Torchwood: Coffee

While Torchwood tries, with varying degrees of success, to save the city from aliens, life in Cardiff goes on around them. This is the story of the first three seasons of the show, as told from the perspective of a couple of staff working at a cafe on the Bay where Ianto is a regular customer. In this respect, it's somewhat like the earlier release Broken but the story covers a longer period and is focused on the lives of the guest characters rather than on Ianto and Jack.

A knowledge of the TV series is clearly needed for this since, while there are several side incidents peppered in among them, there are multiple references to the events of specific TV episodes. There's a real sense of just how bad things can get in Cardiff in the series as its events have repercussions on ordinary people that we rarely see in it - most of whom, of course, have no idea what's really going on. As the story unfolds, Ianto's relationship with the cafe staff goes through ups and downs as (from the listener's perspective) the coming events of Children of Earth hang over things.

It's a great slice-of-story with a strong SF twist. There is the odd moment of humour, a fair bit of pathos, and good characterisation and strong acting from everyone involved. If you're after action or horror, there's very little of that, since it really is just the story of a cafe struggling to get by in difficult circumstances. But as a character study and a look at Torchwood's actions from the outside, it's an excellent story with plenty to reward fans.