George Hewitt reviews April’s Torchwood release: Launch Date
Bringing the ‘romance trilogy’ of Torchwood stories to a conclusion is Aaron Lamont‘s Launch Date, which sees Ianto Jones become heavily involved in his best friend’s love life.
Launch Date is Lamont’s second script for the Torchwood range, and despite Gareth David-Lloyd‘s Ianto Jones being the centrepiece of the cover, the story focusses mainly on the relationship between Geraint (Jonathan Hawkins) and Chrissie (Gemma Knight Jones), while Ianto is involved in a more peripheral way. We meet Geraint in the first scene, and right from the start we know exactly the sort of character he is. Lamont’s dialogue is pacey, and Hawkins gives a great performance, effortlessly presenting Geraint’s unconfident, slightly unsure nature. That says, his Welsh accent does occasionally falter, but he manages to ensure that his line delivery doesn’t allow that to detract from the the performance too much.
Chrissie on the other hand is headstrong and speaks her mind, Gemma Knight Jones doing well to evoke a sense of frustration with the world in her performance. Lamont’s construction of the story allows listeners to see a different side to Ianto, as he gently nudges Chrissie and Geraint closer together. These scenes intersperse duologues between Chrissie and Geraint, as well as vignettes of each of their personal lives. A highlight of the latter are the scenes featuring Callum Lloyd as Joe, one of Geraint’s co-workers. Lloyd manages to make Joe incredibly annoying but not wholly unlikeable, and Lisa Bowerman‘s direction ensures that these scenes don’t irk the listener too much.
After some light, funny glimpses into the dates that Chrissie and Geraint go on, the final moments feel slightly underwhelming, as it is obvious from the beginning that Ianto has a hand in the pair’s relationship. The twist doesn’t feel like much of a surprise, but the character interactions are all written and played in a considered manner, and feel very real, Gareth David-Lloyd‘s performance consistently on top form.
Overall, this was a solid story and although it did have a couple of shortcomings, they didn’t detract too much.
The Torchwood Monthly Range takes a break next month to make way for Torchwood: Among Us, and will return in August.
Launch Date is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com
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