The Devil and Miss Carew

"Every piece of technology will fail."

Writer: Rupert Laight
Format: Audio
Released: July 2011
Series: Torchwood: The Lost Files 01

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Ianto

Synopsis

When Rhys's elderly Uncle Bryn has a heart attack while listening to the shipping forecast, it seems like another routine death at Ivyday Nursing Home. But when Rhys and Gwen go to collect the old man's effects, Gwen's suspicions are roused by another elderly resident. The conversation is cut short, though, by a fire alarm, one of many consequences of the mysterious power cuts that are sweeping the nation. Gwen has a hunch that something is wrong and her search leads to Miss Carew, a suspiciously fit and strong octogenarian who, despite having supposedly terminal heart disease, has left Ivyday and gone back to work at the computer firm she used to run. Miss Carew has been offered a deal by Fitzroy, a wandering alien with an aversion to electricity who is looking for a home. It's a deal that Miss Carew can't refuse. But the consequences for planet Earth are unthinkable.

Verdict

The Devil and Miss Carew was a great audio adventure! It has been far too long since I have done a Torchwood audio and even longer since I've done one set between the original televised run. It was lovely to take a trip back down memory lane and I really enjoyed this. It was delightful to hear Gwen, Jack and Ianto together and I like the gap that's available between Series 2 and 3 for these kind of stories. It works well and there's no contradictions whatsoever. I really like Torchwood and part of that is its familiarity with the Welsh setting. Hearing places like Crickhowell get a mention and partial setting is very nice. Gwen is one of my all time favourite characters from any television show and she was on top form again here. She's just so likeable and her determination is admirable. Her sympathy towards Miss Carew in this adventure was lovely to see, even though she was tied up! Miss Carew herself was an intriguing character and something unique about this story was that she wasn't under Fitzroy's control. They'd simply made a deal together and she was going to keep her end of the pact because she liked the idea of a simple world without technology. It was a somewhat frightening concept and I can't imagine the chaos if the world's electrical supply just vanished but that made it an excellent threat. The danger really was on a global and catastrophic scale. Jack and Ianto's relationship was terrific here too and I quite liked how they were separated from Gwen. That allowed us more time with Rhys which is something I'm a big fan of hearing. The innuendo between Jack and Ianto was great though, particularly concerning the bushes. They're just fantastic together. Their encounter with Fitzroy was very good and I liked how we learned all about his loneliness and how he needed electricity out of the way to make Earth accessible for his form. I had hoped to learn a little more as to what exactly he was but I liked the idea of him talking through radio. He was almost like a male version of the Wire from The Idiot's Lantern. The ending seemed a tad too easy for me with Miss Carew just falling off the roof as the satellite needed alteration to send the killer signal that would allow for Fitzroy to come through, but the emotional way in which she died and had a final conversation with Gwen and Rhys meant I couldn't dislike it too much. I felt there needed to be just a bit more done like blocking the signal for good or something to sell the fact that Fitzroy's threat was no more. But as a whole, it was still a hugely enjoyable audio adventure and I was delighted to be back doing some performed Torchwood!

Rating: 8/10