Torchwood review: The Crown is an unsettling Christmas ghost story

The Crown is a highly atmospheric and unsettling Torchwood audio – one focused on a woman in an asylum claiming to be Queen Victoria…

Big Finish’s last Torchwood story of the year is a well-planned one. Particularly when the story is set: Christmas Eve. More than that, it’s set during a Victorian Christmas. And what’s more Victorian than the founder of Torchwood itself…?

One of the greatest things that Big Finish has done for the Doctor Who spin-off this year is focusing a lot more on Queen Victoria. Rowena Cooper has played the monarch in several audios over the years – in fact, she even played the role in Jago & Litefoot‘s grand finale Jago & Litefoot Forever.

But it wasn’t until this year that Big Finish started giving us stories with Queen Victoria as the central character. This is a bold idea, but it works. Both Fortitude and Save Our Souls were extremely strong stories, especially since they didn’t shy away from the worst aspects of Victoria’s reign. Indeed, Victoria herself was rather horrific in some ways.

And yet the character was still somewhat likable – or at least, extremely interesting to listen to – thanks to an excellent performance by Cooper. With Big Finish fleshing her out since January, it seems fitting to end the year with one more story featuring the monarch. Is The Crown a strong story to end the year on?

Victorian ghost story

The Crown is the most unusual story for Queen Victoria yet. When it begins, we find her locked up in an asylum. No one believes her claim that she truly is the Queen. No one even recognizes her as such. The Crown is the story of what lead to this point…

Jonathan Barnes is an excellent writer for the audio medium, particularly those set during the Victorian era. His releases for Big Finish’s Sherlock Holmes range have always felt both authentic to the period while also feeling fresh and dramatic, and that’s true of The Crown, too.

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Barnes also knows that, if you’ve got an actress like Rowena Cooper that you just know is going to give a brilliant performance, you want to give her as much strong dialogue as possible. And that’s exactly what he does. A great deal of The Crown is simply Victoria telling her story, and it’s an absolute joy to hear Cooper throw herself into the role as usual, while also telling a great ghost story.

It should also be mentioned that Derek Riddell is also great as Dr. Gideon Parr. While he has a slightly smaller role in the episode, his character is definitely crucial to the story. There are several great scenes that he shares with Cooper where they really throw themselves into the story, giving us some fantastic drama as a result

The Crown is a wonderfully atmospheric Victorian ghost story by Jonathan Barnes, and one that’s perfect listening for this time of the year. Recommended not just for those who’ve enjoyed previous stories with Queen Victoria, or even Torchwood audios in general, but for anyone who simply wants to listen to a thrilling and highly effective ghost story.

Next. The Grey Man of the Mountain is a highly atmospheric story. dark

Are you a fan of ghost stories? What are some of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.

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