Owen is woken in the middle of the night by an old friend needing his urgent help…

Iceberg is a clever script by Grace Knight that serves both as a character examination of Dr Owen Harper and as a reworking of some of the concepts of a Patrick Troughton story that’s recently had more attention than usual. It’s one of those where you don’t even want to read the blurb, if you want to come to it completely fresh.

Knight, who’s a new writer to me (although she’s contributed to the Dark Shadows line, and has a Short Trip coming up for the 6th Doctor), has a keen grasp of the storytelling principle of developing character during high dramatic moments. She has penned a three hander that tells us a lot about Owen Harper’s life before he became involved with Torchwood (a name that doesn’t get a single mention throughout – it would feel shoehorned in if it were there).

Burn Gorman, Maya Saroya and Lowri Walton rise to the challenges of the script, with Scott Handcock’s direction ensuring that key pieces of information are always clear, even if the audience don’t understand the relevance at the time. Iain Meadows’ sound design and Blair Mowat’s score back these up, never becoming intrusive over the drama.

Verdict: A gripping piece of drama that peels away some of Owen Harper’s protective layers. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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