Torchwood: An overview of series 1...
Jan. 15th, 2008 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Part 1: The Best Things about Torchwood series 1:
- Captain Jack Harkness. The character is in every way a pièce de résistence by Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat. A character who takes on attributes of archetypes - the superhero, the cowboy, the Wandering Jew, the unknown soldier, and so on - but does so without being stereotypical. Bonus points for his costume design - I don't know who came up with the greatcoat, the braces, and the floppy hair, but it's perfect. Add to this the Barroman looks, the dimples, the style...
- The Pterodactyl. Myfanwy, at the risk of anticipating canon. How many fantasy-sf teams have a pterodactyl nesting in the ceiling? Okay, some others do, but they aren't as good!
- The handling of sex and gender matters. Part of the story, part of the characters, part of the story.
- Rhys, the perfect boyfriend. The mundane, the outsider. Occasionally something of a damsel in distress, but that's okay, they didn't overdo it.
- Bilis. First-class mysterious time-travelling villain.
- Detective Swanson. Kathy. We need more like her.
- Catherine Treganna. Best writer on the show.
- "Captain Jack Harkness" - best episode by far. Okay, so I'm a romantic, but it had the things all the episodes should have had: focus on the protagonist, a tightly written plot, a build-up of action and suspense in two connected plotlines, and great characterization. Yes, the best part was when Jack kissed Jack. But the second best part was when Ianto shot Owen. Go, Ianto!
- Any and all references the show had to the Doctor, or to the continuity of Doctor Who: the Cybermen (and Cyberwoman) and the Battle of Canary Wharf, the chameleon circuit of the TARDIS making the invisible lift possible, the references to "the right kind of Doctor", and - especially - the ending of "End of Days".
- The stopwatch scene.
Part 2: The Things I would have liked to have seen done differently in Torchwood series 1:
- The character and deaths of Suzie Costello. Indira Varma is terrific, and Suzie, as she pretended to be in the beginning of "Everything Changes", was personable and intersting. So she became a crazed killer zombie. I'd have liked to have learned that she was simply possessed by the glove, and when the glove was destroyed, she was okay, and still on the team for the show. This would of course have rendered the plot of "They Keep Killing Suzie" impossible, but I didn't much like that plot anyway. (Even though I loved Swanson, and the stopwatch, and the Gwen/Suzie interplay.)
- The team were a bunch of screw-ups. No offense intended, I truly love them all, but almost every plot had them doing something stupid or criminal or both. I wanted them to be smarter, sharper, more honest, and particularly more loyal to Jack. (The parts about them lusting after Jack were okay.)
- Abaddon. Godzilla in drag. Really, there are hundreds of better ways to feature life-sucking monsters. This just didn't cut it.
- I'd like to have had more of the Jack/Ianto relationship. We got so close to nothing.
- More aliens. Really, for alien-catchers, they didn't seem to be going after, or even meeting up with, many aliens. This is why the 'eye' in Random Shoes was kind of fun, and th conversation with the boring watery people. But for every sex-crazed alien or mysterious gadget, we got several human cannibals, terrestrial fairies, and ordinary murderers. If they'd argue that the CGI or prosthetics cost too much, I'd argue that this isn't what I want: perfectly human-looking aliens (like Mary) are fine with me.
- Gwen should have been more honest, and have shown hereself to be smarter, and have had more integrity. She showed her fear too easily.
- Owen was always problematic, but he had his place in the story. I would perhaps have been much happier if he'd been played by someone other than Burn Gorman.
- I wanted to see something more of Jack's life - his living quarters, for example. We saw Jack only from his team's point of view, and since they don't even know who or what he is, that's a very limited view! I liked this element of 'secret identity', but would have liked to have seen more about how Jack spends his time, and where. Workoholic? Hanging out on rooftops? More of that, please! A nice counter-example is the beginning of "Combat", where Jack regrets giving the others the evening off - because he's chasing Weevils alone, and gets clawed.
- I'd have liked to have seen better writing generally. More wit, tighter pacing, better plots, more fliud continuity. The best writers were Noel Clarke and Catherine Treganna.
- I wanted fewer sex scenes with Owen. Not fewer sex scenes, goodness knows - more with Jack - well, any with Jack - or Tosh or Gwen (or Tosh and Gwen) or Ianto - not so much with Owen. Not that I didn't like Owen's sex scenes conceptually, but they were a bit of a waste.
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Date: 2008-01-15 04:04 pm (UTC)Okay, I can add that I do like that they say they are approaching this season with a lighter touch or a lighter heart, as I like the humorous moments the best on the show.
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Date: 2008-01-15 04:54 pm (UTC)I liked the darker, more serious side of Jack, but sometimes seeing him so depressed was painful. I'd much rather see the Jack with a bright exterior and dark moments.
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Date: 2008-01-15 04:23 pm (UTC)*dies laughing* That is too true.
I agree with most of those, except the Suzie Costello one. I'm fine with her being only in those eps.
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Date: 2008-01-15 04:50 pm (UTC)Maybe I have a misguided sense that she could have been efficient, brave, resourceful and honest. Silly me. Mostly I just like Indira Varma.
It would have been even better if they'd give Tosh a stronger role.
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Date: 2008-01-15 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-16 02:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-15 08:40 pm (UTC)Anyone else. Something about that guy just bugs me... which meant that most of Owen's stuff bugged me. And that Gwen being attracted to Owen bugged me. And... well, you get the picture.
I also agree that Gwen should've been more intelligent and more capable. That the whole team should have been. And far more loyal to Jack after all that they've apparently been through together even before the bits of the series that we saw.
