More of the Torchwood Monthly Range; 43-50x + 52

[lyssie]

43. The Three Monkeys - After their last two adventures, Andy and Owen are due a little bit of downtime, and this one manages to be both pointed in its commentary (the shops, Owen and Andy's motivations for staying in Cardiff), light and fluffy, but also... almost too light? I don't know, I kept cackling and pounding the desk at times (some great bits!) . But the plot is a bit thin on the ground, and, well, Andy seems too carefree for that sort of a history?

44. Rhys and Ianto's Excellent Barbecue - So. This one is really awkward and "er..." until about the half-point, where it finally picks up and explains itself. And while I sort of enjoyed it (the emotional payoff was great!), it, uhm, also reminded me how much I don't actually like Rhys very much. Ianto was such an odd choice for this, though I get that it's not like Gwen has many options (Tosh would have been even more awkward, even if she hadn't been dead).

45. The Crown - REALLY liked this one despite disliking the Queen herself. There was a great sense of unreality/pathos, and it built itself to the climax deftly. I do admit that I skipped ahead at one point, as I thought there were several options for what was happening. I was pleased at discovering that it wasn't one of those I'd considered, though I ought to have. And I thought the end bit, where one of the characters seemed uncertain that they weren't going to die was quite good.

46. Coffee - Don't have much to say about this one. I think if I gave a fuck about either of the characters that were the leads, I would have liked it? Mostly, I kept going, "when is something interesting going to happen. When." And the only good bits had Ianto in them. It also felt a bit of a re-tread of Broken, but without the... emotion?

47. Drive - I wanted to like this one, but it was... dull. I ended up skipping around, feeling frustrated, then went to the end. The end didn't make me go back and listen to it all. And I normally quite like Tosh. But this one was duuuuuuuull. Sorry. I guess they can't all be Russian time loops or audio files murdering people.

48. Lease of Life - This one was gross, but enjoyable. And I liked Seren a lot, even if her ending is awful in some aspects. At least she's alive. And it's funny, once she's dead, someone else is going to have to renew that contract, but I suppose that's a problem for Future Torchwood.

I enjoyed Owen being Owen, because Seren was on his same level, and kept up with him quite well. Her throwing him out of the house was AMAZING.

Warning: lots of mold in this one, and at least one of the deaths is increeeeeeeedibly awful and gross.

49. Gooseberry - Nope nope nope. This one hit my second-hand embarrassment squick SO HARD. I could barely manage more than a couple of minutes before I had to run away. Didn't finish. Also, the premise didn't interest me (a woman suckers a bunch of men or something, and Owen falls for it and muscles in on Andy and his date, and... ugh. nope)

50X. The Black Knight - This one was amazing, but also depressing. I love love love Lynne Sharman, she is so amazing and driven to succeed, and smart and I would love her to be in more. Basically, I wanted a post-credits scene where Torchwood brings her back to solve some problem they're having, or she wakes up on an alien world, exploring, but never able to return to Earth (which, sad. But exploring!)

51. The Five People You Kill in Middlesbrough - I need to backtrack and listen to this one, I think I was holding off due to wanting to savor it.

52. Madam I'm - This one was creepy as fuck, and twisted, but also one of the gayest fucking things ever written (thanks, Goss!). The playing with time and perception and memory was disturbing, but so so good. I need to get TW: Soho now, as I really really loved Norton and Lizbeth and their interactions and constant back-and-forth. I love them.