this, because she shapeshifts into anybody who she touches directly, and it turns out ScrewYourself is a very uncommon fetish, or more disturbing in reality than people expect.
54	* CaperCrew: The Doctor is the Partner in Crime as himself and the Mastermind, Coordinator and maybe Gadget Guy as the Architect, Psi is the Hacker, Saibra is the Con Woman, Clara is the New Kid and the future Madame Karabraxos serves as the Backer.
55	* ChairReveal: How Karabraxos is introduced (the reveal being that she looks exactly like Ms. Delphox).
56	* ComputerVoice: The bank's system speaks.
57	* ContinuityCavalcade: Images are played of [[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS3E1E2PrisonerOfTheJudoon Androvax]], a [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites Sensorite]], [[{{Series/Torchwood}} Captain John Hart]], [[Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine Abslom Daak]], a [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E5WorldWarThree Slitheen]], a [[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E4TheVisitation Terileptil]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E3ATownCalledMercy the Gunslinger]] and [[Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures the Trickster]]. In the case of Abslom Daak, this firmly cements him as a CanonImmigrant.
58	* ContinuityNod:
59	** The Doctor has used memory worms before, [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen with varying degrees of success]].
60	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E6TheBellsOfSaintJohn The woman in the shop who gave Clara the Doctor's phone number]] is mentioned [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath yet again]], with the Doctor emphasizing that they still don't know who she was.
61	** When the Teller is going through the Doctor's mind, he tells him to dig deep and see everything, mentioning [[Creator/TomBaker scarf]], [[Creator/MattSmith bowtie]] and right now, which he claims was meant to be minimalist but turned out [[SelfDeprecation magician]].
62	** Anyone who remembers "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E7AmysChoice Amy's Choice]]" will be one step ahead of the game when the Doctor starts talking about how much he hates the Architect.
63	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E5TheRebelFlesh Solar storms]] interfere with the TARDIS's ability to fly properly.
64	* CreatorInJoke: One of the treasure items in Karabraxos's private vault, visible in the background of several important shots, is a child's cardboard model of a rocket ship. In the making-of documentary, director Douglas [=McKinnon=] explains that it belongs to him, was a gift from his daughter, and is one of his own most treasured possessions.
65	* CyanidePill: The Doctor assumes the syringes they find are "atom shredders" meant to painlessly kill anyone caught by the Teller. He calls them an "escape route... of a sort." In fact, they're a more conventional escape route: they teleport the user to a spaceship in orbit.
66	* {{Cyborg}}: The Doctor describes Psi as having a mainframe in his head. It lets him wipe his own memory, interface with other systems and upload imprints of close to all the greatest criminals in existence, making him guilty enough to distract the Teller from Clara.
67	* DisproportionateRetribution: People caught disobeying rules or stealing at the Bank of Karabraxos have to face the Teller as punishment. Not only do they get turned into walking vegetables, but their descendants get incarcerated as insurance that the family will not commit a crime against the bank a second time. It makes sense in that there are such things as crime families like the Slitheen afoot who might co-conspire and this is a preventative measure designed to split them up, but innocent children... hoo boy, it's gonna suck for them.
68	* DressingAsTheEnemy: After being thought to be dead, Saibra and Psi return disguised as bank security. Psi had to appropriate a uniform from somewhere, while Saibra can just mimic the uniform with her holographic shell. Saibra's shapeshifting ability allows the writers to [[PlayingWithATrope play with]] the "{{faceless goons}} remove helmets to reveal allies" aspect of the trope, which initially seems to be ruled out by the fact that one of the security guards already has his helmet off; that one is Saibra wearing a false face.
69	* EmotionEater: The Teller feeds on the guilt of other living beings.
70	* EurekaMoment: In Karabraxos's vault, the Doctor figures out who the Architect is: himself.
71	* ExpendableClone: Karabraxos uses clones of herself as secretaries and such, since she won't rely on anyone else. This doesn't stop her from killing them for failure.
