f13.net

Soo caught the first episode of "Season 3" aka Children of Earth. 

Not to bad so far, I find that the show works a little better without Tosh and Owen though.

I'd rather would have seen a full season.. as there's a lapse in decent scifi shows on atm.

Every once in awhile Gwen looked good, but then in the next frame she would open her mouth.

Also, seems extremely dark so far.  I like the new direction. 

Torchwood has really been something I've watched more because I like Sci Fi and there's nothing else about but the first episode was actually decent and did feel like grown up Dr. Who. If they start having space sex vampires and, "Oh God Capt. Jack why won't you gay love me?"x10 episodes then I'm going to be annoyed again. I think slimming the team down works as well, having too many relationship drama stuff hurt the show, more aliens less soap opera.

Perhaps what happened to him at the end of the show will help Captain Jack with his little weight problem.  :awesome_for_real:

Wow, the second episode is even darker.

Just to remind all you lucky Brit bastards, we don't get this series over in America until the 20th of July, so definitely use spoiler tags when discussing plot points. Based on the initial response I'm seeing on Twitter about this, I am really looking forward to it. Torchwood got better in the 2nd season, despite their need to show at least one man-kiss per episode.

wait.... there's a 3rd season of Torchwood.....and its already started....

well WTF, how was I not aware of this :(
what episode are they up to?

Two, with three on shortly.

It's only a 5 episode long season.  So far though it's been great.  It won't show on BBC America til July 20th.  My friend Mr. Torrent has been helping me to see them as they air though.   :drill:

Holy crap I only saw the first episode appear on iPlayer yesterday and they're up to episode 3. Going to watch that and go to bed methinks, after 2 I'd say it's shaping up to be a hell of a lot better than the whole of season 1 but the whole thing is feeling a bit too much like camp thriller than camp sci-fi right now. And Torchwood's big mistake has always been (aside from teh sex) trying to combine campy and gritty, since that just gets you silly. Still better than that boring Psychoville they've started which is like League of Gentlemen minus the funny and watered down creepy.

Oh wow, episode three was good.

Yes.

EEEERGH it's on "On Demand" for free on my cable company and I can't access the menu. >_<

Was never a big fan of Torchwood although the bits of season 2 that I saw were tolerable.  This series, however, is wtf awesome with a side helping of awesome and a large helping of awesome to follow.

Tonight's episode (4) was superb - really good sci-fi. Especially the bit where the Doctor showed up.

So, what ya'll are saying is skip season 1 and 2, but seasons 3 and 4 are good, yes? And Season 3 doesn't air on BBC Americal till July 20th, correct?

No, Seasons 1 and 2 are ok, with some  :ye_gods: and  :uhrr: mixed in with a liberal sprinkling of  :awesome_for_real: and  :oh_i_see:

Season 3 is really just a 5-episode mini-series and won't air on BBCAmerica until July 20th, but by all accounts is:

(http://forums.f13.net/Smileys/classic/emot-awesome.gif)

Wait what?
Also, yes. Episode 2 seemed a bit off to me but 4 is absolutely :awesome_for_real: Up there with some of the best Dr. Who episodes.

wut

Fuck this shit is  :drill:

I'm also at wut?  Cuz i didn't see him anywhere  :uhrr:

Wait, are we saying that Torchwood is somehow good and not brain cancer ?

I can't believe it.

This latest series? Yes, they've even actually had teh gay relationship without it feeling it horribly forced and being the focus of 10 minutes of screen time.

Also was the doctor bit in reference to Jack quoting him? Because he's definitely not in this anywhere.

No, he wasn't. I was being a twat trolling for more "no fucking spoilers" action. I'm dismally disappointed.  :uhrr:

I'll be nice and use tags

In response to Bunk...

That would have made it unbelievable.

I was thinking about a real life precedent (that was, admittedly, less involving of sekrit organisations that fights extra-terrestials):

Also Jack's regeneration kind of annoys me simply because it varies randomly from 20 seconds to several hours based on when the plot would like to come back to life. He's not got a Wolverine healing factor he's just not able to die so I really don't see any reason why this is. It should also be telling this is one of my bigger problems with this series of Torchwood.

If this was the cost for having seasons 1 and 2 of Torchwood (at least the unwatchable (most) parts) then I'm okay with all of it.

Wow, that has to be one of the best TV shows ever.

The comments in this thread made me look up the show.

In a sentence:

It must be a slow summer.

Just forget the first two seasons, season three was amazing.

