Torchwood: Fall to Earth

Big Finish Torchwood #2

by James Goss

The SkyPuncher is the first private spaceflight. But Ephraim Salt's visionary project has gone horribly wrong - the ship is falling out of the sky and there seems no way to stop it.

Ianto Jones thought the flight would be sabotaged. The only problem is... he's on board.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, British Literature, Media Tie In, Novels

Audio CD

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

James Goss has written two Torchwood novels and a radio play, as well as a Being Human book. His Doctor Who audiobook Dead Air won Best Audiobook 2010. James also spent seven years working on the BBC's official Doctor Who website and co-wrote the website for Torchwood Series One. In 2007, he won the Best Adaptation category in the annual LA Weekly Theatre Awards for his version of Douglas Adams' novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

Reviews

[jules0623 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fantastic! Gareth David-Lloyd is such an underrated talent. He brings so much personality and life to Ianto in these audiobooks that he didn't get to show in the tv series.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do love how the writers of these audio dramas can really rise to the challenge of basically only having 2 (maybe 3) people in the script and keep it fresh, compelling, interesting and riveting. They’re certainly brilliant and clever.

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This is what Torchwood does, isn't it Jack? Ruins everyone. Everyone it touches..."

[Diba Tano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the stories that, when you tell someone about them, they seem dull, boring even but when you actually read/watch/listen to them, the dialogues are so well written and even the seemingly simple story is so engaging that you can't get enough of it and "Fall to Earth" is one of the best examples of that and I absolutely loved it.
Plus, Zaynab's character is established so masterfully and smoothly in the first 15 minutes of the episode and that takes skill.

[David Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. This would have been an amazing episode.

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried.

[Saffinkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

this audio is near perfect, but ultimately, the fact that Zeynep survives cheapened a lot of the emotional impact for me. i wish my favs had MORE horrible things happen to them!!!

[The Post Monument · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

[Brini · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The 21st century is were everything changes and Ianto Jones is ready." 3 seconds in and it gave me a chill. SKY BUTLER IANTO FOR.THE.WIN.

Massive fangirling (and quotation) ahead. You have been warned.

I really love the humor of this story. If something bad is happening, you need humor to get through it. "I am pleased to tell you that Myfanwy is now insured" - "Horaaaaay!" xD
The foley artist pretty much annoyed me. The turbulances sounded like a broken washing mashine and I'm sorry, but if someone continuously bangs at empty cans, it starts to get unnerving and doesn't really help. I'm glad it got better towards the end though.
"Just when a handsome man comes to your desk - AND HE WILL - tell Jack I'm sor-" My Janto heart really loved that bit despite the seemingly fatal situation. I just had to quote that.
I have to say, annoyed Ianto is really funny. His sarcasm is even better. "Zombie on a plane, nothing. I have been out in Swansea on a saturday" xD Ianto is way too cheeky and has the big ego Jack seemed to have lost in Torchwood: The Conspiracy but since we know almost nothing about Ianto from the TV show (because he always stands in the backround) it doesn't seem too out of character for him- at least on mision on his own. "Trust me, I look sexy" He may have spent too much time with Jack though :'D
I'm happy and sad at the same time as Ianto mentioned Lisa and we already learned that he's in a relationship (or something) with Jack. It makes it easier to put the story in chronological order- even if it is not crucial for the story line.

"I really don't matter" --- No one should ever say or think something like that. It really made me sad on an entirely different level. EVERYONE MATTERS!

Just when the nice lady doesn't want to leave Ianto dying on his own, he wants to parachute out and practically leave her. Nice one, dear. "This is what Torchwood does isn't it, Jack? Ruins everyone, everyone it touches. I don't care, not anymore." The story has a very Doctor Who end, you wouldn't really expect from a Torchwood story, but compared to the first audio drama this one really felt like Torchwood. "Haven't the little people done well?"

