Tag: Torchwood
Review – Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon
The Dimension Cannon gives the character Rose Tyler her own series, in four audio dramas by Big Finish Productions. Billie Piper reprises her role as the first of The Doctor's travelling companions in 21st century Doctor Who.
Shop girl turned sci-fi action hero Rose Tyler is consigned to a parallel universe with her mum, Jackie (Camille Coduri) and a parallel version of her dear departed dad, Pete (Shaun Dingwall). They've turned their attention to helping protect not only their world from extraordinary threats but also many other Earths. They're following in the footsteps of Rose's beloved Doctor: the charismatic, time-travelling space alien whose defence of Rose's Earth left her separated from it – and him.
The Dimension Cannon offers Rose a chance to bring The Doctor back into the fight – and into her life again. For short periods of time the cannon allows her to visit other parallel universes that offer clues to the whereabouts of The Doctor. On her first trip she's reunited with a parallel version of Clive, a conspiracy theorist who was murdered in Rose's universe. Bark Benton reprises the role of Clive throughout the set and it's good fun to have him back.
The four stories take us to four new parallel versions of London, where we're introduced to startling alternate versions of the well-loved characters that head up this series. This collection of audios is not so much a spin-off from Doctor Who as it's a spiritual follow-on from 'Father's Day,' the episode that introduced us to the 'original' Pete Tyler and led us through dark times leading up to his death.
Chasing The Doctor inevitably means getting to know the locals in each different London and Rose finds she already knows many of them all too well. She gets personally involved in the lives of the people she meets, encountering Jackie, Pete and others in slightly different forms. It makes arriving in each universe a treat for the listener – and leaving each of them is tough all round.
Big Finish tie-in plays lure us into the audio realm by offering us characters and situations that are proven successes on television. They honour these successes with intriguing stories that at least equal their predecessors in quality. Rose's story in Doctor Who has a lot of heart – and heartbreak. These new tales are equally engaging character pieces.
By presenting so many alternate versions of the original roles played by the cast, the normally-invisible work of the actors gets a bit of a peek into the limelight. I was properly immersed in and moved by the drama here but I also enjoyed listening for the subtle differences between the characters parallel to each other.
I'm very much opposed to more for more's sake; I hate seeing delightful series run down by commercial supplements. You'll find none of that here in Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon. This box set revisits the Tylers in a clever way that gives us more of what we're counting on in ways that constantly surprise.
Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon is available now from Big Finish.
Posted on 11th Sep 2019 11th Sep 2019 Author PeteCategories Big Finish, Big Finish Reviews, Music and Audio, Reviews, UncategorizedTags Big Finish, Big Finish reviews, Billie Piper, Doctor Who, Reviews, Rose Tyler, Torchwood
Review-Torchwood: The Hope
The Big Finish Torchwood range is always advertised with "This release contains adult material and may not be suitable for younger listeners" never has that statement been truer, than with this release. One of the many things James Goss excels at, is bleak. After giving us all nightmares with Corpse Day. He's back with The Hope.
Megwyn Jones is one of the most hated women in Britain. She used to run a home for troubled children in an isolated part of Snowdonia called The Hope. For a long time there were rumours about what was happening there, and then one day it was realised that the children had gone missing.
Ever since, Megwyn's kept her peace. Is she innocent? Is she guilty? Where are the bodies?
An audio play about a convicted child-murderer is never going to be an easy listen. However, James Goss has carved something of a masterpiece here. This is an audio that definitely rewards repeat listening.
Burn Gorman and Tom Price had such brilliant chemistry, in Corpse Day that I've been waiting impatiently for a follow up, ever since. Their chemistry is still present and their scenes together are pure gold. Andy's eternal optimism is a perfect foil for Owen's eternal pessimism. They also get a chance to shine separately, in scenes that are up there with the most horrific in Torchwood's history. Siân Phillips is mesmerising as Megwyn Jones, you instantly dislike Megwyn-but you're also fascinated by her.
