Post by MS on Feb 7, 2021 11:11:09 GMT -5
On reflection when Big Finish got the licence to make Torchwood it would be a matter of time before they got around to Torchwood One whose fall at Canary Wharf in Doctor Who: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday served as the prelude to the Torchwood TV series featuring the team from Torchwood Three.
Torchwood One stars Tracy-Ann Oberman as Yvonne Hartman, the character that she first played in the aforementioned Army of Ghosts/Doomsday and then reprising her at Big Finish's Torchwood range in One Rule & The Torchwood Archive.
Torchwood One also featured Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones who we had first seen at Torchwood Three in the TV series as Ianto had worked for Torchwood One prior to Torchwood Three.
The first series of Torchwood One comes under the banner of Before the Fall (referring to the aforementioned fall at Canary Wharf) and it starts with New Girl.
Written by Joseph Lidster, the said New Girl refers to Rachel Allan played by Sophie Winkleman.
Set in 2005, this takes place a few months after Doctor Who: Rose as Rachel has just joined Torchwood as has her first day here.
Funny how Rachel first meets Yvonne before going to see Pippa, the Head of Human Resources.
Pippa is played by Lorelei King (who also voices the Lift) and incidentally she had a role in the Doctor Who TV series as she was the narrator in A Town Called Mercy.
Other Torchwood personnel includes Tommy and Millidar both played by Tim Bentinck.
Before the Fall was released in January 2017 and later that year Bentinck was in the Doctor Who TV series playing a Monk in Extremis & Pyramid at the End of the World.
Also in 2017 Bentinck doubled for the Fourth Doctor in the official completion of Shada.
In New Girl, a brief mention is made that Torchwood is on the look out for the Doctor.
As well as being prescient, little did Torchwood know that the Doctor has been working for them in Bentinck.
Another Torchwood personnel is Guleraana Arbid played by Nisha Nayar.
Nayar had been in two Doctor Who stories on TV in Paradise Towers & Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways.
Bad Wolf incidentally is the episode that first referenced Torchwood and before anyone would truly get to know what Torchwood is.
Fascinating and at the same time horrifying when Yvonne told Rachel about their own torturer.
Interesting the Ianto presented here is not someone who is not always willing serve coffee making him somewhat different to the Ianto at Torchwood Three.
Fascinating presenting Rachel as a newcomer at Torchwood and certain occurrences at Torchwood which culminates with the office party at the end.
It has been said that Adeola (but not Freema Agyeman) was at this party.
The office party would turned out to be a trick against Yvonne resulting from a tragedy that Yvonne received the blame for and then having no choice but to run from it.
Somewhat strange this had me feeling sympathy for Yvonne considering that she wasn't exactly one of the good guys when she was introduced in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday.
New Girl is truly an enthralling way to start Torchwood and the person who is really responsible for the tragedy at the party was not someone I had expected and how this person benefited from this tragedy.