Torchwood: An overview of series 1...

[fajrdrako]

Part 1: The Best Things about Torchwood series 1:

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...



2. 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!



3. The handling of sex and gender matters. Part of the story, part of the characters, part of the story.



4. Rhys, the perfect boyfriend. The mundane, the outsider. Occasionally something of a damsel in distress, but that's okay, they didn't overdo it.



5. Bilis. First-class mysterious time-travelling villain.



6. Detective Swanson. Kathy. We need more like her.



7. Catherine Treganna. Best writer on the show.



8. "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!



9. 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".



10. The stopwatch scene.

Part 2: The Things I would have liked to have seen done differently in Torchwood series 1:

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.)



2. 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.)



3. Abaddon. Godzilla in drag. Really, there are hundreds of better ways to feature life-sucking monsters. This just didn't cut it.



4. I'd like to have had more of the Jack/Ianto relationship. We got so close to nothing.



5. 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.



6. Gwen should have been more honest, and have shown hereself to be smarter, and have had more integrity. She showed her fear too easily.



7. 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.



8. 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.



9. 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.



10. 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.

Comments

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

I really cannot argue with a thing you said. I can't even think of anything to add, except, "AMEN TO THAT, SISTER!"

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.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I hope they aren't turning it into a comedy, but from everything I've seen, they've got the tone right. Good!

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.