Torchwood One – Latter Days

#3.03. The Rockery ~ 10/10

◆ An Introduction

Yvonne Hartman has always been at the heart of Torchwood One. That being said, we rarely see her outside of the corporate setting: she either presents us with that people pleaser persona she dons when dealing with her employees, or the more unhinged and brutal side that comes out on rare occasions (like when she threatened Barry in ‘One Rule’).

We’ve never really gotten to know her personal life, who her family are… until now!

◆ Publisher’s Summary

Anne Hartman has retired to the country, which comes as a surprise to her daughter. Has Yvonne met a problem even she can’t solve?

◆ DISCLAIMER

It was only after pre-ordering ‘I Hate Mondays’ that I was made aware of the Islamophobic and transphobic rhetoric that Tracy-Ann Oberman continues to share on social media.

For this reason, I will not be purchasing any further releases featuring Oberman. I refuse to support someone with such despicable views.

I previously covered the first four sets for TimeScales, so will be porting those reviews over to this site: each of them will carry this disclaimer. They were all written prior to May 2023. Please remember not to take any of my comments in this review about Oberman’s performance – positive or negative – as condoning her frankly awful views.

◆ Yvonne Hartman

‘The Rockery’ is one of the most gorgeously written scripts in this range, which is not at all surprising given how much I adored Tim Foley’s previous contribution.

Tracy-Ann Oberman delivers her best performance to date here.

Yvonne can think of plenty of words to describe her mother’s new cottage, but she is biting her tongue and trying to be supportive. It’s clear that she wants to help her mother, but admits that it’s hard to see her without her father.

◆ Anne Hartman

Anne Hartman’s introduction was an excellent one. Speaking as someone who suffers from clinical depression, I could really relate to the character. Tim Foley has done a fabulous job with her.

Most people will remember Barbara Flynn for playing Tecteun in ‘Flux’. I was looking forward to hearing how she would approach this role, and I’ll admit that I was seriously impressed. Brilliant performance.

Anne claims to hate the outdoors… which begs the question of why she’s moved into a cottage in the midst of the Shropshire countryside! She considers hiring a local farm hand to sort her garden out, so she has something pretty to look at (and she isn’t talking about the garden). She’s a former civil servant, not a qualified botanist.

◆ Story Recap

Following the death of her husband, Anne Hartman has decided to retire. Unable to find joy in her work and unable to continue living at their home in Kent, she’s decided to relocate to a country cottage in Shropshire… which daughter Yvonne soon catches wind of.

Anne has been suffering with depression ever since she lost her late husband, but Yvonne’s house-warming gift may give her some focus: a slightly psychic plant known as a Haunt. Little does she know that more heartache is just around the corner… as the Battle of Canary Wharf lays just beyond the horizon!

◆ That Sinking Feeling…

Tim Foley tapped into something very close to me in this episode. I was diagnosed with clinical depression a few years back, but it’s haunted me for around seven years at this point.

There is a common misconception that depression is just feeling intensely sad, but I think it’s worse than that. You feel like you’re constantly being dragged down by quicksand; your mind races with self-doubt and anxiety, and you genuinely just feel like you’re not good enough. The worst thing is that it never truly goes away. Yes, I’m on medication like many others who suffer from clinical depression, but it’s more that it masks those feelings of sadness: pushes them to the back of your mind.

Grief can exacerbate the symptoms of depression, which is exactly what Anne Hartman is dealing with in ‘The Rockery’. I sympathise with her completely: we lost the family dog back in 2021. I would spend the whole night gazing out of my bedroom window, at his grave in the back garden, wishing I could have done more with him when he was alive. Listening to Anne struggle without her husband – her daughter always leaving her to deal with the next big threat to Queen and Country – I understood how she felt. The worst thing for someone depressed is to feel totally alone.

◆ Sound Design

The hustle and bustle of Canary Wharf has been abandoned for this episode, as we venture into the calm serenity of the Shropshire countryside. It’s a welcome change of scene, which allows Meadows and Foxon to showcase a more natural soundscape.

Tweeting birds surround Anne’s new cottage, as Yvonne’s car rumbles up the gravel driveway. Classical music plays on the radio. Soil being dug up as Anne chucks the Haunt’s seed into her rockery. A meowing cat in the garden. Pouring rain as a thunderstorm passes over the cottage. The Haunt makes this rattling noise, like a thousand leaves made from glass are swaying in the wind. Crunching branches as Anne and William clear the storm debris from her garden. The crackling of a cosy, log-burning fire. A helicopter lands outside the cottage, ready to fly Yvonne back to London.

◆ Conclusion

“Gardens can survive all sorts of things…”

Yvonne Hartman gives her mother a slightly psychic alien plant, hoping it may help with her depression.

‘The Rockery’ is easily one of Tim Foley’s greatest scripts for BigFinish, and one which approaches a difficult topic with a great deal of maturity and sensitivity. Speaking as someone who suffers from clinical depression, this script hit hard for me. I really found myself relating to Anne.

Some excellent performances from Oberman and Flynn, and a beautifully written script. I cannot recommend this episode enough.