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un épisode en huis clos tout simplement incroyable et époustouflant, j'ai du mal à croire que j'ai complètement oublié cet épisode après 5 ans d'écoute. À la fin de l'écoute, on est littéralement en pleure tellement les deux acteurs sont investis et la tension narrative est immense. Alors que Ianto est pris dans une navette à la dérive, son seul lien, et espoir, est une téléphoniste, Zeynep, qui tente de lui vendre des assurances et cette communication par téléphone est un moteur narratif immense et qui est utilisé à son plein potentiel, des mises en attentes à la confusion de ne pas se voir en personne, la narration et l'utilisation de ce motif est brillant.

Alternant entre l'humour et le drame, les revirements de situation (qui est le ou la protagoniste en danger notamment), cet épisode nous attrape émotivement et il est impossible de détourner l'oreille. La fin est tout simplement superbe.

Définitivement un des meilleurs audio de Big Finish Productions. Je vais clairement essayer de le ré-écouter dans 5 ans. Vu que je semble avoir absolument tout oublié de ma première écoute, j'ai hâte de revivre ces bouleversements de nouveau.

[Daniel Cork · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a crashing spaceship, Ianto's only hope of escape is from a call centre worker known as Zeynep but at what cost?

This was a very fun story filled with humour but also very serious and intense at the same time. The story being a two hander was very well done with Gareth-David Lloyld and Lisa Zahra giving great performances, really bringing to life the very well written story by James Goss! 8.5/10

[Eri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of fun with Gareth David-Lloyd and one more actress, definitely a good story, although, it leaves you with plenty questions like "how is this connected?!" "what was before this and what followed?" but that's part of the fun I guess.

[Laura Naysmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! I always thought Gareth David-Lloyd was short changed in the TV series but this shows exactly what he can do. It's a smashing two-hander with Lisa Zahra that manages to keep pace, tension and suspense going throughout the entire hour. Loved it.

[Alex Mira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small casts are always either hit or miss and this one is a big hit. Only two actors yet you get to know both characters so well and feel so much. A great start to a great range

[Caitlin May · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean come on, you give a girl an audio drama centred around her favourite character, voiced by Gareth David-Lloyd, and expect it not to be a 5 star listen? This in no ways to me felt like an audio adventure, but instead as if I was watching it on the TV. The sound effects and background noises all brought the story to life and the script was simple to follow yet humorous and perfectly captured Ianto's character. I like the way Ianto is finally getting the recognition he deserves instead of just being a 'background' character in torchwood who makes coffee and shags Jack every so often. The story itself was perfect and enticing unlike the previous adventure I listened to 'the conspiracy' which to me felt slow, this adventure was a change of pace, action packed and kept me on my feet. What more could you ask for? I mean Ianto trying to land a plane? It was basically an hour of Ianto living out his James Bond fantasies. And good on him for that one, if I had the chance to be a spy I would take it up. But I mean give me a story based around Ianto and dare me not to like it. This story possessed a lot more emotion, unlike chapter one 'the conspiracy' which felt a little bit like 'oh no my daughter is holding me hostage, and is secretly an alien! she cant be!'. I loved Zeynep (sorry if that is the incorrect spelling) and I loved the development of her an Ianto's relationship throughout the story, with her trying to sell him insurance whilst he's trying to navigate a falling plane. Absolute Chaos, yet absolutely humorous at times. 'I'll try to make my panic less sexfesty' definitely in character for him. There were however a few sadder comments made which I noted down for the angst side of this review. 'I really don't matter it's got to be done' This reminded me a lot of when Tosh had the pendant with the ability to read minds and heard how Ianto thought of himself, which then again was never really spoken about again in Torchwood and was sort of shoved under the matt along with most things, this is further shown when he says 'I wanted them to like me' as he feels as though he doesn't completely fit in which leads me to believe this story takes place some time soon after cyberwoman, as he still doesn't feel accepted by the group but is trying to gain there trust.
'this is what Torchwood does isn't it Jack, ruins everyone, everyone it touches' No comments , just a quick moment of silence for Ianto shrine in Cardiff. But you know if there is one thing Torchwoods famous for : its death at a young age. Foreshadowing his upcoming death in COE 4 but then again this was recorded in 2015 after his tragic death in 2009. When Ianto thinks he's going to die he says 'I'm scared I don't want to be alone' which I think is devastatingly beautiful considering he died in the arms of the man he loved, fighting for the people he cared for. Anyway enough rambling from me and it earned an easy 5 stars, even though the end felt a lot more doctorwhoish then torchwood with the whole 'everyone lives plot'!! but then again I'm not complaining. And as the very wise Captain Jack Harkness once said 'Ianto, I need to hear those beautiful Welsh vowels'.

