Torchwood: Ghost Mission

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

Starring Tom Price & Samuel Barnett
Released May 2016

On my first few listens to the Torchwood audio series, Ghost Mission stood head-and-shoulders above other early releases. The fact that it now simply maintains the expected standard shows just how much my estimations of the series as a whole have risen. Ghost Mission has a great premise: at long last Andy Davidson has the chance to prove he's good enough to join Torchwood and his assessor is from the Soho branch in 1953. And a ghost.

It's another brilliant twist on the ride along format these audios are settling into, and writer/producer James Goss wastes no time jumping right in. Despite a few welcome breathers, this is an extremely busy story, both in terms of there being a lot of story to pack in and there being a lot for Goss to get done. Just as Andy's validity is being assessed by Norton Folgate within the story, so it is by fans without, Goss working hard to justify Andy's inclusion in this series rather than another story for Jack, Gwen or Ianto, or a first outing for Owen. If you were in any doubt he pulls it off, as of July 2020, Andy is now a regular in Big Finish's flagship series, and the first round of his and Norton's own spin-off is about to be released. And this is where it began.

Goss' slight remodelling of the character still fits with what we saw in the TV series, but four lonely years have passed and PC Andy is now Sgt Andy. Tom Price slips back into the role effortlessly, imbuing Andy with all the nervy energy you'd expect while clearly relishing the chance to solve a case by himself (almost). Goss credits the character with a lot of intelligence and, nudged along by Norton, is surprisingly good in a crisis. This isn't an easy day for Andy and he stares death in the face several times but comes out of it stronger. It's nothing compared to what he'll go through in the phenomenal Aliens Among Us and God Among Us though.

Written especially for Samuel Barnett, Norton Folgate is another quality character. On the strength of Ghost Mission it seems inevitable that he'd be back. While his extremely camp exterior could have become somewhat grating, it's quickly established that this is just a front and Norton is actually much more sensitive than it would first appear. Crucially, he's shown to be highly competent but even he doesn't have all the answers. He offsets Andy well and it's easy to see why this has become a winning pairing, revived time and again. This is also possibly the deepest insight we've got into the character yet, with mentions of his parents and brother. Torchwood is so frenetic that there's often little time for looking beyond the bluster and bravado, but it's rewarding when the effort is made.

Although the plot of this is fairly straightforward, moving from one location to the next as the investigation progresses, it only becomes more interesting at each stage. The sequence in the church towards the end is the most impressive, and it is this that draws out the best of the sound design and music to create a really beautiful soundscape. Even though it turns out to be a computer-gone-wrong type story, the twist that it's all because of some interfering Welshman trying to cut a few corners is extremely entertaining.

Ghost Mission is remarkable. Torchwood is making good use of the opportunity to create an anthology series with these audios, completely changing the cast, locations and genre with every release (much like parent show Doctor Who) but establishing the ongoing threads of the rebuilding of Torchwood and the history of the Committee, both of which Ghost Mission ties into. Despite only being introduced in preceding story Zone 10, the Red Key is quickly resolved, being handed over to the Committee as they make another intriguing appearance, although the listener gets the sense that the character played by David Warner is at the very top of the pile, rather than being one of their foot soldiers as we've previously encountered.

If Ghost Mission was a test for Torchwood, it's safe to say it passed with flying colours.

Doctor Who: Come Die With Me

Writer: Jamie Anderson
Director: Ken Bentley
Script Editor: Alan Barnes
Cover Illustration: Joseph Bell
Music & Sound Design: Steve Foxon
Producer: David Richardson

Starring Sylvester McCoy & Sophie Aldred
Released December 2015

Come Die With Me marks the halfway point of the You Are The Doctor anthology and, so far, it looks to be one of the most disposable releases yet. Jamie Anderson's story of an old-fashioned mansion in the future seems to be desperately trying to create a Night Thoughts-style atmosphere, but ends up closer to The Silurian Candidate.

The setup initially seems to be a murder mystery game organised by the skin-crawling Edwin Norris that has stumped the greatest minds from all time and space. This naturally piques the Doctor's curiosity, while Ace is pulled below stairs with the housekeeper. They learn more about the situation in tandem and eventually the Doctor must save Ace and defeat Norris. It's not especially challenging stuff, which isn't a problem in itself, but this is so chaotic it's hard to get a handle on anything and hence hard to pay attention.

There is something in Anderson's story of a murder mystery in an old house with the Sylvester McCoy Doctor that evokes stories like Master and The Magic Mousetrap. Unfortunately, that is where comparisons to these two superior releases end. Control of knowledge seems to be the 'theme' of this anthology so far, unless you count Ace having a go at flying the TARDIS, which still wouldn't be the flimsiest arc Big Finish have attempted. In Come Die With Me's climactic scene, Norris ends up giving McCoy a run for his money in the gurning and histrionics stakes, revealing that he wants to trap the minds of anyone in creation more intelligent than him in his library so that he can be the cleverest being in history. On the strength of the 20 minutes preceding this, he's going to need a bigger library.

