An Autist Reviews: Time Apart - Ghost Station (Doctor Who - The Monthly Adventures 266.1)

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

Someone has been murdered beneath East Berlin in an abandoned ‘Ghost Station.’ The Doctor, beneath the communist city, introduces himself to a guard by the name of Peter as a friend. Something dark has occurred, something wants freedom, and the Doctor knows something that will change Peter’s life.

This is a really unique story. It’s a two-hander between the Doctor and Peter as they search for a ghost beneath East Berlin. The story is very emotional and has plenty of creepy moments as well as an amazing twist at the end. It’s a story about responsibility and freedom. That being said, as great and fun as it is, it could be better paced, as the ending feels like it should have taken longer to come about. Also, the exposition in this is really weird as Peter and the Doctor explain a lot of things that don’t really come up naturally, but some of that is due to the twist at the end, but not all of it. As for the messages of this story, those are VERY iffy and may be dangerous? Different ideas are brought up and contradicted in regards to changing the past and doing things for yourself, etc.

This is a two-hander, so to make the acting rating fair, I put Peter as a side character and the Doctor as a main character. The Doctor is literally perfect. He’s so unassuming and sweet, he’s so calming and kind, but he always has that special Doctor feel to him. Now, on the other hand, Peter is very well acted, but near the end, he has some iffy delivery between his otherwise award-winning and emotional lines.

The effects in this story are great! I really liked the music and its subtlety. It toes the line between being gothic and eerie and being very techno-like during some happier moments. But there are some issues with the music, such as one moment near the end where not only does the Doctor have a very ominous line, the music makes him seem dangerous, which was really weird. Sometimes the music also just fades into the background and/or is just way too quiet. Now, I don’t remember any voice effects, but I’m almost certain that there are some, and clearly, they were good because I didn’t note them down as being poor. So, I guess they must have been great. The action effects in this are stunning. I mean, EVERYTHING has an effect, the clothes of the characters shift, the walking is always perfect, the trains can be heard rumbling in the distance, and you always know when Peter has his gun out, despite the Doctor, if I recall correctly, never mentioning it once. The one bad thing about the effects is that some are just missing or out of place. Two specifically near the end are odd, with Peter falling to the ground having no effect and some weird ghostly whispering going on when there’s no logical reason for it. Aside from that though, the effects are solid diamond. Finally, let’s talk background music. You can hear the hum of the lights. Need I say more? The attention to detail is spectacular, and the background effects NEVER overpower any scenes whatsoever. So, yeah, the effects are utterly amazing!

Finally, the replay value. This story is one that makes more sense if you listen to it at least twice. However, unlike a story like Colony of Strangers, you don’t need to listen to this twice to truly understand it. You can get away with listening to it once, but the story and many odd lines and interactions make more sense upon a second listen. So yeah, you should listen to this at least twice, and I’d gladly listen to it again.

Overall, this story has a very Stranded feel to it, with it being personal, slow-paced, but very interesting and well written. I have lots of problems with the exposition and the ending, but despite that, the story is great and is paired with great acting. Both actors are on their A-games and the effects are brilliant. The music is intriguing, the background effects are attentive, subtle, and just utterly perfect, and the action effects are so perfectly placed and so detailed that they leave me dumbfounded. The replay value of this story is just great, I’d gladly listen to this story again, and I encourage everyone to give this a listen at least twice. The only reason I’m giving this an 8 instead of a 9 is that I really feel that the story should have been a little longer and that the ending should have been done a little better.

Total - 8 (Fudged it quite a lot of sense I just have issues with the conclusion, so, 
yeah...)

Original Guesstimate - 7

Plot - 8
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Story - 9
Pacing - 8
Dialogue - 8
Narration - NR
Exposition - 7
Enjoyment - 9
Twists - 8
Resolution/s - 7
Ending - 9

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

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

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

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