io9
Wow. The latest Torchwood episode was amazing, and not just for this chloroforming, nipple zapping scene. If only "Fragments" had aired during season one, preferably as the second or third episode. It would have made the BBC's Doctor Who spinoff seem like a much cooler show, and might actually have improved the other episodes. Spoilers ahead!
Wow. The latest Torchwood episode was amazing, and not just for this chloroforming, nipple zapping scene. If only "Fragments" had aired during season one, preferably as the second or third episode. It would have made the BBC's Doctor Who spinoff seem like a much cooler show, and might actually have improved the other episodes. Spoilers ahead!If we'd gotten to see this look at the secret origins of Torchwood much, much earlier, the whole show might have been better. Either the other episodes of season one would have actually been better, thanks to this episode clarifying the show and its characters. Or at the very least, they would have seemed better because we'd already care about the characters and the backstory.
Before anybody else jumps in and points it out, I know "Fragments" is a total retread of the Firefly episode where Serenity breaks down and Mal gets shot and then we see flashbacks of how the crew came together. But "Out Of Gas" was one of the best Firefly eps, and it seems to have inspired a similarly great Torchwood installment.
It's just sad that this is the penultimate Torchwood episode, instead of the second or third. Yes, I know the show isn't cancelled. But if all the rumors and half-announcements are to be believed, the show is getting such a drastic makeover in its third season that it might as well be a different show. This is the first time I actually really wanted to get to know these characters and this universe better.
Each of the four main characters — apart from the already overexposed Gwen — gets a lengthy flashback showing how he/she ended up joining Torchwood. And none of the flashbacks were quite what I expected. I had a pretty clear idea of how they were going to go, and this episode actually managed to subvert my expectations. Mostly by showing me a different side of the characters. We got to see Tosh being a resourceful spy, Owen actually showing human emotions, and Jack not having all the answers for a change. Ianto was still pretty much Ianto, but that's a good thing.
Because all of these characters managed to surprise me and show me different facets, I found myself caring about them much more. I still don't really care about Gwen, but I do care about Rhys. So she gets some emotional attachment by proxy.
The other reason this episode excited me so much is because it helped me understand what Torchwood is about. Why the organization originally existed, and why it exists now. I didn't realize until just now how frustrating the show's muddle backstory actually is.
Here's what we already knew: Queen Victoria founded Torchwood in the Doctor Who episode "Tooth And Claw," because Rose and the Doctor giggled too much during a werewolf attack. Torchwood's original charter includes keeping an eye out for the Doctor. When we next see Torchwood, it's the early 21st century and it has a huge London headquarters, and it's an imperialist organization that's tampering with forces it can't comprehend.
So how do we get from that set-up to Jack's cozy little gang in Cardiff? The newest episode finally shows us how. We get to see the sadistic Victorian ladies of the original Torchwood recruiting the devil-may-care Jack, and then around 1999 one of the members of Torchwood Cardiff becomes distraught at the way things are going and shoots himself and his colleagues. So Jack severs all ties with Torchwood's main London branch and sets about remolding the organization into a genuine force for good. All of this is backstory that you could have gleaned from the occasional aside during previous episodes, but it made a huge difference to see it actually laid out.
So that makes two great Torchwood episodes in a row. I'd say the season has been about half-and-half great and mediocre, which makes the season finale, airing April 4, the tie-breaker. Sadly, I don't hold up much hope, because it's about Spike coming back and going on a killing spree because he wants Captain Jack to pay attention to him. And it features the return of Captain Jack's long-lost kid brother. But this episode pleasantly surprised me, so maybe the next one will too.
Comments
I'm just finishing up the Sarah Jane Adventures and I'm looking forward to some Torchwood action.
I wasn't going to bother, but this at least is something to look forward to.
I don't want to rain shit on the parade, but that clip was almost unwatchable. Barrowman isn't just chewing up scenery, he's chewing it, swallowing, regurgitating and chewing again. The man is a like a cow with multiple stomachs!
All those horrid "wink wink" lines are just grating.
I watched "The Doctor Dance/Unearthly Child" recently, comparing that Captain Jack (funny, flirty but still a heck of a shag-tastic time spy) with that creepy avuncular psuedo-hunk is just sad.
