Torchwood: More chemistry, less torture please...

How much more must Rex and his chest wound endure?

Let me begin this entry by saying again that I haven’t seen any of the old Torchwood series and very few episodes of Dr. Who, so I can’t compare Torchwood: Miracle Day with previous efforts. That said, the pilot hooked me and hooked me hard, being so far above the quality of most sci-fi shows on today and having a fantastic premise. Obviously both John Barrowman and the character of Capt. Jack Harkness are extremely charismatic, and being the main connecting thread  of Torchwood he deserves every minute of screen time he gets.

Last week’s episode was a fantastic showcase for Jack and his history, his endearing and loathsome traits coming through to show us that, despite his miraculous immortality, he’s still just a flawed man. “Immortal Sins” was extremely well written (by Russell T. Davies), and when I saw Jack begin to think about teaming up with his companion in more ways than one, I knew right then that I would watch an entire series of the very likable (and very hot) Jack and Angelo traveling through time and having adventures without the need for a Tardis and a sonic screwdriver. Apparently that would make a lot of other fans happy, too, judging from Facebook and Twitter.

“Immortal Sins,” however, was perhaps the best episode of the series so far, which is a shame. When characters do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do, or that are just plain dumb, just to advance the plot, it’s obvious. Every previous episode of Torchwood, unfortunately, has suffered from this syndrome, and it’s maddening to watch unfold. I find myself frequently yelling at the television, “Why would you do that?!?” My husband has gotten so frustrated by it that he no longer watches and leaves the room rather than upset me further by going Mystery Science Theater 3000 on it.

I’m going to watch the “Miracle Day” arc through to the end for a number of reasons, however, in part because of “Immortal Sins” which I felt redeemed the series as a whole. I’m now dying (no pun intended) to know what happens with Angelo and Jack... but that’s about it. I like Gwen Cooper, even if she does shockingly boneheaded things for a supposedly amazing secret ops agent, and seems like she’s had about five energy drinks all the time. Rex Matheson is also likable, but how many times is this guy going to be tied up, tortured and generally kicked around? The rest of the characters... eh. I really don’t care if I ever see any of them again.

Speaking of torture, enough’s enough, writers. I loathe modern horror like Saw and its ilk, and the graphic nature of the show needs to be turned down by about half. I understand the need for Jack’s slaughterhouse scene, but it was double what was needed. I also did not need to see a pen being inserted into a chest wound at an excruciatingly slow speed, or two peoples’ brains being blown out. If you’re doing it for shock value, stop it. It does nothing for the plot, the characters, or the show at large, and actually cheapens the dramatic value of these scenes by showing cheap gore rather than creativity. Thank goodness you chose not to show every excruciating minute of Vera’s death but instead suggested most of it (and feed the frighteningly skinny Arlene Tur a sandwich, for crying out loud).

While my overall review of Torchwood has slipped a lot since my glowing review of the pilot, I still have hope for redemption, and it’s still better than almost anything else on television right now. C'mon, Captain, show us what you've got.

Torchwood premiere shines bright

I admit, I'm coming in very late on this. I've seen very little Dr. Who, and no Torchwood to date, until tonight's premiere of Series 4, which is set in Los Angeles. Let it be known that today I officially became a fan of Torchwood.

Why?

Let me count the ways, in no particular order:

1) High production value. Every minute of this show looked fantastic. Every location was lush and nothing looked cheap or thrown together or like a little sound stage. They weren't afraid to do night shots, driving in the rain shots, sweeping vistas of Wales (that house!), hospital interiors with that weird lighting they have, the inside of an airplane, dark hallways, high-tech command centers, and just about every other kind of location you can think of. And it all looked great! On top of that, the makeup and special effects were flawless.

2) John Barrowman. Hunky but not overly Hollywood, not afraid to be who he is, and a very funny and gracious human being off the set. He's extremely likable and easy on the eyes in a friendly way, and I wish we'd seen more of him in this premiere, but I do understand why we didn't.

3) Fascinating premise. I did go to Wikipedia to see what I'd been missing, and to fill in some of the information that the premiere hinted at but didn't give directly. Obviously, modern day alien hunters in Los Angeles and the whole X-Files feel is straight up the alley of Urban Fantasy News. Within that, the story introduced in the premiere episode is a fascinating mystery that is not neatly tied up in one episode, leaving the viewer wanting more in a good way, not with a frustrating cliffhanger that smashcuts to black.

4) Stellar writing. I sat down to watch this premiere without having seen one minute of the previous incarnations of Torchwood, and I was introduced to the premise and characters in ways that made sense and fit with the tone of the show, but that never felt like forced exposition. The only "I am explaining everything to you now" scene worked flawlessly as a natural result of the action. The humor was understated and, again, a natural result of the interactions of the characters. The pacing flowed well, the dialog was completely believable.

I predict a Torchwood sweep at the next Saturn Awards. I could not find any flaw big enough to be worth mentioning except maybe the Jeep chase scene at the end which seemed a little contrived, but it was fantastic eye candy, I have to admit, and made me want to get in a Halo Warthog and drive around for a while.

Torchwood fills in the holes left by such shows as Heroes, X-Files and Millennium (yes, I'm a geek, I still miss Millennium!) and does it with class, mystery and humor. You can see every dollar on the screen, and it's money well-spent, because I will definitely be back for more.