80. Time Works

Time Works is an ingenuous tale as the Doctor, Charley, and C'Rizz arrive in a world where everyone seems to be frozen, then they're separated and the Doctor finds himself among workers who fear wasting time lest they be "cut back" by the Clockwork Men who remove people "between the Tick and the Tock."

The concept of the story is incredibly engaging and creepy with plenty of mystery surrounding where our characters are and what exactly is going on. The danger of a focus on efficiency leading to a loss of humanity is powerfully illustrated.

The story's emotional core comes alive powerfully in the last act, led by a strong performance by Beth Vyse as Vannet. The regulars are solid here. The Doctor (as he did in Terra Firma) reflected with regret on his Seventh life and how he'd focused on precision and planning and forgotten what really mattered. C'Rizz has a great moment when he changes from telling someone what the Doctor would say to expressing his own opinion. Overall, this is a very strong outing for the Eighth Doctor.

OK from the off, I had references of Metropolis (Herr Lang's version). With a good dollop of a previous BF Doctor Who's. The threesome of McGann, Fisher, Westmaas is certainly picking up pace since the passing of the Divergent universe (thank the lord). We have a good solid dramatic base to work with here. McGann breezes through this dystopian world, where we come to discover that every minute of each day is accounted for, and controlled, by what everyone thinks are their masters, when they themselves are actually under the influence of a greater power. I enjoyed the interplay with supporting cast and McGann, he seems to have a control over the others in each scene which actually amplifies and copies his the characteristics of the fictional part he plays. He truly embodies the truth that is the Doctor, this for me is a turning point in the 8th Doctor series. Not a complicated story, but sometimes simplicity plays out better than more complex ones.

Great 8th Doctor adventure here. Worth the listen.

This gets a high score for the brain work. It feels smart and nicely pieced together. Had it delivered an emotional engagement (which, I guess, paranoid characters rarely do...), then it could have come tops!

I really like this story. The first episode has a good mysterious set up. The idea of the clockwork men works well and is suitably menacing. Equally, the thought that time can be stopped and manipulated is used to sinister effect. C'rizz gets the best of the material here whilst the Doctor goes off to have an adventure with Vannet. An odd release that creates an interesting society.