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Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Is this show available in the US yet?

My writing circle, peopled largely by women from Britain and Canada, is buzzing about it.

I thought it might be available on BBC America, but we don't get BBC America [Grumble]

Here's the wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood

It's a Dr. Who spin-off. The lead is a character called Captain Jack Harkness who speaks with an American accent.

Anyway, these women are all "Captain Jack this" and "Captain Jack that" and I wish to know what all the fuss is about.

I'm also not up on the new Dr. Who yet, but that is easy to remedy thanks to Netflix.

So, has anyone seen it? Is there any legitimate way I can get hold of it?
 
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
 
Unless you count episodes being posted on YouTube as legitimate, no. There doesn't seem to be a US release yet.

I've watched a couple of episodes on YouTube. In both of them, Captain Jack came off as an ineffectual jerk...but, it could just be those episodes had him it his worst.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Were you familiar with the character from Doctor Who?
 
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 
Good show, good show. [Big Grin] I've seen the first four episodes.

If you haven't seen the modern Doctor Whos (esp. 2005) you might want to catch up with them first. You don't at all have to be familiar with the plot, but I feel like it sets the stage.

There's more to the show than Jack Harkness- it takes place in Cardiff, Wales and has a cast of pretty good welsh characters. Jack himself is deliberately not perfect. This is a darker show than Doctor Who- with darker, flawed characters.

But it's still awesome.

In some ways, it reminds me of Firefly, only without Joss Whedon and in Wales.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
I think I'll probably Netflix the Doctor Who and torrent the anagram. However, a short stop by YouTube made it clear what the ladies were a-twitter over. [Big Grin]

It also leads me to think that it won't be imported soon.
 
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
Is the new Dr. Who any good?
 
Posted by Andrew W (Member # 4172) on :
 
I don't think anyone who's seen the series could really suggest that Captain Jack is the main character, clearly the woman, I forget her name, is the main character. He's just the most interesting of the supporting cast.

I have mixed feelings about the series myself. When I watch it, it seems pretty good, but when I think about the episodes I've seen it seems pretty cheap. Especially considering the surprising number of lesbian scenes in what is for sure a program mainly aimed at nerdy guys, and thus this could well be suspected to be a gimmick, though it's been pointed out that there's been a few gay scenes, and that Russel guy (or whatever he's called) is gay, so it could just be a good example of inclusion of alternative lifestyles.

AW
 
Posted by Andrew W (Member # 4172) on :
 
And to answer Steve, yes, it's really good. The first of the new doctors was a little too angry, intense, northern, and un-doctor-y for my taste, but the latest guy is great.

AW
 
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by SteveRogers:
Is the new Dr. Who any good?

Brilliant, even. I have to admit a sort of... big gaping hole without Chris Ecclestein, but David Tennant is doing a fabulous job nonetheless.
 
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 
(I won't argue with Andrew W about 2005 Doctor, just want to say I disagree).

quote:
Especially considering the surprising number of lesbian scenes in what is for sure a program mainly aimed at nerdy guys, and thus this could well be suspected to be a gimmick, though it's been pointed out that there's been a few gay scenes, and that Russel guy (or whatever he's called) is gay, so it could just be a good example of inclusion of alternative lifestyles.
I think part of the show's goal was to do this. And I don't think Torchwood is aimed at Nerdy guys- not considering the comments above. Nerdy guys watch Star Trek. It's aimed at adult Doctor Who fans (who aren't necessarily Sci Fi fans). It takes a later slot than Dr. Who but does run on mainstream BBC.

I don't think it's intended to be a gimmick, although it may well help the ratings of a certain demographic. But then Captain Jack probably helps the ratings also, so I think it's just intended to be "sexy".
 
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
 
Semi-relevant sidenote: The guy playing Captain Jack, John Barrowman (if 'Russell' referred to him, I'm not sure where that came from), grew up and went to high school close to my hometown. Before he got so busy with Doctor Who, he used to run week-long musical theatre workshops in various places, and I attended one of them. He's very talented and an all-round awesome person (and also really, really hot [Big Grin] ).

I have nothing else to add, though, because I have yet to see Torchwood or any of the Doctor Whos, although the latter is coming up very soon in my Blockbuster queue.
 
