To be perfectly honest, even though i love torchwood, im not watchin the new mini series. Children of earth was fantastic and everything torchwood should be, but i feel that they should have left it at that. It didnt help that they killed off ianto ( yes he was my fav character) but that and the fact that jack had to make a huge sacrifice and choose what was best for the world not just him is what made COE so heartwrenching and, for a sci-fi show, realistic. life isnt always perfect and the good guys dont always win, and even if they do win they dont come through unscathed.
Ok went a bit off topic there! Anyway i just dont think that jack and gwen can carry it off on there own and am not really interested in getting to know new characters. Maybe when im over the deaths of tosh, owen and ianto, i may give it a go, but for now the pain is still too fresh 😉
You know they're just fictional characters, right?
Anyway, I'm actually undecided about this. It was good, but I'm not sure if I actually liked it or not. It doesn't feel much like Torchwood at all - it reminds me heavily of the last few seasons of the X-Files, when Mulder and Scully were completely sidelined or completely absent entirely. Just replace the old main characters with new ones that are practically clones and sideline the old characters and expect no one to care! Yeah, okay then.
Have to see a few more episodes before I decide if I like it or not. Decent setup, yeah, but they have a lot of work to do to make it pay off.
Originally posted by Peach
You know they're just fictional characters, right?Anyway, I'm actually undecided about this. It was good, but I'm not sure if I actually liked it or not. It doesn't feel much like Torchwood at all - it reminds me heavily of the last few seasons of the X-Files, when Mulder and Scully were completely sidelined or completely absent entirely. Just replace the old main characters with new ones that are practically clones and sideline the old characters and expect no one to care! Yeah, okay then.
Have to see a few more episodes before I decide if I like it or not. Decent setup, yeah, but they have a lot of work to do to make it pay off.
Barrowman can really carry a show though. If he's prominent enough, it'll be fine. Can't plaster him throughout the first few episodes though. They need a chance for the supporting cast to be fleshed out, clones or not.
I may actually wait until this season is over to watch it. I find that I enjoy shows in large, coherent chunks instead of weekly installments.
And ironically, it struck me at one point how much time Children of Earth spent away from the main cast. Didn't matter because of the story and moments it was able to create, which I think is also somewhat telling.
Originally posted by midnightshadow
the pain is still too fresh
lol, damn.
Mekhi Phifer's character serves the same purpose the office assistant did in COE (and Gwen's character did initially), which is to explain to new viewers what Torchwood is/does without Jack and Gwen explaining things that they both should already know or standing around and saying "remember when?". We spent a lot of time with these types of characters in Torchwood because they are supposed to give the viewer the perspective of a regular person pushed into this fantastic world. It provides a natural outlet for explaining the purpose of Torchwood and is supposed to give the audience a character they can relate to (although I'm not sure how successful that was accomplished with Miracle Day). Normally I would say that a character like that really isn't needed in every single season and has been a crutch the writers have used too often, but Torchwood is premiering on Starz now so there is a whole new audience that doesn't have any experience with the characters.
It's true there wasn't much Jack, and other then the scene he was introduced his time on screen fell a bit flat. That said I actually liked all the scenes with Gwen, Rhys and the baby... which is a new development because I usually find her the worst part of the show. I had a huge smile on my face when she stopped to put that rabbit hat on the baby in the middle of a shoot out against a freaking helicopter.
My biggest compliant is Mekhi Phifer's character, I have a hard time sympathizing with him even slightly. He should be saying "F@ck yeah I'm alive!" but instead he is all " *Boohoo* I'm alive? But Whhhhhhhhhhhy? *Boohoo* " Sack up buddy, being alive is awesome! It seems like every time a character comes back from the dead, is unable to die or something similar (and it happens all the time in genre shows) we have to deal with the same trite character arc. It's only worked once in Buffy and that's because she got pulled out of heaven, Mekhi Phifer's character doesn't really have a reason to be so moody and angsty. Pointless melodrama.
