Bloody Hell

We’re eight episodes into the first series of Torchwood and, if nothing else, it’s divided the opinion amongst, well, everyone. I have to confess that I’m in the “loving it” camp, even though I acknowledge that it can be a little hit and miss at times. The plots are tending to be a little derivative of other genre shows with the best/worst example being the “Countrycide” episode. In fact, Russell T Davies stated as much in the installment of Torchwood: De-Classified, which followed stating that as soon as the series was comissioned he knew he wanted to do The Hills Have Eyes. Some have stated these nods to and influences from other movies and shows displays a lack of originality on behalf of the production team but I prefer to view it as retelling of classic genre stories. The main Torchwood team remain intriguing with the development of the Gwen and Owen relationship interesting to watch, so much so that it’s hard to predict where it’s going to end. Lots of little jealousies and mysteries surround the five members of the team and they even went so far as to bring back the sixth member, Suzie, who was killed off in the first story with a very nice twist, even if the motivation was somewhat obscure. The links to the parent show, Doctor Who, seem to have been all but severed and it’s not difficult to watch Torchwood as a completely separate entity. In that light, it seems to be a pretty reasonable first season and, if recommissioned for a series two, which I’m 99% sure it will, it bodes well for the future. The 1% doubt is about the character of Jack moving from Torchwood to Doctor Who (for the conclusion of Series Three) and then back again. I am sure the ominously titled “End Of Days” season finale will be worth the wait and pave the way for the character to move back and forth between shows.

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Tags: BBC3, Captain-Jack, Countrycide, DeClassified, Doctor Who, Gwen-Cooper, Owen-Harper, Russel-T-Davies, Sci Fi, Suzie, Torchwood