I still just can't be bothered to give a crap about Torchwood. I saw a few minutes of the first episode and thought "meh" and never returned. And I've never been such a big fan of Captain Jack anyway. I guess he was fine in Empty Child &tc but he never really grabbed me as the great character so many seem to see him as. Ah well. It's better to have less tv to have to watch.
"If only "Fragments" had aired during season one, preferably as the second or third episode. It would have made the BBC's Doctor Who spinoff seem like a much cooler show, and might actually have improved the other episodes."
I disagree. Nothing annoys me more than a tv series that justifies and explains itself by telling about their characters in the flashback. Lots of modern shows do this all the frelling time for no reason other than to take up space. [i.e. Lost and Drive] Flashbacks have to be earned. You can't introduce a character with a flashback, you have to take a character we already love, and show the flashback, to give us more reason to love them. That's why this episode 'worked'. Cause we already cared about them.
That's also why Out of Gas worked. We already cared. Alright, now I'll read the rest of this post.
@shudderstep: Well. That's the thing. Apparently actors don't make up the lines themselves. Moffat wrote those two Doctor eps. That's why Barrowman was so loveable, and why Madame Bovary and Sally Sparrow are so loveable and why everyone wants them to show up again. Cause Moffat rocks that much.
Can we stop with the "Torchwood" show opinions? It's a shitty show (obviously) and I feel like trying to revive it with pointless exercises in observation of some of its "better" moments is hardly worthwhile.
The show is clearly made for the benefit of the idiots and perverts of the sci-fi watching world. Why bother?
Okay, here's why I bitch- by the time I watch this episode 6 days from now, this thread will be buried 7 pages deep. So, any of us who don't watch it via the interwebs, etc., are left out of the discussion.
But whatever. I'm just not an early adopter, right?
Moffat Moffat Moffat ... total agreement - he rock's!
Here's hoping Moffat takes over from Davies as head script writer!
Dr Who episode "Blink" was awesome - the ending genius (can easily watch that episode again and again)!
It'll be interesting to see Martha and Mickey work together in Torchwood next series (if it happens) - both spurned by the Doctor - but Mickey being Rose's on-off boyfriend should make it interesting viewing where Martha is concerned!
"Fragments" actually gave me a smidge more respect for Gwen's character, as "Adrift" did for Owen.
"Adrift" - I immensely enjoyed that Ianto got into Torchwood Cardiff after stalking Jack.
Also, these two episodes made me realize why I haven't really enjoyed this season: pacing. Usually the pacing in episodes is too fast and results in an anticlimactic climax and resolution, but this time around, the pacing was wonderful. If only more episodes were like this....
Alright first of all why is it that every single comment here is anti Torchwood, or mostly anti Torchwood. One of you needs to provide a good reason why you don't like the show, I personally like it but I would expect better from the types of individuals who visit this site. That's all I have to say!
@Plague:
Why should the rest of us wait for you to see it before hashing it out? If you don't plan to see it soon after it airs, you are going to have to live with the fact that those of us who do are going to talk about it.
I am sure there are more than a few British/other viewers on these boards that appreciate prompt discussion. Not to mention those of us who are not willing to wait two weeks for our Doctor Who related fixes and do make use of the internet. If you want to join the discussion, watch it when the rest of us do.
@Waelwulf: Because it counters the pretentiousness of shows like "Lost" and the circle-jerking that would result from posts that are all about shows like "Lost"? And while it is a show "made for the benefit of the idiots and perverts of the sci-fi watching world," it is nevertheless a science fiction television show and deserves coverage and discussion. io9 covers other sci-fi tv shows when they're in season; I like to think that they are equal opportunity sci-fi bloggers.
This is the episode that was needed from day one, because someone needed to explain why such a f***ed up team would ever be formed. The series has thus far asked the viewer to suspend all reason as to why anyone would follow Jack and why a serious super (semi?) secret organization (of the kind we saw in Doctor Who) would EVER put Jack in charge. Now we know. He was around when the leader of TW Cardiff snapped, snuffed the staff, then TW London snuffed it leaving Jacko to form his motley band from the remains. It answered some questions that were keeping a sane view appaplectic.
no no no! please keep these going. i cannot access the web versions & these threads are all that keep me sane waiting for sci fi channel to finally show the eps already!
@the_wiggle<
Why is it that this particular sci-fi show, more than any other I've watched, is such the object of punditry? Why exactly is there so much contempt from people who watch it religiously?