The Hope couldn't be any further away in tone, than last month's 'Serenity'. But that's what makes this series so great. I enjoyed Torchwood on TV. But Big Finish Torchwood, is Torchwood at its absolute best.
Posted on 31st Aug 2019 4th Sep 2019 Author MartynCategories Big Finish, Big Finish Reviews, Books and Magazines, Music and Audio, ReviewsTags Big Finish, Big Finish Productions, Big Finish reviews, Torchwood, Torchwood reviews
Review-Torchwood:Serenity
Serenity Plaza is the most exclusive gated community in South Wales.
Jack and Ianto have gone undercover as a happily married couple. There are rumours that something's wrong at Serenity Plaza and they're determined to investigate. But the problem is that Serenity Plaza is just so rigidly normal.
Suddenly, Jack and Ianto have to confront the problems that normal couples face. Sharing a house together, doing the washing up, entering the residents' baking contest, and hoping to win the Best Kept Lawn.
Competition is fierce. Because this is Serenity Plaza. And you'd kill to live there.
Torchwood: Serenity is James Moran's first Big Finish audio, so it's fitting that it's a sequel to his series 2 episode 'Sleeper' and this does what any good sequel should, it develops the threat originally presented and adds layers and complexities-all whilst playing to the strengths the medium of audio allows. Moran has crafted a continuation, that logically feels like the next step in the story.
Jack and Ianto's relationship has always been popular with fans, so it's great to have an outing featuring the pair. John Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd are clearly having a lot of fun here. The script is full of innuendo, with GDL playing Ianto as a Stepford Wife-type. He even gets to turn his Welshness up to 11.
I laughed a lot and I laughed hard with this audio, this is one Torchwood fans won't want to miss.
Posted on 29th Aug 2019 4th Sep 2019 Author MartynCategories Big Finish, Big Finish Reviews, Music and Audio, ReviewsTags Big Finish, Big Finish Productions, Big Finish reviews, Gareth David-Lloyd, John Barrowman, Torchwood
Episode 206: Doctor Who spin-off's
Joining Martyn this week is Chris Walker-Thomson. The pair discuss Doctor Who spin-off's, ones that have been and ones they would like to see.
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Posted on 17th Jul 2019 9th Oct 2019 Author MartynCategories PodcastTags Class, Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood
At first it seems like Captain Jack Harkness, leader of the 'beyond the police' Torchwood organisation and time-travelling Doctor Who companion turned eco-warrior Jo Jones (née Grant) would be quite a contrast when paired. But in 'Torchwood: The Green Life' the two are bound as much by what they share as what divides them.
Jo, in this story, is decades older than the girl who once travelled with The Doctor. Everything she learned from her time with UNIT is sewn into this Jo of today and much more besides. This woman is a good match for the immortal Jack, whose dashing young appearance only partially conceals how much of his strength is devoted to enduring a string of painful deaths and centuries. Big Finish audio dramas never shy from the role appearances play in stories when it's relevant: here we have a pair of lovely fan favourites set amid some gruesome situations.
We're back in Llanfairfach, the Welsh locale of the 1970s Doctor Who serial, The Green Death. The story then – of pollution-bred giant maggots and a technically-adept evil corporation – continues here. As Jack and Jo clamber over old territory we learn new things about them both.
Katy Manning has kindly returned to play Jo now and again in the past couple of decades – in television and in audio – and each time we get a hint or two about the character's life since the 1970s. Here there's quite a bit of her back story, particularly with regards to Llanfairfach. It's a treat to hear the world of Jo Jones expanding into a mini-franchise of its own.
John Barrowman has been equally generous in his support, for the Torchwood franchise and for the 'Whoniverse' in general. He continues his regular contributions to Torchwood on audio here, with a bit of a new challenge: the gentlest members of Jack's team were never as 'right on' as lovely Ms Jones. In Jack's world, he and his go to some rather harsh extremes, they take their lumps and then find some way to make peace with themselves afterwards. Jo presents him with a world where there are certain lines that are simply not crossed. Where right and wrong don't often intermingle. Where loyalty is everything.
