Lisa McMullins takes an interesting point in Torchwood history and puts a stake in the ground, adding to the continuity and (first and foremost) telling a good story, Sync. The cover tells us a lot. It’s Inidira Varma back as Suzie Costello (cheer) and Annette Badland as Slitheen Margaret Blaine (OK, cheer as well, though I’m not a Slitheen fan, on audio they are genuinely creepy). There’s lots of possibilities here, but let’s first talk story.

Sync

Here’s the synopsis from Big Finish:

Margaret Blaine is the Mayor of Cardiff. She’s also an alien who’ll do anything to get off the planet Earth. When a spaceship crashes outside Cardiff, it seems like the answer to her prayers. But she’s not the only person at crash site.

Suzie Costello works for Torchwood, but strictly to her own agenda. When a spaceship crashes outside Cardiff, it seems like the answer to her prayers. But she’s not the only person at the crash site.

Bonded by an alien device, Margaret and Suzie find themselves on the run from Torchwood, the police, and six warp missiles that’ll destroy them, Cardiff, and most of the Western Hemisphere.

What we have here, under the threat of global destruction (yawn!) is a reason to force two characters to spend time in each others company. One Slitheen and one human, both are ruthless, self-serving and loners. Suzie (from the little we saw of her on TV) saw Torchwood as a means to an end whilst the Slitheen has its own complex motives (as we will learn in the Ninth Doctor story Boom Town.

The two characters connect (and not just through alien tech) but only after several attempts to simplify their shared predicament through murder. It’s only a short-ish story so they don’t end up BFFs, but do grow to appreciate the other at least a little, and there’s a natural I wonder what happened next?

We don’t know how long it is until the events of Boom Town so there’s plenty of scope to revisit this pairing, or even have Margaret meet more members of Torchwood. Who knows. So, Big Finish has me hoping for another Slitheen story – just imagine!

Continuity

I did wonder is this would be the story of Boom Town from the POV of Torchwood, though that would need Captain Jack (I assume). Let’s now forget even if TV hadn’t created Torchwood yet, as fans we know the base was underneath as events played out between the Doctor, Margaret, Rose and Mickie. When is it in Torchwood continuity? Has Gwen joined yet? Is Suzie having an altercation with Jack while his much younger self is just above?

I do hope we find out one day!