"In real life, true love stories don't end with a wedding. They end with a funeral."

- Call of The Sea

My half-star goes to the appearance of Graham Norton 🥳

I played this on my mum's phone as a kid. I was maybe around 8 or 9 years old.

This game didn't save my progress, and if it did have a save function, maybe I could never get far enough past the introduction? But that was definitely more than annoying.

I was a pretty dumb kid, but I found the puzzles REALLY difficult and would get frustrated about all the times I died. In hindsight, I think this was an accessibility issue, especially considering I was literally the target audience.

I suppose it trained me for playing Soulsborne games down the line 😄

This didn't need to be a Midnight sequel. This creature has it's own rules, its own lore, and is distinct from the Midnight entity - even if the story admits they're one of the same. The Well entity never once mimics anyone, nor does it show any signs of evolving to a further stage.

The episode is great. I do wish we witnessed some of the prior massacre, and, reminiscent of 'Aliens', we got to see a slow, visual reveal, without The Doctor and Belinda saying what we can already see - written as if for an audio. "Shot in the back", "broken mirror", etc...

Aliss and her actress carried this episode. There's something so haunting about a deaf girl, surrounded by bodies, rendered the unwilling occupant of a symbiotic creature. When it utters The Doctor's name, something deeply personal, and intimate, only worthy to be heard by his lovers, this also demonstrates the parasite's breach of privacy, boundaries, and respect. It reflects the hell that Aliss exists in prior to her being found.

The creature design is one I love. A silhouette, igniting primal fears of the darkness and the unknown, yet inviting it's host to turn to look at them with a soft, feminine, almost tranquil whisper. The same, calm voice the entity uses to whisper The Doctor's name, imitating the companions he trusts the most, his lovers, his family....And a whisper which drives those who aren't deaf to insanity. And how it moves without a host, shrouded in voids, crawling, before latching itself into the shadows of humanity.

I can't help but think that RTD saw this script, for a unique, terrifying monster, which would create so much mystery for audiences....and cannibalized it into his own idea. It makes the Whoniverse feel drastically smaller, emptier...

I would rate the episode lower but I genuinely do prefer to imagine this creature as its own being - as (possibly) intended by the original script. A parasitic animal, survival dependant upon not being witnessed by the gaze of carbon-based life-forms. And yet, requiring a host to not be lost to the cold darkness of its home planet.

This creature has it's own mythos, and doesn't have to be one conjoined into the mystery of another to keep audiences engaged. Just as the show doesn't need to reference it's Tennant-era past. This episode could've explored parasites, Lovecraftian insanity, the way some real-world beasts slaughter upon making eye-contact....

And instead, this idea was cannibalized needlessly, for something that happened 17 years ago. A great tragedy...

I really hope this won't be my highest rated episode of Ncuti's era. This episode was a delight, and in my opinion, more imaginative, fun, and creative than any episode of his run so far.

Mr. Ring-a-Ding has great intentions, his plotline makes sense, and he's beautifully animated, loving his final scene.

For me, the meta jokes were genuinely funny. I loved how when the "Whovian fans" were speaking about "blinking out of existence", the camera cut only to The Doctor and Belinda multiple times - moments where the fans did cease to exist. The animated depth-joke also made me giggle, such an inventive way to include otherwise needless exposition. 

As this was my most-anticipated of Season 2, I'm so glad that it delivers, and I hope I will be similarly impressed by later episodes. ♥️🎥🎩

Pretty fun opening if you don't take it too seriously, and nice to see Jonny Green on-screen after listening to the Torchwood audio seasons..

My only gripe is the fact it seems to be written as if originally intended for an audio- lots of exposition, when the audience can see what's happening.

But I can't, in good faith, give a Favourite Heart to an episode featuring cat death. 💔

-After thinking on this episode for a few hours, my ratings dropped from a 4 star to a 2.5 star -

I haven't read the novel nor have I watched any of the 5th Doctor's run as of writing this review, and yet this story was beautiful. I love the Great Vampire lore, the Rassilon intro monologue, and the Tegan and Nyssa moments in this one 💜 🦇 🌙

How beautifully harrowing...

Out of all of the stories in this collection I'd say this is the closest a Whoniverse adaption has been to it's original telling. The beauty of Cinderella's story with an underused villain. "Vampires of Venice" was a great introduction for a new monster that has since been criminally forgotten about. This story uses them perfectly.

I adore how the 11th Doctor is a parallel to Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the chariot being the TARDIS, and the final dance having sinister purposes. And a fairy tale like this would be incomplete without - as the 11th Doctor would say - "happy endings 😊🎈"

A beautiful story ♥️

This story reminded me of Aliens (1986), with a woman trapped in cryo-stasis, and the Wirrn acting as a parallel to the facehuggers (ovamorphs), which is a great sign.