I think I'll be OK. I'm incapable of just skipping seasons of tv shows. It's all or nothing with me.

Definitely some of the best stuff that has come out of all the Dr. Who and spinoff episodes.

That was amazing... but how in the fuck do you follow that up?

I can only guess that that was the complete end for Torchwood. I honestly don't see them continuing with it. Also it genuinely was awesome, I completely did not see Torchwood producing something more than just watchable if there's nothing else on, colour me shocked.

There is another Captain Jack on Earth.

Maybe for the next season they can find a female lead who does not look like she came straight from the pages of the Big Book of British Smiles.

I hate you all.


I still CAN'T bring myself to do it.

 :uhrr:

Do it.

You may be surprised.  It's by no means perfect but considering the usual way that Dr Who/Torchwood epics span out, this played as if it was an entirely different series.  I felt that the finale was entirely satisfying in a way that the usual Deus Ex Machina resolutions never are. YMMV of course.

From here (http://www.denofgeek.com/television/266944/torchwood_series_4_ready_to_go.html):


They've got something planned, but search me if I know what it is.  I'm fine with the show being run like Spooks/MI5:  slow cast turnovers season to season.

The only thing I hated was...

Dude, watch it. No Space Sex Vampires, no filler episodes. Four straight hours of dark, fucked up shit. Totally redeems the series.

Okay. I've seen some commercials for this on Space. Frankly, it looks like a trainwreck of embarrassingly horriawful acting, dialogue and production values.

Can someone explain?

I'd guess if you have seen and not enjoyed the new Dr. Who there's no way you'd enjoy Torchwood since for the most part Who is a better show. Season 1 consists of a few watchable and mostly horrible episodes, season 2 had some decent ones as well as more drek but if you enjoy Sci Fi and really can't think of anything else to do with your time was tolerable. Campy stuff when it wasn't being fucking horrible. Seasone 3 managed to tell a very coherent, dark story with great pacing and very little of the shitastic acting Torchwood has had while simultaneously cutting out 99% of the soap opera shit that Torchwood suffered from. They spent 5 episodes on one story and managed to really get a lot out of it, part of the reaction is also based on the fact that this season being really good was so fucking unexpected based on everything that's happened before.

I'm interested what they're going to do with next season, it looks like they'll have to shake things up a hell of a lot from the original series premise but that's hardly a bad thing. Here's hoping they continue without the soap opera shit and people having sex all over the place because it's meant to be adult and gritty.

Well, as long as there's nudity I guess.

I just finished watching the last of the five episodes. You're all right. It really does make up for previous two horrible seasons.  Even the awful gap toothed woman was bearable.

Ironwood - you need to watch this. It's dark and sad enough even for you I think.

I just watched all five back-to-back.

I'm fucking spent.

Ohhhh yeah, we're getting it on BBC America now. I swear, Russell T Davies has admitted he does shit just to strike an image, a tableau, just cause it looks or sounds cool at the time. I get that feeling with Children of Earth, all starting from the idea of kids standing there frozen, then chanting. Good shit so far.

Ooo and it's not editted for American TV. They said a naughty word!

They'll say a bunch of naughty words before all is said and done.

You'll also get some bare man-ass.

Chubby man-ass and some blurry black-and-white prison monitor crotchicles.

I've enjoyed the first 2 parts,  even though I find Gwen to be barely comprehensible.

I saw the first new one.  It was okay, better than the the episodes I've seen before.  Still that dreadful lack of attention to detail.  Like brother and sister or parents and children having accents from completely different countries.  Also, they need at least one new character.  The two blokes, although Captain Jack sometimes overacts to the point of absurdity, are okay.  Gwen, with her new found confidence which I don't think helped her character much, can't carry her part of the show alone.  She's just not that good.

Just keep watching...

Less than an hr to until the finale airs in CA. I'm dreading the finale, not because I don't think it's good, but because I think this isn't going to end well.(After the fourth show, that should be regarded as a foregone conclusion, but you never know...)


 I'm sort of reminded of the film "Stranger than Fiction". Davies should pull the trigger, so to speak. If he does, it will make this miniseries a great one, but one I'm not sure I have the stomach for. If he doesn't, then he's a coward, and the series won't be as good as it should have been. I can't help but hope there's a third option.

Ok, I just saw it.  This was much better than I hoped for.

Yep, good solid ending. Very good series this year (week).

No, you need to fucking watch this.

