Torchwood.... (spoilers!)

So, two hours, girl on girl, boy on boy and everything in between. Some good characters as well...

lots of fun really. Enjoyed the look and feel of the sets and direction. I'll keep watching.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

Did you pick up the thing about Torchwood 4 disappearing?

I didn't catch all that was said, as I was freaking out at the time. I shall have to watch a repeat.

I did not see Suzie getting killed coming. I thought she was in for the long run. Well done Torchwood for catching me off guard.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

yes, it only took me two hours to get the B5 reference.. nice one!

And the Suise thing was great, she was hyped as being a member of the team in all of the literature and press. Good stuff.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

Yeah, really liked the Torchwood 4 thing, nice touch. It will also be interesting to see where (if anywhere) they go with Jack's inability to die following his resurrection by Rose in The Parting of the Ways. He also seems a little more serious-minded than he did when we last saw him.

Hopefully, at some point, they will address the issue of how he came to be on Earth, heading up Torchwood in the early 21st Century after this event ... or maybe they will save that for his rumoured appearance in S3 of DW. This obviously doesn't have anything to do with the missing two years of his life.

There is definitely a hole in his mind!

All in all, I really enjoyed the first two eps, and am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

Is this the Dr Who spinoff featuring Captain Jack? So I take it its airing in the UK. Any word on when/if it will be in the US/Sci-Fi channel?

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

Yes, it's the Captain Jack show. No idea about US sceduling though.

As for the show ..hmpf .. as much as I want to respect RTD as a producer .. I do think someone should tell him that he isn't Joss Whedon. And that there's a fine line between paying homage and ripping off.

While his Doctor Who suffers from attempts at jokes that just aren't funny, this just felt so .. trying so hardly to emulate Angel - which just didn't work - that it didn't really manage to find its own identity at all in my eyes.

The plot of the second episode didn't really help me with already feeling like RTD wasn't hiding his inspirations too well. See Second episode of Angel. Add Jack's immortality to the mix. And Whedon's old shock-the-audience trick with introducing a major character just to .. well .. never mind. The "city from the air at night" shots. The way aliens suddenly seems to mean demons. etc.

I'll continue watching though. Hopefully I'll start enjoying it more when they get over the "look!! we can do adult content!!!" phase of the show .. which frankly just seems juvenile to me.

... for what it's worth though, it's probably just me .. haven't seen many people with similar complaints like I have

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

According to an interview with RTD (which link escapes me right now) the "look we can do adult content" thing right at the start was quite deliberate ... as a way of saying to those parents who let their kids stay up to watch a Doctor Who spin-off "Look, we said this was going to be an adult show, and we meant it!".

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

Torchwood promotonal videos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check...wm=1&bbwm=1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check...wm=1&bbwm=1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/torchwood

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

For those outside the UK this gives a good idea about the programme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRqbeGjQtiM&mode=related&search=

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

I never really saw the Angel thing (never liked that show really), though to me it felt a bit like X Files and a lot like UltraViolet. The poseessed sex craze pretty girl is a plot line common to pretty much all sci-fi tv (Trek to Outler Limits), the way he handled it felt at least a little refreshing, the bit in the sperm bank was great!

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Didn't Jack mention at some point that he'd come back to help prevent things that from his future perspective were wrong?

I have a slight problem with RTD's portrayal of temporal physics. In some episodes he fundamentally underlines that you can't change the past without seriously "wounding" the space-time continuum.. and yet in others it's not a problem at all. Don't get me wrong "Father's Day" was one of my favourite episodes of the first season.

I just get the impression that RTD's version of physics changes depending on the basic requirements of each episode.

I'm interested to know who the severed hand that Jack treasures so preciously, belongs to. Could it be the Doctors? It was severed by the Sycorax before his regeneration cycle was complete forcing him to grow a spare.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

I just get the impression that RTD's version of physics changes depending on the basic requirements of each episode.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the wonderful world of Doctor Who ...

As for the severed hand, the Radio Times states quite openly that it is the Doctor's, and I think Jack's "that thing is worthless to anyone but me" line pretty much confirms it.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

I just get the impression that RTD's version of physics changes depending on the basic requirements of each episode.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the wonderful world of Doctor Who ...