Sleeping Beauty was always the fairy tale I adored the most, and creating a sci-fi retelling like this is stunning. The threat of Maleficent is dropped, and instead replaced with not only the Wirrn but the "Final Frontier", demonstrating how space-travel can be just as unforgiving as any other monster or beast. This story does a fantastic job at describing the empty vastness of Space, a sort of horror that rarely gets explored in the main show...

And rather than having Sleeping Beauty be a Princess, it's so delightfully meaningful having her instead be a Captain of an interstellar ship, and the awakening final kiss not being sexual/romantic in nature.

Considering the dark origins of Sleeping Beauty (the version as told by Giambattista Basile in 1634), this Whoniverse adaption is a welcome progression, and one I love dearly ♥️

To date, this is my favourite Weeping Angel story. It's beautiful with such a heartwarming ending. I really hope to see it one day become a televised story. This story perfectly reminds the reader that not everyone is The Doctor, and can easily be at the peril of cosmic beings. But similarly, it demonstrates finding the light in an otherwise dark and depressing situation, as many of the stories in this collection do. I truly hold this story close to my heart since I first read it as a child... ♥️

A wonderful little story and a wholesome conclusion to the anthology book of fairy tales. I loved the absence of The Doctor in this, likewise with a few other entries in this set. However, to situate this certain story at the end of the book, about a knight going to face an Ice Warrior honourably, and the Ice Warrior not being a hostile threat, is certainly heartwarming. This short story is one of hope, optimism, and a sense of wonder for what lies ahead in life. And, of course, shows that not every alien wants to invade or upset people, some are just passing by, on their own journeys...

<3

(Light spoilers ahead):  Well this was a depressingly beautiful story that left me in unexpected tears. The girl duo grew on me over the hour's listen, as they did on Jack's character. I love the character development with Jack attempting to see "beyond the veil", with him believing that there is an afterlife he just doesn't have access to- its such a more haunting concept than RTD's more usually atheistic approach to the afterlife. Didn't expect to cry in a story situated in-between two light-hearted stories. Definitely one of the best stories that this range has to offer =)

This audio is such a good insight into Yvonne and Tommy, I already love it so much. The interviews towards the end highlight how this story can leave you with multiple interpretations of the character dynamics.

I won't spoil too much of the plot, but the actual circumstances bordered on psychological horror, with plenty body horror accompanying it. Some scenes are quite nightmarish, in a beautifully Lovecraftian way. And Tommy offering to momentarily comfort Yvonne from the horrors was a highlight scene for me, personally.

With it being a Valentines Day-orientated audio, I can't express how well this audio also portrays Yvonne's perception of love, to the point I honestly think her character is aroace. When there are so many Torchwood ships, pairings, and couples, it is a bit refreshing to see a character who is more solitary, and who despises any expression of vulnerability. It's lovely seeing that representation, and I found myself personally agreeing on Yvonne's remarks towards how she views love.

However, the true beauty of "Inseparable" is that my interpretation of Yvonne being aroace will not resonate with some listeners, and listeners will be able to come to their own conclusions about the character dynamics, as evident with the ending interviews. 

I adore these two characters immensely, and this audio further demonstrates how beautifully complex they can be, and it's great to see Tommy's character gaining more recognition in the main range audios, beyond the TW1 boxsets.♥️

Before the recent Ianthology and I Hate Mondays, this was my favourite audio.

It's the closest we've ever gotten to something akin to SCP. And with Ianto being an introvert, requiring moments of solitude, it made sense to make a story of him in the Archives. In a way, this also makes the audio feel homely, as we're still in the Hub, and Ianto does live there afterall.

In certain ways, this is reminiscent of 'Journey to The Centre of the TARDIS', of Clara exploring the bowels of the ship (an episode which I adored), but instead of an infamous side-plot, it's Ianto's narrated thoughts on a recorder.

I personally used this episode to calm down my exam-season anxiety in 2023, and it was a great listen on top of that.

This was extremely atmospheric, and is a great glimpse into the 19th/early 20th Century Torchwood 3. It's so easy to imagine the setting, the characters, and Jack is also written with a beautiful nuance. This did a better job than 'The Victorian Age' audio ever did.

I adore the life of Nikola Tesla, and I adore what he did for humanity. Had I known nothing of Tesla prior to watching, I'd probably have rated the episode higher. But this interpretation of Tesla is quite surface-level, and pales in comparison to The Current War movie. For those interested in Tesla, I highly recommend The Current War movie over this episode. This episode should've remained a true historical, and simply didn't need an alien threat. The parallels between Tesla and The Doctor could have been so much better and explored much further. I'm pretty sure Tesla didn't have an American accent (again, look at the Current War movie) as he spent the majority of his childhood and some of his adult life in Serbia.

