Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Torchwood

Anyone else see this last night on BBC3? (If you missed it, and are in the UK, it's on BBC2 on Wednesday, and on BBC3 another three or four times this week)

Please tell me it was good enough that Sci Fi will pick it up as well. All the hints being dropped in Dr Who season 2 are killing me.

Hoping to see part 1 tonight and part 2 tomorrow night (it's a timing thing).

I saw it.

Well, like a heck of a lot of people apparently (The 2100 BST episode had 2.4 million viewers and a 12.7% audience share, the 2145 BST one had 2.3 million (13.8%) which was apparently a record for a non sports related UK digital show) I sat down to watch this on Sunday night.

I am not too sure what I expected to be honest. I was not a big fan of Captain Jack in Doctor Who and was worried about his ability to maintain interest in his character for an entire series, but the big “shock” at the end will I think give writers enough to play with to take the character in various interesting directions.

General comments, (some spoiler discussions to follow in a separate post for those who want to avoid such things) are all pretty good. We got a very good introductory episode which allowed us to discover the characters and the torchwood institute at the same time as the main lead Gwen Cooper. A fine example of the old adage that every comic is someone’s first issue this episode allowed those unfamiliar with Torchwood from Doctor Who to understand who what and why.

Setting the show in Cardiff was a nice touch and allowed them to make use of the various new buildings springing up as the area is redeveloped. Some very pretty helicopter shots flying over the city could get very old very quickly but are not enough to spoil the whole show. A blogger made the comment that this could be the parts that are cut to allow for advert breaks should the show be sold on and I think this makes sense.

In terms of characters we don’t know too much yet and I am hoping that they develop past the one dimensional aspect they are currently showing, but we will need to re visit this at the end of the series. Captain Jack as someone who will “s**g anything as long as it has a pulse” could cause some interesting dynamics especially amongst more monogamous humanity. Wonder how Gwen will cope with his roving eye if, as I expect, she gets romantically involved?

We get a lot of dark moody lighting and a lot, a bloody lot, of running around with guns in a huge black Range Rover which strikes me as not very secretive. Although the big brother paranoia of some of the surveillance techniques used are frighteningly believable as is the way they cover up the dead body of the hospital porter. Already from the first episode there are lots of hints and avenues opened up for future writers to explore and expand.

The second episode was, well interesting I suppose but I did feel that the basic premise was a tad exploitative and may have simply been used as a way of saying “this is not Doctor Who so don’t let kiddies watch” which I know Russell Davies wants to make plain.

So onto each episode. And as I say I am going to just flat our discuss plots points events and characters so those who want to see these fresh on Wednesday should just avoid this until then.

Torchwood.

Spoilers ahead
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Spoilers off the larboard bow Cap'n
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"thar she blows Cap'n the great white spoiler her self"
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Right now lets talk about Episode one.

Its dark and raining in Cardiff (well that ground's the series firmly in reality doesn't it) and a murder victim has been found. Suddenly forensics is told to clear out as "Torchwood" is taking over. Cue moody shots of Captain Jack, all long overcoat and teeth, and his crew arrive.

A peed off copper, annoyed at correct procedure being overturned by "black ops" stays to watch and after running up a car park to get a better view sees the dead man brought back to life via a metal gauntlet. Unfortunately the technology is flawed and the dead man only comes back for two minutes. I thought this was interesting as they were not trying to help find the criminal but were rather using the incident as a war to experiment with the gauntlet. They seemed to be loosing touch with the ordinary people of Britain not concerned to protect them or able to interact but being so wrapped up in their studies as to almost forget their humanity.

From then on in we are treated to a roller coaster ride as Gwen (the copper) tries to find out who and what Torchwood is.

What we do fond out is that the Cardiff Torchwood is one of at least 4. The London office destroyed by the Cyber/Dalek war, one in Glasgow, Cardiff and one which they have “lost”

Jack runs a small team and boasts that no alien technology leaves the site. Of course we then see all three other members at home with alien technology. One, Owen, has a spray which makes him irritable to anyone and he uses it to score with a gorgeous blond, without any of that buying drinks being pleasant etc. Of course it all goes wrong and he gets accosted by the irate boyfriend looking for a fight. This leads to one of the many funny parts of the show when Owen irritated by the waste of time sprays again and the boy also decides to have sex with him. Cue smug smile and a fade.

It looks like Owen is going to play the part of the rude, arrogant, annoying one.

Well there were lots of other moments, but we can talk about them later.

