Torchwood Audio Plays

Thanks to a post over at Hero Press, I learned that the BBC's website has made available (at least temporarily) free broadcasts of three new Torchwood audio plays. While organizing my comic collection this Sunday afternoon, I decided to give them a try. Each one is about 45 minutes long and features the real actors' voices, though only Captain Jack, Gwen, and Ianto are present (so no Tosh or Owen, though some characters in supporting roles do make appearances). On the whole, I liked these--I wasn't sure how an audio play would work, but I found it was a lot like reading a novel but with sound effects--very easy to picture what was going on. I'm fortunate enough not to have commute regularly anywhere by car, but if I did, I would get these to listen to in order to make a long drive go by much faster.

The first one I listened to was Asylum by Anita Sullivan. A young girl is arrested for shoplifting and PC Andy (Gwen's former partner) notices the girl is carrying a strange piece of technology that could either be a toy or an alien artifact. Torchwood is called in to investigate, and discover it's actually a type of specialized sabotage equipment capable of turning off security, communications, and other defense systems. Fearing an invasion, Torchwood takes custody of the young girl and realize she's an alien--only she claims to simply be an orphaned runaway. One of the things I liked about Asylum (apart from a few good jokes) was that it shines a bit of a spotlight on PC Andy--he comes across as far more human and far less jaded than the members of Torchwood (especially Jack), even if he, as can be expected, wigs out at the idea of having met a real-life alien.

Next up was Phil Ford's The Dead Line. This one didn't do a lot for me, but it did have a strong opening: Jack, despite everything we know about him, is dying. One of Jack's old flames from the 1970s is called in to help, and the team realizes that something is transmitting deadly signals over the telephone network. Gwen and Rhys go to investigate, while Ianto stays by Jack's bedside and gives quite the confession of love. There's a few good quips about Jack's life in the 1970s, but on the whole the other two seemed better structured.

Golden Age by James Goss was my favorite. Something with traces of alien residue is responsible for the disappearances of hundreds or even thousands of people in Delhi. Torchwood goes to investigate and stumble upon a building Jack recognizes--from his visit there in 1924, when he went to close down Torchwood India. Except, all of the people he met back in 1927 are still alive and as young as ever, happily enjoying their lives. This one had the most original and intriguing plot, as well as taking advantage of the fact that audio plays and novels shouldn't worry about budgetary constraints--some globe-trotting adventures are a good idea for Torchwood (not that there's anything wrong with Cardiff; just that aliens can surely get up to no good elsewhere, too).