DOCTOR WHO GAP YEAR UPDATE: Torchwood. Wow.
This past week has been the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood's third series, which is a 5 part miniseries titled Children of Earth. Each episode is an hour long and represents one day in a week. Before I really get into it let me first talk about the first and second series.
Series One was abysmal. The start in Everything Changes, written by soon to be outgoing Doctor Who showrunner Russel T. Davies was a decent opener, but nothing all that special...at its core it left the promise of something good on the way. From then on each episode was sort of hit or miss. The problem was that the show was supposed to be the "adult Doctor Who". Do things that you couldn't do on a family show that aired at 7pm...but could on a different show that aired at 9pm (in England they can do A LOT MORE than we can after 9pm). Instead of being a mature dramatic counterpart to the whimsy and and adventure of Doctor Who, what it really was was a sad display of showing off all the sex and violence they couldn't do in Who. So the first series was each episode having poorly written and inconsistent characters having sex with anything that moves and lots of mild gore to get all the teenagers excited. It wasn't adult Doctor Who at all, it was a weak series that counted on sex and violence to get the ratings. The final episode of the series was anti-climactic, but better than most of the series, and lead directly into the start of Utopia on Doctor Who, in which Captain Jack returns to the TARDIS.
I loved Jack in Doctor Who's first series, and I loved his return enough to watch Torchwood...unfortunately I felt the series lacked enough to have me keep watching.
Then I read good reviews stating that Series 2 was a vast improvement. You know what? It was. The characters were a little more together now, and there wasn't this sort of they will have sex with everything thing going on. The stories were better, as was the ongoing story arc. The penultimate episode and the finale were both really good...as was the the 3 episode arc involving Martha from Who and the little tale of Owen Harper (no spoilers). So I was turned around, it still wasn't fantastic...and it wasn't stepping out of the shadows of Doctor Who....but I was convinced to stick around for another series if/when it came. Frankly being a vast improvement on the first series wasn't that hard to do.
Series 3. The 5 Episode Mini-Series. Aring every night this week. MY GOD.
This is suddenly one of the best dramas I've seen. Each episode has been packed with information, action, and because it is all one story spanning 5 episodes, it can also TAKE ITS TIME. I think Torchwood spent far too much time just being action packed that it never took time to smell the roses (admittedly Newer Doctor Who can be accused of the same). This stops and smells the roses...its had plenty of great character moments. The plot is fantastic - creepy, action packed, startling, gripping, and just downright well written. I've even turned around to liking Gwen Cooper, the character everyone is supposed to love and relate too...and I have always found her to be unlikable. Suddenly her character has...character. Jack and Ianto's relationship has also been treated with more respect...its less of a "look to guys doing it! aren't we scandalous!" kind of thing. I've gotten up to the edge of my seat and been creeped out, holding my breath and almost moved to tears more in this miniseries than I ever did before.
I attribute all of this to Russel T. Davies. Who Fans have often accused him of ruining Who these days...but he can't ruin what was not on television before he came around and put it back. He has written a lot of that new shows' triumphs. He was able to launch 2 spin-offs and keep the parent seires at the top of the ratings, bringing it a level of success it never had. He also wrote a pilot for a series that had a little bit of promise, and when he turned his attention and efforts back to Doctor Who, and left Torchwood in the hands of Chris Chibnall, it fell apart. He has written most of this miniseries, and his knack for suspense and drama is impeccable. I don't know if there will be a 4th series or not, but if so I'm in.
Tomorrow night...the final episode of this Torchwood Extravaganza.
This past week has been the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood's third series, which is a 5 part miniseries titled Children of Earth. Each episode is an hour long and represents one day in a week. Before I really get into it let me first talk about the first and second series.
Series One was abysmal. The start in Everything Changes, written by soon to be outgoing Doctor Who showrunner Russel T. Davies was a decent opener, but nothing all that special...at its core it left the promise of something good on the way. From then on each episode was sort of hit or miss. The problem was that the show was supposed to be the "adult Doctor Who". Do things that you couldn't do on a family show that aired at 7pm...but could on a different show that aired at 9pm (in England they can do A LOT MORE than we can after 9pm). Instead of being a mature dramatic counterpart to the whimsy and and adventure of Doctor Who, what it really was was a sad display of showing off all the sex and violence they couldn't do in Who. So the first series was each episode having poorly written and inconsistent characters having sex with anything that moves and lots of mild gore to get all the teenagers excited. It wasn't adult Doctor Who at all, it was a weak series that counted on sex and violence to get the ratings. The final episode of the series was anti-climactic, but better than most of the series, and lead directly into the start of Utopia on Doctor Who, in which Captain Jack returns to the TARDIS.
I loved Jack in Doctor Who's first series, and I loved his return enough to watch Torchwood...unfortunately I felt the series lacked enough to have me keep watching.
Then I read good reviews stating that Series 2 was a vast improvement. You know what? It was. The characters were a little more together now, and there wasn't this sort of they will have sex with everything thing going on. The stories were better, as was the ongoing story arc. The penultimate episode and the finale were both really good...as was the the 3 episode arc involving Martha from Who and the little tale of Owen Harper (no spoilers). So I was turned around, it still wasn't fantastic...and it wasn't stepping out of the shadows of Doctor Who....but I was convinced to stick around for another series if/when it came. Frankly being a vast improvement on the first series wasn't that hard to do.
Series 3. The 5 Episode Mini-Series. Aring every night this week. MY GOD.
This is suddenly one of the best dramas I've seen. Each episode has been packed with information, action, and because it is all one story spanning 5 episodes, it can also TAKE ITS TIME. I think Torchwood spent far too much time just being action packed that it never took time to smell the roses (admittedly Newer Doctor Who can be accused of the same). This stops and smells the roses...its had plenty of great character moments. The plot is fantastic - creepy, action packed, startling, gripping, and just downright well written. I've even turned around to liking Gwen Cooper, the character everyone is supposed to love and relate too...and I have always found her to be unlikable. Suddenly her character has...character. Jack and Ianto's relationship has also been treated with more respect...its less of a "look to guys doing it! aren't we scandalous!" kind of thing. I've gotten up to the edge of my seat and been creeped out, holding my breath and almost moved to tears more in this miniseries than I ever did before.
I attribute all of this to Russel T. Davies. Who Fans have often accused him of ruining Who these days...but he can't ruin what was not on television before he came around and put it back. He has written a lot of that new shows' triumphs. He was able to launch 2 spin-offs and keep the parent seires at the top of the ratings, bringing it a level of success it never had. He also wrote a pilot for a series that had a little bit of promise, and when he turned his attention and efforts back to Doctor Who, and left Torchwood in the hands of Chris Chibnall, it fell apart. He has written most of this miniseries, and his knack for suspense and drama is impeccable. I don't know if there will be a 4th series or not, but if so I'm in.
Tomorrow night...the final episode of this Torchwood Extravaganza.
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