An Autist Reviews: Time Apart - The Bridge Master (Doctor Who - The Monthly Adventures 266.2)

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

Rushing to the aid of a woman in danger, the Doctor soon finds himself the victim of a most unusual sacrifice. With a stake driven through the measurement of his shadow and his strength quickly waning, the Doctor teams up with the woman responsible for him being the sacrifice, Agatha, to find out just what Mr. Clement, the Bridge Master, has done and how to stop it.

I love a good scary story, especially when it has lots of heart in it, and this fits that description perfectly! The story starts off with a bang and the Doctor being sacrificed, and quickly his skepticism and distaste with Clement and his apparent scamming of scared villages in need of protection turns to denial of his inevitable death and the frantic need to stop what is happening! The mystery of what Clement has done as well as the emotional toll Agatha’s actions have taken on her and what all she has lost and why she betrayed the Doctor, are the core of the story and they keep it going very smoothly with only ever the occasional odd line, usually for the benefit of the audience. One final problem I have is that in the final confrontation at the bridge, the Doctor swims out into the river and then it cuts to him talking to Clement and the scene is very confusing with what has happened and why the Doctor is saying what he is, of course, it quickly turns to a brilliantly dark moment for the Fifth Doctor to show off his cunning and ruthlessness.

The acting in this is utterly fantastic! Peter Davison once again plays the Doctor perfectly with not a single poorly acted line present, and Agatha sounds stunning throughout even if she occasionally has a turn for the worst here and there. Clement is also very well acted right up until he shouts out to the Doctor, which sounded very fake and dragged down the ending of the story a fair bit. Edmund’s shade is also a sticking point for me, as I think he sounds very silly despite how scary he’s supposed to be. His voice is very deep, but not gravely, just low, and it kinda makes him sound like a comedy relief character, and voicing large and strong characters is usually troublesome, but this is a scenario like in Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated with the Paradox Eaters and their silly-sounding voices, if you’ve listened to that. Still, Edmund does his job well enough, I just don’t like how he sounded personally.

Someone else has already said it, but allow me to reiterate this point: Bridge Master has the best horror effects ever. If Tartarus had some of the best action effects ever, this has some of the best horror effects ever. The confrontation with Edmund always makes me jump, and it doesn’t feel cheap since Edmund is meant to scare off bandits and the like. From banshee screams to what sounds like a whirlwind around Edmund, the effects when he is present are just perfect! Other action effects are also brilliant, such as the swimming near the end and, as I love to hear done well, the characters walking. The background effects are also perfect from the get-go, starting out with a serene soundscape filled with birds and changing exactly as it needs to within the village and near the rivers. The transitions in this story are also stunning, aside from 1 transition near the end that is just done so poorly that it sadly drags down the entire rating a fair bit, but if you want to understand my exact reasoning, reread my explanation for the plot rating as I covered it there. Finally, but far from least in an emotional horror story, the music... is stunning. From the eerie music contrasting Clement letting the Doctor go after the sacrifice, to the sad melodies playing as Agatha lists her losses to the Doctor, the music heightens every scene it’s in and never overstays its welcome!

I love this story, but with that being said there is no necessity to re-listen to it unless you want to re-experience the fun and terror of it. This story holds up perfectly with each listen, even if nothing new is ever offered to you. Yes, those are my thoughts here, it’s short and sweet, but it’s all that really needs to be said.

Overall I underestimated this story at first, because what it lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in heart and execution. The acting is phenomenal, the writing is on point, and the horror effects are revolutionary and fit perfectly with the masterful soundscape and music. This story is one to listen to in the dark with the lights out, it’s one to listen to in broad daylight so long as you’re alone to let out a scared yelp without being judged for it, it’s just brilliant!

Total - 9

Original Guesstimate - 8

Plot - 9
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Story - 10
Pacing - 9
Dialogue - 8
Narration - NR
Exposition - 9
Enjoyment - 10
Twist/s - NR
Resolution/s - 8
Ending - 8

Acting - 9
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MC/s - 10
SC/s - 8
BG/s - 8
Narrator/s - NR

Effects - 9
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Music - 10
Voices - 8
Actions - 9
Background - 10
Transitions - 8

Replay - 8
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Re-Enjoyment - 10
New Details - 5

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