The best part for me was the ending. We find out that Suzie Costello, the gauntlet operator has been killing people so she can learn to control the gauntlet. So already in episode one a character who as been promoted as an integral part of the team has gone rouge. Then worse than that she shoots Captain Jack in the head!! Surely not, they wouldn’t would they.

Well of course they didn’t but for a moment I wasn’t sure, and that’s a sign of good story telling. I also like the fact his resurrection at the hands of Rose has had ramifications and that he is trying to find answers.

So all in all a good start, and a solid performance, lets see how the series pans out.

Anyone else see it and have some thoughts?

I want to see this show.

I also really want to see this. Dr Who has become one of my fave shows since 1st catching Series 1 on Scifi.

I kinda liked Captain Jack so I wanted to see this one. I still need to finish watching season 2 of Dr. Who though.

I watched the repeat on BBC2 on Wednesday and thought it was..."Hmmm".
I wasn't too sure.
By the very nature of the show I kept comparing it with MIB which I think a lot of the younger viewers will be doing and they might not see it comparing too well.
I know it's targeted at an older audience but let's be honest here. The ratings were amazing and that's due mainly to a nation of school kids being hooked on Doctor Who. (Being a jaded old Doctor Who fan from WAAAAAY back I still have to pinch myself when I hear phrases like that)
I stil find Captain Jack cheesy to the extreme and I'm not sure of his ability to carry an entire series. Luckily they have Gwen who I actually quite like.
I agree with Faraway Lad that the regulars seem very one dimensional so far: the nerdy tech girl, the capable butler type guy and the obnoxious...well whatever it is the obnoxious guy does.
And what's the deal with swooping helicopter shots of Captain Jack standing on the roof of a building. It looked cheesy in Batman and it's worse here. I hope you are right and this is filler to get cut for foreign sale.

I agree with Faraway Lad again about the subject matter of the second episode. It's kind of like screaming in peoples faces "This is for GROWN UPS! OKAAAAAY!!!!!"
It was still a good episode and once we have got by the introduction episode things have sped up, which is usually the case.
It was nice to see the team at work and see their working processes.
I liked the touch on how they found out there was a murder:
"Go on my son!"

So are there any opinions on the hand in the case?
Maybe it's the Doctors hand that he had cut off during the Christmas Special. Or maybe it's Captain Jacks hand. He can't die and heals from any wound, so what would happen if he lost a limb? Would a new one grow and what would happen to the severed one? Would a new Captain Jack grow from the limb?...Hmmmm.

All in all it was quite enjoyable and I will be following the rest of the series. I just hope the Doctor doesn't show up any time soon. The show should be about them trying to work stuff out and the Doctor would just come in, take charge and solve everything. So the team should have a chance to prove itself first.

Any thoughts?

Well I think in the Radio Times it was confirmed that the Hand was the Doctors from the Christmas Invasion. Although just why Jack was willing to let the bad guy escape just to get the hand back was not explained.

Also I think RTD has made it very clear that there will be no appearance by the Doctor for a very long time.

Having said that we do get to see the aftermath of the Cyberman invasion in episode four. So its not out of the question for a second series to have the doctor pop in.

And to move on I just watched episode three.

I liked this one. Still haven’t seen much character development in the supporting cast but some very good moments.

Do we still need spoiler space this far into the thread? Surely people who have got this far will realise?

I... think not.

Ghost Machine... I had a problem with the central conceit (carried over in a way from Day One) about "human emotion [being] energy". It combines psychobabble and technobabble in a horrendous way. And Gwen's boyfriend is just annoying.

