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tardis_stowawayI haven't posted about it before, but I've been watching Torchwood: Miracle Day. Spoiler-heavy reaction to ep. 5 is behind the cut.
So, my general opinion before this episode was that I was enjoying it, but it felt more like a crossover with some Torchwood characters in another show entirely. Now, suddenly we have MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH (probably permanent)! I feel so much more at home, goddammit. Further thoughts:
-NOOOOOOOOOOOO, NOT VERA! D: She's my favorite of the new characters. She's smart, assertive, compassionate, courageous, and willing to return Jack's wonderfully dorky Torchwood Welcome Fistbump. She might be foolish enough to sleep with Rex, but she doesn't moon over him. Why did it have to be her who demonstrated the horror of the overflow camps? Rex was just in that oven ten minutes before.
-As you might gather from that last sentence, I really dislike Rex. I do give him points for being somewhat competent at spy-type activities and for bravery. Then again, I think the bravery is more a case of too much testosterone poisoning to bother avoiding dangerous situations. I know he's deliberately written to be obnoxious, but when a major character supposedly on the side of good makes me grit my teeth in extreme irritation almost every time he's onscreen, I think that's a bit much. His alpha-male pigheadedness rubs me the wrong way. With the despicable Oswald Danes and slimy Jilly Kitzinger already on the show, I really didn't need another jerk taking up screentime on the Gwen Cooper Action Hour, which is the show I'm enjoying watching.
-I've generally liked Gwen for most of Torchwood's run, but this series has really made me fall for her. I love that she manages to be a loving wife, devoted mommy, and totally badass. She shoots guns while holding a baby! She intimidates a plane of people supposedly taking her into custody into doing her bidding to help Jack! She gets up to all sorts of spy shenanigans, including faking an adorably cheesy American accent! I like that she complained about the heels she was wearing to break into the Phicorps building last week (especially since the really tall heels Esther and Vera had been wearing were a source of eyerolling for me.) I was excited this week to see her back in Wales and with Rhys. She probably made a mistake when she called for help when her dad started having the heart attack during the break out, since that pretty much doomed him to getting put in category 1. If she and Rhys had shoved him into the car and sought out another doctor outside the camp maybe they could have revived him. However, I don't think anyone can blame her for a moment of insufficient paranoia while her dad is having a scary heart attack.
-In many of the episodes, I felt like Captain Jack had been weirdly sidelined. We did get continuity with his past, which I really appreciated. His phone conversation with Gwen after the Sex Montage of Great Controversy made me want to cuddle him. However, Jack's totally understandable continuing angst seems to have been making him a little subdued and off his usual game. Episode 5 finally hit the mark with Jack. His banter was great, both in helping Esther to feel like a member of the team and especially when sending Rex away in the ambulance. Yet his CoE issues are still very much in evidence. His guilt about Stephen makes him feel kinship with Oswald Danes. He desperately wants to believe that Oswald is redeemable, because that means that Jack himself is. But Oswald is not the same as Jack, and I'm not sure if there is any good in him. Right now, the show could be heading towards Oswald either pulling a last minute turn and saving the world or him truly becoming the face of the evil behind the Miracle.
-I like Esther, but she really needs to get better at thinking things through. For someone employed by the CIA, has she never even seen a spy movie? Still, she keeps trying. Right now I think she needs a dose of the patented Harkness touch. It would do them both good. (Also, Jack has come across as more gay than omnisexual in this series. Dammit, show, don't overcategorize for the Americans.)
-I kind of love that Gwen's mom made a giant evidence wall. Or was that made by Rhys? Either way, kudos.
-I don't think the ten episode story arc is working as well as either of Torchwood's previous formats. It lacks the urgency and drive of CoE, but it doesn't have the ability to neatly tie up each episode and vary the tone from week to week that S1 and S2 had. I'm enjoying it, but I think the pacing could have been tightened a bit. We're halfway through now; where are the damn aliens in this series? Slower pacing does give time for character development, but I thought CoE did admirably well fleshing out Lois Habiba (I MISS HER), Alice, Mr. Frobisher, and the other new characters, not to mention the returning cast, in much less time.
-Despite the capslock cries of woe at the start of this entry, I don't have too much of an issue with Vera's death. I knew that at least one of the new members of Torchwood was likely to kick the bucket by the end of the series, because that's how Torchwood rolls. (Also, since the miracle doesn't seem to give the speedy healing that immortal Jack always had, I'm pretty sure that being burnt to bits is something she's not coming back from.) I was surprised that we lost Vera only halfway through the series, but while I liked her a lot I hadn't bonded with her enough to shed tears. Although her final moments were helpless, she got shot because she was standing up for the oppressed. (Though why didn't someone remind her before they started that in an undercover mission she should get information and get out, not start arguing with the over-the-top racist, sexist administrator?)
-I still miss the Hub and Cardiff as much as I miss the human characters who aren't with the show any more.
-Thus far Miracle Day isn't quite as good as CoE or as lovably quirky as earlier series (though it has far better storytelling than most of S1 and some of S2). However, I'm still enjoying it quite a bit. Jane Espenson's episodes are especially good.
-Side note: afterelton.com has been posting hilarious and insightful recaps. The one for ep. 5 isn't up yet, so here's the recap for ep. 4. (I know these episodes have names, but hardly anyone on my flist is posting about Torchwood so I don't have them memorized.)
So, my general opinion before this episode was that I was enjoying it, but it felt more like a crossover with some Torchwood characters in another show entirely. Now, suddenly we have MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH (probably permanent)! I feel so much more at home, goddammit. Further thoughts:
-NOOOOOOOOOOOO, NOT VERA! D: She's my favorite of the new characters. She's smart, assertive, compassionate, courageous, and willing to return Jack's wonderfully dorky Torchwood Welcome Fistbump. She might be foolish enough to sleep with Rex, but she doesn't moon over him. Why did it have to be her who demonstrated the horror of the overflow camps? Rex was just in that oven ten minutes before.
