Torchwood One – Before the Fall

#1.03. Uprising ~ 9/10

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◆ An Introduction

Hell hath no fury like a Hartman scorned. A final showdown between Torchwood One’s director and the venomous upstart who usurped her throne is just on the horizon. Time to wrap this box set up.

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◆ Publisher’s Summary

“Torchwood. It’s taken the best part of a month, but I’ve finally got things running how they should be. How they should have been all along.”

Torchwood has experienced some radical changes, but things are finally settling down. Everyone has pulled together and is trying to put the past behind them. Well, except for Yvonne Hartman – she’s out to win the future.

There’s one problem. Someone seems to have started an interstellar war. Someone who knows Torchwood from the inside out.

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◆ 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.

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◆ Yvonne Hartman

Matt Fitton’s finale sees Yvonne regaining her throne as the head of Torchwood One… but not before showing Rachel what for. Some great writing.

Tracy-Ann Oberman concludes the box set with another excellent performance.

Yvonne is flattered to have an alpha level assassin sent after her. She knows the importance of details; that it sometimes takes foot-work to get the job done, and that you sometimes have to meet people face-to-face. That’s what she’s best at: being a people person. How to get a corporate hitman off your back: hire a freelancer, because they’re always just that little bit hungrier! Yvonne is able to just walk right back into the seat of power once a Code Red has been declared, thanks to emergency overrides that give all power back to her. The successful progress of her career is what keeps the planet turning.

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◆ Ianto Jones

Ianto receives some excellent material in ‘Uprising’. Turns out he’s been getting close to his new boss, in more ways than one!

Gareth David-Lloyd rounds off this set with another fab performance.

Ianto is horrified when he arrives back at work, only to discover that nobody knows about the Away Day massacre. He’s less than impressed by Rachel’s offer of a promotion. Nobody knows Ms. Allan more than he does; mainly because he’s slept with her! One thing he has realised, working for the Institute, is that you need to keep a cool head, or people end up dying.

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◆ Tommy Pierce

Old Tommy has been brought back for the final episode. Huzzah! I wonder if BigFinish were aware of how well-loved this character would become?

Timothy Bentinck delivers a top-notch performance in ‘Uprising’.

Tommy claims that the new director saw sense and reinstated him, and that Yvonne was clearly losing it when she let him go. Injuries, death, and fatalities on an away day. It reminds him of the old days: get tough or get dead!

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◆ Rachel Allan

It’s the finale, and Rachel has finally gone mad with power! Matt Fitton gives her some excellent material here.

Sophie Winkleman's final performance in this range is a brilliant one.

Rachel believes that the Away Day should have made her staff feel incentivised, and all she seems to care about is that she doesn’t have to deal with as many redundancies now! It’s taken the best part of a month, but she’s finally got the Institute running how it should have been all along: bringing a sick, old dog in from the cold will make them ever so grateful, which was her strategy for Tommy. She claims that retcon is a wonderful thing, after wiping Keiran’s mind to make him permanently forget Dean. She is Rachel Allan, and she is Torchwood… but there is just one final little itch left to scratch. The Institute has always attempted to defend the British Empire, but she’s changing it to become a more offensive organisation, even talking about making pre-emptive strikes! Rachel is convinced that she’s won after eliminating the First Brood, but soon realises just how out of depth she is when an enormous Korvax fleet arrives at Torchwood’s front-door! Yvonne makes sure she can never be a problem again: she has the past six months – and any memory of her father – retconned. Rachel is then rehired as a valued member of the Torchwood stationary team!

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◆ Story Recap

Rachel Allan is preparing the Institute for an interplanetary conflict, with deep space tracking programs on the search for anything originating from Planet XXX, and Tommy Pierce reinstated to help with the weapons training. There’s just one more lose end she needs to tie up before she can focus on all-out war: Yvonne Hartman!

The former director is no longer running. Instead, she’s procuring weapons from shady arms dealers whilst hiding out in office blocks. She’s one woman you never want to cross, and Rachel Allan is about to realise that she is massively out of her depth!

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◆ The Crumbling Regime

Rachel Allan has only been in power for a month, but things have dramatically changed. There is an uncomfortable atmosphere permeating the whole Institute; people are discussing the Away Day massacre, and how everyone barn Ianto has clearly been retconned. Everyone working at the Tower is utterly depressed, and it’s gotten so bad that people are considering clearing their desks: the employees are practically begging for their old boss to come back!

Yvonne has been keeping busy since she was ousted from Torchwood One, making sure to cause trouble for her successor: after Rachel had the Korvax First Brood shunted into a “Cosy Night Budget Hotel”, they’re far from happy with the new management. Yvonne takes full advantage of this, giving them contacts who can provide weapons and support, all as part of her plan to regain control of the Institute.

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◆ Sound Design

Torchwood is gearing up for all-out war with the inhabitants of Planet XXX, whilst its former director schemes to regain control. Martin Montague certainly had a lot of fun with this soundscape.

Rainwater trickles outside as an alpha level assassin hunts Yvonne, before he gets gunned down by her freelance assassin. Alien Acquisitions test out high tech weaponry to be used during the conflict with Planet XXX. The comforting sound of freshly brewed coffee. A cash machine dispensing notes as Ianto works a little hacking magic. A red alert alarm sounds as the Korvax First Brood begin their assault on the Tower… but the Institute fights back with their own cache of extraterrestrial weaponry. The same super-weapon that would destroy the Sycorax is fried on the Korvax fleet, but with very little effect. Neurosurgery is carried out on Rachel, as the past six months are retconned form her memory.

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◆ Conclusion

“I’d say it’s time to decide whose team you’re really on.”

Torchwood is preparing for full-scale interplanetary war, but none of the employees are happy with how their boss has been running things. Rachel Allan is convinced that she is Torchwood, and that she is in control: Yvonne Hartman is here to prove just how deluded she is!

‘Uprising’ sees our venomous little usurper completely out of her depth. Her dreams of revenge following her father’s death lie in ruins, and it’s all thanks to Yvonne. This was an excellent conclusion to the box set.