[Mercedes Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I need to say first is Gareth David-Lloyd is really a talented and brilliant actor. I think in Torchwood audiobook or Big Finish productions, he has really become quite gifted and provided us with a kind of brand new Ianto but also still been the young man we are familiar with. I trully need to say I am really suprised and amazed by Gareth's presentation in this story, as it was basically a solo heroic adventure of Ianto Jones.
It made people feel like first that Ianto in this story was a little bit like Captain Jack (probably they spent too much time together lol), with all those nifty tone and cute sarcasm. Can you imagine Ianto saying "I look sexy"? But as he talked something about "I really don't matter" and when he admitted that he was trying to do something to kind of attract their attention and help them, the character became to look like Ianto again. But I must say the final conversation between Ianto and the telephone operator before the crash, it was really heartbreaking. Not only because Ianto was about to die and the way in which Gareth presented the line was absolutely gut wrenching (I really could not stop weeping when Gareth was talking in undertone, I just could not), but also because the writer showed us a real reaction of the telephone operator. It was about pain, and people could tell that the lady was not reconciled to this unfortunate unexpected trouble. I really like that part of the conversation.
The story had a very hopeful ending. I will not say if it was good or not. But take a panoramic view of the whole story, I really like this one. And I will always remember Mr. James Goss' Torchwood: The House of the Dead and all the tears I cried while listening to this.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second story in the Torchwood audio series features, perhaps surprisingly, Ianto Jones. I have to start off by saying that Ianto is really my least favourite of the Torchwood regulars - not that he's unlikeable (as Owen tends to be), I just find him rather dull. As a result, I was surprised by just how much I liked this story. Perhaps that's partly due to what can be done when the focus of the story is on him alone, but it's also down the quality of the acting and some lovely touches in the script.

The story concerns Ianto being trapped alone on a spaceplane crashing out of the sky, his only contact with Earth a telemarketer in Turkey trying to sell him insurance. The first half is really a disaster story in space, not unlike the Airport movies of the '70s, but with a few added SF twists. Apart from the nice conceit that we're only hearing the phone conversation between Ianto and the call centre, the story is fairly unremarkable at this point - although the fact that Goss has ditched the narration used in the previous episode is an improvement.

But this is merely a necessary prelude to the final segment, which knocks it out of the park as the unstoppable plane heads towards a major population centre. This would not be so effective without the slow build up leading to it, and plays on the fact that Ianto and the telemarketing drone are just "little people" caught up in something much larger - this story would never work with any of the other Torchwood characters. It's a powerful emotional tale, full of little details about the characters' lives.

In short, this makes a stunning success out of the very reason that I'm normally not keen on its central character.

[Seb Hasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was hilarious and tragically beautiful. Naturally it was a Ianto one, given that sums up his character perfectly. This story worked very well as a two hander with just him and Zeynep as the two characters featured. As with most Torchwood I did have one criticism, that being that the main plot that going on does get a bit repetitive. I mean for a plane supposedly crashing out of the sky, it somehow takes about an hour to do so; rather odd. Besides that I really loved the characters, in what is definitely a character driven story.

There is that comedic element of a phone centre worker being Ianto’s only hope, but we really progress into such emotional and heartfelt depths as the stories go on. The story nearly has a tragic ending and by that point I was definitely moved. The progress with the ‘Committee’ storyline is minimal here but that really doesn’t matter when the story being told here is great. As I mentioned the plot doesn’t seem to go anywhere right up until the end, but that doesn’t make any of the comedy and drama any less enjoyable.

