Torchwood is on British TV again this evening, our transatlantic friends having already seen the new episode; but we’ve also had three new Torchwood audios over the last few days, broadcast on BBC Radio Four and downloadable from the Beeb’s site, featuring John Barrowman as Jack, Eve Myles as Gwen and Gareth David Lloyd as Ianto (which gives you an idea of the setting in continuity).

The first thing to say about them is that, unlike in the three Torchwood audio plays broadcast two years ago, John Barrowman appears to have woken up and discovered how to act without the visuals. All three of the regulars are on form here, and most of the guest cast are too.

The weakest of the three plays is the first, The Devil and Miss Carew, by Rupert Laight, despite the presence of Martin Jarvis on the cast list. The death of Rhys’s uncle is linked with a mysteriously rejuvenated businesswoman, and lots of irritating plot points that didn’t quite add up (analysed in spoilery detail by here and here and here).

The title of the middle play, Submission by Ryan Scott (a new name to me, I think), is a bit of a cheat – in fact the story is about a mission on a submarine, thus “sub” “mission”, as Jack, Gwen, Ianto and Ianto’s ex-girlfriend who didn’t become a Cyberwoman descend into the Marianas Trench to find the answer to the latest mysterious happenings. It’s a rattling decent yarn with an element of ghost story as well, though the ease with which our heroes blagged their way onto the submarine reminded me of the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe taking control of the world’s only functioning space rocket in The Seeds of Death, and I have a strong suspicion that not all of the American accents would pass muster. But I was impressed by Erin Bennett as Ianto’s former flame.

As with the 2009 audios, the best is the last, The House of the Dead by the usually excellent James Goss, who is on form here. The Torchwood team intervene in a seance at the most haunted pub in Wales; but very little is as it seems, and the regular cast are stretched way beyond their usual areas of performance – including Eve Myles, though her role is secondary to Barrowman and Lloyd in this one. Strongly recommended, especially to Ianto fans.

And all three plays deal in slightly different ways with cheating death, which I suspect ties in to the theme of the new television Torchwood as well. Looking forward to it.