Now, I liked Torchwood. I thought it got much better as the second series went on. It's weak points were always too much soap opera drama, too many forced man kisses and some silly plots. This had none of that. It took all the best parts of the first two series and cranked them up to 11.The ending was an absolute stunner. It was easily one of the best bits of sci-fi I've ever seen. The villain/alien of the piece was one of the creepiest I've ever seen. Pure fucking evil done with such subtlety and style.

You really need to watch it.

EDIT: Also, they have confirmed that there will be a fourth series, but with no word on the cast, or anything else.

Please let the female lead be the Doctor's daughter. 

A fourth Torchwood? I'd have thought they were leading up to a "Captain Jack in Outer Space" series, if anything.

There is another Captain Jack from a future timeline frozen on Earth.

There's nothing to say Jack can't decide to come back to Earth. We know he eventually ends up there anyway. Hell, he could live away from Earth for centuries, then come back in time to soon after he left, hundreds of years smarter.

I finished watching it Sunday.  Holy fucking shit that was good.  And the ending?  That took BALLS.  I doubt many if any US shows would do what Torchwood did.

They probably will use new castmembers.  Heck I would be happy if Jack stayed off of it really.  Let   :heart: Gwen  :heart:  run things with a new group of team members doing the fieldwork.

She could be the Welsh?  Picard with a baby while the new blood went out and dealt with wierd shit.  Even use some of the Doctor's pals.   :heart: :heart: :heart:  Martha   :heart: :heart: :heart: , Lady De Souza from Planet of the Dead, the new girl from Children of Earth and maybe 1-2 more.  (Heck with a little tweaking Torchwood 4 could be the all female cast.  My groin would approve!  Doctor's Daughter, Sarah Jane, some of the previous companions, the girl from "Blink"...)

I'm noticing a lot of the UK scifi/fantasy shows brought over show zero desire to keep a status quo.  Castmembers die or leave with frightening abandon.  It ups the stakes and makes each episode that much more exciting.  Hell, Robin Hood and Primeval showed some SERIOUS balls in doing this.  Too bad they are apparently too expensive to get third seasons in the current economy.. :(   

Gwen, Doctor's Daughter, Lady de Sousa, Martha Jones, and...did Tosh's lover from the mind-reading episode die? I can't remember. Even so, bring her back. She was hot. That would be the BEST CAST EVER.

I don't think the show would be the same without Capt. Jack, he was the reason there was even a Torchwood in the first place.

^ That. ^

Do you mean in real life, or in the sense of the story ?

One I'd agree with, the other is simply not true.

I meant that the Capt. Jack character and his popularity is what got the Torchwood show off the ground.  Not that he was the reason Torchwood was created in the storylines, because we know the Doctor was the cause of that.

I watched this tonight. Finally.

It is not as bad as the commercials make it look.

However, all I could think at the end of the episode when Owen kissed Gwen was "Don't fall between her gap teeth bro!". Seriously that shit was distracting me all episode.

Watching the last tomorrow night, stuck it on the DVR while we were on a trip. About the only sour note for me so far is Davies doing some soapboxing in Ep. #4, in which he feels obligated to make every single member of the Cabinet an absolute fucking monster and dumb as rocks to boot. E.g., nobody even asks for proof that 456 is capable of making good on its threats, nobody even asks what happens if other countries (a la Prisoner's Dilemma) don't make good on their end of the bargain (and most 3rd World countries couldn't, if that involved transporting 10% of their children to an embarcation point: that's serious infrastructure, folks), nobody points out that if the fuckers actually need humans to assist in getting the kids they can't have quite the tech they pretend to have or their real goal isn't getting the kids but getting the capitulation, etc. That's all I need to buy in at that point: show me some real, complicated, flawed human beings making real, complicated, flawed decisions that amount to participating in evil. Don't show me Russell Davies Cartoons [tm]...he really has a hard time resisting that kind of schtick.

Finally finished it off.

Yes.   :awesome_for_real:

All the gay stuff aside, Ianto was a good character.

I've just been through season one via Tivo from free-to-air TV, and they're barrelling straight into season two this week. I'm hooked on it, but sometimes season one was really crap. Gwen is played by a great actor. Captain Jack is a great character played by a bad actor, yet it works. It wouldn't have survived if it didn't have Dr Who as a parent. Looking forward to when it gets better.

I guess there should be a spoiler tag.

Barrowman as Capt. Jack is the reason there was even a Torchwood spin-off from Who.

