BLOGS
If you didn't watch the Torchwood: Children of Earth miniseries, you are seriously missing out. You should also not read this very spoiler-filled review that is below. Just know that the DVD is in stores now, and even if you aren't a fan of the show you should go buy it right this very minute, because this is one of the best things I've personally seen on television in a while. And it's an easy series to jump into for newcomers. It's just a show about three cops working at a very underground agency called Torchwood, specializing in alien crimes. Do yourself a favor. Buy it. Now. Trust me.
For those who did watch, you will probably also want to pick this up so you can view it over and over again. I know that I have to sit through at least the last two hours again very soon, because my eyes were all clouded with tears while watching it the first time. I'm not sure exactly when this show that I always thought of as a sexier version of Doctor Who or The X-Files, which I mostly only tuned into for my undying love of John Barrowman, ended up having such emotional impact, but the last two season finales have left me in a weepy heap in front of my television. That's saying a lot, because I don't get super teary at TV very often.
I know there are a lot of fan complaints about the death of a major character, and I miss him already too, but I also loved Owen last year and thought I wouldn't like this season as much, but I did. For this show, losing another person is just par for the course and now that I've picked my jaw up off of the floor, I mostly just want more episodes and more of this world. And not just the leads, but also the twisted global government who honestly thought they were doing the right thing by sacrificing children to an alien species.
For me, the death of the aforementioned sweet major character was sad, but the thing that really did me in the most was Captain Jack himself. After he looked around at the cost of his job, the cost of saving people, the relationships he'd destroyed, the lives he'd outlive... those watery eyes made my own fill up with salty tears. His love for Ianto, his love for his other lost Torchwood soldiers (both recent and old), his conflicted feelings towards his daughter and grandchild... wow. It was just the beautiful capper of a well-done, well-paced miniseries, and I can only sit and hope that they get another season, do it in miniseries format, and that it is very soon, and has this standard of quality.
I've got a feeling that this DVD set is one that I'll be passing around to my friends (like the BSG miniseries), forcing them to watch it and then having them come beg to borrow the rest. For those who like extras, there's the Torchwood: Declassified feature that goes behind the scenes and such, and it is a nice change of pace to see the cast smiling.
Torchwood is available now.
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I am a total TW fan. I cried so hard, after seeing day four I didn't think that anything could be sadder than Ianto dying but watching Jack just shut down broke my heart. Series 4 is already approved but I have no idea what will happen, I am anxious to find out though.
If you'd like to honor Ianto and/or Gareth for his brilliant portrayal, with the added bonus of channeling your anger/sorrow to a worthy cause...
www.justgiving.com/iantojones
to benefit Children in Need UK.
Made me feel a bit better. :-)
I'm still crying over Ianto - Loved him and Jack. I cannot wait to see Jack on Dr Who this winter - I know The Doctor is going to help him.
Ugh, I did not like this series. Giant plotholes and they totally Jossed Ianto. I may keep watching, but I'm on the verge of giving up.
RTD needs to realize you can't just kill characters to spackle over giant plotholes and call it great drama. Torchwood isn't all happy shiny? We got that. You didn't have to kill off 3/5ths of the team within four episodes of each other to prove that. Not to mention everything else he gleefully destroyed (MYFANWY? REALLY, RTD?) He claimed that if we didn't like it, we could go watch Supernatural - maybe he should. See, they have *consequences* to their actions, Russell. And dealing with the consequences provides drama. Hitting them with terrible things and then essentially ignoring it afterward means all you have at your disposal is smacking characters with increasingly horrific things. And frankly, not only will people just stop caring, he'll run out of characters at this pace.
I hope Jack is just as pissed at the Doctor as I am. I know it's stupid of me, but during those last parts I couldn't help but be angry the Doctor wasn't coming to help. Yes, I know that defeats the purpose of Torchwood and it wasn't supposed to happen that way, but still. In the Who Universe, the Doctor defeats the Sycorax and Daleks and Cybermen, but is absent when the 456 come? It just bothered me with respect to Who logic. (And I wish he could have shown up to avert Ianto's and so many others' deaths)
I only just discovered TW thanks to BBC America airing Andrew Lloyd Weber's ANY DREAM WILL DO. I saw this delicious man on the panel of judges. So I Googled JB and found TW. The very 1st epi I watched was CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS. I was ABSOLUTELY gutted!!!! And completely hooked!!!!
Sorry to be rambling on. But I felt the need to explain. Now for TWCoE. Living in the US, I had read some spoilers. Even with the heads up, there was not an epi. that did not at some point have me in tears. But both the death of Ianto and Jack's personal sacrifice of his grandson rendered me a puddle on the floor. I will agree with previous posts regarding plotholes. But, when I am pulled so completely into a story that I care about the characters as friends, I am able to look past them.
I am praying that the earlier post stating Series 4 has already been aproved is indeed true! Long live Torchwood!!!!!!
Raven-
I think Jack was dealing with the loss at the end of the miniseries. The whole "6 months later" thing? That's Jack still dealing with the consequences.
I wasn't much a fan of this show the first two seasons, but the pacing of this was just incredible. One of the best seasons of TV I have seen this year.
I'll be brief... What an incredible mini series. I liked season 1, I loved season 2, as the team grew into their roles, I wished season 3 was more than a mini-series but it was so terrific and I am looking forward to season 4. This is a great show.
It's like you're on a msiison to save me time and money!
Wham bam thank you, ma'am, my quseitnos are answered!