I really enjoyed the third episode.
Owen actually showed a bit of emotion other than "Phwoar" and "Awright darlin".
There was some nice comic touches - "Burnies" mums reaction and the shout of "Kick his head in!!" from little boys to Owen as he's chasing Burnie.
Gwen was good again this week. When I first heard of the series I thought it would be all Jack, Jack, Jack. But Gwen seems to be the central character here which I think is a good decision - she is our "cypher" in a way the companion was, traditionally, supposed to be in the original series but never really was.
Owen got his turn in the limelight this episode so it might be the "Techy" girl (I can't remember her name - was it Tosh?)up next time.
The technobabble didn't seem at all intrusive to me. To all intents and purposes it was just a "magic" machine that let's you see the past or the future. It was only the maguffin to get the story going and to let us see Owens reaction.
One point that did confuse me - and this is probably just me looking for plot twists where there are none - was, I wasn't sure it actually was Ed who murdered Lizzy. I kept thinking the twist was going to be that it was someone else: When Burnie started to describe the rape and they cut him off, to me, it sounded that he was going to say something else. Like I said thought that's just me being a conspiracy nut.
Gwens' boyfriend, I think, is quite sweet. They are obviously trying to use him to ground Gwen in the real world and they are probably trying to make us think how lovely he is so we'll be upset when he is brutally murdered half way through the series. (That'll be me being a conspiracy nut again)
The bit when Jack was supposed to be giving Gwen shooting lessons but was really just copping a feel came across as a bit off. I know he's supposed to be all "Free love" and stuff but Gwen isn't and It just seems wrong that she didn't smack him one. You could see she was clearly uncomfortable with his intamacy but she just let it go.
The trailer for next week looks really good and I know I'll be watching.
When I first heard of the series I was a bit sceptical - and so far it looks like I've been proved wrong.
I'm quite happy about that.

Well here are my thoughts on episode four.
This episode gave the spotlight to Ianto (the clean up guy).
I really liked this episode.
The guy playing Ianto was very good in this allthough the character did come across as bloody whiney.
There was quite a lot of "body horror" in this which I suppose takes us right back to the roots of the cybermen. I did think it got a little ridiculous towards the end, the "Frankenstien" head wounds and such, but still an enjoyable episode.
They did seem to overreact to the presence of the cyberman though. What we have seen of this new version they just haven't been that awe inspiring. Still I suppose the team have been recruited from previous incarnations of Torchwood and would have had access to old UNIT files, so would be aware of the cyber threat.
I called Lisa a cyberman there and not a cyberwoman and that was intentional. Part of the horror of cyber-conversion is the COMPLETE loss of peronal identity. Having cybermen and women? Well the intention could have been to show that ANYONE could become a cyberman but, to me, it just came across as titillation: let's have a half naked woman running around in a rubber bikini...and make sure we get plenty of shots of her arse and her metal bra.
Cyberman would have no interest - or even concept - of breasts so why would she have a metal bra? They would have ignored them or removed them. And don't even get me started on her Cyber high heels!
Okay I know they would have had a hell of a time getting a topless woman past the censors but, the fact they used a woman just highlights the dificulties of production and detracts from the "reality" of the show.
Would Jack have shot Ianto or was it just a bluff?
He definitely seemed pissed off and his anger seemed to suggest a previous encounter with the "real" cyber race - he talks about them spreading through space.
I still think of these new cybermen as cheap copies. They are made using "present day" technology and got their arses badly kicked by the Daleks. Let's see a rematch but with the "real" cybermen - not these wanabes. But I'm getting off topic...
...Torchwood.
I'm still enjoying the show, there is a good mix of drama and humour. I liked the way Gwens boyfriend phoned at just the wrong moment...wrong because it alerted the cyberman and wrong because she was "caught" mid snog with Owen. (I still think he - the boyfriend - is going to be killed off)
I still think Jack is too cheesy but that might be just me. After the, slight, missfire of the second episode it's good to see the programme is still on track. My grumbles about the cyber design aside the production values are high, the acting has been of very high quality and the stories have been fun.
The trailer for next week looks good too.

i haven't gone out of my way to watch this show, since it started a couple weeks ago, but from the ones, i seen so far, it's pretty entertaining enough [ for a BRITISH show of this type !! ]

i don't really know all the character names, but i can't see past the computer girl being SAFFRON's put upon friend in 'AB FAB' !!!

Matthew.

Well, time for more of my opinions.

Last weeks episodes about the fairies was a complete missfire for me.

About the only thing I liked about it was Jack looking up an old flame from the war, who is now an old woman - he told her he was his own son.
It kind of parralleled the Doctor and Sarah Jane episode from the second series, except their (physical) age difference is due to Jack travelling through time rather than being an ageless alien...although with his new "condition" this could be a situation he may have to deal with in the future - he can't die from physical trauma but will he age normaly, slowly or not at all?

This weeks episode was the best one so far.
Hell it was one of the best hours television I've seen for months.
The isolated community immediately brought to mind The Wicker Man and Straw Dogs and they managed to get that sense of paranoia and unease up on the screen wonderfully. To be honest it was fairly obvious what was going on early in the show. I'm sure the intent of the production team was to throw us off by making us think it was a "monster" causing the deaths but, although it was obvious the "Monster" in this case was human the episode still built up the suspense and tension to exellent effect.

