March 21

Torchwood: Dead Man’s Switch

Hey Guys,
welcome to Big Finish Torchwood‘s 33 adventure Dead Man’s Switch. It is an adventure that brings as Bilis Manger back. Bilis Manger is always a fun character because you never know what to make out of him. I am never sure were to put his adventures in the timeline. Since he can time travel.. it is hard for me to put him in the timeline. But this is taking place at the time his at war with the Committee.

The three passengers
In this story we are following Bilis Manger and three other that meet on a train. The train itself is a mystery. All three want to travel somewhere else and nobody can remember to board the train. To get to the ground of the situation all three are telling what the last thing is they remember. So we have three different stories. Actually I really don’t say much about the three short stories because it would take away from the story. But all three are built like horror stories.

The unsympathetic characters
From these three people only one is sympathetic and Bilis Manger is a story for himself. But even with disliking all characters I like the story. Because you never know what he will do or is he good or bad or is he really neutral. What does he want. Why is he fighting the Committee? These whole character is for me a question mark. But that is what makes it so interesting. He is not like my questionable favourite character like Norton which you just have to love. I am actually very neutral on Bilis but I still like to put the different pieces of his character into whole picture.

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March 14

Torchwood: Smashed

Hey Guys,
welcome to the 6th adventure of the 5th season of Big Finish Torchwood ‘Smashed’ with Gwen Cooper. Gwen is working on her own in this adventure because it plays after the 4th season of Torchwood. It is the time when she is trying to make Torchwood work again. Gwen is and never will be my favourite character. But Big Finish is making some good stories about her and I like her sentiment in this period of adventures. I really love the thought that she is trying to keep alive. That someone is there not giving up and keeps one fighting.

Drink to survive

Gwen is hired to have an investigation about the situation in a small town. Where a lot of sink holes are appearing and things like monsters… The ground rule is simple. You drink something like water and whatever it is that is in that water is taking over your body. You can stay in control when you drink alcohol. Does it sound logic? Nope! Does it work? Yes. Gwen is a character that is in control of herself. She never really let loose. Even when she is adventures and runs into danger. She still always goes the safe way. I mean for example she wants Jack but instead for going with it she marries Rhys. Because he is safe. I actually think that she is more logic driven than Tosh. Tosh is the one that makes emotional decisions. But Gwen is always thinking… she does the logical thing. So here she is losing control and to keep it she has to be drunk and give up some of that control. What actually makes this interesting.

Hard to understand

Here we go again with the curse of Big Finish adventures. They are so good and go so much with the idea they have that some time the stories are annoying or hard to listen too. This adventure has a lot of slurred talk because they are drunk. Maybe it is easier for native speakers to understand it, but I have some of the time a really hard time to understand what they are saying. It is nothing I can hear when I do something else. I have to sit down and really just listing to this.

Interesting story

I really like the idea behind it. Even more with a person like Gwen. I know that my way of viewing Gwen is more negative than positive and maybe a lot will think that I have a wrong picture of her. But for me she is this person and because of that this story is so fascinating. It will not be my favourite but I really liked it.

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January 4

Torchwood: The Vigil

Hey Guys,

welcome to ‘The Vigil’ the 7th adventure of the 5th season of Big Finish Torchwood. This another Toshiko adventure. We also meet a new Torchwood member Sebastian Vaughan. It is one of the stories that takes place before the first Torchwood TV-Season.

Dangersous Job

Tosh brings the body of Sebastian back home after he dead by a job gone wrong. We met his mother and follow Tosh to get to know more about his dead collegue. Of course strange things start happening. At the same time we see the flash backs to the events that ended in the death of Sebastion and this is most likely connected to what is going on now.
There is always that question are you ready to die for Torchwood. It also a theme. You don’t die of old age when you are working for Torchwood.

This job is dangerous and you have to take it serious. Tosh is always one of the ones that takes everything to serious. It is so sad to see people telling her to start living her live. Stop take everything so serious and don’t work in her free time. But everything that happend always shows her to be serious to look out.
It is so sad that we know who she ends in the end. When she never really started living her life and than it is just over.

Drama

All Tosh adventures have for me that sad undertone. She is such an amazing person. So smart and strong and lonely. You always wish that she would start living but it always ends up with her letting her live goes by. She is not ready to die for Torchwood and still she is not ready to live. All the stories make me wish for her happy end.

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December 28

Torchwood: The Hope

Hey Guys,

finally I find the time to write about the amazing Big Finish Torchwood story ‘The Hope’. It is the 6 Volume of the 5 season. It is a story I was really excited about. The last adventure of Owen and Andy together ‘Corpse Day‘ were amazing so I really had high hopes for this story. The combination of Andi and Owen is something I never knew I needed and this story doesn’t let me down.