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Date: 2008-01-15 09:34 pm (UTC)It didn't help me that the only other thing I have ever seen him in was Bleak House, a novel I absolutely love, and he played one of my favourite characters in it, Mr. Guppy, and he did such an awful job of it that I cringed in horror whenever Mr. Guppy came on the screen. It wasn't really Gorman's fault, it was the director's fault, but that didn't make it any easier for me to watch.
I never did get over the cognitive dissonance between Burn Gorman's physical unattractiveness (to my eyes) and his sexual successes in the show. Rhys, for example, was far more attractive - though I can understand Gwen's complex feelings about the two men; but it made so much more sense to me that she'd be attracted to Jack, and fixate on him. And to turn to Owen as an alternative? I just can't see that.
It was another case of a TV show where what I was seeing, and what I was being told I was seeing, didn't match up at all. Tosh's love of Owen was particulary a mystery to me.
It all came clear when I learned that Russell T. Davies found Gorman sexy, and he's the big decision-maker.
Pity.
Yeah, we're in agreement about all those characters - let's hope they do better next season!
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Date: 2008-01-15 11:25 pm (UTC)a TV show where what I was seeing, and what I was being told I was seeing, didn't match up at all
I have to say, I may not understand quite why Tosh and Gwen find him attractive, but they do totally sell it to me in the show. I see it, from both of them.
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Date: 2008-01-16 02:18 pm (UTC)His looks are the least of it. I agree that he's good: Owen is one of the most well-developed and conceived of all the characters.
I've known plenty of guys who were to my eyes totally unattractive but could pull with the greatest of ease - apparently it's all about confidence.
That could be. Burn Gorman hasn't convinced me; Gwen and Tosh didn't convince me; the script hasn't convinced me; but it's there so I take it as it comes. There's no accounting for taste, and I've certainly seen people fall for other people I found most unpalatable. (And others would probably say the same of me.)
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Date: 2008-01-16 05:33 am (UTC)I dislike the character of Owen but he's supposed to be dislikeable [i hope!] and he plays it incredibly well. I think he's my favourite actor in this apart from Gareth David-Lloyd which we didn't get to see much but what he did was so clever.
I guess they are attracted to his confidence and his lack of fear? he's not good on the eyes but he has 'presence'.
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Date: 2008-01-16 02:03 pm (UTC)I think he's a very good actor.
And yes, I think Owen is supposed to be... not unlikeable, but difficult to like. I think we are supposed to think Jack likes him - or maybe 'like' is the wrong word there, too, but Jack respects him and appreciates him and loves him while being well aware of his flaws.
But this being said - and agreeing that Burn Gorman does a very good job of portraying Owen - I don't think he's quie right for the part. I don't find the reaction of Gwen and Tosh to Owen convincing; the obviously find him sexy, and I'd like to see an actor in the role that I could also perceive as sexy. I accept for the sake of the story that Gwen and Tosh do find Owen sexually interesting, but I just can't see it. I guess I don't see the 'presence' or even a lack of fear - I see bluster and defiance.
Ianto, on the other hand, didn't get a lot of scenes or lines, but what he got was terrific. I have problems with Ianto too, but they are entirely different from my problems with Owen, and are largely due to the underwriting. But not entirely. There's a streak of something... immaturity? indecision? lack of self-confidence? - in Ianto that I still haven't worked out - that keeps me from loving him fully.
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Date: 2008-01-16 02:49 pm (UTC)Haha! I was so disappointed with Abaddon. The build-up to it all had been terrific, and so when the monster finally showed itself I assume it was supposed to frighten you, not make you laugh. Kind of ruined the moment for me.
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Date: 2008-01-16 02:58 pm (UTC)It would have been so much better if Abaddon hadn't looked idiotic. I personally liked the Beast in The Satan Pit, maybe because he was static? The lurching of Abaddon just made him seem sillier.
I think I'd have been happier if Bilis had become Abaddon - there's no need for a demonic creature to be huge or non-humanoid.
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Date: 2008-01-19 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-20 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-20 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-20 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-16 04:09 pm (UTC)Apparently it's starting up again tonight on BBC -- I think I may watch it... between you and kikibug, I've got an urge. :-)
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Date: 2008-01-16 04:18 pm (UTC)Bad us.
I think I can speak for both myself and
Hope you enjoy it.
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Date: 2008-01-16 04:22 pm (UTC)well, the number of shows/books I've watched/read and loved due to knowing people on lj or on the lmb list love them is uncountable. so if I've heard of something a lot on lj or the lmb list, I do tend to drift that way eventually. :-)
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Date: 2008-01-16 04:26 pm (UTC)Yes - it's the best way to get recommendations.
Certainly the Bujold list has introduced me to books, things and ideas I'd never have encountered otherwise. Just as the Dunnett list has.
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Date: 2008-01-19 04:34 pm (UTC)I often thought Burn Gorman was the only thing selling me on Owen's...lesser actions. I haven't seen him in anything else, though. And I was happy with Suzie's character arc, but I can understand your frustration if you like Indira Varma. I did like her in her episodes.
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Date: 2008-01-20 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2008-01-20 04:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-20 04:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-20 04:25 am (UTC)I like the idea of Tosh/Jack too, of course, but he's already kind of busy.
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Date: 2008-01-20 04:26 am (UTC)I like the idea of Jack/pretty much everyone, heh.
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Date: 2008-01-20 04:27 am (UTC)Yup. Really, who wouldn't he suit?
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Date: 2008-01-20 02:58 pm (UTC)I'm thinking....
Yeah, I got nothin'.
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Date: 2008-01-20 07:54 pm (UTC)