Torchwood: Miracle Day 6
Aug. 13th, 2011 02:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tardis_stowawayMiracle Day's episode 6 was the first in the series when I found Rex only a tiny bit irritating rather than deeply rage-inducing. Other than that big plus, I didn't like it as much as last week.
I'm lazy, so my reaction is in a random list of bullet points:
-Speaking of things with points, how disturbing was that scene with the pen? REALLY DISTURBING. The premise of MD allows all sorts of horrific suffering, but that was some very graphic torture to put onscreen.
-In this episode, everyone was lousy at being undercover. Let's count the ways! Esther lacked subtlety but did adequately until she decided to go rescue Rex, but why on earth did she keep calling Vera and not think to contact Jack to see if he'd heard from Vera or had advice? Rex walked into surprise soldiers and then seemed weirdly convinced that the man in charge of the concentration camp would be willing to help him expose it. Also, why did he go in with a camcorder rather than a smart phone or something else that could transmit the incriminating data while he was still inside? Gwen was too mad and worried to maintain even the slightest act of actually being a nurse. Rhys did a pretty great job for someone who isn't actually a secret agent and gets max points of anyone here, but there was probably a way to better BS the supervisor dude. Jack gave his name out everywhere and didn't bother to see if Janet could be convincing about faking a kidnapping over the phone, though it worked out so far.
-This week on The Gwen Cooper Action Hour, the celebration of female heroism that I am trying to watch in between the various distracting side plots: blowing up a building and riding away on a motorcycle like a BAMF! Heroic speeches! Mid-danger kisses with her adoring husband! Getting her dad out of the death camp! Hell yeah. Guest starring on the Action Hour, Esther kills a creep with her bare hands despite her highly impractical heels.
-Rex managed to give Esther a pep talk that was actually helpful and considerate. This a much greater miracle than the whole "end of death" thing.
-Children of Earth took a potentially world-ending situation and showed us how the people at the top came to make a deeply horrific decision in an effort to save something of civilization. Miracle Day looks at a similarly huge and horrific situation, but it takes appalling decisions by the powerful as a given and focuses instead on the mid- and low-level people who make the horror happen. It's a fine premise (I'd wondered in CoE who were all those soldiers willing to kidnap children), but imperfectly executed. In CoE, the actions of the government felt all the more chilling because those people deciding to give in to the 456 felt human, no more corrupt than most of the actual people in power. Miracle Day again seems to have a less deft hand with character. Mr. Sleazy at the California camp (Colin Maloney) is really over the top with the racism, sexism, and general ickiness. When he got upset about killing, it seemed almost entirely fear of getting caught and surprise at himself rather than actual guilt. Yes, amoral sleazebags exist, but they're less interesting than non-villainous people who end up complicit in horrible things. Dr. Patel in Wales has too little screentime for us to learn more than her rigid adherence to her job description (though I notice that she didn't call security on Gwen, which she could have given how aggressive Gwen was being.) The Phycorps manager guy is the most interesting of the nasty middlemen. He's an adulterous ass, but he seems curious and worried about what's going on even while he keeps on doing work that contributes to it. I get the sense he wasn't talking to Jack out of concern for "kidnapped" Janet but because he wanted Jack to know.
-Attention RTD and other Torchwood writing staff: if you kill Rhys or the baby, I will be extremely displeased. There will be all caps ranting and lasting resentment. Killing off Gwen's mom will also anger me, though the temper tantrum will be a little milder.
-Next week: flashbacks, yay! Maybe we can finally get some damn aliens on this show.
I'm lazy, so my reaction is in a random list of bullet points:
-Speaking of things with points, how disturbing was that scene with the pen? REALLY DISTURBING. The premise of MD allows all sorts of horrific suffering, but that was some very graphic torture to put onscreen.
-In this episode, everyone was lousy at being undercover. Let's count the ways! Esther lacked subtlety but did adequately until she decided to go rescue Rex, but why on earth did she keep calling Vera and not think to contact Jack to see if he'd heard from Vera or had advice? Rex walked into surprise soldiers and then seemed weirdly convinced that the man in charge of the concentration camp would be willing to help him expose it. Also, why did he go in with a camcorder rather than a smart phone or something else that could transmit the incriminating data while he was still inside? Gwen was too mad and worried to maintain even the slightest act of actually being a nurse. Rhys did a pretty great job for someone who isn't actually a secret agent and gets max points of anyone here, but there was probably a way to better BS the supervisor dude. Jack gave his name out everywhere and didn't bother to see if Janet could be convincing about faking a kidnapping over the phone, though it worked out so far.
-This week on The Gwen Cooper Action Hour, the celebration of female heroism that I am trying to watch in between the various distracting side plots: blowing up a building and riding away on a motorcycle like a BAMF! Heroic speeches! Mid-danger kisses with her adoring husband! Getting her dad out of the death camp! Hell yeah. Guest starring on the Action Hour, Esther kills a creep with her bare hands despite her highly impractical heels.
-Rex managed to give Esther a pep talk that was actually helpful and considerate. This a much greater miracle than the whole "end of death" thing.
-Children of Earth took a potentially world-ending situation and showed us how the people at the top came to make a deeply horrific decision in an effort to save something of civilization. Miracle Day looks at a similarly huge and horrific situation, but it takes appalling decisions by the powerful as a given and focuses instead on the mid- and low-level people who make the horror happen. It's a fine premise (I'd wondered in CoE who were all those soldiers willing to kidnap children), but imperfectly executed. In CoE, the actions of the government felt all the more chilling because those people deciding to give in to the 456 felt human, no more corrupt than most of the actual people in power. Miracle Day again seems to have a less deft hand with character. Mr. Sleazy at the California camp (Colin Maloney) is really over the top with the racism, sexism, and general ickiness. When he got upset about killing, it seemed almost entirely fear of getting caught and surprise at himself rather than actual guilt. Yes, amoral sleazebags exist, but they're less interesting than non-villainous people who end up complicit in horrible things. Dr. Patel in Wales has too little screentime for us to learn more than her rigid adherence to her job description (though I notice that she didn't call security on Gwen, which she could have given how aggressive Gwen was being.) The Phycorps manager guy is the most interesting of the nasty middlemen. He's an adulterous ass, but he seems curious and worried about what's going on even while he keeps on doing work that contributes to it. I get the sense he wasn't talking to Jack out of concern for "kidnapped" Janet but because he wanted Jack to know.
-Attention RTD and other Torchwood writing staff: if you kill Rhys or the baby, I will be extremely displeased. There will be all caps ranting and lasting resentment. Killing off Gwen's mom will also anger me, though the temper tantrum will be a little milder.
-Next week: flashbacks, yay! Maybe we can finally get some damn aliens on this show.
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Date: 2011-08-14 08:10 am (UTC)I will say I felt weirdly ... pleased? when the whole "WE HAVE YOUR MOTHER/HUSBAND/CHILD" thing happened, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I think it's because I've seen so many movies like Taken and Die Hard where it's all "WE HAVE YOUR WIFE/DAUGHTER, BADASS GUY, COME SAVE THEM." that it was the strangely refreshing for it to be a BADASS WIFE saving her husband. Of course that could all go to shit next episode, but I would seriously watch a whole show of just Gwen Cooper reenacting every single Bruce Willis and Liam Neeson movie, only actually good this time.
(And it's not even like Rhys is a man "in the fridge" because he has a personality! Of course, if they kill him or the baby I will stomp on something. No, show. Do not disappoint me.)