The legacy elements of this story are taken in genuinely new directions. We get some detail about how the scientific advances of the 70's Wholeweal community have developed in the years since. We learn a bit more about Llanfairfach as a population centre and its lifestyle in 2019. And we're presented with something new that has gone very, very wrong. It'll certainly inform a listener's first real-world glimpse of a self-driving lorry.
Posted on 26th Apr 2019 27th Jun 2019 Author PeteCategories Big Finish, Big Finish Reviews, Music and AudioTags Big Finish, Doctor Who, John Barrowman, Katy Manning, Torchwood
Trailer-Torchwood: God among us volume 2
Big Finish has released the story details, cover art and trailer of the sixth series of Torchwood: God Among Us 2.
Norton Folgate rejoins Torchwood, Andy and Yvonne get very close indeed, and the world is truly going to hell…
Norton Folgate's come from the 1950s to warn Torchwood it's the end of the world. He might have a point – there's an alien god wandering the city, and a sinister force manipulating events behind the scenes. Where are all the homeless people going? And why doesn't it stop raining?
1. Flight 405 by Lou Morgan
Flight 405 went missing over 60 years ago, but tonight the plane finally lands. Norton Folgate is a Torchwood agent from the 1950s and he swears Flight 405 contains the secret to the end of the world, but can Torchwood trust him?
2. Hostile Environment by Ash Darby
An app's been launched that allows you to tag the homeless. People think they're doing a good thing and helping out. It does seem a remarkable success. After all, since it's launched, there are a lot less homeless people on the streets – so it must be doing some good, mustn't it?
3. Another Man's Shoes by Tim Foley
Yvonne wakes up in Andy's body – and both have difficult days ahead of them.
Meanwhile, Norton's making himself very much at home in Tyler's body, much to Tyler's alarm, and Ng is worried she knows what's going on.
Someone's playing a terrible trick on Torchwood. But who will win?
4. Eye of the Storm by David Llewellyn
An alien power station is sending out waves of lethal energy, people are turning to stone and the water levels are rising. As Torchwood set out on a desperate mission, god takes tea with someone who has been playing a very long game. Has the time come for Norton Folgate to save the world?
Posted on 9th Jan 2019 Author MartynCategories Big Finish, TrailersTags Big Finish, Torchwood
James Marsters returns to Big Finish
James Marsters, the star of cult television shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer and, Angel. Is set to reprise his role as Captain John Hart, in a series of his own adventures in the Torchwood audio universe.
The rambunctious, deadly and ever-so charming captain will be back at the helm in a new four-story box set, The Sins of Captain John, created by Big Finish Productions in association with BBC Studios.
Captain John Hart made his audio debut in The Death of Captain Jack, released in March 2018. In this story he killed the entire Torchwood team – including John Barrowman's supposedly immortal Captain Jack Harkness.
He also married Queen Victoria and had no less than three 'relationships' with characters from history. Who knows what he'll get up to in this next box set of adventures!
James Marsters said:
"Doing The Death of Captain Jack was incredible! I have missed doing Torchwood so much. Beyond being proud of playing a part in it, the character itself is a blast to play, and those two episodes just weren't enough."
Set for release in January 2020, The Sins of Captain John will see Captain John Hart leading the universe into rack and ruin in four new adventures…
The Restored
Escape from Nebazz
Peach Blossom Heights
Darker Purposes
In these stories we'll find the villainous anti-hero thriving in Restoration London, exploring gas planets, playing 'Stepford wife' and kissing (then killing) countless victims… Just a day in the life of a rogue Time Agent!
Writer, David Llewellyn added:
"Writing The Death of Captain Jack was a total blast, and both James Goss (producer of the Torchwood range) and I realised we could have a lot more fun with Captain John Hart, providing James Marsters was happy to return. Captain John is this chaotic, disruptive, insubordinate force of nature; completely amoral and unpredictable, so that gave me a lot of freedom! Writing is often a case of knowing when to hold back, when to tread a more subtle line, but with Captain John it's the complete opposite. And setting it before Torchwood on television meant we were able to go to places where Torchwood can't."
