Reviews Torchwood: Fall To Earth by DJ Forrest

Written by James Goss for

Big Finish Productions 2015

Directed by Scott Handcock

Fall to Earth has to be one of the best Ianto audio dramas I’ve heard in a long time. There’s something about casting Gareth David-Lloyd in an audio drama where he’s the main character that just makes the journey more enjoyable. Although there was a serious element to the story, and believe me, a plane hurtling out of control and heading to Earth at a great rate of knots is indeed a serious one, yet I found myself laughing out loud and chuckling like a naughty schoolboy caught with a whoopee cushion in class. As it’s impossible to remain straight faced when Ianto is onboard.

There’s just something so incredibly different about him over Owen. Owen’s wit is incredibly crass, sarcastic and with a sheer amount of bitterness. Who can blame him, given his run of bad luck? Ianto on the other hand, is gentler in manner and rarely loses his cool, unless you add a Cyber girlfriend into the mix, or you’re about to tangle with a few hungry humans in the Brecons.

So it’s somewhat amazing that right at this precise moment we hear Ianto in trouble, from inside the cockpit of The Skypuncher calling for help from the most unlikely of people.

What I’ve come to discover and I think it was mentioned in the interview Scott Handcock had with John Barrowman or indeed the first interview with the cast of The Conspiracy, is that the six audio stories are all one complete adventure, told from different angles by each member of the team. So The Committee we’d heard about in The Conspiracy are also involved in this audio, but as to who they are, and what they want, and how they link with Ianto’s story, is still intriguing and one I can’t wait to uncover in perhaps the next episode, which I think will feature Gwen and Rhys! 

It’s been five or six years since Ianto was killed off in the series and yet, listening to Gareth David-Lloyd play his role in Fall to Earth, it was as if Ianto had never been away.

Sometimes it’s only when something precious is taken from you, do you achingly miss it. And hearing those beautiful Welsh vowels, I have indeed missed Ianto Jones.

An excellent audio drama written by James Goss, whose work I can never fault. I can’t wait for the next instalment.

As with the first of the audios, stay on till the absolute end of the disk, as Scott Handcock interviews James Goss, Gareth David-Lloyd and Lisa Zahra.