Torchwood: Zone 10 Review
Gustaff Behr gives his spoiler-free verdict on Toshiko Sato’s audio return.
It boggles the mind how studios and production companies go about scheduling and release dates. Zone 10 is the second episode of the second season of Big Finish’s Torchwood, but in my opinion, it should’ve been the first. It’s just that good.
But before I begin, let me just admit that prior to listening to this story, I wasn’t expecting much. Toshiko is a good enough character, but like a lot of the characters Big Finish are dedicating an entire episode to, Zone 10 didn’t really appeal to me. The trailer sounded boring and there is always the danger of unconvincing accents which I am highly critical of. However, after listening to Zone 10, I am convinced that we need more solo-Sato stories.
I’m going to get the bad out of the way first and declare that Ella Garland’s Russian accent sounds atrocious. Her character sounds more like an American (TV American) trying very hard to impersonate a Russian.
And as a fan of time travel and someone who just rolls his eyes instead of going ‘oh that’s so clever and amazing’ when an episode of Doctor Who dedicates an entire pre-credit scene to explaining one of the simplest time paradoxes in fiction like it’s the most intricate thing under the sun, I saw the timey-wimey plot twists in this story coming a mile away. Not only that, but Big Finish also chose to tick off every Russian trope in the book so most of the non-timey wimey bits were predictable as well.
Other than that, Zone 10 is a pretty solid story. Lots of Committee ties and as a listener, it really feels believable that Torchwood has been investigating the organization off-screen for decades. This story does a terrific job setting up the next chapter in Torchwood’s struggle with the mysterious shadow organization and their battle in the shadow of humanity.
Choosing Toshiko as their next ‘A day in the life’ star, Big Finish managed to get me thinking about all the other untold stories they could tell with this character. There are just so many possibilities and like Victorian Jack, I genuinely want to see Big Finish explore Toshiko even more. Sending her to Russia is a good way of fleshing out the character as Toshiko, well proficient in the field, usually relied on her team mates to do the rough stuff. Hearing her as a badass whilst NOT in front of a computer monitor also boosts this story’s overall score for me at least.
The supporting cast for this title includes Krystian Godlewski as Maxim Ivanovand and Ella Garland Anna Volokova. The former of which does a fantastic Russian accent by the way and is an interesting character in his own right too. Someone I’d like to see more in the future.
Series Two is definitely not pulling its punches and just keeps getting better and better, though I would love for Big Finish to drop the solo character storylines and create a new Torchwood team. Either Victorian Torchwood with Agent Jack or post Miracle Day with Jack heading a brand new team.
And lastly, ughhh…coming soon we have PC Andy Davidson in Ghost Machine. Big Finish will have to pull a T-Rex out of a very small hat in order for me to enjoy what I regard as the most boring, useless and pathetic character in the entire Doctor Who Universe.
