Torchwood: Aliens Among Us #2.2 - "A Kill to a View" by Mac Rogers

Captain Jack Harkness is, without a doubt, my favourite episode of the original Torchwood; yes, including Children of Earth. It's an episode that feels like what Torchwood wanted to be and what Big Finish eventually transformed it into - a tragic, tightly written high concept episode made great by good performances and made greater by a genius antagonist. That antagonist was Bilis Manger, a character I'm surprised never showed back up in the TV series but luckily, was picked up by Big Finish in what seems to be a near-flawless streak of fan favourite stories. A Kill to a View is exactly what I had hoped it to be, with Bilis back in full force and Mr Colchester being front and centre.

Mr Colchester has found himself and his husband - Colin - in Cardiff's most luxury apartment block: The Ritz, the only skyscraper untouched by the Sorvix. But how have they avoided Cardiff's alien oppressors for so long? Why is every tenant so obsessed with dinner parties? And what is so strange about the building's caretaker - Bilis Manger?

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

 By far, Colin and Mr. Colchester are my favourite parts of A Kill to a View; I've already made it clear why I love Mr. Colchester - the stubborn and level headed family man amidst a group of basket cases makes for a great dynamic - but I didn't expect to love Colin as much as I do. He's just so charismatic and easily likeable and if he wasn't, this audio wouldn't land as well as it does. His relationship with Mr. Colchester is so believable and refreshing, being just a stable, healthy relationship, which is shockingly rare in fiction. Besides them, Mac Rogers manages to build tension really well. The slightly off actions of all the tenants, the microaggressions from the homophobic old lady downstairs or - strangely enough - a distraught Duncan from Love Rat (is he going to be a recurring character now?), and the final dinner party scene all feel like something working towards a boiling point, like something that isn't being said is building up behind the scenes and when it finally explodes in the action packed final moments, it creates a brilliant climax. Finally, all the commentary that Rogers expertly sprinkled throughout A Kill to a View is easily the best in Aliens Among Us so far. From the homophobia levelled against the Colchester-Prices to the whole reason the couple are staying in the Ritz being Colin’s fear of a hate crime being made against him, it’s definitely the tightest execution of what the sets have been going for thus far.

Unfortunately, my biggest problem with A Kill to a View is probably Bilis himself. Whilst in Captain Jack Harkness, he was this sinister, lording presence that resided over the story, he’s far to material here, spending far too many scenes in familial situations, having dinner parties or casual conversations with tenants, which makes him feel far more human than he did in Torchwood. Plus, his whole reason for opening the Ritz felt quite weak (he doesn’t like the Sorvix, so he’s using aggression to open the rift and send a message through to some anomalous thing chasing them? Feels a little convoluted). This leads into another problem, being that I don’t buy this many people being willing to kill each other to get better flats, even with the crisis in Cardiff, it just feels like too many seemingly normal people are homicidal for little reason. Also, Sandra and Andrea just annoyed me and they never felt like a developed threat; considering they’re more dangerous antagonists here than even Bilis, they feel quite shallow.

A Kill to a View is a wonderful character piece that didn’t make the best use of an all time great villain but was still a masterclass in tension and rising stress that lands my top spot in my Aliens Among Us so far. Very much looking forward to further appearances of Colin in Gods Among Us.

9/10

Pros:

+ Colin is a wonderful character that is incredibly easy to like

+ Mr. Colchester’s best appearance yet, does so much for his character

+ The relationship between Colin and Mr. Colchester is so refreshingly stable

+ Builds tension incredibly well throughout

+ Uses social commentary to enrich the story organically

+ Excellent climax that is a fantastic pay off to the tension throughout

Cons:

- Bilis is incredibly underused and far too humanised

- Sandy and Andrea are underwhelming as antagonists

- Unbelievable that so many people would so willingly attempt homicide

+ Bilis' motives feel relatively minor and contrived especially since he built a whole tower block to support it

Torchwood: Aliens Among Us | Ranked
12.
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6. Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy by James Goss - 5/10
5. Love Rat by Christopher Cooper - 6/10
4. Orr by Juno Dawson - 7/10
3. Changes Everything by James Goss - 8/10
2. Superiority Complex by AK Benedict - 8/10
1. A Kill to a View by Mac Rogers - 9/10

Overall - 7.2/10