#TorchwoodAudios

[penelopecat]

Still behind on @bigfinishprod’s Torchwood stories, but I’m trying to work through the post-TV series sets since there’s another one of those coming out soon. Like the show, these episodes are incredibly compelling and I have no idea where the story is going. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed these guys! #thismakesmehappy #bigfinishproductions #bigfinishtorchwood #torchwood #torchwoodaudio #audiobook #audiobooks #audiodrama #audiodramas #godamongus #johndorney #timfoley #guyadams #jamesgoss https://www.instagram.com/p/Co0CMfcPgHH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[bigfinishaudioreviews]

Featuring: Eve Myles and Freema Agyeman

Set Between: Before ‘The End of time’

Stand alone? : Yes

Marks out of 10: 9/10

*Jump on point*

Summary of the plot

When Gwenn Cooper seeks out former colleague Dr Martha Jones to carry out an autopsy in secret, Martha’s not too happy about it. She’s keen to perform the task quickly and correctly and leave. But Gwenn has a bad feeling about all this, things are never that black and white with Torchwood and although the man is unmistakably dead, Gwenn’s scanner shows clear signs of life.

Review

When I saw that Big Finish had released a two-hander audio with Even Myles and Freema Agyeman I jumped at the chance to listen to it. For the most part it’s a character piece which gives both actors equal chance to show their skills, and they really do! The two clearly have great chemistry and bounce off each other well.

Tim Foley’s writing for both characters is spot on. What we have here is two confident and assertive people working together and understandably there’s clear friction between them. At times it’s almost a fight to be heard and respected but underneath that the compassion that both characters have also shows through. I find it hard to understand how Martha was such an underrated character in her time on Doctor Who. This story is set sometime before the events of “The end of time” and you can get a sense of a similarity in characterization. She’s far from the person who first stepped on board that TARDIS. This story bridges that gap nicely.

Despite the short length, the pacing is also spot on, shifting smoothly between each scene. Since the entire audio is set in one location and has a clear focal point that it is centered around, this made for a well-grounded and structurally sound story. I love a creepy story and, although they didn’t appear until later in the audio, there were some definite disturbing elements to this. Once again Big Finish’s sound department nails the atmosphere. Even in audio form, you can really sense the tension and claustrophobia in this lab and the sounds of the body at some points of this audio were just skin crawling.

This is Agyeman’s first Big Finish story, but after her strong performance here, I really hope it isn’t her last.

Buy it here

[iantoharkness-jones]

shi(r)t

[boggythefroggyfanpage]

Just started listening to torchwood one: machines and just hearing Iantos voice again gives me life.

[javic-piotr-thane]

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT THIS ?????????

[  credit to: https://twitter.com/TORCHWOODaudio/status/1185500302440574977 ]

[jacquelinemoleski]

Tweeted

It's @JohnBarrowman's 52nd birthday! Congratulations John! ❤ He is known as #CaptainJackHarkness from #Torchwood ( @bigfinish audios and tv) What is your favourite audio release from the Captain so far! Comments please! 👤 😉 pic.twitter.com/uQBiggHOvF

— TORCHWOOD AudioRangeOnly-We❤BigFinish (@TORCHWOODaudio) March 11, 2019

[bigfinishaudioreviews]

Featuring: Naoko Mori, Robbie Jarvis, Ashley Kumar, Rachel Handshaw 

Set Between: Season one and season three

Stand alone? : Yes

Marks out of 10: 8/10

*Jump on point*

Review

Ever feel like you’re listening to the same line over and over again! Ever feel like you’re listening to the same line over and over again! Ever feel like you’re listening to the same line over and over again! Don’t read on! This file has been corrupted.

Scott Handcock has penned another fantastic story. This time in the format of a corrupt audio file. Understandably, it’s a little hard to follow at first and you really do have to listen to the whole thing before you can get the full picture and fully understand this brillient concept, but if you can get passed the jump cuts, buffering and repeated lines then this really is worth a listen. Scott Handcock has penned another fantastic story. This audio shares similar ideas to the televised Doctor Who episode “sleep no more”, only with this being audio rather than visual its far more sinister and really plays with your mind. I love a good psychological thriller, and those final few scenes are particularly disturbing. Scott Handcock has penned another fantastic story. This time in the format of a corrupt audio file.

I was excited to see a solo mission for Toshiko Sato since she really didn’t get a lot of focus back in the televised series. On a whole Toshiko was probably one of the most underrated characters on Torchwood. Which is a shame because she is certainly an interesting character. Naoko Mori preformed brilliantly, it’s like she’s never been away from the role. Scott Handcock has penned another fantastic story. This time in the format of a corrupt audio file. Robbie Jarvis also did a great job portraying the supporting role in this audio, its heartbreaking that this love story will never come to be. 

Buy it here

[bigfinishaudioreviews]

Featuring: Gareth David-Lloyd, Bethan Rose Young and David Shields

Set Between: Season one and season three

Stand alone? : Yes

Marks out of 10: 9/10

*Jump on point*

Summary of the plot

Ianto Jones investigates an empty office block where strange things are happening.

There’s really nothing more I can say to that synopsis without spoiling the story. Like with most big finish stories, the less you know before listening the better it will be.

Review

This is Torchwood meets haunted house type thriller, and why it’s taken this long for us to get a story like this is beyond me, because this is exactly the kind of material that the Torchwood series should have been incorporating. Right from the get go there’s a sinister vibe. I think the reason I enjoy James Goss’s writing so much is not so much the concepts and ideas themselves, but the detail in his world building. In true James Goss fashion, there's some unexpected twists and turns and each time you think you are going to receive answers you are left with another question. Goss defiantly keeps the listener on their toes and I love that. 

