A Torchwood Week in July
Some televisions shows mature and grow. And the audiences grow with a series that tries to change. It wants to leave a mark or stand out in terms of writing. Maturity is a sign of strength.
Torchwood runs through its third season with the umbrella title “Children of Earth” which centers around a shaky negotiation between the British government and an alien intruder. It feels like a novel, this one. It writes itself as an ongoing book that runs for one week in July: one episode for every weeknight. The payoff is a pretty good one.
Garnering with an average of 5.5 million viewers for each episode, reaching its height during the fourth episode, it is a good sign that perhaps audiences do appreciate creative storytelling with a clever use of science fiction themes. It is a different kind of take of television writing that tests the possibility of telling a tale in a different fashion. In this case, a small television novel that unfolds before us with same characters throughout the five episodes.
The story begins with the unsettling demand made by a creature from space, fixated in a glass atmosphere of poison, which wants a certain percentage of children. It is simply known as 456. These demands are made through the political dealing of the political elite who tries to find a way around the unearthly demand. But the alien visitor came once before to this world in 1965. And the person who led that deal at the time was Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood.
This leads to interesting layers in the story that grows more complex and yet remains solidified as a whole story as another major plot concerns an assassination attempt by the government on Capt. Jack… a high order made by Home office civil service John Frobisher. So they send agent Johnson after him—a persistent and fierce hurricane of force who stops at nothing before finishing her chores. And the believability of the role belongs to the older actress who plays her, who looks the part, her features seemingly world-weary. As if she has gone through many lifetimes before gaining her current government position. This is a nice, high pitched plot point that paces through the story at tension speeds.
Capt. Jack does get kicked around a lot in this one. He is burned, gassed, shot at, got cement poured onto him while he is a prisoner. And his longevity does have some shortfalls. After a while, this guy must starting thinking, “Man, this sucks. I can’t die.”
But the story does take darker turns, shifting through the many layers of the five-day novel, as the alien’s true intentions are made known to the Torchwood team and the British government despite working on different sides. It is the common enemy of the creature, and its insidious means of misusing children, that brings these forces of good together. And finding a solution to all the problems that are put forth to them.
However, for those who is a mother or a father, there should be a forewarning that this may not be the best of entertainment for parents who might find some themes in the story offensive. Maybe it isn’t offensive. But it can be considered disturbing.
This is a well done story with some nice themes working through it. And there are some very nice scenes with Torchwood member Gwen getting some John Woo action going on as she swings a couple of guns. She’s good with the guns. But she also has a sense of compassion that makes watching this actress worthwhile seeing on screen.
Much acting credit should be given to Peter Capaldi who plays civil servant Frobisher—as a man who works under a great deal of pressure and every second of his life seems like a torn page. His acting is great. And you really do sympathize with this guy who got the worst kind of responsibility tossed at him only because the prime minister himself is too lazy to do the actual decision making himself. His story is a sad one. And one that is greatly felt by anyone who does have a family and cares for them deeply. In the end, he is treated very badly by the government despite his frantic work habits. You feel sorry for this guy who has run out of options.
Capaldi should receive some notierity for his role because it takes a lot of courage to play a man who may be considered weak by some. Yet it is his persistence and loyalty that sets him apart from the rest of the government table who is caught up in this debacle.
However, not all alien forces are a nature of good. And this creature called 456 who lives in the air of toxics and feeds on the creativity of children is a purely insensitive being that cares nothing more than satisfying its own greed. That is why Torchwood tries to resolve the situation in their own trademark way.
It’s nice to see them make use of the contact lens that also acts as a camera for a remote setting. This has been used last year during one episode and it’s a good plot devise that helped bring the plot forward when a mere secretary Lois Habiba worked for Torchwood to help record the conversations made by the government panel. With some surprising results.
And here's a spoiler if there ever was one: a major character does get killed off in an annoying habit of bumping people off. However it doesn't distract too much with the story, instead does somehow paint a greater picture of who Capt. Jack is.
There have been novels put on television before such as Babylon-5 which ran for five years in its entirety. It was a brave attempt on bold storytelling. And Torchwood Children of Earth was another example. This is probably the strongest season they have so far.
However, like a good story, one must reach some sort of resolution. And Captain Jack must make a very difficult choice all the same about his own family. His own life comes around in full circle. He realizes that his life has the same routine that could never be broken. He continues to live forever while nearly everyone dies around him.
Such is the fate of one who can live forever in a fixed point of time. Even though humanity does survive to fight another day, Capt. Jack resigns himself to loneliness. Because getting too close to people often comes with a price. No longer wanting to use people or loved ones as shields, he departs from the world he has come to know. And therefore travels through like a wanderer without purpose. He hopes to find some small measure of comfort in his long life.
