Additional information
| Authors | Alexander Stewart |
|---|---|
| Characters | Toshiko Sato |
| Content warnings | Racism, Suicide |
| Director | Lisa Bowerman |
| Episode timeline | 0-101 |
| Length | 1h |
| Range | Big Finish – Monthly range |
| Relationships | No major relationship |
| Series timeline | Before series 1 |
| Support | Audio drama |
Estelle –
I have conflicting feelings about this audio.
I like the fact that it’s more muted than some other stories, less chaotic. It sets it apart. But what is, according to the interviews, the main theme of this audio is dropped into the story in a heavy-handed way in my opinion.
As it stands, to me, the story would be the same without it. But, instead of a story without it, I would have loved this important message/fact to be interwoven into the story more naturally, to actually affect the plot in a significant way.
Also, continuity-wise (it’s set before series 1, when Tosh is still “the new girl”), Jack had better have been kidnapped/left for dead somewhere the whole time because I can’t see how else Tosh was left on her own in a mental institution so soon after what happened to her with UNIT.
So, yeah, conflicting feelings: I found the story to be interesting, Shireen to be compelling (kudos to the actress), the institutional racism they wanted to address important but a few things could have been handled better in my opinion.
Paycheckgurl –
I love Tosh. Tosh is amazing. I just wish more of her audios lived up to what an amazing character she is. This story is set very early in Tosh’s Torchwood career. At this point in her Torchwood timeline she’s written as not very confident in herself or her abilities yet. The problem (the first problem) is I feel like there’s a tendency give Tosh these really “down beat” sort of stories that don’t show off the full range of her personality. Focusing on her misfortunes over any other aspect. So this feels like yet another entry into a trope for her that is not my favorite. And really, strongly leans into the misfortune.
The second problem is I don’t love the portrayal of mental illness. The audio tries to make the point that mental hospitals are not all bad. It’s just this one in particular. However the way things play out narratively it’s hard to feel like characters aren’t being punished for their mental illness, even if the writers intend the oppositely. I do think there’s a really big disconnect between what the writer thought they writing and the points they were making, and the actual way the story plays out. The story centrally leans on a trope I really don’t think is very helpful to how mental illness is portrayed in media that I kind of wish will be retired.