We’re heading back to 2005 and returning to Torchwood One; a time when Yvonne Hartman (Tracy-Ann Oberman) ran the flagship facility in London’s Canary Wharf and before her unfortunate demise in Doctor Who two parter Army of Ghosts/Doomsday.

Though I’ve been working my way through the Torchwood Monthly Range – a hugely varied series of stories that cover an impressive scope of settings, tones and characters – I enjoyed being reacquainted with Oberman’s occasionally morally dubious (always in service of what’s best for Queen and Country, of course) Hartman that I thought I’d take the plunge with one of the more episodic box sets she features in.

It didn’t disappoint.

There are three linked episodes in Before The Fall: New Girl, Through The Ruins and Uprising.

In New Girl, we’re introduced to new Torchwood One operative Rachel Allan (Sophie Winkleman), who’s a little ditzy and overly eager to please.

Kicking this box set off with a chapter that introduces listeners to Torchwood One and its many quirky characters, through the eyes of a new recruit, was a genius idea.

There’s a pretty light and amusing tone for most of its running time, as Rachel very awkwardly introduces herself to everyone – and starts getting to know what being part of Great Britain’s first line of defence against foreign and extra terrestrial threats is really like.

Yet that lightness of tone makes the shifts into darker territory a lot more effective when they arrive; in particular, an early scene in which Yvonne Hartman very matter-of-factly discusses a particularly nasty interrogation technique is utterly chilling.

Joseph Lidster’s script does a great job of setting up the rest of the box set, with incredibly high stakes and some neat twists leading us into the second act.

Through The Ruins, by Jenny T. Colgan, sees Hartman on the run after a tragic incident at Torchwood One. Meanwhile, Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), who also appears prominently in New Girl, attends a team building event off-site with numerous other operatives, taking part in an exercise that goes unexpectedly wrong.

This second part of the story does a similar juggling act to the first; juxtapositioning action and straight faced espionage with the more comedic elements of the team building exercise, which nonetheless goes to some surprising places itself.

Finally, the stage is set for a big showdown in Matt Fitton’s Uprising, in which an intergalactic war seems to be kicking off – and someone related to Torchwood One is to blame.

This episode is played a bit straighter than the prior two, though it does still have its amusing moments.

And it has one hell of a satisfying climax, along with an incredibly clever epilogue.

Torchwood One: Before The Fall is a fantastic listen, with the continuing narrative throwing some genuinely brilliant twists into the mix.

I’ve done my very best to stay away from any spoilers in my summaries; let’s just say that things are unlikely to go the way you expect in any of the three stories here.

The writing is fantastic across the board; despite there being three different writers, the whole series is consistent, and perfectly coherent – you’d never actually think that each chapter was written by a different person at all.

Oberman and David-Lloyd are as reliably excellent as always, as are the supporting cast.

The star of the show is, perhaps, our gateway character, in Winkleman’s Rachel Allan.

She’s fantastic, really getting a chance to showcase the character in a great range of situations.

Torchwood One: Before The Fall is deliberately, cleverly written to function as both jumping on point for fans new to the concept of Torchwood One and a great way for fans more familiar with the setting and characters to spend more time in its MI5-plus-aliens style world.

It’s a really solid start to the Torchwood One series overall – and I’m already dying to get the second box set underway.

Torchwood One: Before The Fall is available on CD (plus digital download) or just as a digital download directly from Big Finish, here.