Torchwood: Expectant

Big Finish Torchwood #34

by Xanna Eve Chown

The Yalnix Empire is a fragile alliance of a dozen systems, under constant attack from their ancient enemy, the Vad. With the Empress unable to trust any of her court she gives the job of growing the next Ruler of the Yalnix to an old friend - Captain Jack Harkness.

With hunters on the loose and a battlefleet in orbit, Cardiff’s suddenly became a dangerous place for a man to be pregnant.

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Media Tie In, Fiction

Audio CD

First published December 1, 2019

Reviews

[Marcel van Driel]

I know they can’t always be great or even good, but Expectant is really really bad. Like: unexpectedly awful (pun definitely intended). The premise (Jack is pregnant) is no more than an excuse for lame pregnancy jokes. There’s hardly a story, Jonty is one of the most irritating characters in the Whoniverse ever and John Barrowman - not the best actor in the world anyway - is mostly shouting, fake crying and acting like he’s in a amateur school play. Big Finish should have shelved this one instead of making us both pay for it and suffer through it. One star because I can’t give zero.

[Rick]

Jonty thinks this was silly.
Jonty thinks this was repetitive.
Jonty thinks this was pointless.
Jonty thinks this was not one of the better episodes.

[Yvonne Alf]

I have a really hard time to form an opinion about Expectant. On one side it is so over the top that it annoys me to no end. But when the reasons and the underlying pain become clear, it just breaks my heart. I wish we could have an episode with a different setting, but obviously Jack needs a hormonal meltdown to actually talk about his feelings. I fear that is all we can get. At first I wasn't sure what to think about how Ianto reacted Jack doing this... but after thinking about it for a while I get it.

[Taksya]

Per salvare la discendenza di un impero alieno dai nemici che lo circondano, Jack accetta di portare a termine la gestazione dell'erede al trono.
Per tutto l'episodio il nostro Capitano è preda degli sbalzi ormonali, comportandosi come la peggior parodia di una donna incinta.
Divertente, all'inizio, ma ripetitivo dopo un po'.
La presenza di Ianto e della levatrice aliena, interpretato da Aaron Anthony, aiutano a smorzare un po' i toni e a rendere comunque gradevole l'ascolto.

[jules0623]

Loved this! Jack had me laughing out loud in my car at times and I was thrilled we got a couple of Janto moments. Jonty (Jaunty?) was pretty awesome as well and, as usual, the whole cast had great chemistry and the story kept me really engaged. Could be my favourite TW Audio yet.

[TJ, the Librarian.]

I think this wanted to be camp, but it was just bad.

[Emilija]

I literally can't describe how bad this is. It's on the verge of being so bad that it is laughable. Jonty might be one of the most annoying characters I've ever heard.

[Saffinkar]

this is the torchwood mpreg episode.

[Aaron A]

Just straight-up boomer humour.
The first Big Finish I fell asleep listening to, it was 3pm.
Wanted to be fair and listened again the next day, almost fell asleep again.
Screaming loudly does not equal funny.

[Daniel Cork]

I've not made it a secret that I'm a big fan of the Torchwood Monthly Range, but sometimes there comes along a story that is an undeniable stinker. The show's reference to it made Jack's pregnancy an obvious idea, but whether they could execute it well is another matter entirely. This story has received some very harsh criticisms over the years, but what did I think of it?

The Yalnix Empire is a fragile alliance and now the empress needs Captain Jack Harkness's help to give birth to the new emperor. Being pregnant isn't easy, however, and Jack's about to learn that the hard way. It's a good thing he has a midwife by his side every step of the way, isn't it? But with aliens from across the universe trying to get their grubby little hands on the unborn emperor, it seems Jack will have to make the ultimate sacrifice to not only save an unborn child's life, but an entire empire.

Xanna Eve Chown has taken an interesting if not weird reference and has turned it into a story that explores the harsh reality behind being pregnant, while also exploring Jack's grief after losing Owen and Tosh. I really like the moments where Jack talks about death and Ianto's cameo was a lot of fun as well. Unfortunately, this story was terrible. It so desperately wants to be a comedy that it fails in every way imaginable. It's a story with a gross sense of humor, annoying characters and John Barrowman giving his worst performance yet.

Overall: There's a couple of decent moments in this story, but aside from that, it's a poorly written story with some awful acting. 2/10

[Jamie Revell]

This is, I think, intended to be a comedy. The main problem with that is that it just isn't funny. The central joke is that Jack is pregnant with an alien baby, and as a result keeps suffering from mood swings and food cravings. With the opening scenes being a sequence of random events that he has to protect the baby from, this wears out whatever welcome it had early on.

The comedy (if that's what it is) is offset by some more serious scenes later on as Jack opens up about his motivations for choosing this particular path, and reflects on some of the bad things that have recently happened in his life. It's for these sections that I give it three stars, not two, although even here the narrative seems to jump around, making it hard to follow what's going on. And offsetting the humorous scenes with the serious ones doesn't work so well when the humorous scenes aren't actually funny.

I think I can see what they were trying to do with this one, but, for me, it doesn't really work.

[Stacey]

2.5

This was a fun little listen. I could picture the ao3 tags that would go with it because it was bit like fanfic.

Hormonal pregnant Jack was funny in some parts but it wasn't very plot heavy. There was a nice little reference to Tosh and Owen and allowing him self to become a surrogate instead of dealing with there deaths was a nice touch.

Pregnant Jack is somthing fans have wanted for ages even if didnt get it in a episode.

[Someone Who Reads]

Jack is grieving and gets pregnant. at first sounds like a fun, shallow and forgettable story but it's more than that. it explores grief and Jack's feeling.
we have Captain Jack Harkness with hormonal imbalances and mood swings. what else do you need?

"Why? Because two of our die and Jack goes off and I think he's coming to terms with it but oh no, suddenly he's pregnant!"

"You've been fighting a war so long you no longer know what your enemy looks like?!"

[Lyndsay-ann]

Jack is pregnant! Congrats!

While it was a kinda strange story, and at some points hard to follow, was still quite entertaining. Really like the character of Jonty. It felt like there was some missing pieces though and the ending was quite abrupt.

At the very end of the credits was a commentary by some of the actors, which was a great surprise.

[Debra Cook]

Jack is working while carrying the child of an alien friend.

[Amelia]

There were some cute Janto moments and funny scenes but overall I just found the story really strange and quite hard to follow.

[Kira Ginger]

The story was quite entertaining, I laughed very very hard!

[Alex]

It felt like a fever dream which is saying something for Torchwood. It has some good moments and lines but also just so much...what the fuck

[Emma Bozarth]

The CGI baby 💀

[Josh]

Oh Mpreg.... thanks I hate it.

[Steven Shinder]

Most interesting bit was when Jack thought about mortality in relation to promises parents make.

[Theta]

This is my first Big Finish Production book that I have listened to, and it most certainly will not be my last! This book is focused on Jack, who has found himself pregnant and carrying the new leader of the Yalnix (Junior), and this story focuses on him trying to do his job while pregnant.

John Barrowman was amazing as Jack, and Aaron Anthony as Jonty was brilliant! There were also a few adorable Janto moments scattered throughout, and Jack's mood swings were hilarious! It was easy for me to keep up with the story, and I am looking forward to listening to my next story!