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
 
I saw a couple of the first episodes of Torchwood, and I must say I wasn't impressed at all.

After the success fo the new Doctors, which have breathed new life into the series I felt this spinoff was a lt down.

That being said, I was talking to a friend of mine, who said that in her circle of Dr. Who Heads, it had been very well received.

You pays yer money and takes yer choice.
 
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
 
I posted about this series back in October on the old Doctor Who thread just after the first episode. Now that I’ve seen the whole series, it’s surprising how many of my first impressions I still agree with. So this is a sort of cross-post, with a few add-ons.

Torchwood is an anagram of Doctor Who.

Storyline - a bunch of misfits work for a secret government organisation located in Cardiff, where a rift in space and time allows the debris of the universe to float into the city. They fight alien crime, often using alien technology. They eat a lot of pizza. It’s a like if the Men in Black were amateurs.

It’s an ensemble show. Although Captain Jack was widely expected to be the main character, Gwen, the local police officer turned alien investigator gets more attention that any of the other characters. But all the characters get their own storylines and development.

The Captain Jack who appears in this show is very different from the one in Doctor Who. He’s not at all that happy go lucky guy anymore.

In a lot of ways, the series invites comparison to 'Angel'. That's not a criticism, it's an inevitable comparison, and one which the showrunners don’t seem to mind. It’s not just that this is a much darker, more disturbing spin off of a far lighter series.

It’s not only that Capt. J, as the boss, is a man living in a foreign country in which he has come to feel at home, with a dodgy and mysterious past, who became a hero through his association with (love for?) the main character of the original series. Or that he seemingly spends a lot of his free time standing on the edge of rooftops, walking through rain at night etc in a long dark coat.

It’s not even that he now runs a small crew of maladjusted and slightly odd people who work to fight weird crime. Although in this case, they're often saving people from evil aliens (in latex masks), not demons (in latex masks). There are definite supernatural elements to the show.

Oh, and did I mention...


SPOILER


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SPOILER OVER


But it’s actually the tone of the show which seemed most ‘Angel’ like. The characters often make painful and frustrating choices (at least to this viewer). And you’re never quite sure where their loyalties really lie.

There's the same mixture of epicness and ordinary everyday recognisable from DW, but this is absolutely NOT a children's show. There's graphic-ish sex, violence and gore, although not more so than Battlestar Galactica. There’s some profanity. There are same-sex and interspecies relationships (though not with sheep [/welsh joke) , but there’s also a lot of boy/girl stuff. And sometimes it turns out that people are literally giving each other mouth to mouth resuscitation. It just happens, as it happens in everyday life, though maybe not the alien sex.

One of the things I adored about this show was the provincial location - that the glamorous city we're seeing in those flyover shots is... Cardiff, capital city of Wales. It’s like the equivalent of it being set in Minneapolis or something, but older and with more of a distinct cultural identity. It adds a lot of humour to the show and gives it a real sense of place - the accents of the supporting cast are Welsh, the names are Welsh, and we get to meet some of the local legendary wildlife.

The stories are usually genuinely creepy, and while I felt like there were are a couple of moments where the high emotion displayed by the characters wasn’t quite warranted or set up well enough, there’s a moment of total grief/horror by one character in the finale which was completely, shockingly heartbreaking.

It might be good to know that Torchwood has already been renewed for season 2.

I really enjoyed it. [Smile]

There’s also a new series for children, set in the DW universe, which is happening some times this year, featuring the Doctor’s erstwhile companion Sarah-Jane, who fights alien crime in a more sensible, down-to-earth sort of way (though she‘s still quite happy to blow stuff up, if it‘s really necessary). The pilot for it was on over the New Year holiday, and it looks like it will be more light hearted fun.
 
Posted by Raventhief (Member # 9002) on :
 
As a fan of Doctor Who, I was really excited to see this series (Captain Jack was one of my favorite characters). Unfortunately, he's changed a lot. The series is a lot darker with little of the humor that makes Doctor Who so great, in my opinion.
 
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
 
The Torchwood episode with the evil fairies should have used latex masks.

