This feels like a strong, if not entirely satisfying, conclusion to an audacious season.
With Cardiff a wasteland following a giant tsunami, people are angry and want answers. Yvonne Hartmann becomes public enemy number one and the rest of what is left of Torchwood try and piece the city (and the world) back together. All this while God sits back sipping her tea nearby.
The finale to the three-volume “sixth season” of Torchwood wraps up the convoluted storyline that started five boxsets earlier with Aliens Among Us Part 1. If you have not heard the previous two God Among Us sets then you will be very lost indeed (although the set does try to fill in the gaps).
John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness is kept very much on the sidelines until the final episode which will no doubt anger some fans of the original series. Tracy-Ann Oberman relishes the chance to keep playing Yvonne Hartmann (and she does so with excellent timing and nuance). The rest of the Torchwood team all play their part superbly from the grumpy Mr. Colchester (an on-point Paul Clayton), to the shapeshifting alien, Orr (Samantha Beart), and Ng (Alexandria Riley- who also wrote the first story of this set). They are supported by other notable parts including Tyler Steele (Jonny Green) and Sargeant Andy Davidson (Tom Price in one of his best performances to date). The wonderful Jaqueline King savours every moment playing God and her scenes are absolutely wonderful from start to finish.
The scripts by Riley, Robin Bell, Tim Foley and James Goss suffer at times from too much shade and not enough light. Bell’s script (ScrapeJane) is the most engaging of the four and is also the one that doesn’t require too much knowledge of the backstory to follow.
Director Scott Handcock is in great form in the director’s chair and elicits some outstanding work from his cast. There is a sense of urgency in the final two stories that is very delicately played and under a less experienced director, might have toppled over into farce. The sound and music by Steve Foxon and Blair Mowat respectively, is at the high standard we have come to expect from these releases. Bonus interviews with the cast are included at the end of each story.
For fans who have invested their money on the previous sets, this will feel like a strong, if not entirely satisfying, conclusion to an audacious season. Doubtless there will be another season next year to compliment the current monthly range as well. Fans who have yet to experience Torchwood on Big Finish may need to start with the first God Among Us set- or even better yet, the Believe set which features the original cast from the TV series.
Reviewed by Rodney Hrvatin
Twitter: @Wagnerfan74
Distributed by: Big Finish Productions
Released: June 2019
Approx RRP: $50 CD, $25 Digital Download
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