Doctor Who: When the Seventh Doctor (briefly) met Torchwood

Torchwood didn’t become a major problem for the Doctor until his Tenth incarnation. But, as this Doctor Who story revealed, he had (briefly) encountered them much, much earlier…

During the Nineties, the Doctor Who novels published by Virgin were considerably popular. As the only way to keep the series going during that dark time, the stories were aimed at those who had grown up with the show, and so the stories were darker and more adult than what had come before.

Perhaps the biggest example of this was 1996 novel Damaged Goods. Featuring scenes of sex, drugs and violence in a story set during the Eighties, (the perfect decade for telling such a story, really,) the story felt like a cross between Doctor Who and Torchwood. Which perhaps isn’t surprising, considering who wrote it: future showrunner Russell T Davies.

Cut to nearly two decades later, when Big Finish are adapting some of the best Virgin novels into audio dramas. Naturally, the first Doctor Who story that Russell T Davies ever wrote was a perfect choice to be adapted for audio.

When writer Jonathan Morris adapted the story, unsurprisingly, there were a few key elements that he changed. While the story retained a lot of the original novel’s darkness, some of the story’s more explicit elements were significantly reduced. Still, that didn’t stop it from being one of Big Finish’s darkest (and possibly best) audios ever made.

However, along with those changes to make the story just a little more family friendly, Morris also added a couple of mythology touches, too…

When Classic meets New

When investigating a boy in a coma, the Seventh Doctor meets Dr. James Greco, a man who’s supposed to be looking into the boy’s condition, but is actually using him for an experiment. The Doctor quickly realizes that what Greco is doing isn’t merely a solo operation, and that he works for something much bigger. Greco says he works for “the Institute”. But which institute?

"Torchwood. I work for Torchwood."

Following this amazing moment, the Seventh Doctor’s response is perfect:

"Never heard of them."

This moment was amazing, for two reasons. The first is that it merges Russell T Davies’s first ever Doctor Who story just that little bit more into his TV era. It’s a hint of New in a story firmly set in the Classic era, and it’s always great when there’s a clear crossover between the two.

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The second is that it perfectly foreshadowed Big Finish making Torchwood audios. Indeed, when the audio adaptation of Damaged Goods was first released, Big Finish hadn’t actually announced that they had acquired the license for the New Series. So it was a wonderful little teaser of what was to come.

Simplifying the story

The funny thing is that this moment also helped Jonathan Morris to simplify the story considerably. When the novel was originally released, it was a part of the Psi-Powers arc. There was a lot of continuity that the original novel was connected to that the audio adaptation didn’t need. So removing the reference to what Greco was originally a part of – the Brotherhood of the Immanent Flesh – and replacing it with something that everyone knew was a nice touch.

The Seventh Doctor’s reaction was perfect, too. While he was a little intrigued, it wasn’t enough for him to track them down. The fact that it is Seven who first hears of them and never encounters them again directly until he’s Ten works nicely, too. Not only is it believable for him to completely forget about an organisation that he would have heard centuries before, but it’s a lovely bit of irony for the arch-manipulator that is the Seventh Doctor to overlook such a major organization.

The Seventh Doctor encountering Torchwood is a lovely little moment where the Classic era briefly crosses into the New. Even better is that it happens during one of the best novel adaptations, if not one of the best Doctor Who audios out there. If you haven’t heard Damaged Goods yet, it’s definitely recommended.

Next. How Big Finish helped to make the Eighth Doctor my Doctor. dark

Have you listened to Damaged Goods or read the original novel? Do you think an earlier Doctor meeting Torchwood works? Let us know in the comments below.

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