Instead of CGI so cheesy it almost rendered those sequences unwatchable. [Razz]
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
After seeing only the first episode. I would say that the woman (whose name I can't recall either) is the main character in the same way that Scully was the main character of the X-Files pilot. It's all her pov (and scully had a useless sub-plot boyfriend, too, but they cut his scenes). Still, I think they're going for a darker sort of feel, so the seriousness didn't put me off.

Seems promising, though. The ladies were obvious hot for Jack, who is hot. He also seems to be, by reputation, abisexual. Which is ... hot.

I have seen a bit of the new Doctor Who, but i think I missed the Torchwood-related episodes entirely.
 
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 
Before everyone goes crazy over John Barrowman, I should add that he's recently married-or-whatever-you-want-to-call-it, to his partner. Who's an architect.
 
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
 
Yeah, I thought about mentioning that, but I didn't want to sound all fangirly-stalker. Alas that he's "officially" taken, but also very cool. [Cool]
 
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
 
quote:
The Torchwood episode with the evil fairies should have used latex masks.

Instead of CGI so cheesy it almost rendered those sequences unwatchable.

If you are looking to 'Doctor Who' for good special effects, you will be disappointed. [Smile]
 
Posted by Raventhief (Member # 9002) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Bella Bee:
quote:
The Torchwood episode with the evil fairies should have used latex masks.

Instead of CGI so cheesy it almost rendered those sequences unwatchable.

If you are looking to 'Doctor Who' for good special effects, you will be disappointed. [Smile]
Come on, the Satan Pit? With the devil? I mean the devil himself?! And the poseessed guy?! That was awesome!
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Teshi:
Before everyone goes crazy over John Barrowman, I should add that he's recently married-or-whatever-you-want-to-call-it, to his partner. Who's an architect.

Oh, I knew that already. I'm taken, too, as in totally not going after anyone I'm not already married to.

But my hot-o-meter isn't broken. [Big Grin] I don't see why it matters whether someone is married or not, or of incompatible orientation or not. If people stopped being hot hot just because there was no possibility of having them, then no one would be hot. [Big Grin] Not that wassisname is all that, but we do like to watch pretty people, you know, fight monsters and stuff. *goofy grin*

And, yeah, nobody watches British TV for their cutting edge FX. *grin
 
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
 
Just watched the first episode.

The comments here linking the feel to Angel and other Whedonesque work was pretty spot on - I thought that if Nathan Fillion was playing Captn Jack, he'd be a lot less annoying.

As much as I've liked Doctor Who, I'm not sure I'll be able to get into this show, the writing was pretty average.
 
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
 
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT FOR DR WHO+TORCHWOOD
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Captain Jack is really the past version of the Face of Boe!

[ July 22, 2007, 04:05 PM: Message edited by: Blayne Bradley ]
 
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
 
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Blayne, could you maybe put some more stars in there, give it a bit more space? It's kind of difficult not to read your spoiler by accident.

In other news, (this isn't a spoiler, just casting info.) James Marsters, AKA 'Spike from Buffy' is in Torchwood this season. Which could be fun.
 
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
 
All you ever need to know about Torchwood. (mild language warning)
 
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
 
How's dat?
 
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
 
Brilliant, Blayne. Thanks. [Cool]
 
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
 
I enjoyed Torchwood enough to watch it online, but it wasn't nearly so fun as Doctor Who. Too risque for my mild enjoyment. I'm glad I watched it, though, because when Jack showed up again on Doctor Who, I had a bit of extra perspective.

I know it's going to air in Canada sometime soon, but I don't know about the States.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
I was wondering if there will be another season of Torchwood. I rather liked it, except for two things. One, it's rather darker and less hopeful about life in general, and two the writing gets a bit creaky at times.

I'm not sure if it's the writing or the editing, in some cases, though. "Countrycide" was pretty intense and dark and cool up until the tractor burst into the place. I think maybe they were trying for John Woo-ish slo-mo, balletic violence, but it didn't work. It kind of worked, I guess, but it seemed a bit forced.
Also, Jack would TOTALLY have failed the Red Cross CPR course.

[ July 23, 2007, 02:01 PM: Message edited by: Olivet ]
 
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
 
I think the 2005 Doctor was the best so far. [Smile]
 
Posted by Mig (Member # 9284) on :
 
BBC America ran an add this weekend that it would be showing the series in September.
 