I dunno, I like both Barrowman as Jack and the Gwen character, contrary to the hate that's common hearabouts. Agree that the plots of Season 1 varied a HUGE amount in quality.

Oh for crying out loud...  :ye_gods:




Fox and BBC Worldwide Productions are developing an American remake of the U.K. hit sci-fi series "Torchwood" reports The Live Feed.

A more adult-targeted spin-off from "Doctor Who", the story follows a covert group that investigates and fights alien activity led by the omnisexual immortal adventurer Capt. Jack Harkness (John Barrowman).

They key difference here is that unlike some previous UK-to-US TV series adaptations, this one will incorporate the original UK production team on it - namely series creator Russell Davies, his producing partner Julie Gardner, and BBC Worldwide's US production V.P. Jane Tranter.

Davies will pen the pilot which will contain a global-targeted story line as compared to the more localized Wales-set sensibility of the first two seasons. Davies has previously been working as showrunner on both "Torchwood" and "Doctor Who" along with writing many episodes for both franchises.

How this will work is unsure. While there had been hope of another mini-series or full season, at last report the BBC hadn't made any official plans to continue with the show.

After two seasons of the series meeting with very mixed reaction, the original show rebooted itself last year with the stand-alone five-part 'Children of Earth' mini-series event which scored record ratings and critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.

That mini ended with all dead aside from two of the regular cast and one recurring character. One regular looked to be essentially retiring and settling down to start a family, while a grieving Captain Jack headed off into space and was last seen cameoing in the recent "Doctor Who" special.

This incarnation of the series could either start over with new actors playing the same characters, or effectively continue in the show's current continuity with John Barrowman reprising his Harkness character as a regular or recurring role.

Either way the links to "Doctor Who" will be entirely excised. The sexuality question is another issue as the original "Torchwood" was noted for its use of swearing and sex. Even the more toned-down mini-series still featured an affectionate gay couple - something that may not fly on the conservative Fox free-to-air network.

The article also indicates Jane Tranter is considering an American remake of "Doctor Who", a far more dicey and difficult proposition. A previous attempt to do an American adaptation of that franchise was the 1996 TV movie/pilot on Fox with Paul McGann and Eric Roberts which scored dismal ratings and mixed reviews.

I tried to watch Torchwood. I got about 3 or 4 episodes into it before losing interest. I'm sure I'll watch the rest of them eventually.  :oh_i_see:

It's worth sticking around for the Children of Earth mini-series.

A Fox version, however... God it would suck so horribly, especially when it hit its stride about episode 11, right before the cancellation.

So is CoE a reboot or a continuation of the series? Doth is need to be watched after the 2 seasons or can it be watched anytime?

It's a continuation that basically will force a reboot of the cast if they decided to go to another season.  You can probably get most of the gist of it just fine without watching the first two seasons, but there's a fair amount of good in Torchwood mixed in with the bad that made it worth watching to me.

Yeah, I didn't hate Torchwood. It just wasn't gripping. Like a game that is ok which you absentmindedly put aside to play something else, then realise you never finished it months or years later.

Holy crap, that would turn out so awful, I'm sure. Honestly I'm okay with the Russell T Davies craziness, but Americanizing the series, to say nothing of Fox...yeesh.

Torchwood is like that. The first season had a lot of episodes that made me think "Why am I watching this?" But by the end of the season, I was hooked. Second season had some of the same issues, but less - less sex for the sake of sex, etc. And both seasons had fantastic finales. My wife had never watched the show, but was instantly hooked with Children of Earth.

Too bad Charlie Brooker ruined the finale for me tonight. Bastard.

I am watching Charlie Brooker right now, and right now Torchwood came up. I hope I turned of the volume soon enough. Thanks.  :awesome_for_real:

FOX might actually be good for RTD and Torchwood if they force him to cut out the obsession with sex and swearing without actually just making it a show for 9 year olds, that was always the biggest problem Torchwood had. I have got a horrible vision of a mediocre/shitty US version running and running on FOX because it has just enough viewers and managed to attract the interest of a random Exec.

I was referring to the review of 2009 show. Just FYI.




Torchwood on Fox could with all teh gays removed and the sex toned down to beautiful shots of beautiful and vapid people would make it fit in perfectly to the version of Fox we get here in Australia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox8#Premiere_programming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox8#Other_programming

I know they don't do the wrestling in the US, but is the rest of the programming the same kind of drivel?

For fuck's sake, no.