Rather than portraying that loveable coffee boy side of Ianto, this story explores a different, darker side of him. We are somewhat aware that Ianto at least has a slightly darker side from episodes of torchwood such as Cyberwoman and giving a character new layers is never a bad thing, but this doesn’t quite feel like the same Ianto we know.

Whilst Gareth David-Lloyd is brilliant as ever, I have to say I was glad when another actor was brought in. When you have a one hander audio, you’re often left with someone simply talking to themselves, there's really no way round it. Sometimes that works well, but often it seems forced and unrealistic. Both Bethan Rose Young and David Shields did an excellent job with their charecters.

Buy it here

[penelopecat]

Gotta admit, Ianto wasn’t my favorite character from the Torchwood TV series. In this solo story, told as a series of recorded journal entries, Gareth David-Lloyd shines, showing the character at his best. That’ll definitely inform my view of him going forward. And the story was scary, poignant, and hilarious. Which pretty much sums up Torchwood at its best. Well done! #thismakesmehappy #bigfinishproductions #bigfinishtorchwood #torchwood #torchwoodaudio #audiobook #audiobooks #audiodrama #audiodramas #garethdavidlloyd #iantojones #restricteditemsarchive #maddiewilson https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg9sJIzly_3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[penelopecat]

New work schedule means a walk this morning which means starting the latest Torchwood adventure! This one starts off as a classic murder mystery, or series of murders. The victims? All Torchwood recurring villain Billis Manger. The detective investigating the murders? Also Billis Manger. And as I was reaching the halfway point, which was the end of my walk, things started getting weird. #thismakesmehappy #bigfinishproductions #bigfinishtorchwood #torchwood #torchwoodaudio #audiobook #audiobooks #audiodrama #audiodramas #deadplates #torchwooddeadplates #billismanger #murraymelvin #davidllewellyn https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfy18IrrSQu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[iantoharkness-jones]

So. Yvonne Hartman died. But she's back, right? Ianto Jones died too. Please???

[penelopecat]

Finished this story this morning (and also walked). I think at this point it’s clear that, at @bigfinishprod, Torchwood is more a genre and a world rather than just stories about the Torchwood team, and that’s just fine with me. #thismakesmehappy #bigfinishproductions #bigfinishtorchwood #torchwood #torchwoodaudio #audiobook #audiobooks #audiodrama #audiodramas #deadplates #torchwooddeadplates #billismanger #murraymelvin #davidllewellyn https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf1arJ4repK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[penelopecat]

Captain Jack Harkness gets pregnant in the latest Torchwood story from @bigfinishprod! What starts off as a wacky, silly story ends up being...well, a wacky, silly story. But at its core is some genuine depth and emotion and melancholy, which, blended with the craziness, is what makes it a completely Torchwood story. And John Barrowman has the acting chops to go from one extreme to the other completely naturally, which makes it all work. #thismakesmehappy #bigfinishproductions #bigfinishtorchwood #torchwood #torchwoodaudio #audiobook #audiobooks #audiodrama #audiodramas #johnbarrowman #garethdavidlloyd #torchwoodexpectant https://www.instagram.com/p/B6bA49hhlJX/?igshid=118jjztycrt9p

[penelopecat]

Starting this holiday week with the latest Torchwood story! As with most of the other @bigfinishprod ranges, I’m skipping forward to the latest release wherever I can, so I don’t feel like I’m perpetually behind on everything. This was a bit of an oddball story; instead of featuring the regular Torchwood character, this one focuses on recurring mysterious villain Billis Manger, played by the fantastic Murray Melvin. It’s a bit like a modern day, audio-only updating of the classic British portmanteau horror film formula and it was good creepy fun. #thismakesmehappy #bigfinishproductions #bigfinishtorchwood #torchwood #torchwoodaudio #audiobook #audiobooks #audiodrama #audiodramas #billismanger #murraymelvin https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QNqmQBXq5/?igshid=ch3s9gy2zbgp

[bigfinishaudioreviews]

“First they know you, then you love, then you kill.”

Featuring: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd and Kai Owen 

Set Between: Before children of earth

Stand alone? : Yes.

Marks out of 10: 10/10

*Jump on point*

Summary of the plot

As more and more citizens of Cardiff begin to fall into a trance and scratch their skin until it bleeds, it appears that Torchwood has an outbreak on their hands.  But an outbreak of what? As everything spirals out of control and the virus causes great threat to the whole of Cardiff and potentially the world they soon realise that this one may really get under their skin.

Review

This fast paced and well plotted audio is a bit of a nod to my favourite Torchwood story: “Children of Earth,” with it’s a life threatening, big scale crisis and an insight into many character’s views on the situation. The story is split into three discs, and each is penned by a different writer. It is clear that there was strong collaboration in the writing process as all three fit smoothly together as one. Guy Adams provides a good strong beginning with “Incubation”, introducing the listener to the virus and its effects. Emma Reeves then continues with “Prodromal”, which adds some backstory to the virus, through Jack’s flashbacks of a previous outbreak. Alongside these flashbacks, there’s also quite a few scenes featuring the residents of Cardiff trying to cope with the outbreak as well as some brilliant scenes focusing on Jack and Ianto’s relationship. After a second exciting cliff hanger, AK Benedict completes the trilogy with “Invasion” which ties together all the loose ends in a dramatic and action packed final episode.

I itched my way through this highly compelling and dramatic story, which overall shows a great undertanding of Torchwood’s charecterisations and quirks. With Cardiff quarantined, tensions high and all actors on top form the threat appears all too real.

Buy it here