The Doctor implying that Tesla should've been a billionaire and shouldn't have torn apart the patents is also a failure to understand Tesla as a person.

Similarly, the story should've been more pessimistic in it's approach to Tesla's life and work, because the final thing the Doctor says, about how Tesla ultimately fails and becomes homeless seems very blunt and sudden compared to the episode's otherwise optimistic portrayal of Tesla's life and accomplishments.

I did enjoy the actor of Tesla, and his portrayal, but this was distinctly not Tesla. Tesla was extremely introverted, had OCD, and probably didn't carry himself as well as the actor in this episode did, around other people. Again, look at the interpretation in The Current War.

There was also a surprising and disappointing lack of pigeons. Similarly, there was a lack of Tesla's love for pigeons.

If I ever were to become showrunner, I'd again create a story of Tesla (I love him so much), that would be more accurate to his real life, and more introspective towards his character. But that doesn't mean to say I'd say this episode never happened, or that I believe the actor did a poor portrayal. But Tesla, at least in my opinion, deserved a better episode and tribute than what this episode currently provides.

💔

We got Ianto in the Backrooms before GTA6

"This story is so confusing"

Skill issue tbh

If you have ever played Fallout 3, exploring the abandoned metro-tunnels infested with ghouls who want to eat your flesh, this audio will resonate with you personally. As it did with me.

Tommy and Ianto are amazing in this audio together. The ending is beautiful. For me, there's literally nothing wrong with this audio. It's perfection.

And the background music/soundtrack being directly comprised of sounds you'd usually hear in subway tunnels~ it's just beautiful.

This is my first Whoniverse review and purely and only on TARDIS guide, but I thought I may as well. This will be an unorganized mini review, and apologies as I am very scatter-brained.

Nerves is beautiful. If you love Torchwood, and especially if you love Torchwood One, this is an amazing story. And not only is it a great finale to 'I Hate Mondays' as a boxset, but also the previous 4 boxsets.

Firstly, however, the ending will not hit as hard if you haven't listened to the other boxsets. It's still enjoyable, but without the other boxsets, I wouldn't have cried like I did when I listened to this upon it's release. Secondly, the only continuity error is how Ianto's father has only just died. Meaning that in 'Before The Fall', Ianto was lying to Rachel when he stated that his father has died. He was still very much alive until the release of this boxset. Thirdly, the monthly audio "Disco" chronologically has taken place a week or so before Nerves.

Nerves as a standalone story is beautifully interlinked with previous boxsets, which is quite surprising considering they are usually self-contained stories. Until, 'I Hate Mondays' I was under the impression that they are scattered across the years 2004-2007. Now, with the exception of 'The Rockery', all of these stories have taken place in 2004.

The music used is hauntingly beautiful. The sound design allows for an easy imagining of the characters and the settings, as well as the interactions. From the cars travelling on the highways, how Ianto dusts off croissant crumbs, how the characters walk on crunching glass, and the radios in the background.

There is no main villain nor antagonist within this story. There is no active alien threat. Nerves explores character dynamics, and allows the characters to relax and breathe after their previous stories. Nerves make these characters feel like humans, and real people.

Here I'd argue Tommy and Ianto are at their peak father/son dynamic. Certain conversations they had I've had with my own father in real life, and they had me laughing due to the accuracy. Ianto as a character is treated much more like a 21 year old, and even in the modern day his problems and grievances can still be applied. I find him extremely relatable within this story as a young person myself. While not a spoiler in itself, the writers in the interviews suggest how they wrote Ianto as young, inexperienced, and a bit clueless when it comes to handling certain situations. Again, as a young person myself, I felt this in my soul.

Two extra characters are introduced by a mere coincidence, yet they are characters who are written so well. In many stories, I find that I do not care for the extra characters at all, but this story is a brilliant exception.

The revelations discovered along the hour's listen are heartbreaking, wholesome, and honestly bring the Torchwood One series to a new height, rendering this my favourite boxset out of the 5. So many subtle and non-subtle plots are resolved or hinted upon which have been referenced in previous boxsets. Some are heartbreaking, some are unnoticeable, and others leave you crying out of genuine happiness for the journeys these characters go on. Ngl, I'm crying again while writing this mini-review.

And then the finale line is beautifully delivered, as you also realize that the title of the boxset is quite literally Ianto's POV on Mondays.

TLDR: Nerves is BEAUTIFUL