72	* ExposedExtraterrestrials: While the Teller walks around in a full-body straightjacket for most of the episode, he and his mate are released wearing nothing at all in the end.
73	* FailedASpotCheck: Early on, the Doctor ponders why he isn't just using the TARDIS to do this job. Clara then brings up the more obvious question: where is the TARDIS? The Doctor admits he should have led with that.
74	* FakeAmerican: [[InvokedTrope A plot-related use of the trope]]: The Doctor adopts an electronically altered American accent as the Architect in order to conceal his identity.
75	* FalseReassurance: Bank security politely asks the Doctor and crew to let them in, on the rationale that they don't want to hurt them ''before'' executing them.
76	* FootPopping: The Doctor is so pleased with himself for exhausting Clara right before her dinner with Danny Pink that he does this in the last shot.
77	* FreezeFrameBonus: When Psi is going through the list of criminals, it flashes through several previously introduced characters from the Doctor Who universe, including [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E3ATownCalledMercy the Gunslinger]], [[Series/{{Torchwood}} John Hart]] and [[Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine Abslom Daak]].
78	* GetOut: Clara and Danny are swift to order out the student who interrupts them while they're getting intimate.
79	* GreenEyedMonster: The Doctor tries to dissuade Clara from a date, and is later over the moon that his heist adventure couldn't be beaten by her date.
80	* HeistEpisode: The plot of the episode. The Doctor, Clara, and other subjects are forced by [[TheFaceless the Architect]] to rob the Bank of Karabraxos, a whole banking planet for the sort of people who can buy their own star systems in AnOfferYouCantRefuse (along the lines of "rob the bank or you're dead"). The bank holds something of great value to each member, which is why they took the job, despite having to erase their memories of ever taking it.
81	* HeroicSacrifice: Psi deliberately overloads his mind with the criminal records of hundreds of infamous bank robbers to lure the Teller away from Clara, figuring her ties to her loved ones make her life more valuable than his. Subverted when the "Shredder" he uses to avoid becoming lunch teleports him to safety instead of killing him.
82	* HighHeelPower: Lampshaded. Clara is wearing heels and a fancy pantsuit to emphasise her ActionGirl status, but the Doctor just thinks she needs the heels to reach a high shelf.
83	* HilariousOuttakes: In contrast to the Creator/DavidTennant and Creator/MattSmith eras, gag reels were not released for Capaldi's episodes. One of the only publicly released bloopers from Series 8, from the epilogue scene in which Capaldi begins speaking the wrong line of dialogue, can be found in the ''Doctor Who Extra'' featurette for this episode released online and later on DVD.
84	* HolographicDisguise: Saibra has a natural ability to mimic faces, bodies, and voices, but has a hologram generator to make sure her clothing looks like that of the original.
85	* IJustWantToBeNormal: Saibra's motivation for robbing the bank - her mutant ability to shapeshift into what she is currently touching means that she is incapable of ever having sex with or even touching a person normally, so she's hoping to obtain a gene suppressant from the heist to make her normal.
86	* IHaveYourWife: The Teller is coerced into working for the bank because they have its mate chained up in the private vault.
87	* IncrediblyObviousBomb: The Doctor opens their mysterious briefcase. Played with in that, while it ''is'' indeed a bomb, its detonation doesn't cause a conventional explosion.
88	-->'''The Doctor:''' OK, well I'm no expert but fuses, timer... I'm going to stick my neck out and say ''bomb''.
89	* InformedAbility: The "most secure bank in the universe" apparently cannot afford cameras, regular patrols, or any kind of meaningful security other than the Teller and some intermittently placed breath-based DNA scanners. It does make sense in a way, the Teller stops anyone even thinking about committing a crime and the final lock required a time-travelling genius and a planet-destroying solar storm to beat.
90	* InTheHood: The "Architect" wears an identity-concealing hood in the video briefing.
