An Autist Reviews: Stop The Clock (The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Doom Coalition 4.4)

*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 Doctor and co. arrive on Gallifrey just in time to stop the Eleven from being executed by the opposition. With his knowledge, the Doctor and the opposition have a chance at stopping Padrac and the Sonomancer. The time is coming, the moment when the Sonomancer, locked inside of a resonance engine, manipulated by her lover, will destroy the universe… or, when she will save it.

This was really hard to review, largely because it’s just a really good story. I was drawn in and unable to pay attention to many details, but the ones I did notice I loved! The details around Padrac and the Sonomancer’s relationship, the acting of the Doctor as he pretends to be the Eleven, the details near the end as the plan changes, and more all made this an extremely fun and entertaining story. As I’ve mentioned here, Padrac is abusive and manipulative, and the Sonomancer gets some really lovely moments and Padrac gets to prove just how horrific and cruel he is. I can say a lot about this story, but very little at the same time, it’s odd. I’ll end this section with this: The last 5 minutes make the rest of this story worthwhile even if, for some reason, you hated the rest. The last 5 minutes make me squee with pure joy and jubilation.

The acting is easily the worst part of this, but that’s not saying much. The acting is still really good, but it shifts between really good and somewhat okay, which gets annoying, but often you can overlook it because of how good the writing itself is. The Sonomancer, Padrac, and the Eleven all get REALLY good lines, and so do Helen and the Doctor. The acting isn’t perfect, it isn’t bad, but it won’t hit you quite right at times, and will do well enough at others.

The effects are perfect here. The music is awesome, it’s shocking, it’s subtle, it’s emotional, it’s everything you would want it to be! The effects do everything they need to do, they do more, and they never overpower you. The voices, as you’d expect with something involving the Eleven, and the Sonomancer, are solid gold. Just perfect!

As for replay… I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and even noticed more small details than I expected. There are tons of small details scattered about, and I loved the journey even knowing exactly what would happen.

All in all, this is a tense, emotional, fun ending to a glorious series of boxsets. This wraps up the story well, it ties itself to small things throughout other stories, it feels epic despite being contained in such a small location, and it’s written nearly perfectly. The acting is good, not great, but certainly good. The effects are stunning, the music is perfect in every way, and I can’t say enough about how much the vocal effects have improved since the beginning of ‘Doom Coalition.’ Also, relistening to this is awesome, you get so much out of it, even if I wouldn’t listen to it over and over again… except maybe that ending. Really, I can’t sing the praises of this story enough, it’s not the perfect ending, but it’s really REALLY good!

Total - 9

Plot - 9
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Story - 9
Writing - 9
Enjoyment - 10
Twists - 9

Acting - 8
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MCs - 9
SCs - 8
BGs - 8

Effects - 10
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Music - 10
Voices - 10
Actions - 10

Replay - 9
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Re-Enjoyment - 9
New Details - 8

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