So much care goes into crafting these stories in post-production that it seems ungrateful to criticise. There must be nightmares on so many productions that the listeners never discover because of talented sound designers managing to save them. But still, the presentation of Come Die With Me leaves a lot to be desired. This can be laid at the door of director Ken Bentley; McCoy gives a shocking performance, vamping it up like a good 'un on what appears to be his first encounter with the script. Sophie Aldred as Ace isn't much better, sounding like she got out the wrong side of bed and going massively over the top on almost every line. The sound design completely misses every open goal with regards to building atmosphere, and instead goes gives the impression of stock tracks for an am dram matinee. The music is also far too lightweight and completes the impression that the production team see this as disposable fluff, and consequently that's what they have made.

It is entirely reasonable to skip Come Die With Me without missing anything in character, plot or production terms. When people are paying £15 for this release that is inexcusable. At least You Are The Doctor was trying something different; it speaks volumes that the actor playing Norris isn't even credited.

Torchwood: Zone 10

Writer: David Llewellyn
Director: Scott Handcock
Script Editor: Steve Tribe
Cover Illustration: Lee Binding
Music: Blair Mowat
Sound Design: Steve Foxon
Producer: James Goss

Starring Naoko Mori
Released April 2016

The Pulse is a radio signal that has been broadcast from a point 62 miles above Siberia for over 40 years, and no-one has ever been able to decode the message. But Tosh has finally done it. This is the attention-grabbing opening to David Llewellyn's excellent third single-CD Torchwood story, which foregrounds Naoko Mori as Toshiko Sato for practically the first time.

Having discovered the truth of the Pulse, Tosh takes herself off to Moscow and meets up with Torchwood's Russian counterparts the KVI, and agent Maxim Ivanov (Krystian Godlewski). The pair work well together over the course of the story, as inevitably Maxim begins to show shades of grey the closer they get to Zone 10 and the answers he wants. Tosh is of course pure and wide-eyed, but it might've been nice if she had some kind of backup plan in case of betrayal by the Russians, which is by no stretch of the imagination the most far-fetched aspect of this story.

Whilst only reaching the titular Zone 10 half an hour in conveys how remote it is, it does mean that the listener is kept waiting for a significant amount of time. The intrigue and discussions along the way are substantial enough but the story gets a whole lot more interesting once Tosh and Maxim actually arrive. Tales of secret '60s space missions are right up my street, so the introduction of Anna Volkova and her backstory were very welcome. While this is ostensibly Tosh's story, Anna is an extremely memorable character, particularly her departure, and is brought to life with real energy by Ella Garland. Tosh herself is generally well-served as the brains of Torchwood Cardiff, finally stepping out of the team's shadow. However, for someone supposedly so smart, she's often quite slow on the uptake. Her time-manipulating gadget she brings along is extremely handy but Llewellyn gets away with this massive hand-wave by tying it into the time lock she was said to have built into the Torchwood base in The Stolen Earth.

Of course, the Committee are revealed to have been the impetus for what's going on in Zone 10 and there are pleasing, surprisingly strong, ties to Llewellyn's other two stories from this series. The KVI, first featured in the writer's own 2008 Torchwood novel Trace Memory, are as you might expect the Institute's Russian counterparts to be: merciless, deceitful and relentless. Visiting other countries and cultures is always welcome and more from the KVI or similar organisations every now and then would be gladly received.

This is an intriguing, extremely well-produced story that maintains the tension from the start through to the very end as the layers of Zone 10 are peeled away. The wintry sound design really helps sell the environment, though it might've been good to have the cast sound as if it was just a bit colder or windier every now and then. The music is similarly great, although some cues are beginning to be repeated from earlier stories now. This is Naoko Mori's best story yet, turning easily the dullest member of the team on TV into a character this listener wouldn't object to spending more time with.

Another great entry in a tidemark range.

Doctor Who: The Widow's Assassin

Writer: Nev Fountain
Director: Ken Bentley
Script Editor: Alan Barnes
Cover Illustration: Anthony Lamb
Music: Howard Carter
Sound Design: Steve Foxon
Producer: David Richardson

Starring Colin Baker & Nicola Bryant
Released October 2014

The Widow's Assassin sees writer Nev Fountain at his most unpredictable, which is quite achievement. Across its four episodes, the listener is taken on a journey through a fairy tale made flesh, royal court intrigue, battles inside multiple minds and home in time for tea. That this is accomplished with such style is a credit to Fountain and director Ken Bentley.

Following the end of Scavenger, in which the sixth Doctor's latest tagalong Flip (Lisa Greenwood) departed seemingly definitively, he turns up on Krontep in search of reconciliation with Peri (Nicola Bryant), following their own fractious parting. Familiarity with the 1986 Doctor Who TV story Mindwarp benefits the listener a surprisingly great deal when listening to The Widow's Assassin. No sooner has Fountain finally married Peri and King Yrcarnos (Brian Blessed, on TV) than he's done away with him, and this is the catalyst for the rest of the story. Maybe catalyst is the wrong word, as the first episode alone is audacious enough to take place over the course of five years - and then the second goes one better and doubles it.

