Some thinks on Torchwood

[kaliha]

It's massively late, but fandom stuff is massively sucking my time at the moment. (As you can imagine) I've only just started checking my flist for the first time in days.


[x] When Torchwood was first announced this was how I expected it to be. Gritty, well written and actually good. (Don't get me wrong, I love the cracky S1 and S2 but it wasn't what I expected TW to be when it was first announced back in 2006).

[x] It's just a shame that the team didn't get more screentime. A lot of the world saving was done by the guest cast like Lois and Spears.

[x] I am somewhat perturbed by Torchwood's recruitment techniques, not a single background check on Rupesh. Bad form Torchwood.

[x] I love the fact that Torchwood is such a terribly kept secret in Cardiff, everyone knows where it is, and obviously writing it all over your Land Rover doesn't help matters either.

[x] I'm sad that everything Torchwood is now gone: The Hub (in RL moved to make way for the HD TARDIS set), Myfanwy, Janet. I loved the Hub set and the attention to detail lavished on it. I just hope it's resurrected to form part of the Torchwood exhibition that they're planning down in Cardiff Bay.

[x] I am very please about Martha and Tom. Just sad that all Martha's character development is happening off screen. I hope the pair of them are very happy.

[x] On the subject of ex-Who cast, did anyone else ponder the fact that Mickey had some involvement in the pirate broadcasts on channel 141? After all it pretty much mirrored what Ricky and Jake were doing in the alternate universe.

[x] I'm sure I wasn't the only person thinking "this wouldn't have happened, or at least have gone as terribly wrong, if Harriet Jones was still in charge." Although Harriet would have probably have tried to blow the 456 out of the sky, if she knew where they were. She certainly wouldn't have willingly have handed over the children.

[x]Little touches I really liked
* Gwen greeting the photo of Tosh and Owen, it's nice to see that they're not forgotten
* Ianto wearing all the proper PPE when he stole the JCB. Even down to proper safety boots.
* A quarry
* The eerie-ness of some of the kids. There was one in a red uniform in the first episode (a little girl) who was only on screen for a couple of episodes, but what absolutely terrified me.

[x] Peter Capaldi was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Frobisher's last scene really reminded me of the bleakness at the end of The Mist.

[x] Ianto's death scene was really moving, I admit that I blubbed over it. The acting from both JB and GD-L was top notch and the music complemented it so well. Ianto didn't need to be there though, that's what frustrates me, there was no reason for him to go with Jack to confront the 456 other than to die.

[x] I don't get all the hate directed at Gwen over Ianto's death, it's not as if she killed him with her bare hands, and comments along the lines of (and I quote) "I wish Gwen got stabbed in the belly and lost the baby just so she'd know what me as a Janto fan is going through" is not endearing me to certain parts of fandom. As you can imagine. I don't get how Gwen is such a threat to Jack/Ianto, she's happily married to (and thinks the world of) Rhys, and she shows absolutely no interest in starting a mad, passionate affair with Jack. Maybe I'm interrogating the show from the wrong perspective, I don't know.

[x] And it turns out we actually know so very little about Ianto, and most of what we do know could actually be a lie, or a half-truth. Who was Ianto Jones really and I wonder if we'll ever find out.

[x] I absolutely loved Rhys all the way through this. He was quite brilliant and the bit in the milking shed when he was asking Gwen if she would keep the baby had me in tears (especially considering the RL news reported about Kai Owen recently).

[x] I do wish Andy had more to do in the episode. I realise setting it mostly in London would mean he'd get sidelined a bit, but most of the time he was onscreen he seemed to be there for comic relief. At least he got to kick some arse though.

[x] But in the end nothing really changed. The government is still run by people who think of themselves first and the people they were elected to represent second, the armed forces are still bickering between themselves and we're not really protected against alien threats. That RTD, that's a really depressing thought to leave us on.

[x] I didn't like Steven's death scene, especially when it came after the understated visuals of the last scene of Frobisher's. It was one time we didn't need Torchwood slo-mo.

[x] I can see why John Barrowman was so worried about us (the fans) hating him/his character. Jack doesn't come out of this particularly well, but I can see why he did the things he did. As far as Jack is concerned the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (he does love the philosophy after all) and he will sacrifice his own flesh and blood in order to save the many. I do wish he'd said something to Steven or kept Alice away so she didn't have to see her only child die. (Sloppy writing there on RTD's part I think, but I get the feeling that when it gets to these sorts of scenes those sorts of considerations go completely out of his mind.)

[x] And with a couple of days to think about it, I find myself not being able to really blame Jack for running off and abandoning ship, because I can sort of see what he's going through. He blames himself for every death related to Torchwood whether it's staff members or innocent bystanders and he's hyper aware of the consequences his actions will have, but still goes ahead and does it anyway. So he's spent six months trying to come to terms with everything that's happened and grieving over Ianto and Steven, but he can find no peace on earth. Maybe he'll find it amongst the stars. I'm guessing that eventually he'll find the Doctor, I just hope the new one is a bit nicer to him than the Tenth Doctor is.

[x] I've always wondered how much Jack knows about his own future on earth, if he has seen his future all mapped out for him in a history book and that Ianto's death and Steven's death (as well as Tosh, Owen, Suzie and everyone else) are just footnotes on the pages, and that's why he never did anything to prevent them (because let's face it, once he gets his time travelling abilities back again what's stopping him going back on time to try and fix his past? He doesn't have the same morals regarding Time Travel as the Doctor does).

