Torchwood: Round Two

The opening scenes give a slant of darkness with a pale moonlight beating down on the roads through the middle of London. It is a seedy side of the metropolis filled with rugged edges often found in large cities. It is a place one shouldn’t walk alone. Especially for an old woman whose only worry is crossing the street.

Then a red sports car jumps into sight with a fast-paced speeding style, riding right up to the pedestrian crosswalk. The driver looks a little different. When his head pivots, slowly and strangely alien, it looks like a blowfish?

And so starts the season two of Torchwood, premiered on Wednesday night, with an added dash of dark humor. Amongst other things.

There are some subtle differences when watching the episode “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” There’s a lot less swearing that the previous season. But it still feels like a bump of a ride. Of course, with Captain Jack in the lead, anything goes.

And that means space aliens, giant rifts and time travel. To shake the mix a little bit.

The entire regular crew is here with the newest, youngest recruit Ianto Jones. But the episodes is at the tail end of Captain Jack’s long-time disappearance. Things change. The second in command Gwen Cooper, a former police officer, takes over the Torchwood crew during his vanishing act.

Where was Captain Jack?

He was running off to the end of the universe with the Doctor on the another series Doctor Who. (Both series are created by Russell T. Davies, allowing for crossovers). Time travel can do a lot of crazy things. But the nice thing about this episode is minimalism.

The disappearance of Captain Jack is explained in a few moments. The reason for Gwen taking a leadership role is also explained. And the fact that she drops the ball about getting married is well handled in a very dramatic scene between her and Captain Jack played well by Eve Myles and John Barrowman.

The entire episode is written by veteran Chris Chibnell who also penned a previous Torchwood episode and a Doctor Who episode entitled “42” where the Doctor must stop a hurling space ship from crashing into a living sun.

But I feel the pacing of Torchwood suits Chibnell’s writing far better. He has a grasp on the characters and it’s always fun to see Captain Jack fall to death. Only, like a walking messiah, to rise up from the dead. He is a man who is unable to die due to a freak accident.

Being thrown into the mixed baggage is James Marsters who has been seen playing vampire Spike from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel series both made in the United States. Here Marsters delivers his usual tongue-in-cheek performance which brings a whole new ball of fire into the excitement. He plays Captain John Hart.

He knows Captain Jack. They have a shared background.

They used to work as partners for a Time Agency that no longer exists.

Both men also share a wet kiss. Which is rather funny.

The whole caper in which the crew must discover the three missing parts to a cluster bomb scattered throughout the rural section of London, gunned down by little time. The bomb presents a danger to the city. But it turns out that Captain John Hart is looking for a diamond and nothing more. The story again is based on minimalism. Simple plot. Simple story. Plenty of great fun.

The scene where Captain Jack and John Hart first meet in a nightclub is an absolute highlight. The new characters do help rejuvenate the series into another direction. And it’s going well.

The story is very well made. The performances by everyone is quite good. I feel like I’m with old friends again. With plenty of side stories giving focus to the supporting cast as well. When the plot unravels and shows that Captain John Hart is someone that can be trusted less than a black panther in a cage, the Torchwood crew cuts him off. And with good reason. There’s no telling what this guy can do. He knows too much.

But like all good villains, the story leaves the door open for him to come back to stir things up again.

Captain John Hart knows certain things about Captain Jack when he glibly says, “By the way, I found Gray.” It’s another possible story arc about the Torchwood leader we’ll learn more about. It’s a good set-up. There’s a shocked expression on Jack’s face when he heard the name. But he dismisses it right away.

Everything seems to be falling into place.

It’s probably a good thing to leave the swearing out except for occasionally. This author always felt it was out of place for such a thing in the Doctor Who universe. That’s the same as making a spin off from Star Wars, but saying, “Oh, let’s have them swear like crazy.” It’s too jolted. But “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” has the right ingredients for a successful season.

Let’s hope that Captain Jack and his crew can play their cards right.

If this episode wasn’t enough, there is still the long-awaited appearance by an ex-companion of the Doctor: the always lovely Martha Jones will be appearing in later episodes of Torchwood. Having gone to finish her degree, practicing medicine, she’ll be a full-time doctor herself. And her profession and skills as an ex-time traveler will be helpful to the Torchwood crew.

But will they be able to get along together to resolve issues? That’ll be an interesting thing to see.

The cold, blithering feel of raw savagery that fuels the London streets might not be safe for the public anymore now they are targets of greater threats. But, with a new direction, Torchwood will be there to help protect the people. But can they be trusted?