Curios

"Shadows are all that remain."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: September 2021

Series: Torchwood Monthly 54

Featuring: Bilis

Synopsis

During World War Two, the Torchwood Archive has been stowed away in a Welsh coal mine along with countless other art treasures. Bilis Manger is among them. And there's something hunting him in the dark. 

Jill has been sent to catalogue the collection. She's on her own, she's in disgrace and there's something hunting her on the slopes of the mountain.

Verdict

Curios was another great audio adventure to continue my way through the monthly Torchwood range at Big Finish! I am a big fan of how well Big Finish have expanded the character life of Bilis Manger because he really is a character with so much potential. It was clear in his on screen appearances in Captain Jack Harkness/End of Days that he had a significant history and connection with Torchwood, and having him within the Torchwood Archive during World War Two just feels right somehow. I love the enigmatic nature of his character and a lot of that is down to Murray Melvin's measured performance. It's really impressive and works just as well on audio. I think having the Torchwood Archive within the depths of a coal mine in Wales is rather interesting to say the least, but it's not exactly the first place anybody would go looking! The exertion it took Jill just to get down into the collection of artefacts with the lift and it being manned was a stark reminder of the lack of technology at the time which was interesting. I was not a fan of Wilf and Brent at all and I fully appreciate that this was the intention, but crikey were they dickheads. The way they tried to assert their supposed male dominance and superiority over Jill was awkward and honestly just sad. The way Jill stood up for herself when she was threatened sexually was excellent and that was quite uncomfortable listen. There was no call for it and it actually had a bit of a lasting impact on my listening experience I think as I really didn't like it. I appreciated the realism though and sadly this is certainly something that would have happened, and probably still does to this day. I thought Jill and Bilis working together within the Torchwood Archive was great and the way she was slowly learning all about him was fascinating stuff. She deduced a lot about him which was impressive and it was quite nice as well for him to be taking a liking to her. Bilis is not exactly a character who has time for a lot of people and that was evidenced early on as he freely admitted to her he had the time, just not the inclination to help her. The threat of the shadows was strong and whilst they might have been contained to the background for a little too long, I liked the mystery behind them. The way Jill worked out that Bilis actually was stuck inside the Torchwood Archive was impressive and even more so was the way she had the intelligence to discover that the shadows were actually created by Bilis himself. They were literally formed from his frustrations and that was a really strong concept! I liked that a lot. I think Bilis becoming stuck because he was also an artefact within the Torchwood Archive collection was amusing, and Jill treating him as the prisoner he was acting like by putting him inside a box to get him out was quite the image! I thought it was intriguing that she was willing to do that despite not knowing whether he really was good or bad, but one thing she was sure on was the fate that was left for Wilf and Brent. They deserved to be left for the shadows whilst they still remained. Overall, a really strong story that explored the history of the Torchwood Archive in a really nice way! And more Bilis is always welcomed.

Rating: 8/10