Big Finish’s Torchwood One premieres with special guest writer
By James Aggas
Big Finish have announced that a second Torchwood One box set will be released next year, with an episode written by Ianto Jones himself, Gareth David-Lloyd.
Torchwood One was definitely one of Big Finish’s best ideas for a spin-off series. Set before the events of Army of Ghosts/Doomsday, the series focuses on the Torchwood organisation when it was originally based in London.
Because we got to hear Torchwood as an organisation in its prime, it allowed for a very different take on the series. We got to hear how well Torchwood ran in an office based environtment, instead of underground like in Cardiff. At the same time, the stories still allowed for some of the maturity and darkness that we’ve been given to expect from Torchwood as a whole.
Tracy-Ann Oberman and Gareth David-Lloyd starred in Torchwood One: Before the Fall as Yvonne Hartman and Ianto Jones. And this won’t be their only story together. As announced by Big Finish earlier this week, they’ll both return for a new box set: Torchwood One: Machines.
Here are the following episode details:
"The Law Machines by Matt FittonThe Mayor of London is launching her bold new law and order initiative. The capital will be kept safe from crime, from fear, from terrorists.The Law Machines are launching. What could possibly go wrong?Blind Summit by Gareth David-LloydIanto Jones has just moved to London. He’s broke, has no friends, no future. One day he loses the one thing he’s been holding on to, and suddenly people around him are dying.Could a mysterious woman really offer him salvation?9 to 5 by Tim FoleyIt’s Monday morning. Stacey loves Mondays. Stacey loves every day. Stacey lives to work. She’s a temp and she loves it.Only there’s a man in the coffee queue who has a terrible warning for her. Stacey is going to die today."
The return of WOTAN
There’s a lot that sounds promising about this new release. Once again, it’ll be great to hear more of Yvonne Hartman. Frankly, Torchwood’s original boss has emerged as one of my favourite characters of the Doctor Who universe. This is partly because of how well the character has been written, both on television and on audio.
It’s also because of Oberman’s consistently strong performance in the role. She brings a great deal of class and sophistication to Hartman. She also knows how to bring just the right amount of menace and ruthlessness when the character requires it.
There’s also the return of WOTAN, which had originally appeared in First Doctor story The War Machines. How the Doctor Who monster will be given a Torchwood spin will definitely be interesting to discover. It’s not among the most memorable of monsters, but there’s certainly a lot of potential.
Ianto writing for Ianto
But the most exciting news? An episode featuring Ianto Jones, as written by Gareth David-Lloyd. Yes, Ianto Jones himself is writing a Ianto Jones episode. And from the sounds of it, it looks like it’s going to be something of an origin story for the character. That alone has made this box set a must listen.
Across Torchwood‘s numerous television and audio stories, it’s clear that Ianto Jones has always been popular with the fans. The fact that there’s an actual shrine to the character in Cardiff (seriously) speaks volumes about that.
And Gareth David-Lloyd has always had a clear understanding of the character. He’s also been a great actor. So hearing how his first script for Ianto will be is exciting stuff.
Torchwood One: Machines will be released in July 2018, and you can pre-order it on CD or download from Big Finish’s website.