The Torchwood Archive

"Underneath Cardiff there's a secret base dedicated to saving the world."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: October 2016

Series: Torchwood 10th Anniversary Special

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Tosh, Ianto, Suzie, Yvonne, Mr Colchester

Synopsis

'Welcome, visitor. The Torchwood Archive provides a complete history of our Institute from its distant beginnings to the present day. When we founded our great enterprise in the year of our lord 1879, we decreed that there should be a record of this achievement, stored at the very furthest limits of the British Empire. By visiting you are spreading that legacy, perhaps out through the skies. For now, I shall bid you a good day and welcome you to the Torchwood Archive. Do, please look around.'

The Torchwood Archive is a forgotten asteroid in the centre of a great war. Jeremiah is its first visitor in many centuries. He's come to learn something very important. And the ghosts of Torchwood are waiting for him.

Verdict

The Torchwood Archive was a great feature-length adventure to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Torchwood! I'm trying to make up for lost time when it comes to catching up on the Torchwood adventures from Big Finish and getting an anniversary special is fantastic. The concept of The Torchwood Archive itself was intriguing and a clever way to get a multitude of Torchwood characters past, present and future to have a role in the story. It was quite a calm pace which is unusual for Torchwood but I felt that it worked well in explaining the origins of the Committee. I liked the monologue from Queen Victoria we got towards the end in describing why the Committee was set up with Torchwood Institute needing a 'bad guy' to take on and prove itself against. Things just got a bit out of hand which was fun. I really enjoyed the focus of the Bad Penny or Object 1 and linking this back to Zone 10 with Tosh and Ghost Mission with Andy was really nicely done and provided some good continuity with the Monthly Adventures we have had from Torchwood thus far. That was furthered by Suzie having stumbled upon the Orid factory that connected things with Uncanny Valley and Miss Trent as part of the Committee in a very nice way. I liked how Yvonne admitted that Torchwood One was heavily involved in the sex doll business going on there so her lack of reaction when Suzie described blowing it up was fantastic. I liked the timing with Yvonne and how she was referring to Ianto, and hearing him try and look for Lisa and help her out during the events of the Battle of Canary Wharf was pretty emotional, especially as he had been the one to tell her to come into work that day. The inclusion of Mr Colchester and hearing him mention Orr was an unexpected delight and I love how this was released quite some time before Aliens Among Us started. That was really clever and a fun glimpse into the Torchwood of the future. It was also intriguing to get a look at the likes of Torchwood Russia and India as well as we can often forget that Torchwood has now spread worldwide. The lack of Owen is obviously a bit disappointing for an anniversary special, but I was glad that he was still written in through a phone call. I liked how we had the existence of the Torchwood Archive provided here and that linked in well with The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit where it was mentioned that Zachary was representing it. It was also fun to continue with the format of years designated. Simple but such effective continuity. Jeremiah was a good character at the heart of the story and hearing the holograms tell their stories, with Tosh having a fun one reflecting on her recent journey to Russia and I was also glad that we got to hear Gwen and Rhys. There was a lot going on whilst at the same time it was all actually pretty simple. The Committee were explained and continued to have an eery presence through the old people's home, and the Bad Penny still returned through the Rift. It would never leave. And I think that was a great way to leave things post-credits! Overall, a great anniversary special!

Rating: 8/10