Torchwood on Starz (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

I DVR'd it and will see it at lunchtime today. Looking forward to it.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I totally forgot to DVR it! ARRGGGGH. Good thing its repeating all week!

 

[Robert Crawford]

I watched it this morning and have never viewed Torchwood beforehand, but I liked what I viewed today.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Good to hear. I haven't seen the British series either.

 

[Matt Hough]

It was well written in that it didn't bore Torchwood old-timers like me but contained enough background information to catch folks new to the show up on what it is exactly. And the season-long arc was nicely established and intriguing to keep folks around to find out what it's all about.

 

[AlexF]

It's a 10 episode season, just FYI.

 

[Tony J Case]

Hard to say if it lives up to Children of Earth from just one episode, but it's leaps and bounds better than seasons one thusfar. Cant wait to see how this all plays out, especially with Captain Jack's development. . . .

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

There were more callbacks to the earlier seasons than I thought there'd be. Having the American CIA agents investigating Torchwood was a very organic way to unload exposition while weaving it into the mystery. It was engaging enough watching them peel back the layers that it never felt redundant. I've been with the Eleventh Doctor on "Doctor Who" since the get-go, but caught up with Nine and Ten on Netflix. From there, I rolled right into "Torchwood". Finished "Children of Earth" tonight and rolled right into "Miracle Day." Now "Children of Earth" is some of the most nail biting television I've ever seen, but that's because it was only five episodes long. With a ten episode season, "Miracle Day" could afford to devote an hour to setup. And as a combination reboot and continuation, it needed that time to set up the concept. I liked the Rex character more than I thought I would; he's an aggressive very American personality that we haven't seen in the mix in previous seasons -- even if he contributed virtually nothing this go-round. Esther, meanwhile, seems destined to slide into the Toshiko role while channeling Gwen's season one arc. Thankfully, Gwen and Captain Jack are the same as ever. I was also surprised that they firmly cemented Torchwood's status as alien hunters; I thought they were going to recast Torchwood as a more broadly Mulder and Scully operation. That, combined with the M.E.'s comment at the hospital, leads me to believe that this conspiracy has an extraterrestrial element, too. In my book, the slower pacing of 10 episodes is more than offset by the fact that we get 10 episodes.

 

[ChadMcCallum]

I was also surprised that they firmly cemented Torchwood's status as alien hunters; I thought they were going to recast Torchwood as a more broadly Mulder and Scully operation. That, combined with the M.E.'s comment at the hospital, leads me to believe that this conspiracy has an extraterrestrial element, too.

The new season is still part of the Doctor Who universe and in the Doctor Who universe its always alien. Ghosts? Aliens. The Loch Ness Monster? Aliens. Mummies? Aliens. Police Box that files through time and space? You get the idea.

 

[NeilO]

I totally forgot to DVR it! ARRGGGGH. Good thing its repeating all week!

I remembered to schedule it for Friday night, but I got a botched up guide update and the DVR didn't record anything I scheduled that night. So, yes it is good it repeats quite frequently. I recorded it late Sunday night and saw it yesterday. It is quite a powerful start, though I have I wonder what explanation they are going to have for the miracle.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The difference between a five-episode miniseries like "Children of Earth" and a ten-episode miniseries like "Miracle Day" is that two episodes in we're still on build-up, whereas by hour two of CoE we were already into the meat of things. This episode was about establishing all of the downsides of nobody dying and putting some meat on the bones of the American characters. The first hour, Rex was presented as a testosterone-fueled moron. The second hour, we get to see how quickly he adapts. The first hour, we learn that Esther is methodical and by-the-book. The second hour, we see how she reacts when the rug is pulled out from under her. Inventive not-death of the week: What happens to someone with a broken neck. It's no coincidence they're using the same special effects makeup team as "The Walking Dead".

 

[NeilO]

The difference between a five-episode miniseries like "Children of Earth" and a ten-episode miniseries like "Miracle Day" is that two episodes in we're still on build-up, whereas by hour two of CoE we were already into the meat of things. This episode was about establishing all of the downsides of nobody dying and putting some meat on the bones of the American characters. The first hour, Rex was presented as a testosterone-fueled moron. The second hour, we get to see how quickly he adapts. The first hour, we learn that Esther is methodical and by-the-book. The second hour, we see how she reacts when the rug is pulled out from under her. Inventive not-death of the week: What happens to someone with a broken neck. It's no coincidence they're using the same special effects makeup team as "The Walking Dead".

Seeing her walk around with the head on the back was definitely creepy. It was interesting to see more of the mystery unfolding. Seeing Wayne Knight (Newman!) in that leadership role was a bit weird. He is getting orders from someone, but who? I was surprised to see the doctor smoking. She knows she can't die but she can still suffer a lot ...

 

[Tony J Case]

I was surprised to see the doctor smoking. She knows she can't die but she can still suffer a lot ...

Stress makes people do crazy stuff. Of course she wasn't reacting badly to it like a new smoker would, so . . . . I wonder if Fat CIA Director is going to turn out to be a Slitheeen? (:

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Seeing Wayne Knight (Newman!) in that leadership role was a bit weird.

I actually wish they'd cast someone else in the role. He does a fine job as the mid-level bureaucrat, but his very appearance pulls me out of the show every time he pops up on screen. Bill Pullman is at least as famous as Knight, but he fades into the role in a way that someone with Knight's unique look does not.

I was surprised to see the doctor smoking. She knows she can't die but she can still suffer a lot ...

It's a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do thing. A surprisingly high number of doctors and nurses smoke despite the fact that they should know better if anyone should. It stood out to me more because I didn't think the BBC allowed protagonists to smoke on-screen any more. After the brouhaha of taking away Sherlock Holmes's pipe and giving him nicotine patches, I was surprised "Torchwood" got away with it.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I actually wish they'd cast someone else in the role. He does a fine job as the mid-level bureaucrat, but his very appearance pulls me out of the show every time he pops up on screen. Bill Pullman is at least as famous as Knight, but he fades into the role in a way that someone with Knight's unique look does not.

I feel exactly the same way. Good show so far.

 

[ChadMcCallum]

I wonder if Fat CIA Director is going to turn out to be a Slitheeen? (:

I thought the same thing!

 

[Tony J Case]

I actually wish they'd cast someone else in the role. He does a fine job as the mid-level bureaucrat, but his very appearance pulls me out of the show every time he pops up on screen. Bill Pullman is at least as famous as Knight, but he fades into the role in a way that someone with Knight's unique look does not.

That's the dude from Jurassic Park, right?

 

[TonyD]

Wayne Knight was in Jurassic Park, and Seinfeld among other things.

 

[Jeffery_H]

Wayne Knight was in Jurassic Park, and Seinfeld among other things.

Also, 3rd Rock from the Sun and most recently Betty White's Hot in Cleveland for several shows. He plays a love god and it was freakin funny for sure.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tonight the setup was finally over and the show kicked into full gear. Are the triangle cell phone people PhiCorp? Did PhiCorp create the miracle, or did it merely know it was coming and take steps to exploit it? I loved the irony that the greatest moment in Oswald's life was murdering that little girl, and thanks to the miracle he can never experience that sensation again. A wonderfully charged scene between two stone cold killers who got to that point through completely different means. Loved that the PhiCorp factory was "bigger on the inside"; first Doctor Who callback I've caught so far.