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Torchwood: Dr Who Spin-Off With Captain Jack

Well I enjoyed BBC2's repeat last night.

It's resemblance to 'Love & Monsters' was marked, though. It even had a similar sign off and shouldn't Eugene have been a bit more Welsh?
 
It was ok but when my mum starts picking out the plot holes you know they must be obvious. A number of bits just didn’t make sense and I didn’t quite see the happy ending? If his friends hadn’t played a nasty joke on him and subsequently attacked him in the cafe he wouldn’t be dead. I suppose the idea was that while dead, he was able to see the truth about how people really felt about him but he was a young man, if he had carried on living there was every chance things would pan out ok anyway.

Still a nice idea, I liked the fact that you never discovered who really did bid the £15,000.
 
I really want this series to work. I still remember the disappointment when Strange got chopped after the first series. Never did find out if he survived the coma.

Hopefully, they'll learn from this series and put a bit more effort into story arc developmet and reading some proper science fiction stories. Maybe, it would be nice if they either commissioned some stories from bona fide Brit science fiction writers, or at least got a couple in as consultants.

Let's face it. The 'eye' McGuffin, last night, could have come straight out of one of the more humorous Buffy/Angel episodes. Torchwood should be more like Quatermass (Lite). I'd like to see a few episodes where they explore the past history of Torchwood, taking it back to the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Silent film clips, wax cylinders and zepplins versus flying saucers. That sort of thing... :D

The Beeb needs to spend some more money on it too and create some more Torchwood backstory and beaurocracy causing friction.
 
Pietro_Mercurios said:
I'd like to see a few episodes where they explore the past history of Torchwood, taking it back to the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Silent film clips, wax cylinders and zepplins versus flying saucers. That sort of thing... :D
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That'd definitely get me watching again. Nobody does steampunk like us Brits :D.
The Beeb needs to spend some more money on it too and create some more Torchwood backstory and beaurocracy causing friction.
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Yes - this was struck me during the cyberwoman episode: OK, so they've a great deal of latitude doing what they do, but they've got to be answerable to someone, and perhaps it's time that someone made themselves known.
 
stuneville said:
Pietro_Mercurios said:
I'd like to see a few episodes where they explore the past history of Torchwood, taking it back to the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Silent film clips, wax cylinders and zepplins versus flying saucers. That sort of thing... :D
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That'd definitely get me watching again. Nobody does steampunk like us Brits :D.
The Beeb needs to spend some more money on it too and create some more Torchwood backstory and beaurocracy causing friction.
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Yes - this was struck me during the cyberwoman episode: OK, so they've a great deal of latitude doing what they do, but they've got to be answerable to someone, and perhaps it's time that someone made themselves known.
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Yeah, who the hell pays these people??? The concept has so much potential but is currently being lost in with badly plotted, badly acted, badly directed (no more overhead shots of Cardiff, please!!!!!!!!!) episodes. It's less Quatermass, more Carry On Space Rift.
 
Well, it makes a lot of sense if you think of it like Lost - these guys think they are in charge, but the real Torchwood - call them "The Others" - are in the background, controlling events. There must be some hitherto-unseen power, someone who knows about Jack and his secrets - otherwise, can you imagine the red tape in employing him? :

"Mr Harkness, your CV says you were born in the year 2450, and you spent some time as a bounty hunter, before meeting a Timelord during WWII, after which you were killed by Daleks in the far future. Hmm. For a reference, you simply give us "The Doctor". Doctor Who? What do you mean, "Yes that's right"?
 
Peripart said:
Well, it makes a lot of sense if you think of it like Lost - these guys think they are in charge, but the real Torchwood - call them "The Others" - are in the background, controlling events. There must be some hitherto-unseen power, someone who knows about Jack and his secrets - otherwise, can you imagine the red tape in employing him? :

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Not even that. This is a British semi-secret organisation, where is the British 'Yes Minister' style Civil Service? There must be bean counters out there, keeping track of the number of pizza deliveries, never mind the occasional missing pizza courier.

In the real World, Captain Jack would never be off the phone, or finished with filling in reports and forms in triplicate.
 
You might or might not know - Torchwood has been commissioned for a second series AND a promotion to BBC2.
 
Tonight's episode: AARGH! Schmaltz overload! I don't mind a bit of sentimentality, but this was treacly. No special effects for a change, though.

Notice how for almost every episode Captain Jack hasn't had much to do, and appears about as much as the janitor?

Looks like the point of the Weebles is about to be revealed, so maybe there was some forward planning involved in this series.
 
About the latest episode.

Who were the people in the plane supposed to be? In 1953 only the seriously rich were able to fly anywhere, yet the man seems to have kept a corner shop!

Why did Torchwood decide to put them up in a crappy B&B?
 
Pietro_Mercurios said:
I'd like to see a few episodes where they explore the past history of Torchwood, taking it back to the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Silent film clips, wax cylinders and zepplins versus flying saucers. That sort of thing... :D
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Now that would be worth watching. Perhaps the organisation could employ the best minds of the day and in that way, work in historical references.
There could be early radio experiments provoking alien contact (technology leaked to Tesla / Marconi in years to follow) Lots of talk of 'the ether' and telescopes trained on the heavens. HG wells crossed with tipping the velvet?

It will never happen though - it doesn't involve Cardiff or cloned Buffy story lines.