So, what are people's guesses as to what is causing the effect, how Torwhwood is tied into it and why it has made Jack mortal?
After all, Jack's immortality is somewhat fundamental. The Doctor told him that the power of the time vortex as directed by Rose made him a fixed 'fact' in reality that cannot be undone, so one has to wonder what could mess with that.
If it is something to do with Torchwood, it could of course be something to do with Jack.
Well I don't think it is a result of a past Torchwood action, that doesn't seem to make sense. Especially with the year long gap between the 456 and this.
I want to say its tied to Jack as the inversion of mortality is hard to miss. But Jack was off Earth when this happened and it was only the Torchwood emails that brought him back.
Perhaps it is someone/something trying to push the blame onto Torchwood for this, while pursuing a different end?
However I will be very disappointed if they mess with the established Canon and make it a Jack mortality issue.
Nobody? Did everyone drop off after the first episode?
I'm enjoying it. I like the power struggle between Jack and Rex. Rex isn't terribly likable, but I guess that's partially in true Torchwood fashion.
I guess I want it to stray toward the extraterrestrial side of things, I want it to be the damn Daleks or something despite knowing that they'd NEVER do that. The fact the show seems so "grounded" bothers me. Despite being more "realistic" the old Torchwood didn't shy away from CGI freaks running around in practically every episode. This feels like a political intrigue plot right now, not something from beyond...which isn't Torchwood.
Gay sex scene, with directly implied domination fetish and blowjob. Lulz. Keeping it edgy enough to upset anyone too conservative at least.
Originally posted by Digi
lol, it was an example. I want crazy British aliens, not another cookie-cutter TV drama.
How many episodes into Children of Earth before we saw an alien? Even a mist covered, barely visible alien? Remember this season is twice as long (not necessarily a good thing based on the episodes so far which just seem to run the clock for no reason as opposed to the lean CoE episode that didn't waste a single moment with pointless filler), so that means the build up will be twice as long as well.
And no Daleks please. Let Dr Who to deal with the chessy / campy / goofy aliens, Jack will handle the threatening ones. 😎
Originally posted by srankmissingnin
How many episodes into Children of Earth before we saw an alien? Even a mist covered, barely visible alien? Remember this season is twice as long (not necessarily a good thing based on the episodes so far which just seem to run the clock for no reason as opposed to the lean CoE episode that didn't waste a single moment with pointless filler), so that means the build up will be twice as long as well.And no Daleks please. Let Dr Who to deal with the chessy / campy / goofy aliens, Jack will handle the threatening ones. 😎
CoE was a bookend on the first two seasons, a needed closure for the characters. This is clearly different. Good drama is good drama, aliens or not, so your point isn't without merit. But part of what makes Torchwood, well, Torchwood is that it takes place in the Who-niverse. I just want to see that utilized. Because most of the first two seasons was a cavalcade of weird aliens each episode. I just feel like Starz is scared to lose their audience if they go too extraterrestrial.
I'm enjoying the hell out of it though, so it's a niggling gripe.
...
On a side topic, what's with the Dalek hate? The Matt Smith Dalek episode was maybe his worst, as well as Stephen Moffat's worst. But I can't think of a Dalek episode or story that didn't have some cool aspect or impact to it other than that. They really only show up in 3 episodes of Season 1, 2 in season 2, then the finale of season 4 iirc. A frequent villain to be sure, but not omnipresent.
Originally posted by Digi
CoE was a bookend on the first two seasons, a needed closure for the characters. This is clearly different. Good drama is good drama, aliens or not, so your point isn't without merit. But part of what makes Torchwood, well, Torchwood is that it takes place in the Who-niverse. I just want to see that utilized. Because most of the first two seasons was a cavalcade of weird aliens each episode. I just feel like Starz is scared to lose their audience if they go too extraterrestrial.I'm enjoying the hell out of it though, so it's a niggling gripe.
...