Ok, so I've skipped the entire thread because I'm only on episode four (thank you Netflix)... but I need to know something:

Does the show get any less cheesy along the way? I like the concept, I don't mind the made for TV effects, but the writing, and much of the acting on the show is of B movie quality. I've been hoping that the writers are just finding their groove, since I'm in season one and all... but I don't think I can hold out much longer if they don't.

Tips?

It gets better in Series 2 but not hugely so. There are flashes of greatness in there but the cheese is pretty prevalent. If you're struggling with it it's ok to skip straight to the third series as long as you can accept that some stuff's happened in the meantime. I'd say consider skipping the first series and trying some of the second. The third series is well worth it.

I wouldn't tell you to skip it. The season finales for both series 1 and 2 are good and each one sets up the other. For all the bad of season 1, I still think it's worth pushing through for the gems.

All of Torchwood recently aired on free-to-air TV in Australia, and the final Children of Earth episode is this Friday. I watched them all for the first time and I'd agree, seasons 1 and 2 were mostly cheese, with occasional episodes that worked. It started working better when things got rough for key characters. Been enjoying CofE, which has better writing and a bigger budget, but the cheese is still there.

Captain Jack should just wear a T-shirt that says "I AM GAY" on the front, and "P.S. I LIKE HAVING SEX WITH MEN" on the back.  It would save a lot of time for more interesting plots. 

Fox Passes on US Version of Torchwood (http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/04/22/development-update-thursday-april-22/8633/)

Thank fuck for that.

Starz will be picking up Torchwood.

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/bbc-starz-team-up-for-more-torchwood (http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/bbc-starz-team-up-for-more-torchwood)

Between this and Spartacus, I may have to splurge and get me some premium channels.

Or you could spend $9 a month and get Neflix and it'll include Starz Play and a DvD plan (unlimited, one at a time).  I assume you'll be able to get Torchwood that way.

Torchwood had a few good episodes and the last season miniseries was outstanding but it's really not so great that it makes it worthwhile to subscribe to an extra pay channel.

This.  Cable is for saps.

Heard this today on Radio1. Was mildly excited aside from the Starz thing.

Soooo.. with Starz taking part in all this, does this mean that we'll have to see John Barrowman's cock every episode?

I don't want to see his pervy bits.  He's scary looking already.  He reminds me of a younger, male version of Joan Rivers.

Hmmm...I may have to check this out. I was joking about the pay channels. We have the FIOS bundle (non-HD) and really only have TCM and FOX Movie Channel as our 'movie channels'. The only other channel I watch is Fear.Net and only because it's free. I'm a cheap-ass sum bitch, but $9 a month might be doable. Have to ask the wife for permission.

We have a FIOS bundle, too.  If you call them right now, you can get HBO and Cinemax free for three months.  You just have to remember to cancel it before they charge you for it.  I get several of these freebie deals a year.  You don't have to commit to anything, either.  So far, I've been very good about canceling on time.  Of course, my screen is a huge note that says " CANCEL HBO ON 1ST AUGUST!!!".  Why pay for premium channels when they'll give you a freebie a few times a year?  I call them every couple of months to see if I qualify for some sort of deal and I usually get something out of it.

Can someone tell me why we're excited about Torchwood? The original was pretty bad. Nearly MI-5 aka Spooks level of bad.

I'm not sure why Torchwood is exciting all of a sudden. Is there more than one thread? I distinctly remember trashing it along with everyone else when it first came out and this thread seems to start with a discussion of the last season which was the only one that was actually good.

Well, I'm not excited.  I thought it was just awful and I'm not joking about that plastic man being scary looking.  He has a part in Desperate Housewives now, too.  Maybe he's just in that to be killed off.  Evidently, they're killing nearly everyone off in that show.  It would be a good ending for it!

Becuase as bad as Torchwood s1 was, Children of Earth completely redeemed the show.

As bad as season 1 was, there was still something about it that was worth watching. It got better.

I honestly have never seen the show. I only know about it because it ties in with Doctor Who. I'm optimistic that it could be really good given that it should have a bigger budget and less restrictions now. At some point I'll watch the original. I just figured I'd pass the info along in case there were some fans who were looking for it to continue.

Arise, Chicken!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ix-I-OZnKY

Not sure how I feel about the "Starz original series" tagline, but I'll wait and see.

Based on Starz recent history and Torchwood's first two seasons, I look forward to lots and lots of tits on this (and the unwanted but obligatory mansex).

Waite, what, Torchwood is on starz?

I thought it was canceled.

