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.

Publisher Summary
When a 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. The team 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

Story Notes

 * This story's plotline is reminiscent of the plotline of Stephen King novel Cell.

Production 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.
 * Ianto's comments to the comatose Jack about not expecting to live very long foreshadow his fate in Children of Earth.
 * Rhys and Gwen discuss buying a new home; this leads into Children of Earth: Day One which shows Rhys in the process of house-hunting.

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, occurred in September 2009 as part of a 3-CD box set, The Radio Adventures.