I still catch the odd episode in the hope that it will fulfill its promise. I expect nothing but drivel though and sadly have yet to be disappointed.
 
gncxx said:
Tonight's episode: AARGH! Schmaltz overload! I don't mind a bit of sentimentality, but this was treacly. No special effects for a change, though.
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That was truly ghastly. :x Such a promising idea, but why the romantic nonsense? Who are they aiming this at?
 
I could have done without the gruesomely unerotic sex scenes as well. I don't see the point of them, unless you're making a porno, I suppose.
 
well i thought it a rather good episode meself.

made a change from the frenetic chase the baddies episodes.

very poignant in its own way.

anyway it had Louise Delamere so that's good enuf for me.
 
I thought it was by a margin the best episode so far.

Give the action a rest for a week, and have some melodrama instead. I liked it.
 
Ooh, it was macho tonight! You could almost smell the testosterone! And it was also Fight Club without the twist. Written by Mickey, I noticed. At least there was a finally point to the Weebles.
 
gncxx said:
Ooh, it was macho tonight! You could almost smell the testosterone! And it was also Fight Club without the twist. Written by Mickey, I noticed. At least there was a finally point to the Weebles.
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So an episode of Angel (season 1 I think)
 
My favourite one so far though, its about time there was a bit of action.
 
I think I'm slowly coming round to this show. But, bloody hell, it's taken some warming up. It's gone from dreadful to okayish. Ropey start. Badly established premise, cold casting, flawed plotting... it had everything going against it. But, what I've found is that I've found the episodes that barely involve Torchwood agreeable.

Still not remotely what I'd hoped. Nor enough to feel compelled to defend it, and still shocked they have a second season. But hey... we can only hope that lessons are learned and that Primeval comes to ITV and proves you don't need a Doctor to be a hit.
 
Heh. Fight Club with weevils. But hey, I still liked it.

The series is definitely getting better and better after a very weak start. The last three episodes have all been big improvements on the early ones.

I'll disagree with ghostdog19. I think it *does* deserve a second series. Otherwise it would have simply disappeared just as it was starting to warm up.
 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6212729.stm

Torchwood star's civil ceremony
John Barrowman
Barrowman's civil ceremony was held at a hotel in Cardiff
Actor John Barrowman, star of the BBC sci-fi series Torchwood, has signed a civil partnership with his partner.

Barrowman and architect Scott Gill signed the partnership at a Cardiff hotel before the actor left to star in pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk.

Barrowman, 39, who plays Captain Jack Harkness in Dr Who spin-off Torchwood, has been with Mr Gill for 16 years.

The first series of Torchwood ends on New Year's Day while a new series will be filmed in Cardiff in the spring.

'Deserve rights'

For the ceremony at Cardiff's St David's Hotel, Glasgow-born Barrowman sported a kilt.

Around 40 people attended the private ceremony at function room in the hotel.

Afterwards, Barrowman said it was important gay relationships were accepted.

Scott Gill
Scott Gill has been with the actor for 16 years

"It feels great and I think more gay men and gay women should go ahead and do it as long as they're serious about it," he said.

"It's not really recognition but it's important for people to see the normality of the entire situation and it forces people who don't agree with gay men and women...to have to accept us.

"We deserve the rights like everybody else.

"It's been a long wait but we legitimised our relationship to each other a long time ago when we signed our mortgages together and this is just something that forces people who don't want to recognise it that they have to."

Following the morning ceremony, Barrowman headed for Cardiff's New Theatre to play Jack in afternoon and evening performances of pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk.

Barrowman said partner Mr Gill would remain at the hotel with family and friends, adding: "Scott's already seen it twice".
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Yeah, I heard him on the radio today, talking about it. Fair warms the cockles of your heart, so it does.
 
zarathustraspake said:
Heh. Fight Club with weevils. But hey, I still liked it.

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A very nihilistic episode, with extra helpings of nihilism. Okay, though. The extra nihilistic estate agent was actually about the most interesting character they've had in the series so far.

I still haven't watched the episode about the refugees from the Fifties, yet.

Unexplained disappearances and the high mysterious death rate must raise a at least a few eyebrows in Cardiff, surely?

And, where do the Weevils get their natty matching boiler suits from?
 
Pietro_Mercurios said:
zarathustraspake said:
Heh. Fight Club with weevils. But hey, I still liked it.

...
Click to expand...
A very nihilistic episode, with extra helpings of nihilism.
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And a dash of homoeroticism.

I enjoyed this more than the previous ones I've seen but I'd started to give up.

On a sidenote I see 2000 AD's Dan Abnett (or one of the clones) has written one of the 3 spin off novels. They should probably give him a go at a script - at least on a comic version. Could be interesting.
 
Well, I expected a cliffhanger but not that scene tacked on and not much to do with the rest of the final episode at all. Tonight's first ep had a nice Sapphire and Steel set up, only not as sinister, but the last one, there had been precious little build up to what happened.

I still don't think these people should be in charge of such a dangerous project. Look what they did to the boss! And still kept their jobs! As for the hand in the box? Nothing came of it. Heigh ho.
 
Well this is only the first series and there is already a promise of a second (which I'll probably end up watching, d'oh).

Not too many gaping plot holes in this one except that stupid part where Gwen miraculously finds the stuff Tosh has hidden in really ludicrous places. :roll: It was good to finally find out more about Jack even if it only deepened the mystery. Last weeks episode with the weevils was the best though, no stupidly ludicrous stuff in that one at all, shame they spoiled that a bit in these episodes.
 
I forgot this as well! Bugger!

Well, at least this one will be repeated. As long as I remember to watch the repeats, of course
 
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