Welcome to last year.  :oh_i_see:

Starz and the BBC are doing a joint production with some American cast members joining Capt. Jack and Eve.

Well dam, I only watched the first season, because I thought it was done.

Well now you can watch another season!

Is it on netflix!  :awesome_for_real:


EDIT: Yes it is!

This is the day no thread dies.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=77990

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 :heart: Gwen. "I'm Welsh."

 :heart: :Love_Letters: :heart:

For those of you with Starz, today is Miracle Day.

Looking forward to this. The BBC are showing it on Thursday, and you'd think they'd have managed to co-ordinate their schedules better than this. It's only a gap of a few days, but I still imagine we're going to see plenty of UK Torchwood fans heading for the torrent sites so they don't have to wait.

This season sounds like it has a great premise and I guess it's going to have a bit more money poured into it than earlier seasons (because it's a co-production with the US) so I'm hoping it lives up to its potential.

Jane Espenson as cowriter is really making it hard for me not to watch this on Starz. Anyone know how long the delay for netflix streaming is likely to be? I know they've been diddling around with how long they're going to delay things. (Nevermind, found it, 90 day delay which I can live with.)

Good start.

Little over the top with the beach chase, but really fun overall. I really like the plot idea - I hope they continue to focus on the potential end of world results and how the world reacts.

Totally agree on the beach chase, but I think that was more them going, "we've got a budget, let's go apeshit!" Hopefully, they tone that down as the story proceeds.

"I gotta pay for this bridge"  :awesome_for_real:

"Wales is like New Jersey?"  :ye_gods:

So I'm the only one pissed off about the whole premise of the Americans walking all about UK citizens rights and kidnapping them to the US like the world belongs to them? Even forcing the UK police to work for them and causes UK taxpayers loads of money in the process?  :why_so_serious:

No. And even Jack called them on it in this ep.

The whole first episode was just setting up the plot and getting everyone out of the UK and into the States. I imagine by the end of this series they'll have scrapped most of the British cast and gotten a purely US Torchwood going. Honestly I felt there was just too much, 'woo, we've got a budget!' and 'Guns for everyone! Fuck year take no bullshit, shoot everything!' for any Dr. Who spin-off and was a bit of a departure from how Torchwood have operated. It seems to be going far more 24 than Sci-Fi, which I guess is what they think will sell. I'm just not convinced it's what I want to watch.

Did you watch the second ep at all?

Just watched the first episode. That is possibly one of the most badass things I've ever seen. Now to find episode 2.

Netflix: Y U NO PLAY NEW SEASON?

No, far as I'm aware it's not out on BBC yet. Probably is this weekend, that was just my impression of the first episode.

I'm really enjoying it. There's a sense of the world going to hell in a handbasket but it's happening slowly. I think the PR girl is going to emerge as a villain (although I'm guessing the real villain hasn't been seen yet) and she makes a change from the usual TV bad guys or girls. Oswald Danes is an interesting character. I was a bit surprised by the naked gay sex (small spoiler for episode three) but I guess why not, and I'm sure some people will like it.

I am actually liking Gwen for the first time ever.

Finally watched through the third episode. Felt it went a little astray with the need to have sex scenes stuck right in the middle of the episode for little good reason. But I'm definitely digging it. I always liked Gwen but she's really kicking ass this time.

EDIT: And Bill Pullman is channeling some dark shit for Danes' character. I like it.

20 minutes into the first episode and I can't stop repeating outloud in a bad English accent:   The Plucky Blond American Lass with a Trenchcoat!

*edit* the plucky blond in over her head.

After watching episode two I'm still waiting for Jack (:awesome_for_real:) to have to torture an Arab guy to get location of the mortality serum before the countdown finishes. The America fuck yeah thing isn't too bad, even though setting the whole thing in the States just feels... weird I guess. I've rarely liked US remakes and I guess this feels a lot like that.

Also damnit, now I have to start avoiding this thread for spoilers as well. Why is it so fucking hard to match up airings rather than this week or two later bullshit?

I think they've done a good job of making fun of the AMERICA FUCK YEAH! crowd through episode 3.

Shit just got real.

The ending was   :ye_gods: :ye_gods: :ye_gods:

Mother. fucker.

Holy balls, this is some fucked up shit.   :ye_gods:

It's really good to see this turned into a grown up show.

If only it'd been like this from the start.

Yes. It's important to remember just how awful a show it was before Children of the Earth.

