Sci-Fi/Fantasy - Torchwood #1: Captain Jack's back and he's wearing black! - Page 3

Mr.L · 12-20-2006, 09:12 AM

i am a fan of torchwood

The Kender · 12-23-2006, 08:38 PM

Don't know if this have been posted anywhere else but Torchwood has been picked up for a second season.

Mr.L · 12-24-2006, 10:05 AM

cool i can not wait for season 2 of torchwood

***Raonaild*** · 12-29-2006, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Crichton (View Post)

I wonder whose hand that was the Jack tried to save after the girl threw it and the glass jar it was inside of onto the ground. His response while holding the moving hand was as if it were a good friend or love of his life was dying...

I'm finally now catching up with this series, and have watched the first 5 eps.

Re: the hand, don't know if this comes up later in the season, but it was obvious to me from its first appearance in the pilot that the hand in the jar is the Doctor's severed hand from the Christmas Invasion.

I can't help making comparisons between Torchwood and Angel either, and it frustrates me no end how amateur and shallow Torchwood is compared to Angel, even though I never thought Angel was as good as Buffy. It's not really a fair comparison though, few people can put together a series as well as Joss Whedon - if I expected every series to meet his standard, I'd never be able to enjoy TV ever again.

The 5th episode Small Worlds is the first decent ep I've seen in the series, and even it had problems. I feel they are trying far too hard to be a more "adult" show than Doctor Who by throwing swearing, graphic violence and sex into the show, rather than trying to make a sophisticated show that appeals to adult audiences. I feel the stories so far have been simplistic and obvious, and the characters (even the leads) very one dimensional. I didn't have particularly high expectations for this show, and yet so far I've been disappointed. It just isn't working for me ... I don't get the sense that the series is going anywhere, that RTD really thought the concept of Torchwood through very far. I don't even care much for Captain Jack in this series, he's not the same colourful character he was during his time with the Doctor.

The Kender · 12-31-2006, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raonaild (View Post)

I'm finally now catching up with this series, and have watched the first 5 eps.

Re: the hand, don't know if this comes up later in the season, but it was obvious to me from its first appearance in the pilot that the hand in the jar is the Doctor's severed hand from the Christmas Invasion.

I don't even care much for Captain Jack in this series, he's not the same colourful character he was during his time with the Doctor.

I hadn't even realised that it was the Doctors hand.

And yeah Jack has changed alot but considering what has happend to him, that must really freak him out, you couldn't expect it not to affect him.

John Crichton · 12-31-2006, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Kender (View Post)

I hadn't even realised that it was the Doctors hand.

And yeah Jack has changed alot but considering what has happend to him, that must really freak him out, you couldn't expect it not to affect him.

Neither did I...

I agree, one can not and should not expect someone in Jack's position to remain the exact same person considering the things that have happened to him recently over the two years he had been absent.

***Raonaild*** · 12-31-2006, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Crichton (View Post)

I agree, one can not and should not expect someone in Jack's position to remain the exact same person considering the things that have happened to him recently over the two years he had been absent.

So far though (at least, from the 6 eps I've seen) they've not really given us much justification for why Jack is so different. And something about the backstory we have been shown doesn't totally fit with what we were told about him on Doctor Who. Like, what about Jack's mysterious two missing years, have they been forgotten? Why was Jack in the army in 1909, I thought he was just hanging out in London in WWII to con the Doctor and Rose into buying the medical ship he'd planted there.

Even if I ignore the why Jack is the way he is now and other unanswered questions, the problem is, I don't like him as much the way he is now. He was fun and colourful, now he's broody and angry.

Lexis · 12-31-2006, 01:44 PM

I see your point Raonaild - I think its part of Torchwood's larger problem.

It has the odd moment of brilliance but it doesn't seem to be coming together somehow. I'm not a fan of Ianto, Owen is getting slightly more tolerable, Gwen is starting to annoy me (she has her moments though - the whole pizza/crying scene from last week's episode)... The only two I could say I like are Toshiko and Jack. The stories are sometimes pretty weak (ripping off Fight Club) and the way the characters react can be really...odd.

