Torchwood: The Red List - Review

At first, it was lights in the sky. Then the country started falling apart. Torchwood has come to help. So has A Charitable Earth. But there’s a problem.

Mr Colchester and Ms McShane find themselves trapped in a quarantined hotel in the middle of an alien invasion.

Can they save the world without leaving their rooms?

James Goss pens another great drama, this time bringing two iconic Whovian together in a great crossover. Goss perfectly captures the repetitiveness of being in lockdown while weaving an intriguing alien threat and keeping the cast to a three-hander cast.

I’ve listened to a few Ace centred productions before, but this was my first introduction to Paul Clayton’s St John Colchester - who has quickly become one of my favourite Torchwood characters. Colchester takes centre stage in this drama, confined to a hotel room for a ten-day quarantine. Away from his husband, Torchwood and frustrated with the inability to stop an alien attack, John’s seemingly endless isolation is interrupted by Sophie Aldred’s Dorothy McShane - who is also in isolation in the next room, and the pair try to pass the hours through conversations over the balcony.

This is a well-crafted script, often mirroring real-life experiences of the pandemic with a Who twist. Ace was a perfect choice for Colchester‘a isolation buddy; both characters were so different and complemented each other - Colchester‘s serious nature contrasted with Ace’s curious stubbornness in some great scenes.

Clayton and Aldred had perfect chemistry, and I cannot express this enough, but these characters need their own Torchwood boxset. Like Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones, I enjoyed hearing a familiar character in a darker and more gritty story that is a regular occurrence in the Torchwood range.

The third character in this locked down thriller was Xavier, played by Manuel Pacific - Who made his Big Finish debut and was brilliant in this role. I wasn’t expecting the twists in audio, and that was down to the cleverly woven script and the natural charisma between the three cast members.

It’s difficult to go into my thoughts on this particular script without going into spoilers, but The Red List made it into my top favourites of 2021. Conspiracy, calamity and a cryptic crossword all feature as the Seventh Doctor’s former companion reluctantly teams up with the most grumpy member of the Cardiff alien investigation team in a moderately-priced hotel.

What I appreciated about Big Finish’s audios in the last year was not only the escapism but how several of their productions took inspiration from real-world events. While Torchwood’s The Five People to Kill in Middlesbrough centred on the political and media perspective of a crisis, The Red List tells a very humane story - what happens when you’re isolating and the loneliness and frustration that can cause, which is why having people to talk to helps so much.

These aspects of mental health were also explored in this audio drama, which is why having carders who initially crash but are there for each other highlights something a lot of us needed in the last two years.

There is a potential for these characters to meet again - I’m still vouching for these two to have their own series. Goss leaves a lot unanswered in this production - even though we have a clear conclusion, the overall story still has a mystery hanging over it? Will there be a sequel or follow up? Who knows? Either way, Goss and Handcock definitely delivered with this one.

This audio drama was a good listen, especially with the cast. There were times when the pacing was a bit slow, which was adequate for this particular audio. The Red List was a good ★★★ listen for me.

Torchwood: The Red List is now available to own as a collector’s edition CD at £10.99 or on download at £8.99, exclusively HERE.