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
 
I want there to be another season, despite never seeing a single episode, because James Marsters might be on it and I just want him to be happy.

The crush is getting out of control.
 
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
 
Just watched the third episode. Why does Jack have to teach Gwen how to shoot? Do police officers in Cardiff not carry guns?
 
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
 
Cap'n Jack is still an idiot.
 
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
 
quote:
Do police officers in Cardiff not carry guns?
No, they don't. Apart from officers assigned to specialist armed response units, most police officers in the UK carry only batons and CS spray.

Plus Cardiff is not exactly a centre of gun crime. It would be quite possible that an officer like Gwen would never have fired a gun in her life.
 
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
 
No kidding? Wow. Different world.
 
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
 
So, um, how bad is it to watch this show without ever having seen any episodes of Dr. Who? It caught my eye when I was flipping through the channels and I vaguely recalled seeing the name somewhere, so I watched it. I didn't remember that it was connected to Dr. Who until I searched Hatrack.

Overall, I liked it well enough to keep watching.

--Mel
 
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
 
IMO it is a decent show, but not nearly as good as Doctor Who. Not even in the same league, actually.
 
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
 
Torchwood can be viewed by people with a Canadian station included in their cable package. We here in the Detroit area do. In fact, people with regular broadcast TV can get it--from the CBC affiliate in Windsor, Ontario.
 
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
 
I'm sad to hear that TW is darker and more sexed up. [Frown] I'm in the middle of season 2 of Doctor Who and I just loved Jack to pieces in the first season. We saw the ad for BBC America's run and figured out what it was...but now some of my excitement is quashed. Alas. [Smile]

I guess I'll just keep watching DW, though I still miss Christopher Eccleston sometimes.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Well, dear, it is a bit sexed up. most of the sexed-up-ness revolves around the Owen character, which surprises me.

In the pilot I liked him because he was desperate enough to use alien pheromones to get people interested. I though, "Awww. The poor muppet-faced boy gets no love." I felt sorry for him.

Then it turns out that everyone (except Jack and Ianto) either falls for him or has had an affair with him in the past. So I thought, "Maybe muppet-faces are all the rage in Cardiff."

I'm hopeful that the second season will be less about finding alien excuses for girls to kiss girls or boys to kiss boys and more about interesting stuff.

Which reminds me I need get nice stopwatch...
 
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
 
I've never seen or even heard of any of this, but James Marsters is on in January, and that makes me want to see it.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Oh, I love James Marsters! *pets*

The second season of Doctor Who had Anthony Head as a headmaster/bat thing in one of the episodes. I half expect more familiar faces from various Whedon-verses because Russell Davies has said time and again that they were going for a kind of Buffy and Angel feel for the show.

You sort of get that feel in Torchwood, but it is much more grim in outlook than Doctor Who. I'll be looking forward to seeing him. Wonder what color his hair will be?
 
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
 
Torchwood was too adolescent in its sexed-up-ness to feel really dark. More like drunken teenagers fumbling around and trying to pretend they're all experienced.

I mostly watched it for Jack, who I enjoy as a character, and because I knew he would be returning for season 3 of DW. I might watch next season to see what the fallout of Jack's return is like.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
I thought "They Keep Killing Susie" and "Countrycide" were really dark. Where Doctor Who has that kind of Gee-Whiz-Ain't-humanity-grand thing going, Torchwood leans more toward a world where people eat other people for fun and there's nothing out there when you die sorts of stories.

The "Oh, Look! Another irresistible alien with lesbian kiss potential" stuff is a bit wearing, but you can't tell me the characters' hopelessness isn't dark.

I can happily polish off a season of Doctor Who in a week and be no worse for wear. I watched Torchwood fairly spread out and it still very nearly made me too depressed to blink at times. I really hated seeing Gwen lose her center and jeopardize the good things in her life (even though I found her a tad grating).

So, yeah. The 'sexiness' was clumsy at best, but the themes were still darker than in Doctor Who. I also agree that the fallout should be interesting. I'm just hoping Owen keeps his clothes on. *shudder*
 
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
 
I watched the first two episodes of Torchwood and really didn't care for it. I didn't find most of the characters that interesting, and I found all the sex a little annoying. It felt like they put it in just to make it not a children's show.