-As you might gather from that last sentence, I really dislike Rex. I do give him points for being somewhat competent at spy-type activities and for bravery. Then again, I think the bravery is more a case of too much testosterone poisoning to bother avoiding dangerous situations. I know he's deliberately written to be obnoxious, but when a major character supposedly on the side of good makes me grit my teeth in extreme irritation almost every time he's onscreen, I think that's a bit much. His alpha-male pigheadedness rubs me the wrong way. With the despicable Oswald Danes and slimy Jilly Kitzinger already on the show, I really didn't need another jerk taking up screentime on the Gwen Cooper Action Hour, which is the show I'm enjoying watching.
-I've generally liked Gwen for most of Torchwood's run, but this series has really made me fall for her. I love that she manages to be a loving wife, devoted mommy, and totally badass. She shoots guns while holding a baby! She intimidates a plane of people supposedly taking her into custody into doing her bidding to help Jack! She gets up to all sorts of spy shenanigans, including faking an adorably cheesy American accent! I like that she complained about the heels she was wearing to break into the Phicorps building last week (especially since the really tall heels Esther and Vera had been wearing were a source of eyerolling for me.) I was excited this week to see her back in Wales and with Rhys. She probably made a mistake when she called for help when her dad started having the heart attack during the break out, since that pretty much doomed him to getting put in category 1. If she and Rhys had shoved him into the car and sought out another doctor outside the camp maybe they could have revived him. However, I don't think anyone can blame her for a moment of insufficient paranoia while her dad is having a scary heart attack.
-In many of the episodes, I felt like Captain Jack had been weirdly sidelined. We did get continuity with his past, which I really appreciated. His phone conversation with Gwen after the Sex Montage of Great Controversy made me want to cuddle him. However, Jack's totally understandable continuing angst seems to have been making him a little subdued and off his usual game. Episode 5 finally hit the mark with Jack. His banter was great, both in helping Esther to feel like a member of the team and especially when sending Rex away in the ambulance. Yet his CoE issues are still very much in evidence. His guilt about Stephen makes him feel kinship with Oswald Danes. He desperately wants to believe that Oswald is redeemable, because that means that Jack himself is. But Oswald is not the same as Jack, and I'm not sure if there is any good in him. Right now, the show could be heading towards Oswald either pulling a last minute turn and saving the world or him truly becoming the face of the evil behind the Miracle.
-I like Esther, but she really needs to get better at thinking things through. For someone employed by the CIA, has she never even seen a spy movie? Still, she keeps trying. Right now I think she needs a dose of the patented Harkness touch. It would do them both good. (Also, Jack has come across as more gay than omnisexual in this series. Dammit, show, don't overcategorize for the Americans.)
-I kind of love that Gwen's mom made a giant evidence wall. Or was that made by Rhys? Either way, kudos.
-I don't think the ten episode story arc is working as well as either of Torchwood's previous formats. It lacks the urgency and drive of CoE, but it doesn't have the ability to neatly tie up each episode and vary the tone from week to week that S1 and S2 had. I'm enjoying it, but I think the pacing could have been tightened a bit. We're halfway through now; where are the damn aliens in this series? Slower pacing does give time for character development, but I thought CoE did admirably well fleshing out Lois Habiba (I MISS HER), Alice, Mr. Frobisher, and the other new characters, not to mention the returning cast, in much less time.
-Despite the capslock cries of woe at the start of this entry, I don't have too much of an issue with Vera's death. I knew that at least one of the new members of Torchwood was likely to kick the bucket by the end of the series, because that's how Torchwood rolls. (Also, since the miracle doesn't seem to give the speedy healing that immortal Jack always had, I'm pretty sure that being burnt to bits is something she's not coming back from.) I was surprised that we lost Vera only halfway through the series, but while I liked her a lot I hadn't bonded with her enough to shed tears. Although her final moments were helpless, she got shot because she was standing up for the oppressed. (Though why didn't someone remind her before they started that in an undercover mission she should get information and get out, not start arguing with the over-the-top racist, sexist administrator?)
-I still miss the Hub and Cardiff as much as I miss the human characters who aren't with the show any more.
-Thus far Miracle Day isn't quite as good as CoE or as lovably quirky as earlier series (though it has far better storytelling than most of S1 and some of S2). However, I'm still enjoying it quite a bit. Jane Espenson's episodes are especially good.
-Side note: afterelton.com has been posting hilarious and insightful recaps. The one for ep. 5 isn't up yet, so here's the recap for ep. 4. (I know these episodes have names, but hardly anyone on my flist is posting about Torchwood so I don't have them memorized.)
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(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-07 08:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-07 08:59 pm (UTC)You're right that the team did seem to be coming together with Vera joining onto Torchwood. I'll miss her. I hope Rex doesn't try to blame her death on Jack or anyone else the way he tried to blame Jack for the previous Torchwood team's demise.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-10 02:21 am (UTC)Would I do better with it watching it from the beginning? I really want to like it, but except for Gwen it kinda didn't feel like Torchwood to me. :/
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-13 07:00 am (UTC)If you do watch, go from the beginning to keep up with the continuity. You might some of the non-Rex characters more if you start there, plus Gwen gets some fantastic moments in ep 1 and 2. Overall I've thought it's gotten better as it went along, with the exception that I liked 5 better than 6. Still, so far it's my least favorite season of Torchwood. If you disliked episode 3 that much, I don't know if I'd recommend it to you.