Torchwood Series 2 (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Hewell]

Series 2, "Love & Monsters".

 

[Francois Caron]

"Love & Monsters" along with the series 3 episode "Blink" are "Doctor Who Lite" episodes designed to squeeze in an extra episode during the series. They weren't designed to introduce new characters during the season. "Random Shoes" also resembles a "lite" episode with the exception that the principle cast is in it for a considerable amount of time.

I don't mind these type of episodes from time to time as long as they're well written and performed. "Love & Monsters" and "Random Shoes" were average episodes for their respective shows, but "Blink" scared the crap out of me!

 

[NeilO]

The group itself doesn't appear to be secret, they just need to keep things they find out secret.

As written on the wikipedia page "the organization is separate from the government, outside the police, and beyond the United Nations. Their public perception is as merely a 'special ops' group."

Neil

 

[andrew markworthy]

I'm afraid I had the opposite reaction to the first episode of Season 2 (shown a week or so ago here in the UK) - I thought it was garbage. I've no problem at all with gay themes in the scripts but it seemed that they couldn't wait to insert the gay interest into the episode, dispensing with anything mundane like establishing the plot, etc. And the 'villain' was just totally unbelievable, even within a sci-fi show, where typically the audience is prepared to shed a little skepticism. I thought at first it was just me and my wife who had this reaction, but a lot of my work colleagues (who include a guy who has written several of the official Dr Who spin-off novels and writes for various fan magazines, so we're talking about folks predisposed to liking it) hated it as well, and for the same reasons. Having said that, the second episode was rather better. Here's hoping they were simply getting the weakest script out of the way first.

 

[andrew markworthy]

This ties in with the ethos of the Dr Who series. At the start of the 'revived' series (i.e. the Christopher Ecclestone shows) the fictional and real Earth seem to be the same, but as time has gone on, news stories and changes in government have appeared that mean the real and fictional Earths diverge. Thus, in the Christmas special this year, London is deserted because of what happened the previous two Christmases. So when Torchwood started, it began with the argument that just like in the real world, nobody had heard of Torchwood. But as time has gone on, the fictional Earth of Torchwood/Dr Who has begun to hear of Torchwood.


I think that makes sense ...

Incidentally, I live just outside Cardiff. If you go into the city, particularly in the summer, you can see tourists photographing themselves outside the 'Torchwood entrance' (actually part of a civic building/concert hall complex).

 

[Tony J Case]

Amazing - how Helen can write very middle of the road fluff like Daleks in Manhattan and something as good as this is staggering. It seems the BBC gets the show right when it's pretending to be Sapphire and Steel.

And wow - Owen had a bastardectomy! All traces of bastard have been somehow removed. That's three weeks in a row I didnt want to reach through the TV screen and punch him in the face! And the episode - it wasnt outstanding, but it didnt fill me with rage or send me running for the hills either.

Three solid Torchwoods in a row? Astounding!

(Even better - my DVD of The Time Meddler shipped today and my copy of the Bride of Peladon showed up in the mail. Life is good!)

 

[Jonathan Kaye]

And it all looks splendid in HD, which always helps.

 

[Tony J Case]

Astounding. Another, good solid episode.

Now that they have proved that Torchwood can go four episodes in a row without sucking, now it's time to take it to the next level. Time to get a Blink or The Doctor Dances out of them. (although I hated the director and their choice to do that constantly moving camera thing with the abrupt zooms at dramatic moments. Hated it, hated it, hated it!)

 

[Tony J Case]

Adam: pretty damn good episode. It threw me for a moment - Owen had been slowly getting nicer as the series went along, but I wasnt expecting this turn into "Mister Roger" territory. And suprisingly, the show finally managed to confidence instead of cockiness, boldness instead of bravado. It was like watching an entirely different program.

And damnit - I want to know what the hell is happening with Jack and his brother. And while we're at it, I'd like those missing years filled in too.

And then of course, over in Reset, when {spoiler}Owen got killed{/spoiler} - amazing, I actually care what happenes to these guys now. I didnt see that coming, and man - a bolt out of the blue. Of course in a world where folks like {spoiler}Suzie and Jack come back from the dead on a regular basis{spoiler}, I dont expect this to last till the end of the season.

I now officialy declare Torchwood as the winner of the most improved show ever award. (even if it did pinch elements from the Red Dwarf episode Thanks For The Memories for bits of Adam.)

 

[Jonathan Kaye]

Tony: 10/10 for trying to avoid spoiling people who haven't seen 'Reset' yet. About minus one million for botching it, though.:frowning:

 

[NeilO]

Any thoughts on the season finale. I was surprised by all the death and destruction there. Revenge can be quite nasty. Now we know that there have been at least three Jacks in different parts of his timeline "around" during The Doctor Dances (though one was in cold storage). As the series continues will there be more?

Neil