Why is this show, more than any other show on TV, such the object of punditry. The way people talk about how they hate it (but still watch it), you'd think we're going to have to vote for it in November.
You know, I could have believed that Spike deliberately planted quite small bombs, to maximise the chance that Jack's beloved team would just be horribly maimed and not killed.
But the bombs demolished the entire building, which fell on the team.
The result of this should have been one reincarnated Jack with his clothes blown off (oo-er), perhaps one mangled yet still-alive Owen-head somewhere in the rubble, and two random smears of protein that used to be team members.
As plot holes go, this is pretty notable.
YAY, Torchwood is good again. I love flashback episodes.
Ianto's in particular was great. Not so sure about giving Owen a tragic love, though. Here we have a character who is an established ladies' man and commitment-phobe, and this bit of generic character development just feels tacked-on. Does this history really jibe with his relationship with Diane in "Out of Time", for instance, where love seems like a completely new concept to him? Jack's bit is also great, although it has him becoming involved with Torchwood rather earlier than I expected. I thought he'd have lots of years to do other things first, like join the carnival. Not that I have a big problem with contradicting ANYTHING that happened in "From Out of the Rain". And Tosh's story is, like pretty much everything else about poor Tosh, just sad and pitiful without any of the sexy that spices up everyone else's tragedies. Although I have to say how glad I am that the show is willing to have a character who's genuinely awkward and unfulfilled without succumbing to the impulse to spiff her up. Any other show, the techie would be a leggy blonde supermodel who slept with half the team and tossed off saucy one-liners over the top of her magnifying goggles. Poor Tosh.
@Daniel Rutter: I was thinking quite the same thing. How very lucky that Jack was the only one out of all of them to be killed in the explosion.
@the_wiggle: Why can't you get any sort of version off the internet. I have a sneaking suspicion you're capable of using the internet... So why not?
@bluewyvern: "Here we have a character who is an established ladies' man and commitment-phobe, and this bit of generic character development just feels tacked-on. Does this history really jibe with his relationship with Diane in "Out of Time", for instance, where love seems like a completely new concept to him?"
Quite the contrary. The way I see it is that his womanizing is his method of not getting caught in a similar situation. He can't really build up a strong connection with a string of one-night-stands, can he? He's obviously gone a little nuts, and I had always wondered why he was such a jerk. Between this and what we saw in the episode "Adam" we can totally figure out that he's so cold to Tosh because he actually does like her and he wouldn't be able to handle losing her too, should she die in the line of duty, if they actually had let themselves come together.
Perfect sense, this makes. Everybody I know has a habit of going out and doing a little bit of this after any especially bad relationship problems.
@ThatGuyOverThere:
I think wiggle is referring to the fact that the BBC Torchwood site, which hosts previous episodes, locks out anyone who is not in the UK. Although really, the torrents are higher quality.
And I agree that the Owen back story works. In some ways the idea of him being deliberately cold and detached makes his relationship in Out of Time even more delicious because he no only didn't see it coming but was actively trying to avoid it.
@Waelwulf: Nobody's making you watch, or read the post.
@Ryan H: Locking out non-UK viewers? ridiculous! That's nearly as bad as putting DRM on media. It's just a waste of resources, because there will be millions of people getting it on the sly. I know that's how I get it, shortly after it airs, all the way over here in the states. Can't stop the signal.
In a related story, I've taken up a boycott of watching any FOX shows on television, or doing any sort of recording. They cancel too many shows without giving them half a chance... so now all I do is get them from newsgroups. No commercials, no viewer tracking, no stats, no nieslon. Fox can eat a fat one for all I care.
I didn't mind it so much since I didn't read it as Jack actually flirting. I read the "shilling a feel" line more as an attempt to distract the prim ladies from what he'd just done, and the rest of it as an attempt to regain control of the situation.
Imagine how all the rest of the world feels about American TV exports and the resultant online discussion. 7 days is actually amazingly short lag for a show with international interest like this.
@Y Duras: "7 days is actually amazingly short lag for a show with international interest like this."
And here I get mad about having to wait 40 minutes or so for it to hit usenet...
@Waelwulf said: The show is clearly made for the benefit of the idiots and perverts of the sci-fi watching world.
So, shall we take your comments about "perverts" to mean that this show has a very obvious hypersexualized character who enjoys the company of women and men, and that those of us who don't take offense to the fact are perverts?