It takes a lot for me to actually care about the fate of a background character but this story certainly did. She helps Ianto, but that isn’t the full extent of her involvement, when Zeynep is key to the resolution of the story. We move from a great first half that is quite comedic, to a mutually assured destruction idea later on, both of which are written effectively. It’s a story that again just flew by for me, with no inherent flaws for me to begrudgingly sit through. Just a story that is very clear in what it sets out to achieve and does so with subtle comedy, and a beautiful score to punctuate the heartwarming happy ending.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much love for Ianto Jones. And a whole new episode and a story with him as the main attraction? What a treat for Torchwood Fans.

Early on in Ianto’s story, he’s keen to show himself to the Torchwood team. He’s the paperwork boy, the glorified butler and he makes a damn good cup of coffee… but is there more to him than that? It’s his time to shine as he hears about a danger set to a billionaire on a brand new space flight. He finds himself aboard but then it all begins to go awry…

I’ll never get over just how good the acting is on these. Absolutely incredible and written around an intriguing story that has you rooting for Ianto from the beginning. He’s so effortlessly funny. The dry wit, the undertone of rapidly ascending doom. Perfect balance and a really enjoyable story with one of the best characters of the show (I mean, I love them all. But he’s a sure favourite)

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating between 3.5 & 4

A very good two hander that could have been a very average story based on the synopsis but the performances raised it much higher.
The plot itself forms another entry in the sort of on-going Committee storyline. Jack missing/away, the others involved somewhere else, leaving ianto to follow up on his own investigation which turned out to be a trap set to get rid of 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak. Not sure where these stories fit into the overall torchwood timeline as so long since first listen cannot remember anything really.
Anyway the performances in this play are very good and worth the listen on their own.
Overall definite recommendation

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, powerful story this one. Actual audio drama, compared to narration of the first story in the series, and does well even if only really two characters in it. Ianto Jones is my favourite Torchwood character, and he shines well in this story. Zeynep, a call center rep, complements him well, and the interactions between the two bring a good mixture of humour, suspense and sorrow. All round a good story, and the ending took me by surprise.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before listening to this, I relistened to the first entry, The Conspiracy, and enjoyed it more than the first time. I’m not quite sure if Fall to Earth is at all related, and the chronology is a bit confusing given where we last saw Ianto. But this was a strong story about little people. Ianto is on a collision course toward the ground, and a woman at a call center tried her best to help him out. There’s a lot of emotion in this and really great acting. Definitely a must.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful introduction of Ianto to the Big Finish world. It’s a great celebration of the “little people”, those overlooked by their jobs and the wider world in general. It’s amazing how it manages to remain so compelling despite only two central characters. It also really fleshes out Ianto, revealing the weight that the death of Lisa has had on his mental health, and his struggle with feeling alienated from the rest of the Torchwood team.

[Zuzka Jakúbková · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how is this story based on dialogue between two characters. Ianto Jones is crashing down in a secret spaceship and his only contact to Earth is a telemarketer Zeynep. Strong performances and a solid piece of step by step crisis-defusion storyline.

[Shaun Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, how much fun was this? I loved it. A blast to listen too, a few misdirections along the way but a solidly fun trip. Maybe it's my love of Ianto (and the long while since he'd been on air) but this just tickled me. For our full thoughts, visit https://travelingthevortex.com/?p=8743

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very clever idea for an audioplay: Ianto is stuck on a crashing commercial space flight and the only person he can get through to is an insurance seller in Turkey, who tries to help him while staying within the restrictions imposed by her call centre's systems.

[John]

The TV show never once implied that Ianto was involved in a 9/11. On a serious note though this is a solid story of two people on the phone that could only really work as well as it does on audio. Strong performances from Gareth David-Lloyd and Lisa Zahra

[Ella (book.monkey) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this story very funny!

[Erica Domander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything with Gareth is bound to turn out good. It's a short story without much depth, but a nice little romp in the Torchwood universe with our favorite sarcastic butler as the star.

[Vincent Darlage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! Gripping and tense!