Should I give the series another try? Does it get better?
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
I don't know. I mean, the series is 13 episodes, of which two or three were thoroughly good, maybe another three or four more were flawed but enjoyable and the rest were kind of embarrassing with an occasional moment of interest. (Though even one of my favorite episodes, the deeply creepy "Countrycide" had a really poorly realized 'action' sequence at the end.)

Maybe it just takes a few episodes to get going. Even the ones with embarrassing FX (the faeries!) had some interesting things happen (I never thought rose petals could be so dang creepy).

So, yeah. Even some of the better episodes had spots that were wobbly enough that I couldn't watch. For example, the "Cyberwoman" episode had some good stuff, (action and angst and people struggling with loss in a believable way) but it also had two people hiding in a cabinet to save their lives get suddenly hot for each other, and another character using rescue breathing to poach a deep kiss from someone who was unconscious. *eyeroll* Not that I don’t sympathize with wanting to snog the hot teaboy, mind you, but I don't think it helped the story at all.

So, "Does it get better?" Yes and no. Some of the stories really work, but at least 85% of the 'sexy stuff' (kisses, whatever) are little more than "Look at me!!! I'm not for kids!" Just as you said.

Entertainment Weekly’s blurb went like this: If you’ve ever watched a SciFi show and wondered, “Where are all the bisexuals?” This is the show for you.

Then they turned around and put it on their Must List. *shrug*

I think maybe it does get better toward the end, though it may just be that I learned to overlook its flaws because, well… Pretty men! Kissing! *IQ drops to double digits*

I'll probably watch season 2 as it airs instead of downloading it all at once when it's over, because watching the first season straight through was genuinely depressing. Gwen Cooper could headline on Bad Decision Theater.
 
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
 
I'll say this for Torchwood. It was enough of a hook to get me to finally start watching Doctor Who. I've always been overwhelmed by the sheer number of episodes, and my obsessive-compulsive nature was going to make me start at the very beginning and watch all of them (that still exist). Torchwood gave me an "in", so that I only had to start with the beginning of the new version. I'll go back and catch the oldest episodes afterward.

--Mel
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NKw0WKoMtQ

This month! It looks much better than the first series, from that.

James Marsters!
 
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
SPOILER!!!! For Torchwood And Dr Who Series 1
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quote:

and another character using rescue breathing to poach a deep kiss from someone who was unconscious.

Funny thing about that, I sorta assumed he wasn't simply coppin' a snog but somehow the intimacy of the kiss passed along some of the "Life" that Rose had infused him with previously. He wasn't just giving rescue breaths, he wasn't being creepy. He brought the guy back to life.

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End Spoilers.

I really enjoyed Torchwood, though there were definitely some cringe-worthy moments. I'm looking forward to the second series. And it's not just because it's a series chocked full of bisexuals and bisexuality. (though that helps.)
 
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Olivet:
The second season of Doctor Who had Anthony Head as a headmaster/bat thing in one of the episodes. I half expect more familiar faces from various Whedon-verses because Russell Davies has said time and again that they were going for a kind of Buffy and Angel feel for the show.

Off-topic and semi-related:

I have recently come to learn that AH was the man in a way-back-when soap opera series of Taster's Choice commercials. The woman counterpart was later highlighted in an Inspector Morse episode.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Thanks, Pix. That makes a lot more sense. [Wink]

The way I saw them was out of sequence, so that didn't really occur to me when I saw it. I started downloading Torchwood while the last disc in season 1 of Doctor Who was on "Very Long Wait" at Netflix. I was almost done with Torchwood by the time I got to that part of season 1. It was obvious that the Rose thing was the reason for other things about his character (trying to avoid spoilers here), but my brain didn't retroactively parse that one scene. (In fact, I missed it because I was doing other stuff while watching and had looked away. I noticed the fen laughing about the 'ressusikiss' and looked at it again. I thought, "Boy, he sure would have failed CPR," and chalked it up to a man-kissy ratings grab. Like various aliens getting female characters to kiss each other for the vaguest reasons possible, or that thing they did on Star Trek Enterprise where 'decontamination' involved hot characters in their smallclothes rubbing gel over each other.

Not that I'm complaining, mind. [Wink]
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Taster's Choice... cute commercials, those were.
 
