The Dead Line (audio story)

Torchwood: The Dead Line is an original BBC Radio 4 audio play. It was broadcast the week prior to the Children of Earth mini-series.

Summary
When a Cardiff hospital is inundated with patients that have fallen into coma-like trances, Torchwood move in to investigate. They find that the trances were triggered by phone calls, all of which were made from a number that hadn't been active for over 30 years. Determined to find out who's been calling the unfortunate victims, Jack rings the mysterious number - two, zero, five, nine - nothing. It's a dead line. Until it calls Jack back, he answers - and falls into a deep trance...With the help of one of Jack's old girlfriends, eminent neuroscientist Stella Courtney, the team have to race against time to find the source of the 'infection' and save the patients...

Cast

 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
 * Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
 * Stella Courtney - Doña Croll
 * Jan - Eiry Thomas
 * Bob - Matthew Gravelle
 * Tyler - Brendan Charleson

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
Gwen says that Cardiff phone numbers have six digits, but they have had 8 digits since April 2000.

Continuity
Rhys recalls the events of Meat and Something Borrowed.

Download and CD release
The drama was available to UK Internet users for download in MP3 format for a period of one week after broadcast.

A CD release, alongside the other two Children of Earth prelude dramas, is scheduled for September 2009.