The final Torchwood release of 2023 – after so many strong releases this year, how does it fare?

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Rounding off the Ood trilogy – and 2023’s Torchwood Monthly Range as a whole – is Ash Darby‘s Oracle, which sees the return of Danny Bartock, a ethicist from the far future.

This story sees a team of explorers uncovering the secrets of a crashed spaceship from 1000 years in their future. Among this group is Ronny Jhutti‘s Danny, who appears here for the first time since TV’s The Satan Pit. Jhutti slips seamlessly back into the role, and is given a fair amount more to do here than in his original TV story – Danny is an ethicist and that aspect of his character takes centre stage here. Darby’s premise allows for some thought-provoking philosophical discussion, as Danny has to argue that using the ship to see into the future could have negative ethical effects.

However, while the concept is interesting, the execution is fairly run-of-the-mill, and it feels like more could have been done with the initial set-up. The beginning of the story feels somewhat disjointed, but after the title theme things begin to improve. However, it’s frustrating that much of the intrigue – a ship’s computer taking the form of the Ood, a potential relationship between two of the leads being discovered before it happens, and the computer catering for itself rather than the benefit of the crew – is cast aside in favour of more surface-level character interplay.

But that’s not to say Oracle isn’t a fun ride. The performances are consistently excellent, and the dynamics between the characters thoroughly believable. Likewise, Sean Longmore‘s cover artwork is, as ever, gorgeous.

It’s a shame that the final instalment of this trilogy – and of 2023’s Torchwood as a whole – is a little bit of a damp squib, but it’s inevitable in a range that has so many consistent hits. Oracle is still an enjoyable story, and it would be great to hear some more from this era of Torchwood.

Torchwood: Oracle is available to buy now as a CD or download from bigfinish.com. The Torchwood Monthly Range continues in January.