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not.  I'm not sure it's important, but I would like people to know in case they decide "Wow, I like this, I'll watch the early ones".  That'd be a tradgedy.

Hah no. I was being serious. It was an absolutely awful show in its first few seasons. I only watched out of duty because it was a Doctor Who spinoff.

I couldn't even manage that.  It was just bad.  I think I lasted 4 episodes.

Edited to add :  Actually, I stopped until Children of Earth had already done it's first run.  It was Haemish spouting about how wondrous it was that forced me to watch it.  I'm glad I did.

It was great but the ending was wankery at its finest...

You haven't sat through many RTD finales if you thought THAT was the worst thing you could see.  I didn't mind it.

RTD stands for? Sure its not the worst ending but it wasn't satisfying or made much sense.

Russell T. Davies.

That said, I liked the first two seasons. Sure they were cheese and camp galore, but there was plenty of meat in enough of the stories to make up for it. The little tie-ins to Doctor Who like the Saxon posters and stuff worked as well.

The first two seasons were at worst entertaining but nothing special with some gems thrown in once in a while.

After being "Crushed alive and be damned to watch out of a block of metal for all eternity" we get  They pull no stops this season.

Don't forget the suicide bomber in the first episode.  :ye_gods:

edit: Which reminds me, WHY did he blew himself up, wasn't he related to PhiCorp ?

This has been my intro to Torchwood. Seems like the characters are pretty stupid. Aren't they supposed to be secret agents or something? Whenever the plot needs them to be dumb, they shift character and then revert back to super espionage detectives. Kinda silly. Just look at the scene with Dr. Juarez- she infiltrates the enemy camp and then decides to goad them into attacking her. Anytime characters get erratic, you know the writers are having a tough time. Esther and Oswald are the only ones who show consistency.

The main character looks like he's wearing a Craig Ferguson cartoon lips mask when that guy pretends to be gay fabulous. I liked that Harknesses thought, Hey, I'm dying. Time to get my nut off and then hit the club. On the other hand, I feel like they're shoehorning gay males into every scene. Are they trying to visually lampoon roles that might otherwise go to pert blonde girls? It just feels overt and I'm not sure what the reasoning is.

I'm watching just to see how far they'll take the premise and because there isn't much else on this summer. It's better than the alien invasion show with Noah Wylie.

I think Id take falling skies meldroma over a 45 minute lady gaga music video.

Again, an unfamiliarity with RTD becomes apparent.

It's hard to believe Captain Jack started off bisexual. He hasn't given a woman a second look in years now.

Omni sexual actually, and in a previous season he mentioned something about having 51st century pheromones that made him irresistible to everyone so those people might not necessarily be gay.  And yes, Torchwood members are dumb.  That's why everyone except Gwen and Jack (who was immortal) are dead.  Jack said he modeled Torchwood after the doctor, so they deal with everything with extreme over confidence which is backed up by having a guy who can never die, which leads to a high casualty rate for the rest of the team.  Plus they weren't secret agents, Gwen was a cop and the rest of the team consisted of a computer geek a doctor and uhh a butler?

That tone. I know it...

Still doesn't explain why it's done. They're really catty too. Why can't they just be average joe's/gay dudes?

Because Torchwood is set in the lady gaga universe  :awesome_for_real:

Some days I wonder if Jacks sexuality is just an elaborate prank to troll homophobic people.  :awesome_for_real:

If your inclined to be homophobic you wouldn't be watching Torchwood. Lafayette from true blood is a troll.

You mean you're, as in "you are". Your is the possessive case of you, as in "your jacket, it belongs to you".

Also, True Blood requires capitalisation because it is a proper noun.

About that shocking ending

Same problem they had with Children of Earth. The authority figures were cartoon villains there as well.

Cartoon villians make for a satisfying ending, though  :awesome_for_real:

Bs, that conversation they had on Children of the Earth about what kids to give up could be a word for word transcription of what would be said if it really happened.  That was one of the most chilling scenes i've seen in television, and what made it so scary is how real it all seemed. 

edit: Should this stuff not be spoilered ?

Yeah, it was obvious there wasn't enough storage room there to keep the class 1's unless they were running.

Which is why the ending was such a let down.

I liked the ending. It made it more personal. Torchwood has always been about the personal stories set against the backdrop of sometimes intergalactic events. To kill 25% of the Earth's kids would have been ridiculous and unnecessary for the purpose of the story.

That said, this last episode was really good.

