Customer Reviews

Torchwood: The Radio Adventures

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Three audio dramas with the Torchwood folks, voiced by the actors, the stories "Asylum," by Anita Sullivan, "Golden Age," by James Goss, and "The Dead Line," written by Phil Ford. The stories are reasonably good with "The Dead Line" being the best of the bunch. If the audio drama format works for you, you can get yourself a Torchwood fix while you wait for the rumored fourth season.

For those new to BBC science fiction, generally in addition to the main episodes there are the behind the scenes/making-of episodes (Torchwood Declassified or Doctor Who Confidential, etc.), novels written to nominally fall between episodes, magazines dedicated to the shows, comic book serials, and audiobooks of radio dramas. Amazon has a good selection of Dr. Who, Torchwood, Primeval, and Sarah Jane Adventures tie-in materials.

Each play here is about 45 minutes long and features the real actors' voices, though only Captain Jack, Gwen, and Ianto are present (so no Tosh or Owen, though some characters in supporting roles do make appearances). On the whole, I liked these--I wasn't sure how an audio play would work, but I found it was a lot like reading a novel but with sound effects--very easy to picture what was going on. I'm fortunate enough not to have commute regularly anywhere by car, but if I did, I would get these to listen to in order to make a long drive go by much faster.

The first one I listened to was Asylum by Anita Sullivan. A young girl is arrested for shoplifting and PC Andy (Gwen's former partner) notices the girl is carrying a strange piece of technology that could either be a toy or an alien artifact. Torchwood is called in to investigate, and discover it's actually a type of specialized sabotage equipment capable of turning off security, communications, and other defense systems. Fearing an invasion, Torchwood takes custody of the young girl and realize she's an alien--only she claims to simply be an orphaned runaway. One of the things I liked about Asylum (apart from a few good jokes) was that it shines a bit of a spotlight on PC Andy--he comes across as far more human and far less jaded than the members of Torchwood (especially Jack), even if he, as can be expected, wigs out at the idea of having met a real-life alien.

Next up was Phil Ford's The Dead Line. This one didn't do a lot for me, but it did have a strong opening: Jack, despite everything we know about him, is dying. One of Jack's old flames from the 1970s is called in to help, and the team realizes that something is transmitting deadly signals over the telephone network. Gwen and Rhys go to investigate, while Ianto stays by Jack's bedside and gives quite the confession of love. There's a few good quips about Jack's life in the 1970s, but on the whole the other two seemed better structured.

Golden Age by James Goss was my favorite. Something with traces of alien residue is responsible for the disappearances of hundreds or even thousands of people in Delhi. Torchwood goes to investigate and stumble upon a building Jack recognizes--from his visit there in 1924, when he went to close down Torchwood India. Except, all of the people he met back in 1927 are still alive and as young as ever, happily enjoying their lives. This one had the most original and intriguing plot, as well as taking advantage of the fact that audio plays and novels shouldn't worry about budgetary constraints--some globe-trotting adventures are a good idea for Torchwood (not that there's anything wrong with Cardiff; just that aliens can surely get up to no good elsewhere, too).

A mysterious girl falls from the Cardiff sky, packing a gun like no one has ever seen before. A colonial mansion in Delhi, India, shelters past crimes that can come back to haunt Captain Jack and Torchwood. A phone call from an impossible number may be the only thing that can kill the man who can't die. Welcome back to Torchwood.

Set sometime before Children of Earth, these adventures give us a chance to see Torchwood's three member team in action. They have a good dose of humor, and make use of the audio format to give us more varied and detailed settings than the more set-bound TV series can often offer. Though some episodes are better than others, they are a worthy addition to the Torchwood canon.

Two episodes open doors which provide glimpses into Torchwood. The first, "Asylum," peeks at the good Torchwood provides the world, while the second, "Golden Age," looks back to Torchwood's past crimes and corruption. The third, "The Dead Line," has a good idea torpedoed by lame execution: the evil is created stupidly, and defeated because the writers say so. It seems written to give Ianto a chance to speak his heart to Jack.

Radio drama isn't for everyone. It tells a different kind of story than TV, requiring audiences to be much more active. But these stories deepen and broaden the Torchwood experience, letting us know and love the characters more deeply before we have to say goodbye to some. Smart, funny, and gripping, these aren't mere gimmicks, these are true Torchwood episodes for true fans.

I have these on my ipod at ALL times and i listen to them at least once a week. Even without actually seeing anything, the voices and the soundeffects paint an amazing picture in your head

This item includes three Torchwood radio plays, each on its own CD. The pricing of the set was good, I paid about $15.00 for the set, while individual CDs of each play would have cost me almost $40.00. It was good to hear the voices of the cast again. These are good to listen to while driving, or you can import them to your computer them load them onto your iPod or MP3 player to listen to on the go.

You know what??? I loved it! Why? Because it's an audio drama, not your typical audio book. The only bad thing about it is that I thought they'd be more than just an hour each disk. But all the same, it was good fun!

I received this product for Christmas. I loved the story lines & hearing John, Eve & Gareth reading the script was just as good as watching an episode on TV. Each story was seperate from the others; you can listen to them in any order you'd like. I especially liked "The Dead Line." I don't want to spoil the story line for anyone, but just know that each one is packed with action & is what you expect from Torchwood. The only thing I would like to see different - I would have loved for the story's to be longer.

Very well done. Anyone who is a fan of the series will enjoy these well produced radio dramas. I often wonder why we in the US cannot embrace this type of entertainment. All of these take place before Children of the Corn I believe.

Anyone who is a fan of Torchwood on television will love this to have in the car while driving along. Done well with excitement and lots of fun. Get your chills and thrills while waiting for the traffic to ease up.

There were only three episodes. I thought there were four. Kind of a disappointment but otherwise worth buying. Asylum is the most boring out of the three. The best is Deadline and falling in the middle is Golden Age.