Torchwood: Goodbye Piccadilly

Sergeant Andy wakes up in 1950s London in this partly-comedic, partly-gritty story. The comedy elements come from the desperate situations in which he and '50s Torchwood agent Norton Fulgate find themselves, including accidental nudity, innuendo, and a bad Italian accent. But contrasting with that we have the fact that the story is set in Soho - then London's primary red-light district and not at all the gentrified place that it mostly is today.

That leads to a tour of sordid venues and a depiction of '50s attitudes to homosexuality at a time when it was still illegal. It should be noted that there are some homophobic slurs in the story as a result, although nothing particularly extreme and, of course, not presented in a positive light. This aspect of the story, at least to me, ends up being more memorable than the humour and the action of the final segment and is at home with Torchwood's examination of LGBT and social issues, showing some of the lengths that gay men had to go to for any kind of encounter. (This might, I suppose, be something of an eye-opener to those of the Millenial generation, but then again, maybe not).

Fulgate is also more serious here than he was in his earlier appearances, with less of the over-the-top campness, and no longer using Polari. (Remember Julian and Sandy from Round the Horne? Again, if you're Millenial, possibly not). And that works, making him a more complex character than before, while still keeping the core of the relationship with Andy, and the fact that we never know whether or not he can really be trusted. Add to that the action elements, featuring London gangsters and a deliberately hokey (but dangerous) alien artefact and this is a surprisingly fun listen, considering the themes.