Doctor Harper

I love stories where we see Owen doing what he actually is. In Torchwood we don’t see him often in the role of a Doctor. Mostly he is working on dead bodies or aliens. So this are rare moments and I love them so much. Because he is such a great Doctor. He may dislike people or judge them but when they are his patients than they are just that his patients. He treats them the best he can no matter who they are. I like this side of him. It also one of the reason that I like this combie so much. Because Owen is more of a bad guy or tries to look like it and Andy is the nice guy.

No one understood

This story is so amazing because of the characters not just Owen and Andi but also the big bad – Megwyn Jones. Andy is sure that she killed a lot of kids. There is no doubt in him. But we see her as a woman that is about to die and wants to make amounds. You are here and asking yourself if Andy is right or maybe she is innocent? Or is she just playing?
The Chief Inspector is on the other hand really unsympatic. He acts like an idiot. Maybe he is not the good guy or is he just an idiot.

What really happened

I really don’t want to tell you more. Because this story is great and how they play with the characters is great. This story has so much more to offer us. What they put Owen through… Everyone should listen to this story. It is so amazing and I can’t wait to another adventure of Owen and Andy.

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June 19

Torchwood: Serenity

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 5th adventure of the 5th season of Big Finishs Torchwood ‘Serenity’ with our both sweethearts Ianto Jones and Captain Jack Harkness. It is obviously between season 2 and 3. Because they official together and I love it. We got way to little about them being together. So I looked forward to this adventure and it is so much more than I hoped for. It is one of the funniest Torchwood stories in a while.

Ken and Ifan

Jack and Ianto go undercover in Serenity Plaza which is the most exclusive gated community in South Wales. The are sweet married couple and has to face normal problems like who does the dishes. These Serenity Plaza reminds us a like of the ‘Stepford women’ from the level of creepiness. The perfect little place. We have their charade outside and we have them getting crazy in doors. Ianto is the houseman and bored. So he binge-watched ‘Murder, She Wrote’.

Little Fighting

It is fun to listen to these two flirting and fighting. Because they are both on edge because of this situation. It is a life these can never have. Torchwood doesn’t allow such a normal life. It is so much fun to see them making fun of these things and Ianto is still so into it. That it scares even him. What I really love the most is about this relationship is that they just talk about everything. They are not hiding what the feel. When it cames up the say the things. What the want, what the wished and how reality is. It is really refreshing to listen to this honesty. I watched so many love series and the biggest problem is always the not talking and bottling all up. But these two they don’t do this. They call each other out on their shit and I love it. I want so much more of them.

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June 12

Torchwood: Sargasso

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 4th adventure of the 5th season of Big Finish’s Torchwood ‘Sargasso’ with Rhys Williams. I always love the ones with Rhys. It seems to play between ‘Children of Earth’ and ‘Miracle Day’ because he says that Gwen used to work for Torchwood and the already have their daughter.

Rhys bloody Williams

I just wrote the whole article and wanted to save it and everything was lost… now I try to remember what I had written. Rhys is one of my favorite supporting character. He doesn’t come up with the big plans or is the action hero. But he is good guy and he has his mistakes but he is good in taking care of people and make in this case Kaitlin fight through their situation. He doesn’t give up.

Lost at sea

Just a simple job for Rhys ends up again in a disaster. He and Kaitlin, who he meets on the container ship, are lost in the sargosso sea and the crew left the ship. The atmosphere they are creating here is amazing. You can feel the dark and the coldness just like ship dark, cold and full of plastic. The atmosphere gets lighting up by the chemistry of Rhys and Kaitlin. They are different and have different ways of seeing the world. The little discussions are fun.

similar scenario

We had a similar scenario on Doctor Who ‘Praxeus’ in which the Doctor for a moment suspect the Autons, who are the enemies here. I like this take on the problematic more. In ‘Praxeus’ they kinda used a sledgehammer to get their message across. Here it feels more subtle. It is still the same message. But here they don’t hit you with it. So I really like this story. It works great and gets the message across and we get again an old enemies of the Doctor.

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June 5

Torchwood: Sync

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 3rd adventure of the 5th season of Big Finish’s Torchwood ‘Sync’ with Suzie Castello and the Mayor of Cardiff. At first it is not clear when this is taking place in Suzie timeline. Magrette and Suzie meet at the crash side of a spaceship and she thinks Suzie is a UFO spotter.

A special bond

Like I said they meet on the crash side of a spaceship. We don’t know why Suzie is there but we know it is not for Torchwood. Magrette is searching for a way to leave earth. After the crash the ship bonds them together so they don’t loose each other until help arrives. Which means that they can’t leave each others side. Also what ever shot the spaceship down is firing missiles at them. So they have to find a way to break the bond and stop these missiles.

Simularity

Both are really different people but they are really similar in many ways. They both are outsiders and play people that they not really are. Both of them has they very own agenda and they are ready to make everything to get what they want. Actually they are both crazy and that probably is the reason we they get along so good. They form are a special pair.

It is also the reason why this is a fun story. It is not one of my favorite but it is still fun to listen to this very special pair and the unique friendship that they share. I like the stories with Suzie because she is so hard to read. She is for me the bad one. It never was really different but I find it interesting to see what she plans and what she want to achieve. You know that she has a secret agenda but you never quiet sure what she is after.

