SET before the events of TV show Children of Earth, these full-cast audio dramas offer a chance to hear the Torchwood trio in action for perhaps the last time, given the unexpected death of Ianto in the penultimate episode of the recent series. Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones are Earth’s first line of defence in the event of an alien incursion from beyond the space-time rift running through the heart of Cardiff, operating outside the police and beyond the Government, preparing the human race for the changes which the 21st century will bring…

These four stories find PC Andy Davidson investigating a shoplifter who may be from another world, the rediscovery of Torchwood India 80 years after Jack thought he’d shut it down, and a series of phone calls which send the recipient into a coma-like trance… We’re also reintroduced to former TARDIS companion Martha Jones, as she joins the Torchwood team to investigate voices from the past trying to contact the present in the environs of CERN, the world’s leading particle physics laboratory, and home of the Large Hadron Collider.

Faultless performances from the main cast ensure these stories admirably capture the style and atmosphere of the TV show, and all three stand-alone adventures stand up to repeat listening. With no signs of a fourth season on television, let’s hope the BBC allow the Torchwood team to keep us entertained in the meantime with more audios of this quality.