Alex Hewitt reviews the final instalment of Torchwood‘s seventh series.

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After the build-up of the first three episodes of Among Us 3, it feels strange to say that The Apocalypse Starts at 6PM is more grounded than what we’ve had so far. James Goss‘s script finally introduces us to Janet, a TV magazine/talk show host whose programme is highjacked by Torchwood to spread awareness of Friend.

The decision to have a smaller-scale finale is a potentially dangerous move, but executed here flawlessly. After Aliens Among Us and God Among Us presented listeners with highly emotionally driven and action-heavy final episodes respectively, it’s nice that this series is able to focus more on the characters and the plot. As with Among Us 2‘s finale, Goss utilises the ensemble cast of this episode to tie together elements of previous stories in the series that otherwise seemed unconnected. This includes a surprising appearance on Janet’s show by a character we previously heard in Moderation, back in the first boxset of the series.

It would be foolish to go much longer without mentioning Janet herself. It’s truly remarkable how familiar Janet Ellis can make a character feel, even though this is her only appearance in Torchwood thus far. Part of this, of course, will be Ellis’s own experience with magazine television. She feels so natural in the presenter role, but has some fantastic opportunities to show her range as well – opportunities which Ellis grabs and runs with, delivering an exemplary performance throughout the episode.

Yet again, The Story Continues as a range separates itself from the rest of Big Finish‘s Torchwood output by the nature of its harsh, direct political and social commentaries, and The Apocalypse Starts at 6PM gives us plenty more. Images of Torchwood rallying people to tear down phone masts are conjured up, and Janet is interviewed by ‘GBTV’. These aren’t necessarily subtle examples, but they don’t need to be – the point is made clearly enough that it can be understood yet so entrenched in the story itself that it doesn’t harm the narrative.

Finally, we have the whole Torchwood team together. It’s taken twelve episodes, but they’re back full-time and what a team this is. It’s not hyperbole to say that Torchwood has never been better as a show than with this line-up of characters – and that includes the TV episodes. Director David O’Mahony proves in this story that he can handle almost anything thrown at him, so it will be exciting to see what he gets up to in the future.

The Apocalypse Starts at 6PM concludes the greatest series of Torchwood with an episode that feels so different from the rest of the Among Us arc, and yet encapsulates all the themes and ideas laid out in the eleven previous episodes. Just sheer perfection.

Torchwood: Among Us 3 is available on CD or as a download from https://www.bigfinish.com/.