91	* InvoluntaryShapeshifter: Saibra assumes the appearance of anyone she touches, for as long as they remain touching. She can choose to retain the appearance for as long as she likes after they stop touching, but she can't choose not to mimic a person while they're in contact.
92	* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: The Doctor allows a psychic alien to feast on his memories, telling it, "Big scarf... bow tie... embarrassing."
93	* KarmaHoudini: Yes, Karabraxos, on her death bed, is hit with guilt over what she did to the Teller and his mate and helps save the day in a timey-wimey fashion. Otherwise, though, there is no indication given that she ever faced direct consequences regarding her actions towards the Teller, the killings of multiple clones, and the "brain souping" of numerous individuals.
94	* KillItWithFire: The bank has rows of flamethrowers to incinerate any potential thieves that fail the security checks.
95	* LampshadeHanging: The Doctor's comment on Clara's height and her showing off her shoes highlight [[ScullyBox the truly impressive heels]] 5'2"[[labelnote:]]157 cm[[/labelnote]] Jenna Coleman has had to wear to stay in frame with 6'[[labelnote:]]183 cm[[/labelnote]] Peter Capaldi.
96	* LargeHam: The Doctor's EurekaMoment is so hammy that he bangs a gong to accentuate it!
97	* LaserGuidedAmnesia:
98	** The memory worms used by the group to wipe their minds and thus hide their guilt from the Teller.
99	** Psi's implants allow him to do this at will. Unfortunately for him, there's no easy restore function, which cost him the memories of his family during an interrogation in order to protect them. He agreed to the heist because the bank holds a device which can restore his memory.
100	* LastOfItsKind: The bank claims the Teller is the last of its species, which forms the basis for the special terms of its contract. There's a second one chained up and kept prisoner in the bank's most secure vault, and the Teller works for them in exchange for the imprisoned one's safety.
101	* LighterAndSofter: Another episode that appears to be gritty, but is in fact a happier episode than the general trend of the season so far.
102	* LiteralMetaphor: Employees of the Bank of Karabraxos whose performances are deemed substandard are fired... by means of an incinerator.
103	* LivingLieDetector:
104	** The Teller is a unique spin on this, in that it detects guilty and remorseful feelings from people that have stolen from the bank. If an individual's thoughts come up as positive for guilt, they get a FateWorseThanDeath.
105	** As a woman who shifts faces on a regular basis, Saibra is very good at reading people. She instantly deduces the Doctor is lying when he opens the case with the Shredders and claims to be ignorant of their function.
106	* LogoJoke: The opening credits "time tunnel" are shown at the start of the episode... which turns out to be Clara's washing machine with the Doctor peering into it.
107	* MeaningfulAppearance: Clara dons a pair of particularly high heels for a date with Danny, which confuses the Doctor, who thinks she needs to them to reach a high shelf. Later, the Doctor recommends she change her shoes.
108	* MeaningfulName: The Teller works at a bank, but can also "tell" what people are thinking.
109	* MemoryGambit: The Doctor, Clara, Psi and Saibra have their memories voluntarily removed with memory worms in order to get into the bank.
110	* MindRape: The Teller has the ability to liquefy the brain of anyone he makes eye contact with, provided he isn't interrupted. Strangely, this doesn't kill the person, even though their head deflates; it must leave enough of the brainstem intact to keep the heart and lungs going. Being around and absorbing so many thoughts is slowly driving the Teller insane too, giving a rare two-way version of this trope.
111	* MishmashMuseum: Karabraxos's personal vault is a disorganised collection of shiny, but slightly kitschy, items.
112	* MomentKiller: A student walks in on Clara and Danny {{Almost Kiss}}ing. They react [[GetOut swiftly]].
113	* MustMakeAmends: The heist is a rescue mission contracted by the future dying Karabaxos for just this reason. She has a lot of regrets, and freeing the Teller is one that she can correct before she dies.
114	* MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes: Psi lampshades the trope before his HeroicSacrifice, but says he has no memories of loved ones to see.
