Torchwood Series 2
Spun off from the revitalized Doctor Who franchise, Torchwood is an X-Files type show, though this time its set in Wales and has five smoldering characters to craft sexual tension. The first series got good numbers on cable BBC3, so the second has moved a station up to BBC2. The reaction from critics and fans was a bit more mixed.
Put me in that camp as well. There's plenty to love on Torchwood (I'll get to that in a moment), but the show has a tendency to be loud brash and "modern" at the expense of clearly told stories and well-defined characters.
However, when it clicks, Torchwood can be amazing. The show's bleak look at life on earth is one of the darkest on television. It's a world where no good deed goes unpunished.
The concept of Torchwood comes from Doctor Who. It's a secret branch of the British government that researches and protects the country from alien threats. They also scavenge what they can from what they find, often using devices that they do not fully understand. At the end of the second season of the new Doctor Who, Torchwood in London is destroyed. There are, however, other Torchwoods, including one in Cardiff. There's a "rift" in space and time there, which allows all sorts of weirdness to fall through. Captain Jack Harkness -- last seen being brought back to life in the far future at the end of the first new Doctor Who season -- is in charge. And his resurrection has gone further than that -- the Captain can't die.
He's joined by a quarter of young and hot investigators who work in semi-secret (their existence is known -- it's hard to be subtle when you have a massive SUV with "Torchwood" written on the side -- but somehow kept quiet from the general public) on cases that are both science-fictiony and fantastic.
As I noted before, sometimes the flash gets in the way of storytelling. The "cannibals in Wales" story really doesn't make any sense, while the "alien fight club" one is so derivative and silly that it undermines the very real confusion the main characters are feeling at that point.
Yet Torchwood can also hit on all cylinders. Sapphire and Steel creator Peter Hammond works his signature, creepy magic in "Small Worlds," where Jack and the team meet up with the forces of fairie and come across a situation that they cannot "win." "Out of Time" brings three ordinary people from the 1950s forward to the 21st century and explores their culture shock and efforts to cope in a sort of reverse Life on Mars scenario. Finally, we learn some truths about the immortal and multi-sexual captain in "Capt. Jack Harkness," when he travels back in time to the 1940s and meets his namesake. The episode also features some of John Barrowman's best acting in the series -- and one of the finest and most honest gay kisses I've ever seen on television.
Season two (running Saturday nights on BBC America in the states; on BBC2 in Britain) kicks off with "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang," which features the good and bad of the first series. There are lots of flash cuts and intrusive incidental music, and the plot -- well, it holds together a bit better than "Countrycide." To kick things off, James Marsters was brought in to play one of Jack's old flames. Marsters is basically playing Spike from his Buffy days, just without the vampire bit (though we never see him in daylight...) He brings a nice energy to the proceedings and it's fun to see the character again, no matter the name, but it does distract from the new chemistry of the team, which has grown since the season one finale. The creators have noticed the issues of the first series and are promising some adjustments. We'll see how that plays out over the next few months.
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