On a side topic, what's with the Dalek hate? The Matt Smith Dalek episode was maybe his worst, as well as Stephen Moffat's worst. But I can't think of a Dalek episode or story that didn't have some cool aspect or impact to it other than that. They really only show up in 3 episodes of Season 1, 2 in season 2, then the finale of season 4 iirc. A frequent villain to be sure, but not omnipresent.
I don't know man, I don't feel CoE is a bookend on the first two season, in fact I hardly feel like it is the same show to be honest. CoE was a huge step up from the first two seasons, in quality and tone. It's like, imagine if the third season of Stargate was the Battlestar Galatica reboot (or maybe a comparison to SG / SG: Atlantis and the grittier SGU would be more apt as SGU managed to incorporate some characters and plot points of those lighter shows without much determent to the story). Anyway, Torchwood evolved from slightly silly and campy scifi show into a legitimate science fiction drama. Miracle Day aims to be a sequel of CoE, I don't think the first two season factor in much, and I didn't think they factored in much in CoE either outside of established character relations.
Might just be personal preferences but I would prefer Torchwood to make as little reference to Dr Who as possible, because I like Torchwood... and I don't really care for Dr Who.
Originally posted by Digi
On a side topic, what's with the Dalek hate? The Matt Smith Dalek episode was maybe his worst, as well as Stephen Moffat's worst. But I can't think of a Dalek episode or story that didn't have some cool aspect or impact to it other than that. They really only show up in 3 episodes of Season 1, 2 in season 2, then the finale of season 4 iirc. A frequent villain to be sure, but not omnipresent.
During the 9th and 10th Doctors runs they were almost always the big bad at the end of the season, having manipulated everything despite being on the brink of extinction every goddamn time we saw them.
Not to mention the way they are portrayed as this huge, nigh-unstoppable threat, which felt more than a little forced considering the Doctor foiled their plans and kicked their asses to the point of oblivion on a yearly basis.
Originally posted by srankmissingnin
I don't know man, I don't feel CoE is a bookend on the first two season, in fact I hardly feel like it is the same show to be honest. CoE was a huge step up from the first two seasons, in quality and tone. It's like, imagine if the third season of Stargate was the Battlestar Galatica reboot (or maybe a comparison to SG / SG: Atlantis and the grittier SGU would be more apt as SGU managed to incorporate some characters and plot points of those lighter shows without much determent to the story). Anyway, Torchwood evolved from slightly silly and campy scifi show into a legitimate science fiction drama. Miracle Day aims to be a sequel of CoE, I don't think the first two season factor in much, and I didn't think they factored in much in CoE either outside of established character relations.Might just be personal preferences but I would prefer Torchwood to make as little reference to Dr Who as possible, because I like Torchwood... and I don't really care for Dr Who.
DW's my favorite show ever, so we're not coming from the same aesthetic position. It's unlikely we'll agree here.
You lost me with the Stargate and BSG stuff though. My geekdom doesn't extend into those realms.
Originally posted by Martian_mind
During the 9th and 10th Doctors runs they were almost always the big bad at the end of the season, having manipulated everything despite being on the brink of extinction every goddamn time we saw them.Not to mention the way they are portrayed as this huge, nigh-unstoppable threat, which felt more than a little forced considering the Doctor foiled their plans and kicked their asses to the point of oblivion on a yearly basis.
Well, ostensibly, they fought the Time Lords in the time war, and came out of it better. Off-panel, I know, but that's still enough for a sickening reputation.
They were the finale baddies in Seasons 1 and 4, and co-baddies in Season 2 with the Cybermen. I halfways consider the year of nothing but Tennant specials to be its own season so there's that, and they've barely been a whisper in Matt Smith's stuff. Moffat was right to create a new "big bad guy" outside of the Daleks and The Master. But they've been essentially MIA for a season and a half, 2.5 if you count the Tennant specials. I don't care if they return at this point, they're hilarious anyway.