Torchwood fans will also find answers to some of the questions and plot points that have so far been left hanging from the beginning of the television show. More details on this in the future…
Posted on 20th Dec 2018 14th Feb 2019 Author MartynCategories Big FinishTags Big Finish, Captain John, Doctor Who, James Marsters, Torchwood, Torchwood Big Finish
5 potential Doctor Who spin-offs
The BBC have tried multiple times over the years to launch a long running spin-off to Doctor Who, each of these have had varying degrees of success. For every Torchwood, there's a Class. For every K-9 and company, there's a Sarah Jane Adventures.
If you follow me on social media, you'll know I've been predicting for a while that the BBC will launch a new Doctor Who spin-off, within the next 5 years.
Well, a source within the BBC has told me the organisation is in fact looking to make "a sci-fi show, set within an established universe". No, I won't tell you who. Yes, I understand how cryptic and frustrating "a source" can be to read. Logically speaking, that "established universe" can only be Doctor Who. The BBC doesn't really have any other sci-fi shows and with the success of series 11, it would make sense to capitalise soon.
I don't know quite what the BBC are looking for, but I've made a list of 5 potential spin-offs I think they should consider. I've left off any characters and spin-offs that are currently with Big Finish such as; Torchwood, River Song, Eighth Doctor etc. Because if they're with Big Finish, it means the BBC have no plans for them.
5, The Ghost Chronicles.
Personally, I didn't enjoy the Return of Doctor Mysterio. However, I do enjoy the core idea. Given the success of DC's Arrowverse, there is clearly a market for fun/slightly camp superhero adventures and if I'm entirely honest, I'm always jealous when the Arrowverse does a huge ambitious cross-over, because Doctor Who could be doing that. Imagine the Journeys End/Stolen Earth storyline spread across Doctor Who, Torchwood and, The Sarah Jane Adventures. It'd be epic.
One of the problems with Class, is it didn't feature any pre-established characters. The Ghost wouldn't have this problem. Also, the character already has a comic book range, with Titan comics. So there's clearly a market for it.
4, Time Agents.
When Captain Jack first appeared in Doctor Who, he was a loveable rogue on the run from "the time agency". They mention the time agency has been disbanded in Torchwood and, Big Finish touch upon the organisation in 'The Lives of Captain Jack' but aside from that, we know very little about them. My head-canon has always included the time lord's outsourcing to the Time Agency, when The Time War happened.
This show could have same basic principal as Doctor Who, but with a very different possibly darker dynamic. Think Torchwood, in space. Maybe even a guest appearance from a Doctor or two.
3, UNIT.
UNIT have been a major part of Doctor Who lore, ever since their debut in the '60s er 70's er, 60's. Now, I know you're thinking 'But Mart, you said you wouldn't include spin-off's that are with Big Finish'. I'm not, this would be a 70's set X-Files type show, in the vein of Sapphire and Steel.
This idea would even lend itself to cameos from modern Doctors, as well as voice cameos from former Doctors and companions, imagine hearing Jo Grant's voice from another room.
2, LINDA.
Alright, I know. Love and monsters sucks. But, the core idea is golden. The idea that people affected by The Doctor, would seek each other out and form a support group is genuinely fascinating. Why not expand on it?
This would also lend itself to modern and classic companions appearing, maybe LINDA (London Investigation 'N' Detective Agency) track down Ace, or Martha and Mickey, or Yaz, Ryan and Graham. The possibilities are endless.
1, Bannerman Road.
To many people, myself included, The Sarah Jane Adventures is still the best Doctor Who spin-off of all time. It was primarily aimed at the child audience. But some how, managed to simultaneously capture the spirit of the parent series, whilst being multilayered and enjoyable for all ages. A lot of the shows charm is down to the legendary, Elisabeth Sladen. Arguably, the true icon of the Whoniverse.
