Hidden

"Why was talking to you the last thing they ever did?"

Writer: Steven Saville

Format: Audio

Released: February 2008

Series: Torchwood BBC Audio 01

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto

Synopsis 

After a series of violent and seemingly unrelated deaths, the solution to a riddle seems to point the finger of blame at Captain Jack. Can the Torchwood team uncover the truth, which lies hidden in the heart of the Welsh countryside, in time to save their leader?

Verdict 

Hidden was a really strong BBC Audio debut from Torchwood! I actually purchased the Torchwood Tales boxset a very long time ago but for some reason it has taken me until now to get started on it and this was a very solid beginning! It was fun to return to the Series 1 era and this differed a lot from the Big Finish Torchwood range as they feel more like a continuation whereas this felt like it could just slot in somewhere in the middle of that first series. That was really good. I must start by saying how good Naoko Mori was as the narrator. She was tremendous and her subtle impressions of the Torchwood team that wasn’t Tosh were brilliant. A small American accent for Jack here, a hint of Welshness for Gwen and a very solid take on Owen’s boyish personality. I was hugely impressed and it definitely helped with the authenticity of the story. It felt genuine which can sometimes be difficult in a story that’s narration heavy with only one performer, especially one that goes over two hours! But Mori held her own and was just lovely. It didn’t feel that long which is a compliment. The excitement was there and I thought the build up was good. The style of the audio with the different chapters was very intriguing and wasn’t something I had heard previously. I was a big fan though and it helped break up the story as the listener went through. It certainly allowed me to get my washing out at one point! Having a cliffhanger finish between discs was also the right decision and it was a great one at that! Ianto being run off the road was a big shock but certainly one I welcomed to heighten the jeopardy in the adventure. I was impressed with how different each part felt whilst connecting back to an overall plot. The fertility clinic just being a front for genome experimentation to try and cheat death was brilliant and I loved listening to Tosh trying to break down the ownership structure of Robert Craig’s companies. There was offshore mixed in with shell companies which made me feel like I was back at work! I’m an analyst at a financial firm that assigns AML risk ratings to clients and I’ve been on that paper trail many a time to try and find an owner. It was fun to hear someone else doing it instead. Robert Craig was a fascinating character and his history dating back to the middle of the seventeenth century was quite something. It tied in nicely with the desire for immortality and just chasing that was fun to explore. Fronting it with a fertility clinic was amusing but the world had come a long way now. I liked how reference was made to breakthroughs of recent technology and how to the scientists and people of the 1660s that they would seem impossible. So why couldn’t death be conquered? It was an admirable goal for sure. The police questioning Jack as the victims had all been in contact with him in the previous 24 hours was brilliant and I really liked that he was blamed. He was very confident he wouldn’t be going down for the crime though. Ianto having a serious injury was good and I thought the realism contained in the story was Torchwood at its best. Having settings like the Brecon Beacons just north of Merthyr Tydfil and a journey to Caerphilly was very close to my home so I appreciated that! I thought Tosh working out front the photos that she was looking at the same person was good and the body going missing got Jack off the hook as a jury would never convict him of murdering a man who didn’t exist with no body, but a bit more elaboration there would have been good to fully articulate what had happened. It did allow for a moment of triumph for Jack though! Overall, a great listen. 

Rating: 8/10