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
 
quote:
Taster's Choice commercials
I waited for years in vain for a Nescafé advert shout-out on Buffy, every time that Giles visited The Bronze
(back at the start, when they were all still underage and The Bronze was still a café).
Whenever I rewatch videos taped during my childhood, those ads are everywhere.

Spike and Captain Jack in one show may cause my tv to explode. [Smile]
 
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
 
Oh, just to clarify something, Jack isn't bisexual. He is pansexual.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
omnisexual is the term John Barrowman uses on the talk shows. Sounds more scifi. [Wink]
 
Posted by Selran (Member # 9918) on :
 
Series 1 will be available on Jan. 22 from BBCA .
 
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
 
I just recently finished watching all of Torchwood and I can't really say I enjoyed it. It's okay, but it has some genuinely unlikable characters and some really stupid episodes with huge, gaping plot holes. I found myself yelling at the TV a lot, which is never good.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
I just saw the first episode of season two, and I think it could easily be a great starting point for the series. It was funny and sharp, fast-paced but still repeated certain points you'd need to know coming in fresh (though it was full of fannish in-jokes, what with the stopwatch and references to Jack being on the roof, and so forth).

Series one had a lot of little bits that were good, but it wobbled a lot. None of the episodes were really great.If all of series two is as tight as the first episode, it will be very good.

Also, James Marsters rocks as Captain John Hart, a slightly more evil version of the guy Captain Jack used to be. He's a good foil for Jack now that Jack has grown a conscience. Too bad he's only going to be in a few episodes.

I'd say all of teh characters faired well. I even hate Owen a little less. The gag in the first minute was priceless.
 
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
 
"It's all over..." "Let's all have sex"

Heh. Owen is better now, I agree.

Overall an awesome start, and it leaves me wanting more.


Edit: Oh, apparently EVERYONE in Torchwood is bi-sexual. Ianto? That caught me off guard.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
That may be a bit dogmatic on Russell Davies' part. He's made it clear that he believes most people are bisexual to one degree or another. (Not that I disagree, mind.)

There was some history with Ianto and Jack from season one, but I thought it was mostly a sort of emotional rebound/sieze life reaction to stuff I won't mention because it's too spoilery. There was a kiss, I think, and Owen calling Ianto "[Jack's] part time shag." (I don't consider who kisses whom to be spoilery, because it's Torchwood-- everybody kisses everybody eventually.)

Gwen hasn't made the leap yet, has she? Barring alien pheromones and such?
 
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
Where did you see it, Olivet? Was it on BBCA? I thought I was taping all of those...

I don't think everyone is Bisexual... Not for any useful definition of "bisexual" anyway. I mean, yeah, everyone can enjoy a same sex shag now and again but that's not quite the same as having persistant sexual desire for both sexes. Nor is it the same as being able to form lasting sexual/romantic attachments to both sexes.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
I have a friend who supplies me on the down low. [Wink] I think she either bittorrents it or has someone who sends them to her. I have another friend who lives in the UK who does that, but I can never get her files to play.

There are also really, really bad quality uploads on YouTube, in six or seven minute sections, I'm guessing.

And I have to agree about the <I>useful</I> definition part. There is a big difference between being able to have partners of different sexes and self-identifying as bisexual, I think. Most heteros have a person or two they might switch teams for, but I assume that isn't the same thing. (I sort of wonder if it could be the same if society's mores were different, but I suppose there is no way to answer that question in any definative way.)

I sort of wondered if real bisexuals would find Torchwood stuntish and sensationalized. Jack seems to be completely uninhibited about sex and whom he finds attractive, but the others aren't. The writers seem to suggest this is more a 51st century vs 21st century thing, as if it's a matter of culture instead of essential nature. Is that offensive?
 
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
Umm... I think there are tons bisexuals who hide it or are far enough to one end of the spectrum that, given current society figure it's simply not worth it do anything about it. I think if society changed there would be significantly more open bisexuals, but heterosexuals would still dominate the landscape. It wouldn't change anyone's nature. It would just give people more freedom to be who they are.

One thing I like about Torchwood is how completely non-chalant he is about the whole thing. He'll mention an old boyfriend in passing just like a straight guy would mention a girlfriend. SOME of what Torchwood does is sensational, but hey, I kinda like that too.

