Yesterday saw the release of my Torchwood audio adventure, Instant Karma. Well, I say my. Those of you with a rigorous attention to detail may have spotted that I am one of three writers credited. The reason for this is simple and fairly dull; it was originally my story, but just after I went to London to attend the recording of Jeremiah Bourne in Time I contracted a norovirus. I shall spare you the gruesome details; suffice it to say I have never spent the best part of three days in the lavatory before and I hope never to do so again. Anyway, this meant I was in no fit state to do the notes on my latest draft of Instant Karma and, as time was short, producer James Goss and script editor David Llewellyn kindly offered to take over. And when I read their draft I was very, very pleased with it – I didn't want to change a word – and so I thought they should share the credit. But to clarify, it’s my idea, and my story, while the script is a combined effort. There, I told you it was fairly dull.
The story itself, however, is terrifically exciting. It’s a
bit like a Black Mirror as it starts
with a very simple what-if premise. What if you could make bad things happen to
people annoyed you? What if you had that power, to dispense justice as you saw
fit on a whim? We’ve all wished a long and painful death on people who walk three
abreast blocking the pavement, or who drop litter or talk in the cinema. But if
you could that, where would you stop? Would you stop at all?
It’s one of those ideas that raises all sorts of interesting
moral issues and some great character-based drama. I don’t know if it’s what
you would call a typical Torchwood story
– it’s more along the lines of the approach it took in its third series than
the first two. It’s the kind of story that I think Torchwood maybe should have done more of – and so, given the
opportunity to make my own modest addition to the series, that’s what I wrote
(plus it meant I could tick Torchwood off
the things-I’d-like-to-do list).
The story has already had a couple of very positive reviews
so I think I’ve just about got away with it. It can be purchased here, so
please, check it out!
