Torchwood

[angelophile]

The first two episodes of the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood have just finished playing on BBC3 digital in advance of the terrestrial screening of the first ep on Wednesday.





It was billed as the adult spin off from Doctor Who. Well, it managed to be that - managing to cram in about as much adult material as it possibly could (sex scenes, graphic swearing, graphic bloody violence, bi and lesbian relaionships etc etc). What it completely failed to capture was Doctor Who's quirkiness, charm or good humor.

That's not to say it was bad but it smacked of desperation. I sat thinking how good it would have been as a straight Who spinoff without trying so damn hard to be "adult". Did I need to see someone's jugular ripped out and gouts of blood? Oh, hell, no. Did I REALLY need to see pretty much every member of the cast swapping spit with members of the same gender? No. Gay or lesbian characters are welcome. Jack's metrosexuality is a joy to me. Does making EVERYONE in the whole show bisexual cheapen it? You bet your ass.

There's definitely a good setup here. Torchwood 1 at Canary Warf was destroyed at the end of series two of Doctor Who. Torchwood 2 in Glasgow is run by a "strange man". Torchwood 3 is Cardiff, where the series takes place, and lies on a fault in time and space (as established in Who), which gives plenty of opportunity for Buffy-esque hellmouth shenanigans. Torchwood 4 is... somewhere. There's sure they'll find it eventually.

So, a good set up with Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who heading up a group of alien hunters, using captured alien tech for the development of mankind. After stumbling on a rather unconventional murder interrogation ("I told you it was stupid, telling he was dead." - A great scene.) policewoman Gwen Cooper tries to find out more about the mysterious organisation and through her we were introduced to the various cast members. Some stood out more than others. Captain Jack seemed strangely subdued, his over-the-top personality disappointingly downplayed. Thank goodness, then, for the character of Owen Harper, whose weasely, antagonistic but likable genius stood out with some witty lines and entertaining relationships.

The plot of the first episode was strong too - setting up Torchwood nicely, managing to fit in a FEW funny lines ("Still, at least I won't get pregnant. I'm never trying that again.") but still light on charm and trying a bit too hard with the adult thing with strong language and violence. Still, there was an extremely enjoyable subplot which exploded at the end, some revelations about Jack and a glossy feel to the production that mad Cardiff feel more like Angel's LA than the armpit of the UK.

Then the second episode and the adult theme really kicked off with a plot about a sexual parasite - giving opportunity for loud, lengthy and unecessary sex scenes, a little light nudity, gender-bending and more. It felt like a slightly classier version of Species, but maybe not since that movie at least had the benefit of Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina. This had a strong, but rather overplayed, moral message, set up a few more mysteries, but sadly never felt like it could take place in the same universe as Doctor Who. It was too cold. Too calculated to tittilate. I'm fine with sex, I think there's a time and a place for it, but it seems uncomfortable in a spin-off from a "family show", like stumbling across porn on your mother's computer.

Still, Owen was again great, especially when talking about the enigma of Captain Jack ("Period military is not the dress code of a straight man.") and his graveyard humour was welcome. The "heroine" Gwen, sails very close to being irritating so far, but there's hope for her if she resists the urge to screw up her adorable home life with her touchingly sweet and earthy boyfriend. I hope she's not going to go all Mulder and Scully with Jack, as her bloke's adorable and if she breaks his heart I'll lose any sympathy with him.

Ovrall, as I said, the production was very glossy - certainly made for the American market - and the setup itself seems to smack of Joss Whedon's stuff. It's probably more accessable to an international audience than the quirky and very English Doctor Who is, alhough they might struggle with all the Welsh accents.

Final conclusion, then? Not what I'd hoped. There's potential there and it was still enjoyable, but it felt a bit hollow without a stronger moral and family centre.