I thought that I would attempt to resume my blogging to coincide with the arrival of Torchwood - a spin-off of the recently revived Doctor Who - sort of like Russell T Davies’ Angel to his Buffy; that’s how it very much seemed to me anyway.
So, I thought I’d get a review in before the Internet is swamped with them and here it is. I’ll say it now, I kept out as many spoilers as possible, so not to spoil your potential viewing experience.
One quick bit I’ll get out of the way, relating to the many questions over the speculation of the show’s target audience, and many parents were asking over the Internet if they should allow their children to watch it. To clear things up, if I had children they would most definitely not be allowed to watch Torchwood. As I previously said, it's like Angel. And if anyone is familiar with the two shows, you’ll know that Angel was the much darker, much more adult version of Buffy.
That is very much what Torchwood is, except with maybe a bit more sex, and a tad more blood when blood is present, though I must make it known that these elements were not dominating the show. I must say, it is refreshing to see a science fiction programme that is adult in terms of sex, violence, and language. Not to mention, a lot of the sexual overtones were not just heterosexual in nature. That is bound to turn some heads, but once again, it is refreshing.
With a show first starting out, I can never judge much on the first episode, especially when the creators have the arduous task of setting everything up and starting the ball rolling. That made a particular saving grace that the BBC chose to show two episodes rather than one.
The two stories were fairly straightforward. Well I say that, and I became a little confused in the first episode, mainly due to its "twist"’ Anyway, the first episode set off with our main character. Much like Doctor Who’s Rose, Torchwood gives you Gwen Cooper as your emotional link to the show. The first episode basically informs the audience of who Torchwood are, what they do, as well as the main characters of the show, and it manages to do this effectively in about 20 minutes, while at the same time, setting up a series of mysterious murders. But these are put on the side for the main part of the episode. Long story short Torchwood gets an opening, and Gwen takes the job.
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Article comments
1 - TV and Film Guy
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2 - Madam Miaow
Shame Torchwood is still derivative, shrill and not as sexy as it thinks it is.
I know Joss was a genius at the the extreme character arc, turning evil villain Spike into the loveable hero of later Buffy and Angel, but last night's season finale of Torchwood ... Call that a character arc? More like a deus ex machina last minute lurch up itself. You could practically smell the rubber and hear the squeal of brakes as James Marster's Captain John did a 180 degree turn that had everything to do with script expediency and nothing to do with character development.
What a waste of the lovely James. Full review at mine.