Review of Torchwood...

From The Herald:

Torchwood is Hollywood-blockbuster-slick, fast-paced and tabloid-scary and, despite pitting its cast of characters against weird forces from the outer reaches of the cosmos, it's more concerned with journeys in inner space: the human heart and psyche.

I like that assessment. I also like the description of Captain Jack:

As Captain Jack Harkness, John Barrowman is really rather swoonsome in a thoroughly wholesome yet slightly sleazy way. The chap's a positive menace to woman, men and non-gender-specific alien life-forms.

And a nicely appreciative description of Gwen:

As Gwen Cooper, Eve Myles is really rather yummy. Think of Juliette Lewis with more meat on her, less irksome kookiness, plus an intriguing gap between her front teeth (if you don't know what's intriguing about the gap between a space copette's front teeth, dang it to Uranus and back, I ain't tellin' ya),

Stonewall Awards...

The First Annual Stonewall awards were given out at the Royal Academy in London last night. John Barrowman won an award as "Entertainer of the Year". He said:

Thank you for this honour. It means a great deal to me to be recognised by my community and peers. Congratulations to the other nominees. We are the few who are proud of who we are and not afraid to talk about it. We are proof that you can be honest and have a great career. I hope others can live by this example.

John Barrowman...

I love the way John Barrowman is suddenly all over the British newsmedia. Interview in today's Metro - not deep, but kind of fun. His comment on Torchwood: "It's a dream job, I get to carry guns and kiss beautiful people."

Torchwood: about Toshiko Sato...

There's an article on the Torchwood TV blogspot containing an interview with Naoko Mori about Tosh. It contains comments about things happening in the seventh episode of Torchwood - not so much spoilers as hints and teasers.

There's some very interesting information about Tosh's life and her background. Apparently we'll see more about her private life 'later on' - i.e., after the seventh episode. They're making us Tosh fans wait.

I was particularly amused by this comment from Naoko:

"I didn't know too much about Doctor Who. I grew up in the States, so I'd never seen it as a kid," she says. "When I got the script, I phoned my agent and said, 'What's a TARDIS? I've looked it up in the dictionary and I can't find it'. He was laughing so hard he actually put the phone down on me."

The interview has a minor disappointment for me, in that there is no mention of Tosh's sexual orientation, and only a hint that she might fancy Owen - I have so been hoping that she might prefer Gwen.

Little blue pills...

I got brave this morning, and I took a pill.

Nine days ago I started my new blood pressure pills; ramipril, brand name Altace. I had a horrible reaction. It turned off my brain. After three days of brain-dead, immobilized, depressive, zombielike fatigue, I stopped taking the pills. Felt fine once I stopped.

So the doctor gave me new pills. She called them ARBs, which seems to stand for "angiotensin II receptor blockers". She suggested I might want to take them near the weekend, since the last set of pills rendered me unfit for work. These new ones are called losartan; brand name Cozaar. I like the way these drugs all sound as if they come from some faraway planet.

I got the pills on Tuesday. I was afraid to take them. Little blue things.

This morning, I finally took one. And you know what? The fear and trepidation seem to have been unwarranted. I took the pill eight hours ago and I feel great.

What a relief.