This feels completely different than previous Torchwoods, even children of the earth was about aliens from the start. I expect a lot of complaining from people not familiar with the show when it's finally revealed aliens are behind the miracle.

Is the show getting watched in America, out of interest? Is it like a fringe thing for science fiction nuts or Anglophiles (Welshophiles) or is it seen as a mainstream show?

Its fringe, but its not on a station most people get.

Rapidly losing interest.  Taking five episodes to set up World War II isn't particularly impressive.  Get with the Aliens, or the Baddies or something.  Also, characters suddenly making 'Fallen Skies' levels of stupidity just to push the dramatic narrative along is utterly laughable.  The 'Coming Next Week' just seems to be 'Hey, people can become Nazis, who knew' and I'm bored already.

This show has done some nice wee things and put some thoughtful stuff out there, but we get it, evil conspiracy is evil ;  Let's move on, eh ?

Just for the record, my WTF would have been about the same if the made the same boring softcore porn scenes with a man and a woman (minus having boobs to look at to distract myself from the boredom), but what the fuck?

I thought short seasons have the advantage of a tighter script and no filler episodes. This was a classic filler episode with about five minutes of relevant information.

I am getting tired of the gay.

Now that you mention it. Wasn't Jack omnisexual once upon a time? Seems he does the deed only with men these days. A threesome with the girl across the street would have made this easier on the eyes.

That is what I remembered as well. I just guess they are using this to "shock" our American friends who are not that used to have softporn on their TV (yet).  :drill:/ :drillf:
 

Yeah, but it's Starz. The home of Eva Green and Lucy Lawless's norks.

I wouldn't know.  :grin:

Well hello again annoying Gwen.

Just caught up on this. Hannah Arendt must be pleased someone's read her book :grin:

The schizophrenic characters kind of bug me, as someone said they seem determined to keep switching between stupid and weak into competent super spies, the conclusion to the Welsh camp thing just sort of bugged me. I feel like the writers are throwing in 'Fuck yeah!' scenes for no reason. The thing that bugs me more though is that the conspiracy seems to involve a number of low level characters that are in on it (the hitman, that guy in the stadium who talked to the PR lady) while the more senior elements are totally in the dark. That just seems odd beyond using those bit characters to build the sense of an overarching conspiracy.

Speculations

Have you watched the latest one?  (Which, for the sake of clarity, we'll call the 'omg ghey secks' one.)

I now have suspicions about how this is all going to turn out and I don't think it's going to be as cool as we think.  I have a horrid feeling that RTD is just doing 'aren't people awful' here, rather than DAN DAN DAAAHN BADDY.

Latest BBC one? Yes and I think you're right. It's an approach I think I like a lot more in theory than actually watching or at least I like a lot more in something other than my Who spinoffs. That said it's a much fucking better way of doing adult television than how it started.

Can we talk about the finale yet?

I'd rather pretend this entire series never happened.

I'm waiting for someone to tell me what to think about the ending. It left me a bit nonplussed.

It seems that the thing that caused miracle day is


It seemed a bit of a cop-out to me but perhaps I expected too much.

Overall, I enjoyed the season. It was one of the very few shows I looked forward to each week.

As far as Oswald Dane goes:

"Keep running, Lucy"   :awesome_for_real: /  :ye_gods:

I liked the finale

I figured immortal souls were being harvested to fuel an inter-dimensional invasion convoy engine bound for Earth. The aliens would arrive as infected data packets and knock out all of our wi-fi, inducing mass hysteria and failed suicides, increasing the output of the smokestacks.

I guess the hospital camp furnaces had no actual relevance to the story. Maybe I'll come back to this one at some point, but this show had the consistency of curdled cheese and lost me early on.

Yeah, it went from "OMG they are burning people alive" to "Oh well, at least my father is still alive" very fast. I think they even acknowledged that in the final.

Technically they couldn't kill but only Kat3 them. Same difference, though.

I'm still not clear on how a Category 1 was still running the CIA.

I was really impressed by this series of Torchwood. They managed to stretch 4 episodes worth of story across 9 weeks. That's quite a feat.  :oh_i_see:

Yeah. That's the one big knock I can put on this season, it was WAY too long for the story they were trying to tell. Children of the Earth worked so well because it was so condensed, there was no dicking around. 10 episodes on this left them spinning wheels in places. The pacing was all wrong. Some very good moments, though I felt they could have been much more inventive with the Miracle then saying "Shrug, it just is."

I hope there's another season but if it's 10 episodes, make 2 arcs of 5-episodes.