Please. Grow up and open your eyes to the world around you. Even better: turn off the damn program if it's so "perverted." Ugh.
@Ryan H:
I see. So the MAJORITY of the people who watch this show/view this blog need to wait.
Okay, I understand the rules now.
And they keep getting stupider.
@Plague:
What majority? Based on the discussions here and on other forums my guess is that the majority of Doctor Who/Torchwood/SJA viewers are either watching the original BBC broadcasts or grabbing it via internet. I strongly suspect that the fans that wait for the first US/International showing are in the distinct minority.
It might actually make for an interesting poll question.
@Y Duras: BBCAmerica just most recently aired the Gwen pregnant ep, and tonight's is the carnival, so they're abit further behind now.
@Ryan H: Well, few people would like to cop up to it, but yes, if it's not possible to see a show when it airs, then the glory of the internet is what makes it possible.
@Ryan H:
Shrug.
I'll just get even by discussing the 5th season of The Wire on some UK forum where you guys haven't seen it.
What? It hasn't aired there yet?!
And people who watch TV on the internet terrify me.
@Plague: You guys? I'm afraid that I have to cop to being Canadian, eh. I grab my episodes online an hour after they air. And then pick up the DVD sets as they hit. Personally, thank god for the British. Between the various Who shows, and Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes they supply me with most of my better television viewing needs.
And unless you made a point of posting spoilers on the official Sky One (or whoever shows it over there) forums I doubt very much that you would get any protests at all. That's the thing about the internet. With the exception of a few sites that are tied to geographically specific subjects, the borders are very hard to spot. The only things that define a specific site or blog as American or Canadian or British or Australian are the time zones the contributors wake up in and the way they spell 'colour'.
@Ryan H:
Canadian?!
That's even worse!
;)
You know, what would be a perfect solution would be that threads would pop back up when there are new posts- or some signifier that there ARE new posts like more "bulletin-y board" sites...
I remember in my school days it being us against them, sadly now that I have grown it has become us against us. I can not in any manor expect everyone to love this show as much as I do, but I can ask for a small bit of compassion. Please try to be a little less brutal with you verbal lashing in regards to Torchwood. Doctor Who itself had some stinker seasons as well as what can be construed as a rough start. Apparently I am one of those "Stupid" "Perverts" who this show is marketed to. I will gladly accept this moniker, if you lot will just ease up.
It is very clear to me by the pontification in much of your replies, that many of you my fellow nerds have had the pleasure of consuming much more enriching and intelligible forms of media. I do not know that I can say the same. I can, however, say that what I saw in "Fragments" in not to far off from what I have been watching for the last year of so in this series. Unfortunately, in many of your opinions I am probably taking "crazy pills" or watching the wrong show. I assure you that I am doing neither, although, I am in fact enjoying Torchwood, unlike most things I see on the television. Please don't take this away form me.
Sadly I can only plead with you, my fellow Sci-Fi consumers. To the BBC I am just another ignorant "Yank" that has no class and an incomplete American education. I implore you give it a chance, or let this one go. Try to remember when they told us we were stupid for reading comic books, watching "Trek" or "Wars" and wasting our time with that "X-Files" Every time I find a show I enjoy it gets canceled because the overwhelming amount of negative feedback. I am not asking you to love it, just to put down the flame thrower and slap it with a silk glove and challenge it to a dual instead.
There is a distinct difference between some of those shows, though. X-Files was excellent from episode 1 and straight on for about 4 seasons. Torchwood has no such record. I love SciFi. If it's bad, middling, or good, I'll judge it based on the quality of the storytelling, not on some mindless devotion to the cause. Bad is bad, good is good. Bad bad, good good.
After reading the posts in here can I ask the following question (as a Brit) do Americans think Torchwood is better than Dr Who?
I know there's a bit of negativity towards Torchwood in here - but when the BBC changes the format of the next series to make it more like Dr Who - I'm thinking it will get a lot better! Although this second series is definately miles better than the first.
@genehuntlover: the BBC won't cancel it's bigger ratings winners - Dr Who set to run and run (along as they get the next Dr right) ... and Torchwood has just moved to a Friday night slot in the UK as its ratings improve. Torchwood should move into an earlier more popular timeslot next year when it's format changes - so it's not going to get cancelled!
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