But I'm a huge John Barrowman fan so I guess I'm in it for the long haul - I watched Angel in series 4 purely for Charisma Carpenter after all!

John Crichton · 12-31-2006, 07:55 PM

In episode 11 Jack said "I was born in the future, but lived in the past."

**elethoniel** · 01-01-2007, 04:34 PM

Oh my goodness! This weeks episodes!

I'm so excited for Doctor Who S3 now.

(Um I'm not sure how much I can say because fo spoilers, so I'll leave it there for now

)

Lexis · 01-01-2007, 05:17 PM

I want to gossip about what went down tonight too but I don't want to spoil it for those outside the UK!

Some bits were great, others didn't really do it for me but I can say I adore Jack and Toshiko so freakin much!

John Crichton · 01-01-2007, 11:31 PM

I am waiting for those final two Torchwood episodes to finish so that I can watch them. Did you watch ' The Sarah Jane Adventures' pilot double episode? I am going to watch it for a laugh...I bet it will be baaaaaad.

...and not in the good way!

**silver lining** · 01-02-2007, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raonaild (View Post)

I feel they are trying far too hard to be a more "adult" show than Doctor Who by throwing swearing, graphic violence and sex into the show, rather than trying to make a sophisticated show that appeals to adult audiences. I feel the stories so far have been simplistic and obvious, and the characters (even the leads) very one dimensional. I didn't have particularly high expectations for this show, and yet so far I've been disappointed. It just isn't working for me ... I don't get the sense that the series is going anywhere, that RTD really thought the concept of Torchwood through very far.

I totally agree about making it more "adult" - it doesn't work for me at all because it seems to be thrown in for the sake of it rather than because the storyline needs it. When I watched the first episode I was shocked by the sex just because you're so used to Doctor Who being family friendly and not any the less entertaining because of that. Same with the unnecessary violence and swearing, I don't have a problem with bad language at all but it always seems to be thrown in for no reason, just because they're on after 9pm so they can say the f-word. I know it's because I'm comparing it to Doctor Who's children-friendliness but I find it offputting

And it seems to me that the better episodes are ones where they concentrate on the story rather than trying to work in as many sex scenes as possible.

Generally it's the tone of the show that I don't like. Doctor Who is always entertaining but also can very emotional and quite dark but Torchwood seems very shallow to me. I don't really care about the characters enough to get drawn into the stories...Toshiko is probably my favourite because she's not shoved down our throats like Gwen and Owen. As for Jack, I think John Barrowman is great so I'm biased

Having said all that though, the end of S1 did give me some hope that S2 could be better. I think the show needs to find its feet and start giving us a reason to care about the characters more.

***Raonaild*** · 01-02-2007, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Kat- (View Post)

Having said all that though, the end of S1 did give me some hope that S2 could be better. I think the show needs to find its feet and start giving us a reason to care about the characters more.

I saw Greeks Bearing Gifts last night, and except for some very annoying and juvenille behaviour from Gwen and Owen, I quite liked the episode. If the rest of the show were more like that, I'd enjoy it a lot more.

The problem with waiting for Torchwood to "find its feet" is that the seasons are only 13 eps long. I don't expect a show to be perfect from the pilot episode, but I'd expect them to be further along half way through the season than they are now. The only thing that's kept me watching this long is the connection to Doctor Who.

John Crichton · 01-02-2007, 11:21 AM

Rachel, the final two episodes feel to me like the show has found its footing. These two episodes tie in to other things that were spoken of and and seen in past episodes of Torchwood but seemed out of place at the time.

Spoiler:

I was not expecting The Doctor to turn up and take Jack at the end! Will that lead into the next season of Doctor Who?

You were right about the hand Rachel, very intuitive of you.

Spoiler:

The Doctor's hand in the jar acts as a beacon and starts glowing and bouncing about when The Doctor is near our timeline.