An Autist Reviews: Breakaway (Space: 1999: Breakaway 1)
*All Reviews Are Spoiler-Free Aside From Any Spoiler Sections*
Part One
Dateline: 9th of September, 1999. John Koenig is on his way to Moonbase Alpha to take command from Commander Gorsky and see the launch of the interplanetary Meta Probe on the 13th of September, 1999. There are rumors that some people on Moonbase Alpha have come down with a mysterious illness. These are not merely rumors. Commissioner Simmons has been covering up just how bad things are on the Moon. Doctor Russell is out of her depth, Commander John Koenig is struggling to find a way to keep the Meta Probe on schedule while finding the cause of the mystery illness, and people are dying left and right, many taking Eagles with them.
God, I love this story. It’s a lovely bit of character-driven sci-fi. The characters all have distinct voices and clear and unique relationships to each other and the ways they talk to each other. The fact that the backstory of Moonbase Alpha was delivered via a prerecorded video played on live TV is smart, but also a bit of an unnecessary copout. The characters also take a little too long to put things together, and the repetition of information could be cut, even if it really doesn’t degrade the story. The emotions, the rage, the pure evil of Commissioner Simmons, the righteous fury of Dr. Russell and Commander Koenig, just every part of this story is written so well, including the mystery. What is causing the illness, while well set up, is still very mysterious and confusing throughout the entirety of this half of the story. Now, with that being said, that’s all I really can say. It’s a very well done, proper sci-fi story with a strong emotional core.
“THIS IS NOT A PR EXERCISE! IT IS NOT ABOUT OUR CAREERS OR YOUR PERSONAL REPUTATION, THIS IS ABOUT SAVING HUMAN LIVES!”
The acting is just amazing. If his performance as the Eleven (and the fact he originally had 11 distinct voices for each incarnation planned out before being told to do variations of the same voice) wasn’t enough to convince you that Mark Bonnar is a godly actor, then this sure will. He affects a flawless American accent and steals every scene he’s in, and his delivery while angry is just brilliant. Funnily enough, the other most important actor in the story has never acted in an audio drama before, and, sadly, it shows. Maria Teresa Creasey plays Dr. Helena Russell and for every brilliant line delivery, there’s a line delivery that makes it sound like a disconnected announcement to the universe, filled with melodrama and poor inflection. Still, as mentioned, she has a plethora of brilliant moments as well, and given that this is her first time doing an audio drama, her performance is frankly incredible and I’m certain she’ll improve incredibly fast. Now, to blast through the rest of the cast since this story has a massive cast and they’re all important. Gorsky is brilliant despite how little he appears, and Simmons is also just amazing, both really or properly evil and weaselly, lying through their teeth and showing no care for innocent people. Professor Bergman is amazing and I love his chemistry with Koenig. Dashka’s acting is a little stunted, but with a little work, she’ll come into herself and be as amazing as she occasionally is and as I know she can be all the time. Paul Morrow and Alan Carter are difficult to tell apart and frankly, I forget what Paul is meant to be doing, a strike against the plot rating, certainly, but both are brilliantly well acted with the serious moments really shining through. The computer and the reports are all amazing, with the perfect inflections for the situation, also I must say the person playing the computer hides their voice very well, I would never have been able to tell it was them had I not checked the cast list.
Okay, now for the effects. Let’s get to my criticisms first. The transitions are generally amazing, but at least one I can recall was absurdly fast, and SEVERAL sound like general effects, not transitions or music, making it really difficult to tell what is going on. That being said, a ton of the transitions are just perfect, even if there are perhaps too many scene transitions. The music is perfect, it sounds like the music I would expect to hear in the show, and it heightens every scene and certainly the transitions. There is always a bit of eeriness and suspense in the music, too. The background effects are generally brilliant, but often they are rather muted or they make it nearly impossible to hear people talking or any other effects going on. The action effects are next, and from the Eagles flying through the sky, to someone walking over to Koenig, or the main mission partition opening, the majority of effects are 10/10 with the Meta Signal being brilliantly eerie. Sadly, however, some effects fall flat. During a massive fight, the effects are far more impressionistic than I would like, meaning you have to focus on the dialogue instead of the effects. On occasion effects also just seem nonexistent or get confusing, such as when I had no clue what the whooshing sound I was hearing was until the computer announced that the travel tube had arrived at its location. The voice effects are next, and boy oh boy are they good! Like the other effects, the voice effects on occasion make it difficult or nearly impossible to hear what people are saying. Other voice effects, though, are brilliant, such as the computer’s voice effects or people’s voices over the comms systems or through the TV. So, all in all, the effects are just brilliant, aside from when they’re a little vague or when they’re way too loud, but those are rather uncommon occasions, truthfully.
Replay value, finally, another quick section. I love this story, it’s brilliant as hell and it’s so fun and it’s so easy to hate Simmons and Gorsky, it’s just lovely. As for new details, you’ll discover upon a second listen, there are a few here and they all involve the mystery illness’ cause. Really, relistening to this isn’t necessary, but how could you possibly resist when it’s this amazing?
