Tim Foley doesn’t disappoint me, even in his very first Big Finish outing. And now I get why everyone loves Andy, an everyday person with a heart of gold (considering my first impression of him was in the 8DA Stranded series, and I was really annoyed about the Torchwood aspect of that series), and in this episode he went through some of the worst things that could happen to anyone.

However, there is an issue for me that I can’t get over. The depiction of police brutality as a product of alien intervention, as if it being a state-sponsored violent machine wasn’t inherently wrong enough. Even it reveals at the end that the first murder was indeed racially motivated, it was a little too late.

Some other things that didn’t sit well with me include 1) the student protests being used by people with ulterior motives, and 2) what is wrong with Jack in this boxset, he barely appears in the last few episodes, and the moment he’s back he’s back being a complete asshole?

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this story a lot, and it truly was a massive step up from this lackluster series. Dealing with multiple storylines at once and still managed to deliver an overall decent story. But dear lord, I guess some of these political stories really hit a little too close to home for my liking.

Three out of five is generous. After all, it didn’t mess up in any respect, but it didn’t do much new either (this is true for any Rob Valentine-led range, and I’m FURIOUS that he is taking over the War Master range.

Last episode has funny narration, this episode has the Master posing as a detective investigating a series of mysterious murders. Well, Nev Fountain’s The Broken Clock did it first and it did it better.

And I am really sick of the MAD and CHAOTIC approach to the Master… it’s become really predictable and boring. (the Master I really want to see more is the Beevers Master, when are we going to get a Decayed Master boxset?

Torchwood: Outbreak

THIS is exactly what I want when I first started listening Torchwood range from Big Finish. Big, bombastic and, most importantly and unexpectedly, full-cast.

I mean I eventually got used to the mostly two-handle approach of the monthly range, and quite appropriate it too. But this feels like it really could be a series before Children of Earth.

The ending of Part 3 was a bit too confusing, but it could just be me got distracted. Overall, I really enjoyed it.

(However, not sure about the conspiracy aspect in it. I mean I know it is Torchwood, and it always has that part in its DNA. All I can say is it doesn’t age that well for me after the pandemic.)