An Autist Reviews: Warzone (Doctor Who - The Monthly Adventures 258.1)

*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*

When the TARDIS lands in the middle of a race track that looks like a warzone and swiftly gets surrounded by a forcefield, the crew has no choice but to join in the race. With Nyssa at the back of the herd with a paper mache alien, the Doctor near the front with a competitive woman with a heart of gold, and Marc, followed closely by Tegan, in the lead, communication is impossible… which makes it all the more dangerous when, for the crew, the obstacles turn out to be far more dangerous than they should be. But that’s the least of their worries… because the Doctor sees something no one else does, the Doctor sees the signs, the writing on the wall. Something dangerous is going on, and Marc is about to find himself in the middle of it.

OH MY GOD, THIS IS SO AMAZING! A funny, topical, and also oddly dark story filled to the brim with running and danger! Marc gets to show off, we get great character moments all around from every character, and every conversation feels right. I honestly can’t say anything more than this. The announcer was hilarious, the story was great and well-paced and every part of the Doctor’s time during the story was solid platinum! The final minutes BEFORE the final minutes do leave something to be desired, but honestly, it’s like, the one bad part of this entire story. Oh, and let's talk about the body-positive message and the wholesomeness intertwined with a cruel and topical narrative on exercise, peer pressure, and when you can take being healthy too far. I cannot recommend this story enough. This is the first time I have EVER rated a start 10/10 without having to screw with the numbers!

The acting in this is amazing. Aside from a few lines here and there, every line is delivered perfectly! The emotion as Tegan and Marc break down, as the Doctor gets angrier and angrier, more and more scared, it’s just brilliant! The robotic acting of the officials is brilliantly uncanny, the robots all sound great, and even the occasional side-side character is really good!

The biggest problem I have with this story is its music. Being that it doesn’t have enough. The music is solid platinum, and, much like in its successor, the music of this story follows along the same path as the story itself. It intertwines orchestra and synth perfectly, jumping between entirely different styles with ease! Sadly, there really needs to be more music in the first half, and I still wish there was more in the second half. Now, the voice effects were solid gold, no doubt about it, every robot had its own distinct voice, every echo had its own feeling to it, and every transmission had a perfect and uniform distortion to it! The two bad voice effects would be at the beginning of the second half from a robot with a far too normal sounding voice, or at the very very very end of the story, but even that’s just a matter of opinion. The action effects were also brilliant, as they must be when 60% of your story is running and jumping and crawling and such. The background effects, although lacking at times, are also brilliant and work really well, even if at times they are a little overstated or a little out of place. The general effects, mostly taking the form of electricity, are also brilliant! Now, the shocking sounds do often sound more muted than they should, but that’s hardly an issue when it’s sandwiched between every other amazing element of this story!

As for the replay value of this story… well, it depends. Unlike some stories with high replay value, I wouldn’t listen to this over and over again, as it has some really strong emotional moments that sadly make it something that would be less than ideal to listen to daily. However, I would gladly listen to it every now and then, as it provides an amazing story! Also, if you’re looking for hints as to the twist of the story, they’re everywhere once you know what you're looking for, of course, they do fade near the end and the twist is revealed, but none of that really harms the replay value!

All in all, this was a story I couldn’t put down! Normally I’m playing a videogame in between important scenes because normally I don’t have to take notes on everything because normal stories aren’t as fast-paced as this. This story is equal parts hilarious, heartwarming, and saddening, and each part gets its chance to shine! The acting is perfect, the effects are certainly close to perfect in most cases, and this is the single best-written Doctor Who story I have encountered up to this point. This deserves its 10/10, and I am glad to give it to it!

              P1 P2 Both

Total - 10 / 10 / 10 (This is the first true ten I have ever rated! Not only that but every single part was also rated, in whole, a 10/10. That is brilliant!)

Plot - 10 / 10 / 10
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Story - 10 / 10 / 10
Pacing - 10 / 10 / 10
Dialogue - 9 / 9 / 9
Enjoyment - 10 / 10 / 10
Twists - NR / 10 / 10
Resolution/s - NR / 8 / 8
Ending - 10 / 10 / 10

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

Effects - 9 / 10 / 10
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Music - 7 / 9 / 8
Voices - 10 / 9 / 10
Actions - 9 / 10 / 10
Background - 8 / 10 / 9
General - 10 / 10 / 10

Replay - 10 / 9 / 10
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Re-Enjoyment - 10 / 10 / 10
New Details - 10 / 8 / 9

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