Gabrielle Ketley reviews the latest Torchwood release
Torchwood: Widdershins (Guy Adams) poses the question, did Torchwood ruin the life of our protagonist, Iain (Cereith Flinn)?
Savvy Torchwood fans might answer ‘probably’ before even hitting play. After all, when it comes to ruining lives, our favourite secret alien hunting squad (sorry UNIT) has got form.
Widdershins doesn’t waste time setting the scene. Iain, assisted by his (mostly) supportive parents, Mum (Catrin Powell) and Dad (Charles Dale), is retelling his childhood experience of nearly ending the world, as an attempt of catharsis, on the advice of his doctor.
According to Iain, his childhood love of “mad shit” had him walk widdershins (anti-clockwise), which, according to superstition, can open up portals to other worlds, or even wake up the dead. To his shame and horror, this act seemed to have brought on an alien invasion, that he and his family are still reeling from to this day.
The framing device, that of Iain retelling his experience via audio play, is very entertaining, and Iain’s enthusiastic inclusion of sound effects, music and accents (courtesy of Mum), makes him a deeply engaging and likeable character from the start.
Mum and Dad (no names given) initially come across as stock characters, albeit enjoyable ones, but their familiarity adds to the sense of the mundane clashing with the mad and dangerous, which has always been a significant part of Torchwood’s (and the Whoniverse’s) charm, and as the story unfolds, we see how even the most seemingly normal and down to earth people have their secrets.
The heart of the story is all about that collision between real life and Torchwood, the lingering impacts on individuals and communities, even after the day has been saved, and all is “back to normal”, and the horrors humanity and aliens alike are capable of.
Widdershins effectively captures a lingering sense of fear, frustration and desperate need for answers, as Iain and his family try to make sense of what happened all those years ago, even as their own memories of the event start to conflict.
Torchwood: Widdershins is available on CD or as a download from
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