Dinner and a Show

"Why can't aliens enjoy opera like everyone else?"

Writer: Gareth David-Lloyd

Format: Audio

Released: June 2020

Series: Torchwood Monthly 39

Featuring: Tosh, Ianto

Synopsis

It's February 14th and Owen is a no-show for Toshiko's not-Valentine's-Valentine's Night at the opera.

Worse, when Ianto turns up he has bad news for Toshiko, for Cardiff and for fans of classical music – the opera is full of aliens. The doors are bolted, there's no way out, and this could be the final curtain...

Verdict

Dinner and a Show was an excellent episode to continue my through the monthly Torchwood adventures from Big Finish! I was excited by the prospect of a familiar pairing with Tosh and Ianto and I think it’s overdue for these two characters to flank a story together. They’re tremendous and really have a lot riding for them. I thought the placement of between Series 1 and 2 was good as the Valentine’s Day setting became very important. Tosh trying to hide the fact she’d invited Owen on a date was a little sad as I thought she’d be able to admit to that in front of Ianto, so to find out that he’d thrown his ticket to the opera in the bin was a big shame. That would have hurt Tosh. She certainly deserves better. And so does Ianto! Jack disappearing at the end of End of Days is being felt here as both Torchwood members wonder if the organisation could go on for much longer without their cult figure leader. I think that’s quite fun and ironic given where we are now with Among Us and beyond, but Jack was so important to Torchwood at this time. He was Torchwood almost. Exploring the time where he was missing was terrific and there’s definitely a lot of room to explore there! Ianto was missing him now and the feelings he had for Jack being replicated by Tosh’s for Owen was good to explore and that meant they could both console each other and have an enjoyable evening at the opera. Or so that’s how it ought to have gone. Tosh being drunk when Ianto showed up in Owen’s place was good fun and I thought Naoko Mori played it so well! She was a lot of fun. Ianto was quite shocked to find how much alcohol she had consumed but that meant she’d let her hair down considerably. Learning about Ianto’s past and his gothic phase was not something I’d have expected, but his comment to Tosh about her being a prime candidate for going through something similar was hilarious! The opera concert setting worked better than it sounded on paper and that might have something to do with the fact that 30% of the attendees were alien! That was a good revelation and it was no wonder numerous alarms went off at the Hub. Ianto referencing The Last Beacon and his time spent with Owen in a bid to get to know him better was strong continuity but Tosh’s questioning on why he’d do that made her feelings seem a little hypocritical! I thought Ilmatar was an excellent character and the twist of him being in league with the Grosche as his biggest fans was very well done. I didn’t see that coming! I thought the idea of Ilmatar almost being an intergalactic superstar and his opera performances almost being interpreted sexually as the embarrassment they felt when the feelings reached a certain level was terrific. It was believable as far as outer space fantasies go! I like the ambiguous ending with Ilmatar escaping at the end and potentially leaving a return open for the future. The note being used to literally ignite an attendee was quite shocking but something I thought was good! I thought tying things together with Ianto and Tosh being on the roof that we saw Jack take Gwen to when she first started at Torchwood was a lovely touch. But what a view! And this was some dinner and show. Overall, a poignant and really strong episode.

Rating: 9/10