Gabrielle Ketley reviews the latest Torchwood release
Forget Rhys, forget Andy, forget Janet the Weevil. If the original Torchwood Five had a sixth band member, it had to be the Torchwood SUV.
An online photo of the Torchwood SUV, banged up and rusting on a farm, was Gareth David-Lloyd’s inspiration to write Torchwood: Salvage. The iconic SUV, outside the speed limit, beyond the traffic police, now falling into decay, tugs at the heartstrings. A suitably symbolic image of the fall of the Torchwood team.
Tragic though it is, life and Torchwood carries on. The Torchwood SUV may seem past it, but the discovery of the dilapidated SUV allows two new honorary Torchwood members to take their turn at the wheel. Twins, Esther (Carlie Enoch) and Cody (Dewi Wykes) are doing a runner from their care home, Ester on a quest to find their parents, and Dewi on a quest to finish his favourite podcast series (both laudable goals).
The escapees’ flight takes them to an abandoned junkyard, where they discover the remains of the Torchwood SUV, covered in either alien spores, if you’re asking Cody, or moss, if you’re asking Ester..
Some necessary button pressing later, an SUV Guide for Dummies (dummies in this context meaning Owen, according to the author, one Toshiko Sato) gives Ester and Cody the code to bringing the SUV to life. In dire need of repair, the SUV has one clear goal. “Must. Find. Team.”
Ouch.
Ester and Cody, needing a hitch to Wales, team up with the SUV, setting off on a road trip back to Wales, made complicated by sibling squabbling, and the pursuit of the SUV’s current and murderously obsessive owner, Jed (Kirris Rivieré) as he desperately tries to reclaim his “beautiful boy”.
The plot is neat and simple, allowing for the emotional conflict and themes of futile obsession, shared by hero, villain and vehicle alike, to take the focus.
Enoch and Wykes capture the realities of siblinghood, that easy familiarity, the affectionate banter bordering on bullying, loving and infuriating each other in equal terms. Whereas podcast loving, bug hating Cody would rather stay in than join his sister in her schemes, Ester joins the Whoniverse tradition of bold, brave and implacable young women, fearlessly chasing down their goals, and dragging a long-suffering sidekick into the chaos.
David-Lloyd balances humour with poignancy brilliantly, culminating in a satisfying and bittersweet ending, with the SUV remembering that the team is gone, and taking Ester and Cody back to their childhood home. Looking at their old house, Ester is nudged into confronting the reality of the day the social workers took them. This moment of clarity allows Ester to let go off the past and move on. Its final act of heroism complete, the SUV has one last mission, to drive into the sea (don’t worry, it’s a submarine car), taking the sensitive information it contains with it.
But not Cody’s headphones. They’re Cody’s safe place. Cody needs those.
While this is an end, in letting go of the past, Ester and Cody are able to start anew, a fitting final act of service for the Torchwood SUV. After all, joining Torchwood may often mean meeting gory ends, but it can also mean a fresh start. It helped Jack build a life after losing the Doctor, it gave Owen and Ianto a reason to live after losing Kate and Lisa, and Tosh her freedom after a stint in a UNIT prison, and even Gwen jumped into Torchwood with a zeal that suggests she was ready to step out of a life she’d outgrown.
Torchwood: Salvage is poignant, and funny, and its references to the original cast provides just the right amount of nostalgia, while still giving room for Ester and Cody to take centre stage. Through providing the voice for the SUV, Gareth David-Lloyd provides not only his signature wit and charm, but also a sense of legacy. Torchwood may be beaten and broke, but its spirit lives on.
Torchwood: Salvage is available on CD or as a download from
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