Torchwood runs through its third season with the umbrella title “Children of Earth” which centers around a shaky negotiation between the British government and an alien intruder. It feels like a novel, this one. It writes itself as an ongoing book that runs for one week in July: one episode for every weeknight. The payoff is a pretty good one.
Garnering with an average of 5.5 million viewers for each episode, reaching its height during the fourth episode, it is a good sign that perhaps audiences do appreciate creative storytelling with a clever use of science fiction themes. It is a different kind of take of television writing that tests the possibility of telling a tale in a different fashion. In this case, a small television novel that unfolds before us with same characters throughout the five episodes.
The story begins with the unsettling demand made by a creature from space, fixated in a glass atmosphere of poison, which wants a certain percentage of children. It is simply known as 456. These demands are made through the political dealing of the political elite who tries to find a way around the unearthly demand. But the alien visitor came once before to this world in 1965. And the person who led that deal at the time was Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood.
This leads to interesting layers in the story that grows more complex and yet remains solidified as a whole story as another major plot concerns an assassination attempt by the government on Capt. Jack… a high order made by Home office civil service John Frobisher. So they send agent Johnson after him—a persistent and fierce hurricane of force who stops at nothing before finishing her chores. And the believability of the role belongs to the older actress who plays her, who looks the part, her features seemingly world-weary. As if she has gone through many lifetimes before gaining her current government position. This is a nice, high pitched plot point that paces through the story at tension speeds.
Capt. Jack does get kicked around a lot in this one. He is burned, gassed, shot at, got cement poured onto him while he is a prisoner. And his longevity does have some shortfalls. After a while, this guy must starting thinking, “Man, this sucks. I can’t die.”
But the story does take darker turns, shifting through the many layers of the five-day novel, as the alien’s true intentions are made known to the Torchwood team and the British government despite working on different sides. It is the common enemy of the creature, and its insidious means of misusing children, that brings these forces of good together. And finding a solution to all the problems that are put forth to them.
However, for those who is a mother or a father, there should be a forewarning that this may not be the best of entertainment for parents who might find some themes in the story offensive. Maybe it isn’t offensive. But it can be considered disturbing.
This is a well done story with some nice themes working through it. And there are some very nice scenes with Torchwood member Gwen getting some John Woo action going on as she swings a couple of guns. She’s good with the guns. But she also has a sense of compassion that makes watching this actress worthwhile seeing on screen.
Much acting credit should be given to Peter Capaldi who plays civil servant Frobisher—as a man who works under a great deal of pressure and every second of his life seems like a torn page. His acting is great. And you really do sympathize with this guy who got the worst kind of responsibility tossed at him only because the prime minister himself is too lazy to do the actual decision making himself. His story is a sad one. And one that is greatly felt by anyone who does have a family and cares for them deeply. In the end, he is treated very badly by the government despite his frantic work habits. You feel sorry for this guy who has run out of options.
Capaldi should receive some notierity for his role because it takes a lot of courage to play a man who may be considered weak by some. Yet it is his persistence and loyalty that sets him apart from the rest of the government table who is caught up in this debacle.
However, not all alien forces are a nature of good. And this creature called 456 who lives in the air of toxics and feeds on the creativity of children is a purely insensitive being that cares nothing more than satisfying its own greed. That is why Torchwood tries to resolve the situation in their own trademark way.
It’s nice to see them make use of the contact lens that also acts as a camera for a remote setting. This has been used last year during one episode and it’s a good plot devise that helped bring the plot forward when a mere secretary Lois Habiba worked for Torchwood to help record the conversations made by the government panel. With some surprising results.
And here's a spoiler if there ever was one: a major character does get killed off in an annoying habit of bumping people off. However it doesn't distract too much with the story, instead does somehow paint a greater picture of who Capt. Jack is.
There have been novels put on television before such as Babylon-5 which ran for five years in its entirety. It was a brave attempt on bold storytelling. And Torchwood Children of Earth was another example. This is probably the strongest season they have so far.
However, like a good story, one must reach some sort of resolution. And Captain Jack must make a very difficult choice all the same about his own family. His own life comes around in full circle. He realizes that his life has the same routine that could never be broken. He continues to live forever while nearly everyone dies around him.
Such is the fate of one who can live forever in a fixed point of time. Even though humanity does survive to fight another day, Capt. Jack resigns himself to loneliness. Because getting too close to people often comes with a price. No longer wanting to use people or loved ones as shields, he departs from the world he has come to know. And therefore travels through like a wanderer without purpose. He hopes to find some small measure of comfort in his long life.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:09 AM
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