As for the severed hand, the Radio Times states quite openly that it is the Doctor's, and I think Jack's "that thing is worthless to anyone but me" line pretty much confirms it.

Click to expand...

Maybe I was more forgiving of stuff like that when I was a kid watching it. They really need to find a way to properly reinstate the TARDIS' ability of going sideways through time... in my opinion it feels a little too confined to a lionear timeline.

The question for me abouit the hand then... is how did Jack get hold of it? He wasn't in the Christmas Invasion so didn't witness the events of the Doctor's duel firsthand. I'd assume that Torchwood got their hands (pun not intended)) on it during the cleanup operation. Jack upon joining Torchwood (did he come in the TARDIS and discretely get off... being in a similar incapacitated condition as the Doctor? Or do we pick up his story later? The former would make sense because if he is directly aware of Torchwood's past, then he has a motive for joining in order to change it's nature... I get the impression that this is what the new girl is about too.... and very nice she is too!), was presumably briefed on who the hand belonged to and bagged it for sentimental value or grim fascination). Is that hand just a casual reference... or could it play a more significant role in a later episode? The interest and protection Jack shows and offers to it... might be an indication that it is more important.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

I definitely got an Angel in Cardiff vibe, but fortunately I rather liked Angel, so that's okay.

I rather enjoyed the first two episodes. Not in a "oh god this is the best thing ever and I'm so hyped and this is so very very good and great and excellent and perfect" way but it seems to have enough potential, once it finds its feet (its own feet, not the feet of Angel, preferably) and has time to develop.

First episodes are rarely the best a show has to offer, so I'm looking forward to more - it delivered on the points that I find important, i.e. showing enough potential in being entertaining, and having a reasonably interesting cast. I am glad though that I saw the trailer before the show, as this gave me a chance to... readjust (i.e. lower) my expectations towards it and thus the actual episodes were actually more enjoyable than I had feared, instead of being worse than expected.

I mostly just hope that Jack will be given more to do in the next episodes. He was cool (if not the deepest character ever) and intriguing in the parent show, but it seemed as if the writers of the first two episodes couldn't really think what to do with him, except having him stand around on rooftops in a long flowing coat, flash a few charming-but-troubled smiles, and drop some hints at being oh so mysterious.

I'm hoping that this is mostly because the writers felt a need to put more emphasis on Gwen as the "new" lead character and took the time to develop her (in which I think they succeeded quite well) and sort of "ignored" Jack for now.

I'm somewhat glad I didn't expect the much-hyped "adult" feel of the show to mean "mature" though - if the first two episodes are anything to go by, the whole "adult" bit means being geared to adolescents, i.e. "let's do/show stuff five year olds shouldn't see", which mostly seems to mean shagging and a bit more blood. Perhaps that will improve a little in future episodes too though, now that they've established that it's such a very "adult" show.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

I'm somewhat glad I didn't expect the much-hyped "adult" feel of the show to mean "mature" though - if the first two episodes are anything to go by, the whole "adult" bit means being geared to adolescents, i.e. "let's do/show stuff five year olds shouldn't see", which mostly seems to mean shagging and a bit more blood. Perhaps that will improve a little in future episodes too though, now that they've established that it's such a very "adult" show.

Click to expand...

Adult applied to films and tv means porn = sex and violence.
Porn films do tend to require less though than most films and a lot less than children's tv.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

I find a lot of kids tv very challanging.

Torchwood episode 3 was quite good. Character driven, and quite low key. Next episode has Cyberwomen in it.

So i'm happy with it.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

I thought the last episode was quite awesome - especially compared to the first two episodes, which left me quite unimpressed.

Preview for next week looked a bit rubbish to me .. but I'm hoping it will surprise me positively.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

Cyberwomen? There are such things?

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Well, we'll just have to watch next week.

It was good to see Blake this week.

Re: Torchwood.... (spoliers!)

I can't see Torchwood. Yet. I don't know if it'll be popular enough to get bought up over here, for the Sci-Fi channel's purposes.

That's why I'm hoping it's not toooooooo "adult".