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May 29

Torchwood: The Green Life

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 2nd adventure of the 5th season of Big Finish’s Torchwood ‘The Green Life’ with Jack and Jo Grant. This was one of the adventure I really looked forward to. I really love Jo. She was such a great character and pairing her with Jack promise so much fun. This is a sequel to ‘The Green Death’.

Bickering

I could just listened to them bickering all the time. It is so much fun to listen to them. They they interact is so perfect and so Jo and Jack. Jo got older and she lived her live without the Doctor for a while and I always love the Doctors Companion who don’t regret leaving him. I really loved it when the show us that these people had great time with the Doctor and their miss him but the actually are happy in their life. Jo is one of the people who tried to make so much out of her life. She fought to make the world better, she traveled and never regretted leaving.

Difference

Jo left the Doctor and it has her decision and Jack got left and never got quiet over it. He also use to find a solution with a gun when Jo just don’t like them. It is quiet interesting to see them fighting with each other to find a way to achieve the same thing. I really loved this story. It is a typical Torchwood story. Torchwood itself like a big gray area and they never have a totally ‘white’ solution. Torchwood is just so imperfect and it is so love to see. Because Doctor sometimes things he so much better than the humans. The third Doctor for me had always this way of thinking that he has the only right solution. I think most solutions of Torchwood would get his approval. But they tried their best. So it is great to see Jo understanding that. She doesn’t like Jack solution but she listened to him and understands.

High Expections

I had such high expectations for this adventure and it was even better than I imaged it. I think they captured not just Jo’s character perfectly but also the feeling you had watching ‘The green Death’ and the UNIT. It shows the past and how it is now. I really love it. Jack and Jo are a great time and I had a lot of fun listening to this adventure.

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May 22

Torchwood: Night of the Fendahl

Hey Guys,

welcome to the first adventure of the 5th season of Big Finish Torchwood ‘Night of the Fendahl’. It is the 25th adventure in total and it doesn’t feel like it is going that long and that I listened to so many of them. They were all so great. But back to this particular one. It is with Gwen Cooper and it is a sequel to the old story ‘Image of the Fendahl’. The story place at some point after she got her kid. So I would image it is after season 4 of Torchwood.

Hello I am your victim

That is how the story starts. I was what is going on. They are going to film a snuff movie and Gwen is playing the victim in it. This brings us to the question what is wrong with Gwen. Because she would never take part in such a thing. You all know that I am not a big fan of Gwen. But she is strong and will never act like this. So something seems to posses her.

Dark…

The story is a really dark one. You can see the dark night in front of your eyes, the rain pouring down, thunder… it creates a really dark and cold atmosphere. Than there are the four man who are up to no good. It feels like the danger is right there to grab. Actually I feel really uncomfortable when I heard the adventure. It is like you just want to turn around and run far away. But you can’t. You know that Gwen wouldn’t run. You know that Gwen will not bow to anyone but somehow it is not Gwen so you don’t feel so secure. So everything can happen to her.

Phil the good one…

Three of the man feel like aggressors. The fourth Phil feels different. He seems trying to help Gwen, to make her leave but just with words. But he is not going… he is still going through with it. But it doesn’t really feel like he is forced to be there. He may not really want to be there but one the other hand he wants to. When she doesn’t run, he is starting to blame her. On the first one he looks like is better than the others but I think in the end he is as bad as all of the others.

It is great and dark and it feels so uncomfortable but still go and listen to it. It is a great story.

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May 15

Torchwood: Deadbeat Escape

Hey Guys,

welcome to the last adventure of the 4th season of Big Finish Torchwood ‘Deadbeat Escape’ with Bilis Manger. So you can imagine that this is one of the adventures I wasn’t that excepted for. I never really like the character or found him that interesting. But everything that Big Finish had touched so far turned to be amazing. So yeah this story is no different.

Do you really want to check in

The Travelers Halt is hotel shortly before Cardiff and have seen better days. What is the mystery of this hotel and Bilis Manger that will all know from the Torchwood story ‘Captain Jack Harkness’. Hywel Roberts wants to stay in the hotel for one night because of the pouring rain. He is on his way to see is ill father. Just to find out that he is stuck in a trap. The whole is a big trap.

The mystery of Bilis

Like I said before I never interested in this character. So maybe I also forget a lot about him. What I remember is that he got out and wanted to feed on people and so Jack gave his life. So for me he was just another bad guy. But was he really a bad guy. He doesn’t look like a good guy. But this story makes me thing that there is way more to his character than just being the bad guy and I find myself asking who he really is. Why he can travel in time and what he believes in and what fights for. I starting to be interested in his story, his background. What is the mystery of this man.

The reason I love this story so much is because you never know the role of Bilis. Is he the one who set the trap, does he try to help them or does he just use them to get what he wants. You never really know and that makes it so good.

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