An Autist Reviews: Absent Friends (The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Doom Coalition 3.1)

*This is an older review, it is not as detailed as my more modern reviews*

*All Reviews Are Spoiler-Free Aside From Any Spoiler Sections*

The TARDIS veers wildly off course, bringing the Doctor and his companions to a quiet English village at the turn of the century. The mobile phone is just starting to take off, but it brings with it certain dangers. People are being called by their dead friends and family, and the Doctor is interested. Meanwhile, Helen breaks the Doctor’s rules to look into her future… but she’s about to learn that actions have consequences… even more, than you might expect.

This was an interesting one to review. The story is very good, but the problem is that I can’t tell anymore how good it is. I can’t recall or tell if I would be/was surprised by the twist. Once you know the big twist a lot of the story just feels like filler which makes relistening hard. Helen’s storyline is less than perfect as well, as she just rushes off and Liv does nothing to even try to stop her. This is an emotional episode with some really good moments, but I just can’t rate it excessively high because I can’t hear this for the first time again.

Let’s just get this out of the way: The acting is as close to perfect as humanly possible.

The music in this episode is rather bland and boring, but I suppose it does its job well enough. The effects are very good, they tell you where you are and what is happening in great detail, but there are also some moments where the effects aren’t perfect or where there needs to be more.

The replay value of this is not great. It’s fine to listen to it again, but you won’t get nearly as much joy out of it. You get to see some more details in some moments, but the twist will stick in your mind and it won’t ever go away. You can never hear this for the first time again… you can never get that joy back. Be ready to listen to this for the first time, because you will NEVER be able to listen to it in that same way again.

All in all, this is a near-perfectly written story with near-perfect acting and a pretty good storyline. The effects are very good, the music is bland but serviceable, and there is a special twist that is really very fun the first time you hear it. The worst part of this is that you can never experience it in a way somewhat close to your first time… it’s sad. I really wish I could experience that listening experience again.

Total - 8

Plot - 8
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Story - 7
Writing - 10
Enjoyment - 7
Twists - 6

Acting - 10
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MCs - 10
SCs - 10
BGs - NR

Effects - 7
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Music - 4
Voices - 10
Actions - 8

Replay - 5
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Re-Enjoyment - 4
New Details - 6

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