Suki Blue

I want to say lots of wonderful things about this radio play, but unfortunately I'm struggling to think of anything. You guys know how much I love my Torchwood, but I have to be honest. I thought it was boring, I thought it sounded unrehearsed and I thought it was a sad waste of forty-odd minutes that could have been used to hook some news fans. Don't get me wrong, there was potential there, but on the whole it fell flat.

The first problem was the lack of jeopardy. I, at no point, felt at all worried, about anyone, and when you consider I get palpitations at the mere thought of anything happening to my Ianto, that really is saying something.

Basically, it was a nice idea, but the writing let it down. Unrealised concept and dialogue that felt off. At times I wondered if Gareth and Eve felt the same way, because they did not sound like Gwen and Ianto. John was just John, bless him. He did his best with the little he had to work with.

The humour was all wrong. It wasn't Torchwood humour. There was a major opportunity for some classic comedy near the start in the SUV scene, and while I did find it amusing, it didn't make me laugh out loud. Again, the writing was off.

I'm going to make a bit of an unfair comparison now, but hopefully you'll get what I mean. Compare Asylum with the fantastic, recently released audio book Sin Eaters and what you see (hear?) is a half-arsed piece of fiction that would sell a maximum of ten copies on CD if it didn't star the Torchwood cast.

Asylum Verdict: I want to end on a positive note so I'll just advise you to rush out and buy Sin Eaters instead, a piece Torchwood kit every fan should own.

In the Shadows is the new Torchwood audio book just released by the BBC, and it is the best one yet. It was creepy, funny, in-character and exciting. Actually, it's a good example of what some of the regular TV episodes should have been like. Good writing, good plot. Eve Myles does a fabulous job of reading. She does seem unable to totally shift the Welsh accent when she's doing Jack, Tosh and Owen, but it isn't weird or distracting and her voice is clear and pleasant to listen to. My only complaint would be that it could have been a little longer (it runs at 2 hours 30 minutes) as the end felt a bit rushed.

One of my main concerns with the Torchwood novels and audio books is the amount of Ianto we get for our money and, in this case, I'm completely satisfied with the quantity and quality of Ianto-y and Janto-y goodness.