twspto_outbreak_14172009: Cardiff – will this be Torchwood’s last stand?

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first full Doctor Who spinoff, this three part adventure captures all the elements that makes the series continue to resonate with audiences. Set before Children of Earth, it allows for some foreshadowing of the terrible decisions that have to be made in that, as well as providing strong moments for Jack, Ianto and Gwen (in various combinations) as well as giving Rhys and PC Andy a much bigger starring role than they tended to get on screen.

Guy Adams, Emma Reeves and A K Benedict are given joint writing credit for the set (rather than separate episodes ascribed to each person) and each has shown their skills at writing the key Torchwood characters in the past – accordingly, I could hazard a guess as to who’s responsible for which bits but frankly it doesn’t matter. It’s a tale told on a city-wide canvas, with repercussions for the whole of the UK (and probably the world), but it’s also a very personal tale, with the middle episode in particular focusing on Jack and Ianto – with rather a lot of help from Samuel Barnett’s Norton Folgate – and Gwen and Rhys’ love being something that could definitely be a disadvantage for once.

For those who might not have listened to the previous audios and are attracted by the larger scale, celebratory nature of this, this very much feels like Torchwood of old – but (ironically) given a bigger budget. John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd, Eve Myles, Kai Owen and Tom Price sound as if they’ve never been away, with Marilyn Le Conte making a good “face of the enemy”, and Martin Montague’s sound design emphasises the cinematic nature of the piece.

It’s the sort of story that needs a great deal of care with its pacing: it’s really not episodic in nature, so the normal rise and fall of a 50/60 minute episode doesn’t apply as much – each disc is effectively one complete act of the drama – but Scott Handcock keeps a tight rein on the drama. The use of the TV announcer is a nice throwback to the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who.

Talking of RTD, even if you don’t normally listen to the extras disc, then you should with this, as the show’s creator himself joins the cast to discuss Torchwood’s genesis, showing just how close this spinoff was to his heart and some of the thinking behind it.

Verdict: Big Finish have once again spoiled Torchwood fans with what is effectively Torchwood: The Audio Movie 10/10

Paul Simpson