Setting the story over such a long period allows Fountain to establish and pay off some of the Doctor/Peri relationship work he is famed for. The irony is that, in the end, barely any time at all has passed for Peri, compared to decades for the Doctor. Ordinarily stories that concern themselves with, to paraphrase The Androids of Tara, the affairs of a piffling little planet, hold little interest. But Nev Fountain's colourful universe of characters really makes this story stand out from the crowd. Most notable is Constable Wolsey, Peri's head of security and also half-man/half-sheep. In fact, it is Wolsey who carries the story's first half, narrating events and taking the lead in the second episode. The Doctor's absence here creates a noticeable void, Fountain's writing creating questions in the listener's mind. What he has been up to is more than anyone would expect.

The Widow's Assassin skillfully walks the line between being intelligent and impregnable. Something this high-concept could have made for a difficult listen, especially at its extended length, and especially given it is such a hardcore sequel to Mindwarp. Ken Bentley, the cast and the post-production succeed in making this extremely listenable and realising the script's considerable ambition. The music in particular is to be commended for completing such a rounded production.

As a scene-setter for a new era of travels for Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, The Widow's Assassin functions perfectly. While it is not a flawless script - the reappearance of the Doctor's first ever foe that comes to nothing is perhaps one subplot too far - the relationship of the Doctor and Peri, characters thirty years in the making is at its core and on this Fountain, Baker and Bryant never put a foot wrong. It is refreshing to have a story as genuinely witty, in writing and execution, as this and it is an absorbing listen, particularly the first two episodes. A triumph for all involved, setting the bar high and leaving the listener hungry for the next story.

Doctor Who: You Are The Doctor

Writer: John Dorney
Director: Ken Bentley
Script Editor: Alan Barnes
Cover Illustration: Joseph Bell
Music & Sound Design: Steve Foxon
Producer: David Richardson

Starring Sylvester McCoy & Sophie Aldred
Released December 2015

Opening a quartet of stories starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as the seventh Doctor and Ace, You Are The Doctor is an entertaining, if not outstanding, way to fill 25 minutes. Any innovation it exhibits is in its novel presentation, the plot itself being as rote as they come. The 'decide your destiny'-style narrative and the accompanying commentary at each fork in the road are used to good effect and fill the run time well enough without pushing any boundaries.

It could be said that You Are The Doctor is somewhat obvious, but then that does seem to be the point. The pig-like Porcians return from author John Dorney's own The Fourth Wall, a full-length main range story featuring Colin Baker and Lisa Greenwood. This time it appears the Doctor's old adversary Chimbly and his wife Keith have actually, against all odds, managed to invade and take over a planet, so the Time Lord's suspicions are immediately aroused.

What follows is an inoffensive jaunt through their spaceship, punctuated by the Doctor and Ace's numerous deaths, after which the listener is instructed to return the beginning of the story. The most successful element of presenting the story in this decision-based framework is that the track numbers on the CD or in the digital album do actually correspond to the options Chimbly gives, so you could actually play along if you wanted. This is arguably unnecessary given almost all listeners will, on first pass at least, play the entire story, but this kind of attention to detail elevates the episode.

This is well-directed but it's notable how McCoy, in particular, and Aldred are able to sound so ill-prepared 30 years into playing their characters. Kim Wall returns as Chimbly and the performance suits the role though the listener could be forgiven for mistaking Wall for Nick Briggs. It really is uncanny. And try as the cast might, the Porcians still aren't as funny as the script seems to think they are. The sound design and music do a good job of setting up the narrative structure and providing extra tics to denote sections such that the listener knows what's going on before any dialogue is spoken.

You Are The Doctor was perhaps inevitable. It's pleasant enough, and sets its sights no higher than that, which is fine. While this is refreshingly unconvoluted for a Big Finish McCoy episode, we've done this story now, so hopefully the second instalment in this release will prove more substantial.

Doctor Who: The Brood of Erys

Writer: Andrew Smith
Director: Nicholas Briggs
Script Editor: Alan Barnes
Cover Illustration: Damien May
Music & Sound Design: Steve Foxon
Producer: David Richardson

Starring Colin Baker & Lisa Greenwood
Released February 2014

Big Finish's listeners are, by definition, very dedicated. Dedicated enough to seek out extra stories inspired by their favourite TV property (probably Doctor Who, let's be honest). My dedication, however, does not extend to enduring The Brood of Erys.

I had been dreading this, having first listened within a couple of years of its release, but did intend to give it another go as part of my protracted marathon of stories featuring the Sixth Doctor and Flip (Lisa Greenwood). After 25 minutes, however, I gave up. The Brood of Erys is a generic sci-fi yarn of irritating imps, babbling moons and archetypal guest characters. I am yet to be impressed, or even entertained, by an Andrew Smith script, and this fits the trend no problem.

Steve Foxon puts in a valiant effort with the sound design and music, but even casting the great Nicola Thorp in a starring role isn't enough to save this. What a waste to have two write-offs in a row for such a promising combination of Doctor and companion. Absolute rubbish.

Save your cash; life's too short.