[x] Even after everything that happened and the fact this may be the end of Torchwood on our telly, I don't think it's the end of Torchwood as an organisation, after all, it was still known about in the year 200,000, and there's still Torchwood 2 up in Glasgow and the MIA Torchwood 4, it's not just Gwen on her own. And I'm sure the Queen will cough up a bit of money to rebuild her great-great-grandma's top secret organisation. Either that or it will become a subdivision of UNIT.

Overall, apart from some of the plot, I really enjoyed it (even though it wasn't as cracky as the TW I love) and if this is the end of TV Torchwood at least it went out on a high. (Even if it's not the high a lot of fans wanted.)

9/10

And a couple of links I want to share
txvoodoo puts some things a lot more eloquently that I ever could.
doylefan22 on where Torchwood could go from here.
Fic rec: Endgame by elliptic_eye [Ianto, Peri, Yrcanos | PG13]

I'm going to be very interested to see what Charlie Brooker makes of it on his show on Tuesday. I keep meaning to pop over to the Guardian website to see if he's talked about it on his Screenburn page, but haven't got around to it yet.

Comments

[aryas_zehral]

Ianto didn't need to be there though, that's what frustrates me, there was no reason for him to go with Jack to confront the 456 other than to die.

I wondered whether Ianto 'needed' to die so that Jack would feel vengeful enough to kill Steven. But that doesn't work for me either. It feels like Tara had to die to make Willow go evil but I agree with you on the "needs of the many..." reason. So I'm still... annoyed at his death. But then again maybe he 'needed' to die to let Jack have just as bleak an ending and to leave the planet.

Rhys was brilliant in this.

I don't think Gwen showed any interest in Jack in this series but I think in previous series there has been enough Gwen/Jack moments to annoy. I have to say that, for me, that has always been one of the problems I've had with Gwen and Jack in the show esp when she had Rhys (who's brilliant) and he's got Ianto. Or had rather. I liked Gwen in this series/story however.

Certain types of fans... do have a tendancy towards crazies. It's one of the reasons I stay on the outskirts of fandom. I don't have the patience for it anymore.

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

I really want to see more Kai Owen on my telly. His agent really needs to get on it.

[aryas_zehral]

I second this motion. :D

[indigo-blind.livejournal.com]

Someone's review I finally agree with.

All the others have been whining and moaning, which I don't understand.

I thought it was the best Torchwood has ever been and I agree with point no.1 wholly.

It was bleak and depressing, and uncomfortable at times to watch, but I think it was a very well written and acted piece of tv from the BBC.

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

If only *all* drama was like this. Now if they can get this level of writing plus all the cracky stuff we love about TW (weevils, Myfanwy, blowfish in sports cars) series 4 of TW is going to be awesome!

[alawston.livejournal.com]

I have a friend who works in BBC Wales and she swears blind that Auntie has been recruiting internally for Torchwood S4 production roles.

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

I've been reading that various writers have been contracted to write scripts (including Andrew Cartmel), so you never know.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

"I wish Gwen got stabbed in the belly and lost the baby just so she'd know what me as a Janto fan is going through"

WHAT? Man, I'm lucky I've been avoiding those parts of fandom. No, that person is lucky. I'd rip him/her a new one.

About Ianto needing to be ther e- no, he didn't. BUT. I think it was his own decision, and was determined to be there. And that's not OOC.

"I've always wondered how much Jack knows about his own future on earth, if he has seen his future all mapped out for him in a history book and that Ianto's death and Steven's death (as well as Tosh, Owen, Suzie and everyone else) are just footnotes on the pages, and that's why he never did anything to prevent them ..."

That's a really interesting thought. I wonder if it's true - even if he had SOME foreknowledge.

"So he's spent six months trying to come to terms with everything that's happened and grieving over Ianto and Steven, but he can find no peace on earth. Maybe he'll find it amongst the stars."

You know, some people are angry at him for that. They're often the same ones angry that Ianto died. I have to wonder - have they never experienced the death of a loved one? Because, yes, Jack loved Ianto - even if he enver said it. Grief is killer. I think many of us who have experienced it would like to be able to take time off to cope.

And yeah, Torchwood as a group isn't over. I like that in canon it's still there - it leaves openings for more shows, now, or in the future.

And I sooo wasn't more eloquent ;)

[jerel.livejournal.com]

Blaming Gwen for Ianto's death makes exactly the kind of sense that...doesn't.

I'm still pissed off about Ianto's death. I think it was pointless. I will continue irrationally hating RTD for that. But I won't be threatening violence against him (man, there are some real lunatics in this fandom!)

Should Jack have run away? Well, I find that running away just brings the problems with you. But having lost a friend and a student whom I was close to, I understand. When my friend died, it was hard to go to places like Taco Bell (we ate there a lot, because it was all we could afford) or the comic book store, or the park--all those places we'd gone together. I couldn't take the reminders of her absence. And that was limited to one person in a small area. What do you do when the whole planet only reminds you of your failures [at least, what Jack perceives as his failures.]

Oh, Kai was SO good through this whole thing!

[chicklet73.livejournal.com]

I've not seen it yet, but I've been spoiling myself silly about it. Yikes - it sounds very apocalyptic. And sad. But amazing as well.

I am both excited to see it, and dreading it a bit too. I'll have my Kleenexes and a stiff drink handy when I do.

[lm-jillybean.livejournal.com]

Torchwood is weird.

I loathed season 1, grudgingly enjoyed the last few eps of season 2. Really enjoyed this season/special.

Completely agree with your review. And I still think they missed a trick with not having a fight on the estate between the army and the armed police.