torchwood_cascade_ CDRip.tor

"The more you listen, the more control it has."

Writer: Scott Handcock 

Format: Audio

Released: June 2017

Series: Torchwood Monthly 17

Featuring: Tosh

Synopsis

WARNING: The unauthorised reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Your downloads are monitored. Internet piracy is a crime and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a fine of £250,000 or death.

Come on, we've all done it. We've all downloaded a cheeky little something we shouldn't have. After all, what's the harm, eh? You never get caught. No-one knows. No-one knocks at your door and tells you you're about to die.

Turns out, there's something hiding in the internet. It knows what you've done. And it's going to stop you. 

Verdict

torchwood_cascade_CDRip.tor was an excellent Torchwood audio adventure! This was one of the most unique stories I've ever listened to and I thought the format worked so well and was just perfectly suited to Torchwood as a series and Tosh as a character. It was a brave presentation that worked so well and blurred some lines between fiction and reality with the likes of alternate Torchwoods being heard, transitioning into the likes of interviews from behind the scenes cutting in as well as the way things led into the coming soon trailer for the next episode in the series. It was very well done indeed. We started in a similar way to Zone 10 which took me by surprise but the corruption file recording of Tosh's that followed peaked my interest immediately. I mean, the story title did that from the off but once we got into the thick of things I was hooked. The warnings throughout from Nikki to stop listening were good and it was quite cool to have the listener addressed like that. Obviously, it fed in nicely to the plot as did the call from Stephen from Torchwood One who knew of Tosh and needed her help instantly. The little skips and jumps in the audio were a constant reminder of the theme of the episode with it seemingly like my own download file on the Big Finish app was corrupted! Stephen having studied aliens since the fall of Canary Wharf was intriguing and the discovery he'd made of 27 disappearances all at 4.39am and everyone having the same date of birth was magnificent. That couldn't possibility be a coincidence despite what Tosh was saying. There was one anomaly though and that was Nikki who'd used her girlfriend's computer to download a playlist and she was in San Francisco hearing a voice in her ear that was coming for her. It was her girlfriend that correlated to the pattern so the answer lay in the coding of the internet and downloads, all focused on a torrent site. I won't try to understand torrents or coding, but I was fascinated by the terminology and what could potentially happen. Stephen being next on theist was good and I liked how Janet's data soon was replaced by his own which led to Tosh being enlisted. The glimpses of future events in the episode occurring halfway was fun with Max, who we hadn't met yet, having his biology apparently rewritten. The virus having physical consequences was a great concept and I liked that this wasn't the first instance with another 32 people with the same date of birth also having an occurrence just 36 hours previously and this meant Tosh knew what she was looking for and could decode. She was in her element in this episode and Max being another that was due to be next with the same date of birth worked well so we were soon taken to his house which was good. The infringements comment from the virus was excellent and I thought it was nice that Tosh didn't have any. The corrupted sought to share and the torrent became a cascade to take over. The release vs release battle between Tosh and Stephen at the hands of the virus was very good and I loved how Tosh knew Stephen loved her all this time. She was so calm! Tosh updating her profile settings to math the targeted date of birth was marvellous She was taunted and reminded of her abandoned brother which was a surprise but she carried everything in her stride which was terrific. Underestimate Toshiko Sato at your own will, because that was a mistake with Tosh taking control and executing the programme after luring the virus onto the Torchwood mainframe and locking it away onto a hidden cache. I'm not entirely sure of what cache is, but I know I clear it from time to time on my laptop! Overall, a terrific audio!

Rating: 9/10