Thirst Trap

"I've got a date!"

Writer: Tom Price

Format: Audio

Released: March 2023

Series: Torchwood Monthly 72

Featuring: Andy, Rhys

Synopsis

You have 20 minutes to find your perfect mate. Then you may never see them again. Now or Never has launched in Cardiff and something's clearly very wrong with the app. 

Not only is everyone going on dates, but everyone's on the same date. The same meals. The same hobbies. The same small talk. 

Andy Davidson would be investigating. But he's got a date.

Verdict

Thirst Trap was an excellent episode to continue my way through the Torchwood monthly range at Big Finish! The name of this one intrigued me right from the off as thirsty is certainly a word I would use to describe the younger generation of our population at the moment. It feels rife in Cardiff so it's the perfect place for this kind of story. Apps are obviously a huge part of our everyday life and there really is an app for almost anything as part of daily life. Dating apps are everywhere and thankfully I'm in a very happy relationship of over nine years now so I can't imagine being on one, but I see them advertised everywhere and I know several people who use them. The concept behind Now or Never was intriguing in that the couple on the date only had twenty minutes to fall in love. That is really interesting, although I think that really limits the number of locations you can go! Especially for food. It's basically Wetherspoons or bust. Maybe a Nando's if it's quiet. Andy going on a date with Anna was good and it was nice to think that he was potentially finding someone he could be with. It was rather sad for him to describe hating the silence at home where he was alone and the description of him having multiple chins felt a little on the nose when he declined the chicken wings to go with his pizza order, but then I realised afterwards that Tom Price himself was the writer! Suddenly that kind of description felt okay and was a lot more humorous. I thought the combination of Andy and Rhys was terrific and the guilt that came from the latter about being on the app and subsequently on a date with Becky was marvellous. But then there was something a little darker at play as he feared that Gwen would be leaving him. Surely they're inseparable! The sequence where they're both in the shop together buying new clothes was honestly incredible and just sublime humour. Leather! Loafers! Things Andy and Rhys definitely didn't need to try and impress their dates. The performances of both Price and Kai Owen were sensational and there's just no way they managed that in one take. It was brilliant to hear them tackle the horny harmonics. What a line. The concept behind the Now or Never app and the agreement the user put in place when signing up was perhaps a tad far fetched and I doubt would be legal under Welsh legislation, although supposedly getting a grant from the Senedd surprised me! Speculation on Andy's behalf there, surely? Sunil was a pretty humorous character too within the police force and him being heavily involved in the Now or Never app wasn't actually expected to considering he was partaking! The way the app got into your head quite literally with the right use of the antennas in your phone to create a sense of love was really good and I liked the use of modern technology. There's so much potential for wrongdoing with what's available nowadays and this worked well. I thought Andy finding the resolution within the app itself and using terms and conditions against him and the entire shell sham that was the company was terrific. All of the phones went on a first date for more than twenty minutes and that was against the terms, therefore all of the phones' data was erased and with it the entire customer base of Now or Never. I thought that was a neat conclusion to what was a very fun, modern and intriguing story! Overall, a fantastic listen. 

Rating: 9/10