115	* NoBodyLeftBehind: The "Shredders" left for the team are assumed to be suicide devices, so called because they seem to "shred" the body with an energy field. They turn out to be teleporters.
116	* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: Employees who disappoint Madame Karabraxos are "fired", by which she means they are [[NotHyperbole thrown into the incinerator]].
117	* OffTheShelfFX: Psi's hologram projector is a USB plug with an LED. It also works as an actual plug.
118	* OntologicalMystery: The episode begins with the Doctor answering the phone and then suddenly he, Clara, and two people they have never met before are in the most impregnable bank in the galaxy, having agreed to rob it on behalf of a mysterious benefactor, recorded a message to themselves explaining that they have accepted this mission, and then erased their own memories of doing so. Half the episode is them carrying out the heist, the other half is trying to figure out who orchestrated this whole thing and how they seem to have infiltrated the bank already yet still need help robbing it.
119	* PinPullingTeeth: Psi does this with his transporter locking pin while thinking it will kill him, trying to go out like a badass... only to scream in terror seconds later as it activates.
120	* PlotTailoredToTheParty: Subverted; characters are killed after they've used their skillset, but it turns out they're NotQuiteDead.
121	* PortalCut: The bomb left for the team is a dimensional shift bomb, displacing a roughly cube-shaped section of floor for the team to escape through, which then returns to normal space about a minute later, [[LockedRoomMystery leaving no trace behind]].
122	* PunchClockVillain: Bank security is incredibly polite about the fact that they're going to kill you, and really wish you wouldn't make such a fuss about it.
123	* RedHerring: The introduction to the heist establishes various facts: the walls have flamethrowers, the air is regulated, and the safes are atomically sealed. The first never comes up again, while the second is only marginally related to the fact that the private vault has its own life support system.
124	* SeenItAll: Averted; the Doctor can't recognise the Teller's species, which he hates due to not knowing how to stop the Teller once it's locked onto you.
125	* SelfDeprecation: The Doctor refers to his current look as intended to have been "Minimalist" but winding up with "Magician". Also, throughout the episode, the Doctor continually mentions how he hates the Architect. Later, it turns out he ''is'' the Architect.
126	* ShoutOut:
127	** In the "Making Of" featurette, Jenna mentions that this episode was inspired, at least in part, by ''Film/OceansEleven''.
128	** Ms Delphox paraphrases Norma Desmond in ''[[Film/SunsetBoulevard Sunset Boulevard]]'' when she says that the criminal they have caught is "ready for his close-up".
129	** The Doctor tapping his feet on the concrete floor recalls [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes Sherlock Holmes]] doing much the same in ''The Red-Headed League'', which was also about a bank heist.
130	** The Doctor says that the Architect must be a time traveller because he could [[Film/BackToTheFuture1 find out exactly when a rare solar storm would hit]].
131	** [[Film/DieHard The hacker opens all the locks to the vault except one, which is opened when an outside event cuts the juice.]]
132	** Psi seems like a fusion of several 90s cyberpunk tropes: His memory powers recall Film/JohnnyMnemonic, and his stuttering is very reminiscent of Series/MaxHeadroom.
133	** The Bank Computer at one stage begins counting down. [[VideoGame/TheStanleyParable At least it was able to get past number eight.]]
134	** In an episode that heavily features psychic abilities and the threat of fire, the main antagonist is named [[{{Franchise/Pokemon}} Delphox]].
135	** You've got an "Architect", someone who can change their face, a conversation about how impossible it is to [[ThoughtAversionFailure not think about something]], and the phrase "You'll be old and full of regret". [[Film/{{Inception}} Sound familiar?]]
136	** Saibra's powers are strongly reminiscent of those of both Mystique and Rogue from ''ComicBook/XMen''. Said powers share the same ArtisticLicenceBiology genetic origin, and she even describes herself as a "mutant human".
137	** Clara's outfit. It's a simple black and white suit with a thin black tie. Being worn for a bank heist. Still haven't put it together? She was wearing it for her date with a man who could easily be called... [[Film/ReservoirDogs Mr. Pink]].
