Torchwood: More Than This

Writer: Guy Adams
Director: Scott Handcock
Script Editor: Steve Tribe
Cover Illustration: Lee Binding
Music: Blair Mowat
Sound Design: Neil Gardner
Producer: James Goss

Starring Eve Myles with Tom Price
Released February 2016

Featuring a member of the regular cast leading an unsuspecting outsider through a day in the bloody life of Torchwood after they're forced together, More Than This is a precursor to many of the following few years' worth of single-disc audios. And a particularly good one at that.

The story begins with Gwen, following the events of Forgotten Lives, trying to get the Hub in Cardiff Bay rebuilt, which has led her to the planning department of the council and specifically Roger Pugh. Not prepared to wait untold months, she cuts to the chase and gives him a taste of why it is so vital Torchwood has proper facilities, rather than the plot being used for a multi-storey car park.

Guy Adams gives Roger and Gwen a full run of the emotional spectrum, from the witty opening to breakneck lurching between alien incursions to a tender graveside conclusion. The pair are perfectly-matched opposites and Adams gives Roger just the right balance of awe, ability and appeal. Gwen has always come across as quite abrasive, and this is no different, but you can't argue she doesn't get results. The sequence in the University is the highlight for both characters, and the listener is left regretful that it's unlikely Roger will ever appear again.

Top marks on the production side. So immersive are the story and its realisation that, occasional interruptions from Andy Davidson aside, it's easy not to notice this is another two-hander. Exceptional direction, sound design and score complete another polished product.

Even though More Than This is essentially the answer to a question that hasn't been asked yet (how did Gwen rebuild the Hub?) it is more than entertaining enough to justify its existence. It's a storming Torchwood debut for Guy Adams, and another step up for Eve Myles. The star, though, has to be Richard Nichols as Roger. This is quite deliberately Roger's story and Nichols delivers in spades. I'm going to run out of superlatives for these soon; rest assured More Than This is another excellent addition to the series.