Dissected

"I've been an alien clone."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: February 2020

Series: Torchwood Monthly 36

Featuring: Gwen, Martha

Synopsis 

Gwen Cooper turns up on Martha Jones's doorstep with a dead body in tow. She needs to ask one final favour of her. And to find out why they stopped being friends.

A lot's happened to Torchwood since Martha left. A lot's happened to Martha since she left Torchwood. And theres something very odd about the dead body Gwen's brought with her.

Tonight Gwen's going to be getting more answers than she bargained for.

Verdict 

Dissected was an excellent audio to continue my way through the monthly releases of Torchwood from Big Finish! The premise for this one was pretty much perfect on paper for me with it being a two-gander between Gwen and Martha! That was really exciting stuff and it certainly didn’t let down. They’re two very strong female characters who I adore so having them reunited was tremendous. I liked the dynamic of Gwen catching Martha after she’d already dealt with four dead bodies, so what harm could a fifth do? It was actually a quite significant moment for Martha as she was set to leave UNIT which was a bit of a surprise! Her last post was stationed here at Hereford which wasn’t exactly the most exciting place to finish up, and the awkwardness that came from her actually being in the country and not giving a message to Torchwood was felt immediately. There was a major unease in the atmosphere after that was mentioned. Gwen’s arrival with the body from a crash was a good premise to be reunited with Martha but the relationship really did feel just like business which was almost a shame. The story from Gwen about a Torchwood Christmas party going awry with Drahvins revealed as the catering and kitchen staff was amusing and definitely something I need to hear! Make the audio! The dynamic of this audio containing Torchwood vs UNIT was actually outstanding and I think a crossover ought to happen now. There’s so much potential there! The fact it had been quite a while now since the events of Reset and what followed with Owen was intriguing, and both Gwen and Martha pondered on his and Tosh’s dying. It was a somber affair. Martha snubbing the idea of using Torchwood technology was fun and the sense of distrust was growing between them. The technology of each one of them showing that the body, later identified as Jonathan, was still alive. Martha was convinced he was dead though. Evidence did seem to favour Gwen’s prognosis though! The feedback that came from the electricals combining with the gas release from Jonathan was fun as Martha got to show her medical expertise. Jonathan having come to the woods for a sexual rendezvous opened up a lot of questions as to the whereabouts of the other body, as surely they’d also have perished in the crash? I thought it was powerful stuff to have Gwen challenging Martha on what she perceived to be just ticking corporate boxes at UNIT now, but she simply didn’t think that Jonathan was a big scale case warranting UNIT resources. Gwen’s comments about UNIT locking everything in vaults was fun as Martha retorted about them making their own technology instead of stealing it from aliens. Gwen googling about hair and nails growing after death was hilarious as she completely undermined Martha’s medical degree. She would be proven wrong though. Gwen even going so far as to be rooting through Martha’s office was surprising as any efforts of trust were destroyed and Martha induced a lockdown. The DNA result showing both they of Jonathan and Gwen was a fun surprise and we learned all about the chameleon technology present in the crashed ship. Martha had done some snooping of her own too in finding that chameleon message from Jack. The feel of the episode soon shifted once Gwen realised that Martha no longer had an engagement ring as she was not the fiancé of Tom anymore. Gwen felt bad about that and it explained her absence. She wasn’t a chameleon clone in the slightest! Her mention of being one was an excellent reference to The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky though. Martha actually believing that Jonathan’s hair and nails had gotten shorter was amusing given the earlier exchange! The chameleon actually utilising the dead body was fantastic and I loved the intelligence of Martha and Gwen in combining to use the blood of others to confuse the DNA and coupling that with the stasis mist. It was very effective! Martha would make her leaving party after all and Gwen suggesting she use the impending explosion to go freelance and place blame on Torchwood was really nice as they reconciled by the end. Overall, a tremendous listen!

Rating: 9/10