THE RETURN OF THE QUEEN OF TORCHWOOD!

Tracy-Ann Oberman.

She is just a freaking perfect actress, isn't she? I mean, name the last bad thing you saw her in... Yeah, exactly. She was even badass enough to try and usurp Julian Bleach one time (Long story, you had to be there!), so in the cold winter of 2015, when she returned to one of her most memorable roles, the kick-ass Yvonne Hatman in Torchwood: One Rule, we were mad, we were happy, we were ecstatic! But above all, WE. WANTED. MORE!!!!! So now we've got some. And with added Ianto Jones and your Russian one from Red Dwarf: Back To Earth. Excuse me whilst I squee uncontrollably...

TORCHWOOD ONE: BEFORE THE FALL
THE BIG FINISH MINI-SERIES REVIEW

By Jack Ryan

BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Torchwood, when one gets down to it, is a brilliant idea. A secret organisation, set up long before UNIT, dealing with aliens and defending the world. But we forget that although it started up with good intentions (remember that The British Empire covered about half the world by that point, so technically they were protecting the world), as the years went by, it's not hard to imagine that some directors of Torchwood would have used the organisation for their own ends. And although the glorious Yvonne Hartman wouldn't fit into this category, what we are given here is an example of that stated scenario....

I did say there would be spoilers....

Spring, 2005. A month ago, Great Britain was put under an attack from the Nestene Consciousness. It and their plastic duplicates, the Autons, were defeated by the Time Lord known as the Doctor. But the people believe that is was a publicity stunt, or a prank gone wrong, or a terrorist attack. This is what Torchwood say, and Torchwood don't want you to know about them. Returning from her adventure in Cardiff, Yvonne Hartman, the Head of Torchwood One, is back where she belongs, overseeing the protection of the British Empire from Canary Wharf. And everything is going as normal, sphere not responding, everyone happy, Ianto Jones making divine coffee as he always does. And a new face, Rachel Allan has joined the family. Everything is fine. But the twenty-first century is when everything changes. And for the first time in forever, Yvonne Hartman is not ready...

Thinking about it now, it baffles me that this idea was never followed up on since Doomsday. I know we got the one in Cardiff with the glorious John Barrowman, but think of how cool a London one would have been, It would have been like a UNIT spin-off but on steroids! But one mustn't grumble. We eventually got this!  AND IT IS GLORIOUS! The combined efforts of Joe Lidster, Jenny T Colgan and Matt Fitton create a three hour mini-series that showcase a brilliant story crammed with action and drama, jokes and references up the wazoo and more twists and turns than you can shake at a sixties dancer. Like Nick Briggs' Only The Monstrous, it feels more like a three hour movie with intervals than an episodic miniseries, but that just works in its favour. This is a story that I doubt would have worked as perfectly as it is here if it was done with the Cardiff team. It's its own unique little thing at that's what makes it so good. That and the direction of the fantastic Barnaby Edwards, which just further shows that the people behind the Daleks have a lot more to give than just the megalomaniacal pepper-pots.

Cast wise, this thing is a pure marvel. Joining the queen of Torchwood, Tracy Ann-Oberman, and the man of beautiful Welsh vowels, Gareth David-Lloyd, are the likes of Red Dwarf's Sophie Winkleman, The Fall's Gerard McCarthy, The Royal's Robert Dawes, A Town Called Mercy's Lorelei King, plus Nisha Nayar, Helen Goldwyn, Damian Lynch, Simon Hickson and others.And all of them are brilliant, showcasing  both the secretive agency element of their character's professions, but also a very human aspect, especially when everything goes all Pete Tong for want of a better expression. And helping that are the efforts of sound designer Martin Montague, and the musical maestros Blair Mowat and Steve Wright. Montague's talents are perfectly utilised in this set from battles in the Houses to terrifying technical malfunctions and agonising death throes. And Mowat and Wright accompany that with a score that is epic, touching and determined all in one package. Shame there's no suite, but eh....

It may have taken about a decade to realise its potential, but now we have it. We have a set that showcases a part of Torchwood history, tells a belter of a story, gives us some of the most brilliant performances from all of the cast, notably the three leads of Oberman, David-Lloyd and Winkleman, perfect sound design, wonderful music, what more can I say? Torchwood One Before The Fall may not be as risque and intense as its Cardiff counterpart, but it is still a bloody good addition to the Torchwood line up.

VERDICT: 5/5 Do your duty, for Queen and Country, and get this thing! ;D