An Autist Reviews: Sweet Salvation (The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Ravenous 1.4)

*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*

As the Doctor, Liv, Helen, and Ruzalla attempt to get Rykerzon under control and find Ruzalla’s friend Jarl, the Eleven cons an entire planet into becoming his minions. As the Kandyman rejoins the Eleven, Jarl is fed to the spiders, and the Doctor and his allies nearly crash into the planet’s surface, the Eleven’s endgame gets closer and closer… and if he’s not stopped, Helen might be forced to help him take over the universe.

Wow, look, I’m back. It’s almost like I haven't been MIA for a month! But this autistic nutter is back to finish off Ravenous 1! Unlike most, I actually like this story quite a lot. It’s fun, if not simple. The stakes aren’t necessarily ever that high, and the ending does feel a little rushed and anticlimactic, but the story is still fun and emotional. Helen is put through the wringer, the Doctor, for no good reason, doesn’t trust her, and the Eleven gets to be deliciously evil once more. Liv goes with Ruzalla to save Jarl, the Eleven, and the Kandyman attempt to conquer the universe with mind control, and the Doctor and Helen attempt to stop fighting for long enough to save the populace. It’s a slower story progression wise, but there’s lots of action and interesting moments. All in all, it has a rather obvious twist and the ending especially doesn’t seem too too great, but it’s fun, and if you remember my review of The Gift, you know that that’s all that matters sometimes.

Oh god the acting is pitch-perfect. At the end the Kandyman and the Eleven have some less than stellar deliveries, but for the rest of the story the actors are on their A-Game! Each syllable sounds like the actor gave it their all, and you really sympathize with each character.

Hey, look, this moron forgot to listen closely to the music, so we’re gonna ignore that rating! As for the action effects, they should be 10/10, but as with the rest of this story, it gets far worse in the last quarter. Effects just disappear at the end and it feels rushed and lazy, but up until then the effects are on point. The voice effects are also amazing until the Kandyman starts melting, and then you have one of the worst voice effects I’ve ever heard. So, yeah, that brings down the score to a 7.

So, does this story have replay value? Of course. It’s a fun listen, but you won’t get anything new out of it and honestly it doesn’t really get any more fun with each listen. It’s good to listen to every now and then, but it isn’t high on my list.

So, my final thoughts… it’s good. It’s certainly a better listen the first time through than the last story, but it’s a little worse for wear than the last story on the second pass. Everything is great until the last quarter, but the story itself stays fairly sound. The one thing that never feels bad is the acting because the acting is amazing. The effects are great until the end, and the story itself is fun and heartwarming. This entire box set is a great listen, so I highly recommend getting it… even if this isn’t the best ending this box set could have gotten.

Total - 7 (Fudged it a little because of the final quarter!)

Plot - 8
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Story - 9
Writing - 9
Enjoyment - 8
Twists - 7
Ending - 7

Acting - 10
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MCs - 10
SCs - 10
BGs - 9

Effects - 8
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Music - NR
Voices - 7
Actions - 8

Replay - 6
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Re-Enjoyment - 7
New Details - 5

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