twsptta_cover_1417sqFar in the future is when everything changes. But is Torchwood ready?

There’s a three-part series coming from Big Finish in the not too distant future which acts as a special story to mark Torchwood’s tenth anniversary, but this is the show’s equivalent of The Day of the Doctor/The Five Doctors – a celebration of all that’s come before, revealing certain things about ongoing strands that some of us may have guessed while telling its own self-contained story, and finishing with one of those moments that feels just right. (That’s the scene with the dog, I mean, not the post-credits one – do remember to keep listening after the end theme kicks in!) It’s a story that can only be told with the benefit of hindsight, as James Goss links together various elements of Torchwood’s history that on the surface don’t seem to make sense and creates a coherent whole.

It must have been insanely complicated to produce – there are appearances by damn near everyone who’s had a key role in the series, whether on air or audio or print – but it’s held together by the regular cast alongside Richie Campbell as Jeremiah, whose arrival at the Torchwood Archive is the catalyst for an explanation of the organisation’s history. Names and actors that we’ve not heard for some time connected to Torchwood make a reappearance, including some that have yet to appear in the audio series, while Goss has found a way to incorporate the one main character who’d otherwise be missing. There are plenty of short but telling cameos that all help to paint the picture.

Steve Foxon has multiple different periods thrown at him for the sound design, while Blair Mowat’s score once again incorporates the themes while maintaining its own character. Of necessity, this must have been recorded at many different times, but director Scott Handcock clearly knew what he wanted from each scene and gets performances that gel well together.

It’s a story that can only be told with the benefit of hindsight, as Goss links together various elements of Torchwood’s history that on the surface don’t seem to make sense and creates a coherent whole.

Verdict: An appropriately wide ranging celebration of the first 21st Century Doctor Who spin-off. 9/10

Paul Simpson