Torchwood: Series Five: Aliens Among Us overview

The fifth series of Torchwood was filled with incredibly shocking moments. But which were the most shocking moments of the series?

(Photo credit: Torchwood/Big Finish

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

With Series Six starting later this month, we take an overview of the fifth series of Torchwood, Aliens Among Us, and what makes it so special.

Did you enjoy the first brand new episode of Doctor Who with the Thirteenth Doctor, The Woman Who Fell to Earth? I know I certainly did. We’ll be providing you with more content and features focused on that episode soon. But first, let’s take a look at another series altogether: Torchwood. Specifically, the fifth series, Aliens Among Us.

Later this month, the sixth series, God Among Us, will be released. I’ll be honest, I am hugely excited for this. I’m a big fan of the Doctor Who spin-off, both on and off the screen. The first four series weren’t always perfect, but they were usually enjoyable. Series Two and Children of Earth especially featured phenomenal television.

The audios in particular have been consistently fantastic. Initially, these jumped around the Torchwood timeline, in a mixture of character focused stories set before, during and after the first four seasons.

In the cases of the ones set afterward, however, these weren’t exactly a continuation of the original series, at least not directly. In some ways, it was tying up threads left from the TV series, particularly after Children of Earth and Miracle Day. In some ways, these were setting up the real event: Aliens Among Us, the official fifth series of Torchwood.

A return to form

Aliens Among Us was a huge return to form for Torchwood, while at the same time, being a big step forward. In the case of the former, it returned Torchwood to Cardiff, which quite frankly was long overdue. The series had almost been entirely set in America for its fourth series, which was a big move away from what made Torchwood so special. Even in Children of Earth, London was a far bigger focus than Cardiff for the event.

So it’s great that Aliens Among Us returned the series to its roots with the distinct setting of Cardiff. In fact, this might be one of Aliens Among Us’s greatest strengths: how it uses science-fiction and allegory to tell the story of one city.

While the overall threat in Aliens Among Us is the new alien race the Sorvix and how they’re subtly taking over, what the series is really about is a city in the modern era. Across the twelve episodes, Aliens Among Us explores issues such as worker exploitation, privilege, racism, terrorism, prejudice, police brutality and so many others.

In short, it really does a fantastic job at taking a close up look at a city and exploring so many aspects of a city and life within it. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t The Wire, but it’s still impressive storytelling, especially within science-fiction.

Ng was one of many new characters introduced in Torchwood: Aliens Among Us. Though we didn’t know about that, initially…

(Image credit: Torchwood/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

A new team

Aliens Among Us also had a great mix of characters, both old and new. Initially, it seemed like there were only two original members left, before we later found out that there’s actually just one! But the new members have all been fantastic. Certainly, this new team has been more interesting than what we got in Miracle Day.

The series begins by focusing on Tyler Steele in Changes Everything. While he’s essentially in Gwen’s role – someone brand new to Torchwood who’s just beginning to learn about aliens and secret organizations in Cardiff – he’s very quickly revealed as more of a decoy protagonist.

Tyler does have an important role for the rest of the series, but not quite as much as the rest of the team. Particularly as he’s not really a part of Torchwood.

And it’s not surprising why that is. Tyler is a very selfish character. From the start, Mr Colchester doesn’t like him one bit, and it becomes obvious why very quickly. He’s out for himself, he doesn’t handle situations under pressure well, and he has very little sense of loyalty. He’s an unlikable character, but intentionally so, at least, so he works rather well.

Stronger characters

And the series does tend to focus on stronger characters, like Mr Colchester. I’ve already written an article about just why he’s so fantastic, so I won’t go into too much detail here.

But he really is one of my favorite characters, and that’s down to both Paul Clayton’s performance as well as some excellent writing. A character that I was initially worried about fitting into the Torchwood team very quickly became my new favorite.

I also love the character of Orr. An alien who’s strongly empathic to the desires and wants of anyone they meet, they also emotionally and even physically adapt to those needs. As a result, they have absolutely no defined sex or gender. Samantha Béart always gives a great performance in the role, and they’re a perfect character for the modern age of Torchwood.

Lastly, we come to Ng. It took us a little while to work out exactly what “Ng” stood for. Alexandria Riley gave a great and very convincing performance in the role, and helped to make Aliens Among Us’s greatest twist truly shocking. Despite being a major character all series, we still don’t know her that well. It’ll be interesting to learn more about her in series six.

The return of Yvonne Hartman was one of Aliens Among Us’s most shocking moments, and lead to a huge cliffhanger at the end of volume 2.

(Image credit: Torchwood/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Original characters

Oddly enough, for the longest time, it seemed like Captain Jack was the only character left from the original team we knew. Even Gwen wasn’t quite as much in the series as we thought she would be. How is Jack handled in this new age of Torchwood?

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Really well, overall. In some ways, Jack is still his old flirty self. But he’s also facing more difficult situations than before. After living in Cardiff for so long, he has become incredibly jaded to Torchwood life. He still believes in responsibility, but he’s not as optimistic or idealistic as he once was.

He faces a lot of challenges across Aliens Among Us. The Red Doors terrorist group. The Sorvix. But perhaps his greatest threat? The one other regular character who shows up from Torchwood’s past: Yvonne Hartman.

Hartman’s return was a brilliant surprise for the final box set. But she also fits the new era of Torchwood really well. The character continues to be very strongly written by Big Finish, and Tracy-Ann Oberman is as fantastic as ever in the role. I’m looking forward to hearing a lot more from her in Series Six.

Resolution

Initially, when I first heard Aliens Among Us’s ending, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I was surprised at how many loose threads had been left open at the end of the series. I wasn’t too keen when the same happened in Miracle Day, but Herald of the Dawn seemed even more extreme.

But honestly, looking back on it? It works really well. Yes, a lot of threads from the series have been left unresolved, but we were also given a lot of closure, too. Particularly with Gwen’s story, and the mystery of Ng. So I’m excited to see where God Among Us goes from here.

Overall, I absolutely loved Aliens Among Us. It was, quite simply, a real return to form for Torchwood. It went back to its roots in a clear way, while at the same time, making sure to tell something brand new and exciting. In short, Aliens Among Us is probably one of Torchwood’s very best series, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Next. Series Eleven premiere watched by over eight million viewers. dark

Have you listened to Aliens Among Us? What did you make of the fifth series of Torchwood? Are you excited for the next series? Let us know in the comments below.

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