I knew who Sarah Jane Smith was, long before I'd ever seen an episode of Doctor Who. Fandom was left devastated in 2011, by Sladen's untimely death. Not only did we lose an icon, we lost one of our favourite shows.
It's been 12 years since SJA's debut, so it would be a welcome treat for fans if the BBC brought the show back.
Though, obviously Sarah Jane could not feature. Fans would love to see what happened to her teenage friends and family. Maybe Rani is now a journalist, Luke a scientist, Skye might've just returned from university, perhaps Clyde is a teacher at Coal Hill. This show would also lend itself to appearances from classic and Nu-Who companions. Yaz, Ryan and Graham could also slot easily in, should any of them leave the TARDIS.
Obviously, in a universe as rich as Doctor Who, there are many different ideas that could be put forward for a Doctor Who spin-off.
But I feel the most logical is Bannerman Road. It's modern day Earth and the characters all look human, so it would be relatively cheap to produce and I genuinely think there's a story to be told here.
With Doctor Who having another gap year, there needs to be something to fill it. Especially, if this trend continues.
Posted on 19th Dec 2018 21st Dec 2018 Author MartynCategories GeneralTags Class, Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood
Big Finish review-Torchwood: Goodbye Piccadilly
Sgt Andy Davidson wakes up in the 1950s. He's chained to a bed, his clothes are missing and the building's on fire. Norton Folgate needs his help. The streets of Soho are swarming with gangsters, rumours and betrayals. Somewhere out there is a mysterious alien artefact, and Andy and Norton have to get to it first. Because tonight they're going to save Torchwood.
I've been looking forward to another adventure with Andy and Norton, since last year's Ghost Mission. There's just something about this pairing that works so well.
Goodbye Piccadilly is absolutely gripping, from start to finish, the script is sensational. The direction is smooth, the sound design is flawless. Tom Price, Samuel Barnett and the supporting cast all give pitch-perfect performances.
What's great about this audio, is that all of the London events-bar the alien invasion and the time travel, are real.
James Goss took his research for this story extremely seriously, he looked at books such as 'hidden London' for inspiration and it shows. The life drawing class, the police raids and, gay men being hosed down are all things that actually happened in the 1950's.
Big Finish has once again proved that Torchwood Big Finish, is Torchwood at its best.
Torchwood contains adult material and may not be suitable for younger listeners.
Posted on 27th Jun 2018 28th Jun 2018 Author MartynCategories Big Finish, Big Finish Reviews, Music and Audio, ReviewsTags Big Finish, Big Finish reviews, Tom Price, Torchwood
Big Finish review-Torchwood: We always get out alive
Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams are on the run from a cataclysm. They're the only survivors, and they're driving away from the disaster as fast as they can. They've got to get away, they've got to warn the authorities, and they just can't be late for the babysitter, again.
Dim problem. After all, they're Torchwood and they always get out alive. But this time there's something in the car with them. Isn't there?
This is actually a difficult audio to review, it's an absolute joy to listen to. But, I really don't want to reveal too much about the storyline.
We always get out alive, is another example of perfect synergy between writer and director.
Guy Adams and Scott Handcock have crafted an imaginative story, which in lesser hands could've been very boring. 98% of it is just Rhys and Gwen sitting in a car, but it's gripping and epic-but at the same time keeping it a small, intimate story.
This is strong character driven piece, in which we get to know more about Gwen and Rhys' family life.
Guy Adams truly delivers here, he uses the natural chemistry between Eve Myles and Kai Owen, the constrictive nature of being in a car and, the medium of audio, to the stories full advantage.
Once more the monthly Torchwood range delivers, this is a must-listen.
Posted on 24th May 2018 2nd Mar 2019 Author RixCategories Big Finish, Big Finish Reviews, Music and Audio, ReviewsTags audio, Big Finish, Eve Myles, Guy Adams, Kai Owen, Torchwood, Torchwood Big Finish