Torchwood One: Before the Fall

New Girl by Joseph Lidster: If there is one thing that you can count on with Joe Lidster is that he wont just churn out another nostalgia fest and if I feel that Big Finish might have lost its edge as it has become a formidable engine of storytelling then it is this writer that waves the flag for more dangerous creative times. He also brings something dynamic and unique to the table (even with The Rapture, which I am growing increasingly fond of over the years for its willingness to be completely different to anything else Doctor Who has ever done) and marrying him up with Torchwood, where he chalked up one of his impressive television credits, is a Promethean matrimonial bliss. This is the best instalment of the set because it isn't going for bangs and whistles but instead focuses entirely on character. It has the unenviable job of bringing to life Torchwood One after it's demise in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday and has to make it a credible environment to tell further stories in after they were painted (ambiguously) as the villains in Doctor Who. Lidster creates an entire cast of characters and paints them sensitively and likably, and in having Rachel Allen live out a first day in Torchwood exactly like Gwen in Day One he pulls off a deceitful narrative trick. It's unlike me to guess a twist before it hits but I cottoned on about halfway through the episode and this was a party trick so strong that I had figured out the who and not the how so when the fraud unfolded I was still in awe of how everything was carefully thought through. It's very much the Russell T Davies approach to the Doctor Who spin off universe; character first and I really appreciated that. Tracey Ann Oberman's Yvonne is immediately one of the coolest characters to appear in a Big Finish and this might be unkind to say but I think she is a far more engaging head of Torchwood than either Jemma Redgrave's Kate or John Barrowman's Jack. There's inscrutableness there in her modern day approach to management and I felt as though she is as likely to shoot you in the head as give you a promotion and she'd do both with a smile. Sassiness is the order of the day and so to see her position under threat before the first episode is out is another fantastic touch. The more I think about it, the smarter this script is. It celebrates a version of Torchwood that RTD created but gives it a unique identity and a lease of life for future storytelling...AND it is a great story in its own right too. Fantastic: 10/10 

Through the Ruins by Jenny T Colgan: It entirely depends on what you are looking for in Torchwood. Mark preferred this instalment whereas nothing was going to top the opener for me. There's a confidence to this range which comes from Scott Handcock, who oversees much of this, but also this is being brought to life by Barnaby Edwards who I think is one of the strongest Big Finish directors. Add the gorgeous voice of Jenny Colgan to the mix and you have a trifecta of talent that is impossible to deny. My one disappointment was that the fallout of Yvonne being deposed feels a little quiet after the brilliant cliff-hanger ending and the team away day initially feels like a very odd direction for the story to take. I was just waiting for the moment when trudging through the forest and getting to know each other turned sour and when it did it had that Torchwood nastiness to it that I rather admire. The best scenes feature Yvonne and Dave, who become the odd couple on the run together, attempting to figure out just what the masterplan is and how it factors into planet XXX (can you think of a more Torchwood name for a planet?). This is comedy gold but its dealing with all the exposition too and Oberman is having the time of her life playing up the jokes. What I love is how Yvonne, whilst clearly the superior intellect, refuses to demean Dave. She needs him and there is a respect there as he has his world turned upside down by exposure to the extra-terrestrial. Mark guessed Rachel's motive and I guessed that her plan was going to come to fruition at the end of this episode (dramatically it was the only place it could naturally hit) but that didn't make it any less satisfying. She's not a monster but she's behaving in a monstrous way and all that is left is to see how or if Yvonne can bring her down: 8/10

Uprising by Matt Fitton: Satisfying, but mostly because Yvonne gets to sassily walk into Torchwood and take back her position in a sequence of effortless cool that left me applauding. I think it was always going to be a matter of time before she usurped Rachel but it is a ten minute sequence that proves why the character is perfect to lead this arm of the spin off. She does everything but file her nails as she sits back in the big chair with nothing but her force of personality. Like Torchwood Believe it is the final few scenes that hit the hardest. Yvonne makes a decision that left me wondering if I am supposed to like her. Rachel is superbly characterised and has been given some time to let her true colours and motivation shine and to have that all taken away from her when it is so much a part of who she is just so she can be used as a resource feels...wrong. But in a way where I am left questioning my reaction to the decision. That's the sort of ambiguity I like. Otherwise this does run on the spot a bit waiting for the climax and I wasn't at all convinced about the secondary plot on an alien world that we never get to visit. It's there to up the plot stakes and provide some word peril but I never really connected with hat side of the story at all. As such this probably could have been a much tighter two story narrative which focussed entirely on its (excellent) character work. What I took from this as whole is just how viable this period of Torchwood is as an avenue for more stories and how pleased I am that that was allowed to continue. And more Yvonne please. She's just the best: 7/10