Sunday, 4 April 2021

Reviews Torchwood: Lease of Life Review by Tony J Fyler

 


Tony’s coming down with a mould. 

A writer’s world will frequently make its way into their work. When Robert Holmes had what he decided was an unreasonable tax demand, for instance, he gave Doctor Who the immortal story of The Sunmakers.

There’s a sense in which you have to assume that Aaron Lamont, writer of Lease Of Life, had quite the experience of student accommodation.

In a 3-bedroom house near to the centre of Cardiff live Ellie (Rosalie Craig), Seren (Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo), and Nye (Angus Yellowlees).

They…have a mould problem.

Fortunately, Cardiff Council’s leading mould specialist, Dr Owen Harper, is on hand to investigate.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. That sound in your head is the story stretching out in front of you.

Mould is of course a famous and well-used wordless ‘villain’ in science fiction and horror. Like fog, it’s natural, spreading – and you can’t reason with it. It just eats.

It eats a lot in Lease of Life.

It seems hardly spoilerific to say that the mould in Seren’s house is not from round here. In fact, Owen’s seen it before, but usually, Torchwood gets on the case a lot faster than it does this time.

So from almost the word go in this story, Owen’s on a race against time. Time, and a mould from outer space.

Just as a heads-up, when you listen to Lease Of Life…maybe make sure you do it in the daytime.

 

Like most similar stories, the progression here is through stages of decay, and the stakes elevate as the story goes along. When it starts, it’s just mould. A patch of mould.

Sure, who cares, right? Spot a student house without mould, you’re on to a good thing.

But more or less from the moment Owen arrives, the mould shows its true…well, not colours, obviously, but its true potential, certainly. Ellie, Seren and Nye are not students, but they could well be – they’re each in a kind of stasis when Owen arrives. Seren in particular is putting up with the grimness of the house so she can save up the money to go travelling and see the world. Ellie doesn’t especially like either of our housemates, and Nye is out a lot, and playing loud music to isolate himself from the reality of the house and his housemates when he’s in.

It’s the very definition of dysfunction, and the mould, for all it’s an alien life-form intent on eating everything with which it comes into contact, is also a handy metaphor for the toxic isolation of modern life, where conversation and potential friendship is eaten alive by self-revolution and our own concerns.

If Ellie, Nye, Seren and Owen work together, there’s a chance they can get rid of the mould.

So… that’s simple, then.

Except before you know what’s happening, Ellie’s gone out on a run, potentially spreading mould spores over a 6km radius, the kitchen floor’s collapsed and a meeting with the landlord does nothing to resolve the situation.

When Owen finds the source of the mould, it becomes appallingly apparent that Dr Owen Harper, one of Torchwood’s finest, is way out of his league against a houseful of unthinking infection.

In fact, the worse the situation becomes, the less likely a solution seems to be.

It would spoil the building of the drama to tell you exactly what happens, but perhaps it’s fair to say that in stories where Owen Harper takes centre stage, things are rarely less than grim, and there’s usually a body-count.

Mould versus humans. Just saying. You’re going to need more than a damp cloth.

When a solution is eventually found, it’s very much last-ditch, do-this-or-destroy-the-world in its nature, and it demands at least one sacrifice to implement. The escalation takes a patch of mould into a full-on horror story, and as in most horror stories, the odds of everyone getting out alive are slim.

In Torchwood horror stories of course, the odds of anyone getting out alive are pretty slim. This is no exception, but what it delivers is a solidly human fear, developing beyond the scope in which we usually experience it. It also gives you a reasonable allegory of isolation and how it leads to disaster, some engaging characterisation, and a story in which Owen is able to shine.

Lease Of Life will have you checking your ceilings, looking behind your bookcases and scrubbing extra hard. Kill the mould. Kill it all…

Just sayin’…

 

 

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