Latter Days is a set of three stories that deal with death, dying and the ways in which different people cope when faced with the end; either theirs or someone else’s.

The first story, Retirement Plan, is the most comedic – but it also has a great deal of pathos and really touching moments.

It concerns the efforts of Torchwood One’s Head of Alien Acquisitions, Tommy (the brilliant Timothy Bentinck), to end his life on his own terms.

Creating a virtual world to escape into, Tommy  explains his plan to Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd, who’s on double duty as script writer) – but the system isn’t set up to accept anyone but its creator, leading Ianto fighting for his life in an attempt to escape El Cielo.

Since his introduction in Torchwood One: Before The Fall, Tommy has been a very welcome member of the cast.

A grumpy Northern bloke, Tommy is old school in more ways than one, being amusingly politically incorrect and quick on the trigger.

His wonky virtual creation is full of hilarious and inappropriate touches; just wait until you meet his digital wife.

It’s a great showcase for Tommy (and Bentinck’s fantastic comedy timing, along with his chemistry with Ianto), but David-Lloyd has written himself a brilliant exploration of Ianto’s geeky side here, which manifests itself in some incredibly amusing ways.

This is a great start to the box set, but the next two episodes are pretty strong too.

In Locker 15, poor old Dave (Derek Griffiths) is wasting away in a care home, his memories of his time as Torchwood One’s cleaner all gone.

Visits from family members that he doesn’t recall, such as his nephew Ianto, begin the process of Dave unlocking his memories; which is handy, because head of Torchwood One, Yvonne Hartman (Tracy-Ann Oberman), needs Dave to unlock something else: the mysterious Locker 15.

It was an absolute joy to have ex-childrens TV star Derek Griffiths pop up and have such a prominent and meaty role here; he does a fantastic job with poor old Dave.

Though Ianto, as he always does, tries to do the right thing by Dave, Hartman is of course only concerned with doing the right thing for Torchwood.

Yet even she gets some moments of doubt and empathy here; Oberman is, as is always the case, fantastic as the somewhat ruthless Hartman.

The final story in the set, The Rockery, brings us right up to Hartman’s first/last appearance in Tenth Doctor TV episodes Army of Ghosts/Doomsday.

Yvonne’s mum Anne (Barbara Flynn) has moved to the countryside and the younger Hartman is determined to keep an eye on her.

An incident involving alien fauna causes some problems for Anne and her helpful neighbour, however – and meanwhile, ghosts seem to be descending upon the world, understandably distracting Yvonne altogether.

If you’re aware of the story of Torchwood One from the two aforementioned Doctor Who episodes, you’ll understand why this story is extremely bittersweet.

It’s great getting to know Yvonne a bit more as she spends time with her mother, but it’s also a delight to actually meet Flynn’s Anne for the first time too.

It’s a lovely story, though it does of course have some genuinely tragic moments.

It’s interesting how small scale and intimate The Rockery is, given the scale of the story it leads to.

It marks the end of the first trilogy of Torchwood One box sets too, each of which have been absolutely fantastic to listen to.

There’s been more since, of course – which is a relief, as there’s a great, regular cast and the chemistry between Ianto and Yvonne is palpable.

You don’t need to have listened to the earlier box sets to enjoy Latter Days, but I’d highly recommend listening first to Before The Fall, then Machines, then this box set.

It’s a great series overall – and the story arcs for several characters pay off beautifully in Latter Days.

You can buy Torchwood One: Latter Days directly from Big Finish here.

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