138	** And to [[Film/PulpFiction another Tarantino movie]] when the mysterious suitcase opens to emit a golden glow.
139	** Picking up the phone and instantly appearing somewhere else resembles ''Film/TheMatrix''. There's an Architect in the second movie, too.
140	** The scene in which the Teller is stalking Clara and the Doctor in the tunnels very much brings to mind the famous [[Myth/ClassicalMythology legend of the Minotaur]], especially the fact that in that scene its eyestalks in the shadows look like horns.
141	** The premise revolves around LaserGuidedAmnesia, [[Film/{{Memento}} and in the end the heroes learn that the person they thought was responsible was just an identity fabricated by one of them]].
142	* SmashCut: When the Doctor picks up the TARDIS phone, the scene suddenly cuts to himself, Clara and two strangers all holding memory worms.
143	* SolarFlareDisaster: The entire planet of Karabraxos is roasted by solar flares. The solar storm also messes with the bank's security.
144	* StableTimeLoop: It turns out the Doctor was hired by the future version of Madame Karabraxos to free the Teller, but she only had his number because he gave it to her during the heist itself. Possibly also true of some of "the Architect"'s break-in tactics, if she also told him as much as she could remember about how his team had penetrated the bank.
145	* TakeThatCritics: As the Teller goes through his memories, the Doctor addresses fans' criticisms of his costume: "What do you think of the new look? I was hoping for minimalism, but I think I came up with 'magician.'"
146	* TeamPowerWalk: As you'd expect in TheCaper episode, though different in that the characters are somewhat strung out, only visible when they turn a corner.
147	* TemptingFate:
148	** The Doctor insists no harm ever came from answering a phone. Cue SmashCut.
149	** As the Doctor says there's no immediate threat the alarm goes off. He [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by saying "I should stop saying things like that."
150	* TitleDrop: Close. "It's not a bank heist; it's a time-travel heist."
151	* TreacherousQuestGiver:
152	** Inverted with Karabraxos. She's set up to be the villain from the start, while it's later revealed her regretful future self had sent the Doctor back in time to fix her mistakes.
153	** Subverted with the shady and ruthless Architect, who's no more than a set of cryptic instructions from the Twelfth Doctor being his own, scary self.
154	* {{Troll}}: The Doctor lets Clara stuff herself with Chinese food before her dinner date with Danny apparently just to ruin it out of jealousy.
155	* VerbalTic: Psi's brain augmentations cause him to repeat-repeat-repeat himself when he's stressed.
156	* WasntThatFun: Psi invites the Doctor to call him next time he wants to rob a bank. Clara says it's not really the Doctor's thing, only for him to give Psi the wink once her back is turned. Then Clara turns out to be NotSoAboveItAll when she tells the Doctor not to rob any more banks without her.
157	* WaveMotionTuningFork:
158	** The Teller pushes his eye stalks together when liquefying the brains of his targets.
159	** The dimensional shift bomb has two folding flanges that the Doctor extends like this to set it.
160	* WhatTheHellHero: Psi is unimpressed by the Doctor's "professional detachment" and Clara's claim that "underneath it all, he isn't really like that."
161	-->'''Psi:''' It's very obvious that you've been with him for a while. Because you are ''really'' good at the excuses.
162	* WholePlotReference: Our heroes and some weird new allies have to rob a corrupt high-security alien bank with a wildly ruthless female boss. [[Recap/FarscapeS02E19LiarsGunsAndMoneyANotSoSimplePlan Where have we heard that before?]]
163	* WickedCultured: Karabraxos has classical music playing in the private vault.
164	* YouHaveFailedMe: Ms. Delphox knows when someone is fired from the bank it is "messy". They get incinerated.
165	* YouSeeImDying: When Madame Karabaxos from the far flung future sends the Doctor on the job that he would later predict that she in the present day would need to, she's already dying of old age.

Context Recap / DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist