|
Post by bonehead on Jul 1, 2023 17:29:20 GMT
Speaking personally, my heart often sinks when I find what I think is a compelling YouTube channel and find it's more about the 'whacky' host than the subject matter. We get similar characters here in a story that could almost be described as audio found footage drama. Certainly, it's got all the ingredients, but it also has a strange and eccentric elderly gentleman called Bilis Manger. Oh, Murray Melvin - Torchwood was only a tiny part of his extaordinary career, but I can't say how much I'll miss Manger, a truly uniquely demure, charming and entirely deadly villain that will be impossible to replace. Cuckoo, the third story in this set, is all about him.
He gets a good build up. Lots of frightening sounds we often get in found footage films. And then he's there, the most lip-smacking crypt-keeper you'll ever meet. Chances are I would have loved Cuckoo purely because of the antagonist; the fact it's one of the better Torchwood stories BF have made (quite a claim) elevates it to true, creepy greatness. The supporting cast are terrific too, charting their journey from ebullience to blind panic very convincingly. Sound design is excellent as well, with a Blair Witch-like low moan, as if a breeze is blowing where there cannot possibly be one, and some very effective jump-scare sounds.
This ticks every box for me, I love it. A definite series highpoint.
Farewell, Bilis, you old fox.
|
|
|
Post by grinch on Jul 1, 2023 17:41:51 GMT
Speaking personally, my heart often sinks when I find what I think is a compelling YouTube channel and find it's more about the 'whacky' host than the subject matter. We get similar characters here in a story that could almost be described as audio found footage drama. Certainly, it's got all the ingredients, but it also has a strange and eccentric elderly gentleman called Bilis Manger. Oh, Murray Melvin - Torchwood was only a tiny part of his extaordinary career, but I can't say how much I'll miss Manger, a truly uniquely demure, charming and entirely deadly villain that will be impossible to replace. Cuckoo, the third story in this set, is all about him.
He gets a good build up. Lots of frightening sounds we often get in found footage films. And then he's there, the most lip-smacking crypt-keeper you'll ever meet. Chances are I would have loved Cuckoo purely because of the antagonist; the fact it's one of the better Torchwood stories BF have made (quite a claim) elevates it to true, creepy greatness. The supporting cast are terrific too, charting their journey from ebullience to blind panic very convincingly. Sound design is excellent as well, with a Blair Witch-like low moan, as if a breeze is blowing where there cannot possibly be one, and some very effective jump-scare sounds.
This ticks every box for me, I love it. A definite series highpoint.
Farewell, Bilis, you old fox.
The one thing I’ve always liked about Murray Melvin is that he always seem to enjoy playing Bilis Manger (even if at times he could be woefully underwritten) and that he clearly never thought the role was beneath him.
|
|
|
Post by noneofyourbusiness on Jul 2, 2023 0:41:55 GMT
What does he do?
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Jul 5, 2023 13:22:53 GMT
"Put the ponce down!"
Following the last hurrah of Bilis, it's good to be reminded of the other excellent and unique characters Torchwood has. Paul Clayton as the permanently unimpressed Mr Colchester continues to be a delight. He's put to good use here, and surrounded by characters with just as rough a tongue as his, wonderfully and archly played (stand up Richard Clifford as Graham and Glen McCready as Kyle). We also get glimpses of St John's past, through James Goss's terrific dialogue. Orr and Ng's story is relegated to second place as a result of Colchester's excellence, but provides an entertaining side strand nonetheless. Sad to hear Birmingham continues to be represented so poorly by subsidiary characters, but you can't have everything; diversity is great, but we can still take the mickey out of those funny accents can't we? Putting that minor ongoing gripe to one side, this is another terrific story - a standalone on many levels but continuing the mysterious theme of this latest series.
Pariahs closes the latest really impressive Torchwood boxset, and with a lovely cliffhange too. I'll be sad to see this come to an end.
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on Jul 9, 2023 8:29:59 GMT
At Her Majesty’s Pleasure
A typically good Tim Foley work, with Andy knowing he’s being played but at a loss to figure out how and Yvonne’s return to this range is intriguing (and keeping her offscreen for most of the running time here only adds to that).
Continuity-wise though; here Andy seems at a distance from Torchwood, whereas in Stranded he seemed much more affiliated with them. They try to tie the two together by mentioning him being London-based, but it does feel inconsistent.
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on Jul 15, 2023 14:41:22 GMT
Cuckoo
A suitably grim bottle episode, giving us one unfortunately final opportunity to hear Bilis stretch his evil muscles. As per convention for Bilis stories there’s a good cast of supporting characters provided to be his victims, and Gareth David-Lloyd’s return works well too.
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on Jul 25, 2023 7:46:15 GMT
Pariahs
Finally we get the team back together, which is what has been really missing from this series so far. The plot unfolds neatly, using each character effectively, and leaves on a good cliffhanger.
|
|
|
Post by IndieMacUser on Jul 30, 2023 18:44:40 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Who Review on Aug 14, 2023 16:14:54 GMT
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Aug 14, 2023 21:05:21 GMT
I started on this. Even without me knowing anything about the series, I could kind of make sense of it and follow the plot- I think these stories are pretty stand-alone. I am really happy I made this purchase, there are some great performances. Propaganda- Interesting take on the outbreak / Fake News/ Antivaxxer- terrorist plot. For a while it kept you guessing, in the end, it pretty much ended where I expected. I loved the characters in this, the deliciously evil Russian general, the paramedic, and the main character who I had not come across before and I just took as a female Wolverine without claws (worked pretty well in my imagination that way). The main villain was a bit cheesy, but in his line of work, it would have been difficult to present him any other way.
At her majesty's pleasure Let's face it, I have just gone into this because of Andy. Andy is great. Even if he seems to exist in Torchwood for the sole purpose of being screwed over. So him being screwed over did not come as a surprise. I was just trying to guess how it would be done this time. Clever. So actually, this was quite fun.
Cockoo Billis Manger was the sole reason why I actually bought this set of stories. And he does not disappoint.
This is maybe the scariest old man in the universe, and Murray Melvin owns this. Great performance.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Aug 15, 2023 19:23:49 GMT
Pariah And it all ends in a bit of Pandemonium. I amazed I could still follow the plot even without knowing any backstory.
Anyways, all of the still active Torchwood members come together to protect and bring to justice some despicable people. Nice enough finale that ties in well with the first story in the set.
|
|
|
Post by masterdoctor on Sept 11, 2023 22:35:25 GMT
I realized I forgot to share my thoughts!
Propaganda by Ash Darby:
Thought this was a really solid Orr episode, though I found it to be a little long in the tooth, and could have shaved off about 10 minutes. Beart is fantastic, and continues to be one of the best actors of Torchwood, playing the naivety and pureness of Orr against the darkness of Torchwood with aplomb. I did also really enjoy the music in this one as well!
At Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Tim Foley:
Imo, this is the best episode in the set, with tour de force performances from Tom Price and Tracy-Ann Oberman. It’s twisty, unpredictable, and ultimately tragic. Andy and Yvonne really loved each other I think, but their relationship is just another causality of Torchwood. Definitely a highlight of this series!
Cuckoo by Tim Foley:
Murray Melvin was an absolute treasure, and this just another story that proves that. Incredibly creepy and the cast are all great, but I have one major problem with the episode. At least for me, Ianto/Gareth David-Lloyd’s inclusion adds nothing, and makes the episode less enjoyable. I’ve never been a Ianto fan, though I enjoy the character, but it all just feels a bit forced and takes away from what should have just been a Billis story.
Pariahs by James Goss:
It’s great that the team is all back together, but I thought the story was just ok. It never really feels like it takes advantage of exploring its concepts, and the scenes feel a tad fragmented. So while the cast together is great, the rest of the story doesn’t match that greatness.
|
|
|
Post by nottenst on Sept 19, 2023 21:12:49 GMT
Just finished this series yesterday and will be starting Among Us 3 next week (I'm rotating episodes of three series). Interesting stories and a nice cliffhanger. Regarding tuigirl 's comment about being able to follow it. There really was not all that much in the first series that was really necessary information for this series - just setting up a few mysteries. You get more with that little girl's voice on the phone, but that's about it. I think those stories should pay off more in the third series.
|
|
|
Post by nottenst on Sept 25, 2023 18:30:23 GMT
Just finished this series yesterday and will be starting Among Us 3 next week (I'm rotating episodes of three series). Interesting stories and a nice cliffhanger. Regarding tuigirl 's comment about being able to follow it. There really was not all that much in the first series that was really necessary information for this series - just setting up a few mysteries. You get more with that little girl's voice on the phone, but that's about it. I think those stories should pay off more in the third series. And just started listening to the first in the third series. Lots of references (and spoilers wr) to events in the first two series (and prior Torchwood series for that matter). To properly appreciate what is going on I recommend listening to the first series before going to the third series.
|
|