All of the regulars got a chance to shine this episode: Iantos panic and then heriosm in helping Tosh escape - Gwen and Owen facing their growing attraction - Owen got to show more than his "obnoxious guy" persona, showing strength and proffesionalism under stress - the final few scenes with Gwen trying to come to terms and understand the situation and Jack? Well Jack didn't really get to do much. He revealed his history with torture (he is a soldier and mercenary - so it's not really that surprising) and he got to come in and shoot up the bad guys at the end - wich is what we kind of excpect from the character anyway.

The confession of the leader of the village was perfectly done and Gwens reaction was spot on.

Like I said before, I was very sceptical of this series at first but it has really impressed me and I'm very, very glad to be proved wrong. I don't know when, or even if, this will be shown "over there" where you all are but I DEFINATELY recommend it to you all. In fact I would recommend this particular episode to any adult (it did contain strong violence, body horror and suspense) who wants to be thoroughly entertained and scared.

One of the things that has made this series so enjoyable is that the characters are given time to develop and grow and are shown to be affected by their experiences - in a way that the companions from the old Doctor Who shows were never allowed to. So while it does seem to follow a "monster of the week" format the monster or gizmo is usually a Maguffin to get things happening and let us see how the team react and that makes it far more interesting.

One of the problems with an ensemble show like this is that they do have to follow a "who's turn is it in the spotlight this week" format - if only to give each character a chance to develop and this has been quite noticable with this show. Next week looks like it's going to be Tosh who gets her turn in the spotlight. She has been slightly neglected apart from some good scenes in this weeks show - where we saw her attraction to Owen and her jelousy at Gwen and it looks like these feelings lead to problems next week.

So far this series has seemed to me to be about loss and isolation.

Torchwood is a secret and as such no one can go home and have an “normal” life. You know the sort where you can go home and tell a loved one what your day was like.

Jack was (if we can believe the story he told Rose back in World war two, an time agent, implying he was a time traveller of sorts. Now, much like Jon Pertwees doctor he is trapped, not just on one planet but in one time. He is lost in time and space and as an alien (or at the very least an immortal) he can no longer relate in the same way to the humans he is trapped with.

Ianto has lost the love of his life and seen her destroyed not once but twice. The partial cyber conversion was bad but then the Frankenstein moment was a double whammy. On top of that he has for a while at least lost the trust of his colleagues.

Owen is still a bit of a cipher, despite his womanising he too seems desperately unhappy with life outside of work and desperate for a closeness with another human.

Gwen is undergoing a journey which may be a symbol of the old warning to be careful what you wish for as it might come true. She wanted the glamour, the excitement of working in “special ops” but was unprepared for the sights she would see, the danger and the fact that to be part of this organization will separate you emotionally from those you are trying to protect. She cant tell the boyfriend so turns to Owen as a comfort.
Whether she will stay with him is to be seen.

Finally Toshi. Poor poor Toshi, she has had little development yet. Last episode saw a glimmer of her insecurity, he inability to interact with men and a flash of jealousy over Gwen and Owen. This episode coming she falls into bed with a woman who looks like she is about to betray her.
Poor Toshi

So we seem to have a group of people who are lost or losing something they used to hold dear. They only have each other, they then turn to and on each other like family members

Well, Torchwood starts here on BBC America Saturday Sept 8. On the ON-Demand feature to my cable, I got to see a 30 minute advance view of the first episode.

The second series should be showing here sometimes soon.
I have to admit that I thought the show started well but it was a bit variable. They keep killing Suzie is an AMAZING stand out episode and the very last couple of minutes of the last episode (which was pretty awful, to be honest) were AMAZING and make the whole series worthwhile.

I DVRed the first episode last night and saw it this afternoon. I loved it!

I love that it's set in Cardiff. We don't get to hear enough Welsh accents in the US.

Of course, Captain Jack is fabulous, as always. The rest of the cast are likable enough, with Gwen being the standout, as would be expected.

I look forward to the rest of series one.

I really liked it, too-- though I much prefer sci-fi set on other planets to that set here on Earth.

I'm curious about the new characters and with what's going on with Captain Jack. Good things, both.

I was sorry that the character killed off in the first episode was the one to go, as I really like that actress after 'meeting' her in the HBO series ROME (a great two season production that should've run longer).

Rome!! That's why she looked familiar! (duh)...

Has anyone seen this series? Is it new or returning and if it's the latter, is it worth a look?

It's a great show, Owl Lad. There's already a thread about it here.