I'd like it better if they showed stable relationships between bisexuals, but then again, how often do you see stable heterosexual relationships on TV? Once people are together and happy, the story generally ends.

So when is BBCA going to start showing series 2? *whine*

Pix
 
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
 
I have a pretty high quality stream, but I'm not sure that I'm allowed to post it here.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by The Pixiest:


One thing I like about Torchwood is how completely non-chalant he is about the whole thing. He'll mention an old boyfriend in passing just like a straight guy would mention a girlfriend. SOME of what Torchwood does is sensational, but hey, I kinda like that too.

I totally get what you're saying, because I'm right there with you. I am dying to see what you think of Captain John Hart, and some stuff in this episode that would be spoilery if I mentioned it.

I could maybe point you in the direction of a good quality download (I think it is filmed in HD, so there are HD rips out there, too) if you wanted to go to email. The Torchwood pusher that got me hooked isn't there anymore, but there are ways...
 
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
 
The thing I liked most about the first episode of season 2, is that Jack still seems to be more like his old self - less broody and miserable. There were times last season where it was hard to belive that he was even supposed to be the same character.

Captain John is everything I hoped he would be, too. Though I was surprised that he went with the 'Spike accent' (that same mid-atlantic twang), since the characters are so similar.
I always did adore Spike when he was evil and relishing it, so this was great.

Oh, the trailer for the rest of the season did look promising. Ianto's reaction to the idea of sex with Owen cracked us up.
 
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
Olivet: My email is p i x i e s t at y a h o o dot c o m =)
 
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by JonHecht:
I have a pretty high quality stream, but I'm not sure that I'm allowed to post it here.

IM me via AIM? I got your message a little while back, too, but I closed the window by accident before I could remember the sequence of numbers in your name.
 
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
Thanks Olivet! Now I just have to jones for the rest of the season =)

Capt John Hart struck me as just the Torchwood version of Spike. Not that that's a bad thing. He certainly brought a lot of humor to the show and I'm looking forward to the next time he appears.

Bella: Ianto's reaction to sex with Owen was priceless =)
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
You're welcome, Pix. The link worked? I could email you the next one, too.

quote:
Ianto's reaction to sex with Owen was priceless =)
It was! Also, understandable. I never understood how Muppet-Faced Boy got so much action in the first series.
 
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
The link worked great! and the throughput was amazing. They must have a lot of bandwidth!

I'm watching BBCA right now and they have a permanent tag in the bottom right that says they're going to be showing Series 2 of Torchwood starting next Saturday at 9pm. Yay!

So thanks for the link but I think I want to watch the rest on our big screen rather than my 20 inch monitor. (commercials though. eww.)

I never got why anyone was doing anything with Owen. zmg he's such a little Troll and his personality is worse than his looks.
 
Posted by adfectio (Member # 11070) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by The Pixiest:
I never got why anyone was doing anything with Owen. zmg he's such a little Troll and his personality is worse than his looks.

Ok, at least I'm not the only one thinking this. He just bothers me. I'm only about halfway through the first season, and liking it so far, but I'll catch up hopefully in time for BBCA to start showing it.
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Okay, cool! (Yes, she must have stellar bandwidth- she has almost daily postings of new links and has uploaded the entire Farscape series, the British series Primeval and two series' worth of Life on Mars, as well as the WHOLE of Stargate Atlantis. I don't snag a tenth of what she shares, because I run out of space to store it. But I did get Long Way Down from her, which was nice.)

adfectio- I just decided he was the scifi equivalent of teh sneaky copulater. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
With "Sleeper" Torchwood kept the momentum and vivid characterizations that it had in "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" but once again slipped into bleak territory. *sigh* It still had its funny moments, and the gut-wrenching scenes were earned. I can't say I didn't like it. It IS sort of in keeping with the whole "Life sucks so let's [do something that rhymes with it]" feel of the show. The guest actress really sold her role. I felt really, really bad for her.

Also, I missed James Marsters.

From the preview it looks like poor Tosh will be the next one gutted for our amusement. *sucks thumb*

[Frown] Torchwood, I wish I could quit you.
 
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
 
"Let's all have sex"
 


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