Torchwood! (Episodes One and Two)
By stephanie - Thursday, November 9th, 2006
Torchwood is the BBC’s new Doctor Who spin-off. (Torchwood is an anagram of Doctor Who.) The name Torchwood refers to a mysterious underground organization that is beyond government and holds immeasurable power. Imagine if Mulder and Scully got their own agency to work on the X-Files: That’s what Torchwood is, except the main focus is investigating alien encroachments on our planet.
One of the main selling points of Torchwood is that our beloved Captain Jack is back. Initially introduced in the first season of the new Doctor Who, Captain Jack is a swashbuckling, “omnisexual” charmer who certainly deserves his own show. He’s just entertaining, period.
So how did Torchwood hold up compared to Doctor Who?
Episode One: “Everything Changes”
In this episode, we are introduced to Gwen, a police officer who accidentally discovers Torchwood. Gwen is a brunette but somehow reminded me of Billie Piper in an odd way (though older). The main focus of the story is her investigation of Torchwood.
This show was heavy on exposition and light on aliens. As such, it was OK but did not blow me away. (I am finding, however, that most premieres these days seem to be along these lines.) As a character, Gwen is likeable, if a bit too wide-eyed at times.
We also learn about a few neat things in this episode, including Torchwood’s invisible elevator and Captain Jack’s immortality. Gwen is invited to join the Torchwood team, a fairly predictable outcome.
A decent start.
Episode Two: “Day One”
“Day One” refers to Gwen’s first day on the job at Torchwood. She screws everything up, of course. In her most major screw-up, she unleashes a gaseous alien that invades people’s bodies and then lives off of orgasmic energy. (The problem is, she kills her lovers once the orgasm is completed.)
In this episode we finally start to see some of Torchwood’s unique style compared to Doctor Who. The general feel is the same – both Doctor Who and Torchwood have a bright feel with plenty of humor, as they walk the fine line between believability and being over the top.
Torchwood, however, looks to be carving out its own niche. For starters, it is completely clear that Torchwood is targeting a more adult audience than Doctor Who: We have snogging (and lesbian snogging!), shagging, and wanking all going on in this episode. (Ironically, Captain Jack, Mr. Omnisexual himself, is not involved in any of the sex scenes, except for one kiss.)
Torchwood is also much more of a team effort than Doctor Who, which focuses primarily on two main characters. The Torchwood team consists of a small motley group of characters who are already starting to develop individual identities and likeable quirks.
The story itself was quite reminiscent of new Doctor Who (no surprise there), but we have some hints of interesting secrets and bigger issues lurking underneath. (What is the dead hand that Jack is so protective of?)
With that, I feel that Torchwood is a fine entry into the panoply of Doctor Who and science fiction in general. It certainly rivals any American shows in terms of writing and style. I’m looking forward to more installments.