Aliens Among Us: Orr

"I become what you want."

Writer: Juno Dawson
Format: Audio
Released: 10th August 2017
Series: Torchwood 5.03

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Tyler, Mr Colchester

Synopsis

Vincent Parry is the most successful property developer in Cardiff. A while ago he made an agreement with the mysterious Ro-Jedda, and it is an agreement he has come to bitterly regret. Something has to be done - but it's going to cost him everything he loves.

With time running out for Cardiff, Torchwood encounter an aliens who knows them only too well.

Verdict

Orr was another very good audio episode in the ongoing Aliens Among Us fifth series of Torchwood! I had the feeling that things calmed down a bit during this story and it was actually an episode of transition. I mean, it says quite a lot when this story contained the threat of the entirety of Cardiff being destroyed and an alien who becomes what you sexually desire is calm but I guess that really is Torchwood this series. I love it. The new team are slowly becoming familiar and I liked how we had them all mostly appear for the same amount of time in this episode. Of course, Gwen still isn't who she is supposed to be but we got to hear the imposter for a decent amount of time which was good. I am still very intrigued to see what that aspect of the story comes to and I would like to know how she's managed to insert herself into Gwen's life without anybody noticing. That really does seem to be the theme of the series though as regulars in Cardiff seem to know that the Sorvix have arrived in the city and it's almost now seen as normal, particularly in the back alley trades. Hatch was a great little character and I liked the conversation he and Jack had when the latter was looking to get Orr's collar removed. That collar seemed to carry the threat of destroying the entire Welsh capital which meant that things were obviously pretty serious. We got an appearance from Ro-Jedda here which was good and there was a nice reference to Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy. She insisted that Vincent Parry prepare more housing for her as there were more aliens to come. The significance of whether she was housing more than just Sorvix in the city was interesting and I am wondering whether the next episode will be a big one as it finishes the boxset or if it will just be another cog in the machine of the series as a whole. I really don't mind either way but I'm looking forward to finding out. We heard glimpses of the real Gwen and she seemed to be coping quite well considering the imposter had killed her mother. Rhys featured for the first time this series which was great as I think he's a very underrated character from the show. He really does bring a lot and the last series proved that. Jack getting into the action with Tyler was good and I liked Mr Colchester's disdain and what he was doing in going after the assassin that killed Parry. She though was almost like a mad terrorist brainwashed by religion and as she fully accepted her fate in being blown up, she proclaimed 'God is great' and then was obliterated. The idea of aliens coming to Cardiff in search of God is something that has me interested so that is definitely a good thing. Jack taking Orr to the Brecon Beacons to be destroyed was a good location and I really loved the joke regarding getting stuck behind something on the roads. I know from experience that those roads are awful if you get caught behind something so the familiarity was great for me. I was quite surprised though when Orr's collar didn't even show a sign of detonating in a huge explosion. It detached itself with a whimper and it seems that Ro-Jedda needs Orr after all. She was a very interesting hybrid of species with how she could become what anyone desired and her challenge with finding what Jack wanted was good. The signs seemed to suggest Ianto which was a nice touch. Her encounter with Mr Colchester was also good. Mary's funeral was quite sad and it solidifies this as the fifth series of Torchwood despite not being on television. The story is continuing and this one has set things up further in a very nice way. Overall, a great episode!

Rating: 8/10