Description
An experimental radio mast has been set up on a remote island. It has been picking up signals – a voice that claims it knows the future.
Five people have come to the island to hear the voice. A scientist, a soldier, a medium, an alienist and the most powerful woman in the world. The voice has something to say to all of them. It starts by saying who will be the first to die.
Estelle –
This episode embodies the Torchwood motto coined by Ianto Jones: “Torchwood, touching stuff we shouldn’t since 1879”.
In this familiar And Then There Were None scenario, a nice Torchwood twist as well as en emphasis on the psychological thriller side of it all make it a captivating story.
The same goes for the characters. They each fit a certain stereotype from the genre yet the actors are so good that, even within the limited time, they make the emotions real and the listener (or at least me) invested in their fate.
Speaking of actors, Rowena Cooper is once again captivating and formidable as Queen Victoria. The ways she portrays both the authority of the character and her more vulnerable side is brilliant. The writing is part of this too of course and having Queen Victoria quote Invictus is such a good fit for the character (as portrayed in Torchwood).
Rowena Cooper actually pulls double duty in this one and kudos to both her performance and the sound design for making the voice on the radio so otherworldly and chilling.
Relating to sound design, the Victorian Torchwood theme is so good and really sets the scene. I really love all the variations we’ve had over the years of the Torchwood theme!