So, we come to the close of the first part of this story. If it wasn’t so full of information I wouldn’t be splitting this up into two parts, but the story is just so thick and juicy that I don’t know how I could ever smash all of my opinions on it into a single review. Really, the emotion and the mystery are the core of the story, the acting is mostly flawless, and the effects, while they can occasionally be confusing or muted, are really good and the music is just so enjoyable. Really, pick this story up, it’s brilliant, and the next part, while not as good as this one, is still utterly brilliant, but that’s for later.
Total - 10 (I bumped it up one point because I love this story so much! JUST SO MUCH!)
Original Guesstimate - 9
Plot - 9
---
Story - 9
Pacing - 10
Dialogue - 9
Narration - 8
Exposition - 9
Enjoyment - 10
Twist/s - NR
Resolution/s - 10
Ending - 10
Acting - 10
---
MC/s - 9
SC/s - 9
BG/s - 10
Narrator/s - 10
Effects - 8
---
Music - 10
Voices - 8
Actions - 8
Background - 7
Transitions - 8
Replay - 8
---
Re-Enjoyment - 10
New Details - 6
Part Two
Dateline: 12th of September, 1999. Commissioner Simmons is on his way to Moonbase Alpha to relieve Commander Koenig of his station and get this back on track. But he’s in for an explosive welcome, because the mysterious signal emanating from Meta is catalyzing a reaction in the Moon’s waste disposal sites and generating exotic particles along with heat and gravitational anomalies. Still, the Meta Mission must go on, Simmons will have nothing else, even as things unravel on the moon and the fate of more than 1,000 innocents is put on the line. Still, at least Earth is safe. It’s only those on Moonbase Alpha that are in danger. Right?
*Warning, I am writing this review many MANY days after taking my notes, and they weren’t very thorough, so this is gonna be shorter than the part one review and WAY less detailed.*
The first bit of this story takes place before the 12th, and the first about half of the story is a race against time as Simmons gets closer and closer to the moon. The exposition is done brilliantly, as in the first part, but nearer the end, it certainly drops, but that is made up for by Koenig’s brilliant speech that ends off the part. Simmons is, as you would expect, deliciously evil and, at the end, a completely broken individual and it is done beautifully. The TV broadcasters come back, and boy are they lackluster, like, the descriptions were not too good. The stubbornness of Simmons makes him so hateable, making him the perfect foil for the dogged persistence of Koenig and Dr. Russell. The explanation for the ‘breakaway’ that the drama is named after, is also very good and even pokes fun at the original television series’ explanation. There are some issues I take with this part of the story, but the one I can recall best is that Koenig and Victor are constantly getting more and more tired as their stim shots wear off, but instead of them passing out at some terrible moment as everything goes wrong and everyone has to try and survive without their leadership and knowledge, they just pass out at the one moment of the story where it’s totally peaceful and nothing is happening they need to be involved with. Though, the suspense of the story is still strong, especially with the countdown to the 13th, since you know that that’s when everything is going to go to hell in a handbasket.
The acting is, as it was previously, amazing. Simmons is on top form, Russell is her usual amazing or terrible self, and Koenig is just plain brilliant as he tries to save the day. His speech at the end really does make for a brilliant ending scene. Now, as I said, I recall very little of the experience, but the last things I can really remember to say are that the reporters from part one are back and they take a massive hit in acting quality, making one of the most climactic scenes rather lackluster. And speaking of lackluster climaxes, not in the way you think, there is one moment specifically where a crowd of people talking over each other becomes very hard to understand and it’s at a pretty important point.
The music is just *chef’s kiss.* Period. I mean, there is the odd iffy piece of music, like at the very beginning and end, but I mean, it’s by and large brilliant. The general effects of mayhem and destruction are where this story is at its worst, ironically enough. Sirens, explosions, and crashes are ALL WAY too quiet. That being said, some chaotic scenes are near perfection as well, and the transitions are almost perfect, with the odd one being way too techy sounding for my taste, getting me confused as to whether or not they’re actual effects or transitions. The ending
The replay value, oh the replay value. Simmons is one of the most hateable characters, and whenever I want to want to punch someone, I can just throw this on and imagine putting my fist through his skull. Sure, as per usual, you won’t get anything out of listening to it twice, thrice, or however many times you listen to it, but it’s such a good story you won’t be able to help yourself from listening to it.
All in all, this is a satisfying conclusion to an amazing, thrilling, and hilarious conclusion that is just the right blend of sci-fi madness, character drama, and explosions, that has brilliant acting, some of the best music Big Finish has ever put out into the universe, and the character I love to hate the most, Simmons. Give it a listen, seriously, I know I will be again soon enough.
Total - 9
Original Guesstimate - 9
Plot - 9
---
Story - 10
Pacing - 9
Dialogue - 10
Narration - 8
Exposition - 8
Enjoyment - 10
Twist/s - NR
Resolution/s - 8
Ending - 9
Acting - 9
---
MC/s - 8
SC/s - 10
BG/s - 10
Narrator/s - 7
Effects - 9
---
Music - 9
Voices - 7
Actions - 10
Background - 8
Transitions - 9
Replay - 8
---
Re-Enjoyment - 10
New Details - 5
-=- If you want to see more of my reviews, some of my craziness, my thoughts on stories I've experienced but not reviewed, and the important libtard things I share around because I'm a filthy liberal snowflake, check out my Instagram page @deadmainmanmax -=-
Comments
Post a Comment