I love the TV series TORCHWOOD. But I’m not so rabid a fan — for it or any show — to buy a monthly magazine dedicated to it. TORCHWOOD: THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE YEARBOOK is a 96-page collection of the best material from various issues. I suppose it serves its purpose, but it just feels like a magazine you’d pick up on impulse at the grocery store, no matter how hard the cover.
The first feature is a “Meet the Team” spread that dishes the most basic of details of the show’s five-character core, presumably for newbies. The remainder of the book is weighed heavily toward the series’ second season.
Full-color photo spreads look at the design of Torchwood HQ and the makeup of a returning character. Interviews are conducted between star John Barrowman and guest star James Marsters (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), who played an integral part in three episodes in that second season.
The book is most notable for the inclusion of five original short stories, each focusing on a different character, written by Steven Savile, David Llewellyn, Andy Lane, Trevor Baxendale and Joseph Lidster. Their quality pretty much hovers equal to the level of the tie-in novels, which is to say perfectly acceptable. Another welcome feature is an episode guide — again, to just the sophomore year — devoting two-page spreads and sidebars aplenty to each of the 13 hour-long adventures. The season’s best, incidentally — the wedding episode — gets a lengthy set report.
There’s not much substance beneath the surface to any of the features or articles. If you’re apt to buy such fan magazines, but didn’t know about its existence, I suppose this is a good way to see what you’ve missed without having to track down any back issues.
But if this book represents the “the cream of the content,” why aren’t any of the periodical’s 10-page Torchwood comics reprinted? That’s the one thing I wanted to see included. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• TORCHWOOD: ANOTHER LIFE by Peter Anghelides
• TORCHWOOD: BORDER PRINCES by Dan Abnett
