Among Us: The Apocalypse Starts at 6PM

"Do you think the world is ending tonight?"

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: July 2023

Series: Torchwood 7.12

Featuring: Yvonne, Rhys, Ng, Orr, Tyler, Mr Colchester

Synopsis

Janet's Late Teatime is the TV equivalent of a cup of soup and a lapful of kittens. So when Torchwood announce the world will end on tomorrow night's show – well, what's Janet going to do?

Verdict

The Apocalypse Starts at 6PM was a really great audio to conclude the third volume of Among Us and the seventh series of Torchwood! Big Finish really have taken the spin-off range into a completely new direction since being granted official continuation status. I maintain that some more continuity regarding where Miracle Day concluded would have been beneficial, but I am a huge fan of where we are right now and the new team that started assembling way back in Aliens Among Us for Series 5. That feels like a lifetime ago now! I’m enjoying the continuity and referencing the Cardiff tsunami of God Among Us was great, with this volume of the seventh series feeling like having more of a story arc than the first two. I’ve loved the build up to Friend and the plan to take out humanity and essentially have it reset. Friend had found humanity not fit for purpose so the plan to wipe it out with the Phlobos DNA weapon was excellent. I loved how Torchwood tapped into the modern paranoia regarding vaccines and the whole 5G buzz by suggesting that nanobots and radiation were within each respectively. Real life threats and thoughts were dealt with tremendously which I thoroughly enjoyed. The idea of Friend using the internet as a weapon was really nicely done so having Tyler and Ng at the secret pipes that help run the net was fantastic. The source of the internet is always something that fascinates me. I thought Janet’s show was intriguing but one thing I think would have helped would if it was established in earlier episodes. It could have easily been in the background or a quick bulletin-type scene to showcase Janet’s Late Teatime. It didn’t quite have the same impact it could have in helping defeat Friend. The intelligence warning Janet not to mention Torchwood after the organisation’s own warnings on the show of the apocalypse starting at 6pm was really strong and Friend being in the guise of Tommie was frightening. There’s something scary about a child asserting authority and dominance. It made for a strong villain and I loved the ending setting us up for more to come with a backup being in place. Janet being kidnapped by Yvonne was hilarious but the highlight of the entire episode might have been Orr as her lawyer. That was sublime stuff and really showcased her talents. Her empathic abilities are a big strength but this was her at her comedic best. I thought Mr Colchester had a quiet episode for the series finale, but he also had some fun scenes in posing as a driver and trying to get Janet to invite Torchwood onto her show. As the episode went on, it was clear she was going to have them there. Yvonne exuding her control and authority was great stuff and her confrontation of Friend on the show was really good. She just oozed confidence and that confused Friend, but then everyone came together to show how the internet was overpowered by a big demand for streaming the apocalypse and Rhys helped from Iceland with the Deadcoin servers which tied in nicely. It seemed potentially a little easily as the power of the internet these days is almost unfathomable, but the threat was stopped and Friend basically shutting down was quite empathic, if not a little sad with the child form it had taken. Overall though, a really strong episode to conclude what was a fine boxset and series! I can’t wait for more. 

Rating: 8/10