Torchwood: The Dead Line

By: Phil Ford

Narrated by: Eve Myles, Full Cast, Gareth David-Lloyd, John Barrowman

When a Cardiff hospital is inundated with patients that have fallen into coma-like trances, Torchwood move in to investigate. They find that the trances were triggered by phone calls, all of which were made from a number that hadn't been active for over 30 years. Determined to find out who's been calling the unfortunate victims, Jack rings the mysterious number - two, zero, five, nine - nothing. It's a dead line. Until it calls Jack back, he answers - and falls into a deep trance... With the help of one of Jack's old girlfriends, eminent neuroscientist Stella Courtney, the team have to race against time to find the source of the 'infection' and save the patients... Written specially for BBC Radio by Phil Ford, The Dead Line stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper and Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones.

Excellent

Honestly, at times I wasn't sure if I was listening to an audiobook or the TV show. Incredibly well written and superbly dramatized by the original cast (always a pleasure). Sound effects and superb writing, not to mention voice acting, make it easy to picture the action almost as clearly as seeing it on screen. Highly recommended for all Torchwood fans - though some familiarity with the characters and basic premise of the show is necessary, as not a lot of time is spent explaining things.

One of my favorites

I listen to this one over and over - the script is awesome, and the acting was, of course, perfect

An exciting and surprisingly moving entry

Jack, Gwen, and Ianto set out to find out why people are dropping into deep coma-like trances after answering a call from a phone number that was last used in the 1970s. The story is surprisingly active, features some nicer interactions between Gwen and Rhys and a surprisingly moving monologue from Ianto regarding Jack that makes certain events in Children of Earth that much more tragic. Would recommend this to any fan of Torchwood but especially those that are more familiar with the hub and especially the events of Season 2 as otherwise the casual listener may spend some time playing catch up regarding some relationships. The cast per usual performs superbly in all regards. Gareth David-Lloyd is particular good.

Totally using a monologue from this for an audition!!

Performance was great as always! I love this cast of actors and characters so much :)

A missing Torchwood episode!

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

I absolutely love that this was a dramatization with the actual actors who play these roles narrating this audiobood. You could completely believe this was a missing episode. The dynamic between the actors in their roles was just as present audibly as it is visually on the TV screen.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This story is just as enthralling as any Torchwood episode the BBC aired. I didn't want to hit pause once on this story.

Any additional comments?

If you are a Janto fan... you do not want to miss this. If you just love the series pre-Exit Wounds, then you'll love this story as well. For Torchwood fans, this is well worth the time and money/credit spent.