Torchwood

Torchwood. There is nothing else like it. If you're looking for serious conventional scifi that tackles the universal problems of the cosmos and ends in an epic battle between good and evil this won't be the show for you.

OTOH, if you're looking for a fun sexy romp that gets serious when it needs to, focuses on the human factor and plays fast and loose with just about every "rule" imaginable, you'll find it in Torchwood. It's just what it's billed to be - Doctor Who for the grown-up set, the open-minded set, the slightly skewed set.

John Barrowman does a terrific job as Cap'n Jack Harkness, a man whose lived a life that won't allow him to die and has taught him a flexible sense of morality to match his flexible sense of sexuality. Cap'n Jack laughs, jokes, flirts and fights his way through one set after another of impossible circumstances, but a heart of gold beats beneath his suspendered chest. His team means everything to him and he'll give anything to protect them.

Playing Alfred to Jack's Batman is Ianto Jones. Gareth David-Lloyd is a lovely young talent who adds more depth to Torchwood's favorite coffee boy with each passing episode. He's bright and soulful with a very British sense of humor that hides a deep and painful sorrow. A real find for the producers of the show. He's fascinating to watch and even more fascinating to guess his motivations.

Every superhero needs someone to keep them in touch with their humanity and that exists in the person of Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles). A terrific spunky heroine with the sensibilities of a crafty cop, she keeps her boss focused on the human factor when his instincts tell him to shoot first and ask questions later--a conscience when Jack needs one the most.

But beware, this may not be the show for family viewing on a Saturday night. It deals frankly with human sexuality. It can be violent, gruesome, bloody and heart breaking. It can make you laugh one moment and tear up the next, but it can also send chills down your spine.

All in all if your up for some alternative entertainment this show can be pretty terrific. Open your mind and dive in. It won't be for everyone but if you like, chances are you'll love it.

Really, each series of Torchwood ought to be rated in isolation since they're so different in consistency and quality.

I've not marked this as a spoiler review, but if you truly want to know NOTHING about it, don't read further

S1 is fine. It's a 6/6.5. With some gems and a few real STINKERS in there. Countryside being a highlight, alongside They Keep Killing Suzie, Out Of Time, and obviously the two part finale, but after the first 4 episodes being pretty poor, it isn't a surprise many people never make it that far in. Not to mention in episode 1, Owen (among the least likeable protagonist characters in all of DW media) using some alien technology to habitually commit date rape and this being played for laughs (I am definitely not the first person to point this out and I won't be the last)

S2 is a definite improvement, with both tone and consistency getting more sure of itself. Still far from perfect, it's very "of its time", and some of the humour doesn't land very well, but the more emotional aspects olto the character development here are undeniably better.

S3, Children of Earth, is very possibly the best bit of TV media in the entire Doctor Who universe. A single story which was originally broadcast across 5 consecutive nights, this transcends the schlocky, teen/young adult sci fi genre, and becomes simultaneously a Sci Fi, a conspiracy, and a tense political thriller. That might sound confused, but it is executed PERFECTLY

S4, Miracle Day, is not as bad on a rewatch as I remember it having been from the time, but it's still the weakest. Like CoE, it is a serialised season, but it's got about 4/5 episodes of plot stretched over 10 episodes, has plot threads that don't go anywhere, introduces multiple uninteresting characters, and ends very unsatisfyingly.

All in all, I think it's worth watching, but there are definitely some pretty rubbish episodes you can definitely afford to skip.

From November 1963 until recently I have loved all things WHO (the first Doctor Who hit TV the day after JFK was killed). I've enjoyed all the spin-offs, including, and maybe especially, Torchwood (letters of Doctor Who rearranged, as most people realize). Then along comes 2011 and the move to Starz and the U.S. and the whole show goes flat. All the cool stuff is gone; alien jail; alien artifacts (idea stolen by Warehouse 13), Captain Jack's immortality, occasional Dr. Who crossovers, assorted creatures, etc. Each episode was a complete story with a few ongoing tie-ins. Now it's just another soap opera, and an especially bad one at that. We've had Lost, Heros, V, The Event and others. These things just go on and on, sometimes for years, and just fizzle, or just get left in mid-story. Torchwood: Miracle Day has a weak story, a castrated hero and nowhere to go. I hope it goes back to the BBC as soon as possible.

I hated the first season of Torchwood, because it lied. It promised to be a dark sci-fi series for adults. All it was was a show that pretended to be adult, with kisses and swears, but felt like a sillier show than Doctor Who, which is a great show, but Torchwood is supposed to be darker.

But then the second season started. The quality of drama and script and even acting skyrocketed. I suggest seeing it. At least, now I do. And the kisses and swears suddenly feel like they belong. I had some issues with the effects of the episode Meat, but the script for it was about perfect.

I only take off stars because of the crud first season.

The most instantly noticeable problem with this is the overwhelming, dreadful music, which is not only awful in its own right but any kind of atmosphere or tension is more often than not blared out by the terrible, dated, cheesy techno, which also has the effect of making the show sound like a kids program rather than the 'adult' effort it pertains to be.

As to it being 'adult', the throwing in of some swearing and sex doesn't make it so when the script is simplistic, juvenile and utterly lacking in any of the intelligence, edge or wit needed to raise it to the level of a genuine adult drama, it simply comes across as a mish mash suited more for teens than anyone else.

On the limited plus side the main female protagonist is kinda cute and Davies seems to have happily refrained from his usual trick of having at least one character being a hyperactive pain in the arse, more underplayed characters are a welcome relief but neither is enough to lift this much higher than being fairly embarrassing dross.