Torchwood: The Crown

I went into this not expecting to like it much; it doesn't have a particularly good reputation and the Victorian Torchwood stories have mostly not been to my taste. But, in this case, about the only flaw is that, for obvious reasons, it doesn't include any of the Torchwood regulars. And, if one simply takes it as a Victorian ghost story, that doesn't matter. (It may also be noteworthy that the only Victorian Torchwood story I previously liked was by the same author).

The basic plot here is that a psychiatrist is invited to see a patient who claims to be Queen Victoria and then listens to her tale of how such a thing is possible. It's a supernatural ghost story, largely told by the madwoman (or is she?) that is both macabre and mysterious; it's not clear until almost the end how exactly the story is going to conclude. Considering that it's mostly narrated it's atmospheric and well-written with a great performance from Rowena Cooper. And, for once, the usual objections about Queen Victoria travelling without a retinue in these stories disappear, because that's the whole point.