A few months ago I went to see the world premier of Torchwood: Miracle Day in London with the cast and writers and journalists and everything, and yes I am still going on about it. At the premier, we were encouraged to blog about what we saw which I did (see previous blog entry). Anyway since I did that, and since this series has caused a bit of controversy with the Torchwood fans, I thought I’d take a look at the whole series. So here I go.
Episode 1: The New World
I wont stay on this one too long as I all ready covered it (see previous blog entry) as I said (see previous paragraph). But to sum up my thoughts: ‘The New World’ refers not just to the Miracle but also to the fact it was now filming in America. This first episode actually soothed my fears that it would be too Americanised. Although there were big helicopter stunts and explosions more commonly seen on American TV thanks to it’s bigger budget, I thought they were pretty cool. Most of the important plot developments happened in America, but the bits with Gwen and Rhys and their “normal” life in Wales stole the show. I liked that it launched us straight into the Miracle Day scenario in the very first, quite horrible, scene. I liked Esther as the CIA worker out of her depth, in the role Gwen had in the first series (ie. saying “What?” when some sci-fi needed explaining), I felt awkward and squirmy like I was in the same room with this monster when Oswald Danes was on screen and Mekhi Phifer impressed as Rex, with his journey to Wales being the highlight. This was a very promising start.
Episode 2: Renditions
In the first two seasons of Torchwood the aliens were quite accommodating and would make the trip to Cardiff via. the rift, to do battle with the Torchwood team. In recent series aliens have been less Cardiff based - what has happened to the rift? with Torchwood officially disbanded I can only assume Cardiff is overrun with weevils - and so episode two of Miracle Day is basically the same as episode two of Children Of Earth, which is basically the story of our heroes commute from Cardiff to “The Action” changing at “Jack-Nearly-Dying.” In Children Of Earth this was all well and good, because we had the excellent sub-plot with Ianto and his family, and the government making preparations for the arrival of the 456. In ‘Renditions,’ we have a worrying fat man at the CIA (that’s a fat man that worries me btw, not a worried man who is fat) who is plotting from within to get Jack killed via a mobile phone with a rotating triangle screensaver. None of this grabs me like Children Of Earth’s other episode 2 stuff. This is nowhere near as sharply written or performed as that stuff was. Perhaps it was a mistake to give a new American writer an episode so early on?
On the plane, Jack says the exciting thing about the miracle is that it “happened to everyone at the same time,” and introduces the all-important morphic fields idea. The gay banter with the steward is pretty funny too. It takes a turn for the more serious when Jack is poisoned so we see that this new Jack is vulnerable and also that someone wants him out of the way. Aside from Jack’s banter with Rex, the other enjoyable thing about this episode is Gwen and the baffled cabin crew cooking up an antidote with bits of airplane. I’m not sure how scientific this cure is, but I don’t really mind. It reminded me of the Jon Pertwee years of Doctor Who back in the 70s, cooking up antidotes and solutions in his UNIT lab and solving problems with ordinary objects he found around him. This is very Doctor Who and entertaining.
Oswald Danes and Jilly Kitzinger meet for the first time and there’s a really odd chemistry between them. Jilly is quite annoying - intentionally, not in a bad way - and immediately there’s potential for her character to be a real gem. The fact that Oswald and Jilly clearly hate each other but see the potential to use each other is wonderfully played and - perhaps because I’ve been watching a lot of Frasier lately - Jilly reminds me of Frasier Crane’s kniving, manipulative, agent Bebe Glazer who ruthlessly masterminds everything with a smile and charm that’s kind of chilling.
Back on terra firma the other side of the Atlantic, there’s time for a quick fight, a broken neck, more banter with Rex (the moment when Jack tries to get into the better car only to find out Esther’s mini was the getaway car is a great comedy moment, timed perfectly.)
“If you’re the best England has to offer, God help you.” “I’m Welsh” *smacks in the face* = Epic.
Episode 3: Dead Of Night
This is the episode where things start to get interesting. That’s all well and good, but it should have been the episode where things start to get exciting and it just isn’t.
This is the episode about how people cope with the Miracle. First shown through Rex’s threats to the worrying fat man about shooting bits of his brain to see what does what. Some people cope through joining weird religious cults, as the opening titles fade away to reveal the soulless meandering down the street with creepy masks and candles. Genuinely quite interesting, so it’s a shame less than a minute later they are forgotten about and never mentioned again. What are they like? What do they believe? Who are they? What do they talk to each other about? How/Where did they start? I can’t help but feel a potentially interesting idea has been missed here. All of those questions go unanswered, as does “so what was the point of the soulless being in it then?”
Meanwhile Torchwood’s exciting fascination with the darker side of mankind is back in the form of a domestic abuse victim who has been strangled by her husband, but he can’t be knicked for murder because she’s not dead. This leads Doctor Vera to some medical panels discussing what “death” and “murder” mean in the post-miracle world. These are by far the most engaging parts of this episode. It drags Torchwood away from the helicopter battles and CIA agents and back to where it always belongs, the real world and how things affect real people. These planning meetings remind us that, even if we’re not all joining cults or fighting with the CIA, this miracle would be affecting us, this is how life has changed for the common man. That’s what Torchwood has always done best and it’s great to see a little of that. So far Dr Juarez is the best character, and to be honest she seems to have been the only one to do anything about this miracle so far. She’s asking the questions, she’s trying to get things done, she’s far more effective than Torchwood at this stage. No wonder she’s attracted the attention of Jilly Kitzinjer - what is she up to?
Esther worries about her sister. Her developing relationship with Gwen is quite touching. It’s very understated and unforced. Not just when she opens up about her sister, but also their English/American difference jokey conversation at the start is a scene loaded with brilliant subtlety by two actresses at the top of their game, and a real connection starts to form between the new teammates. It’s also nice that this scene is principally funny to the British audience, a nice treat for the original viewers.
Sadly, Jack and Rex don’t seem to be getting on so well. Rex throws a hissy-fit and flies off in a strop, shouting at Jack that he got all his friends killed (the restraint in Barrowman’s face during the tirade is a lovely bit of acting). Rex goes to see Vera and Jack goes for an irrelevant blow-job. In the BBC’s response to the row about them editing down this sex scene in the UK version, they said ”In a later episode a sequence of gay sex is important to the story and therefore both the US and UK will show the same version.” Surely an admission that these scenes are padding.
After the sex intermission Rex and a hungover Jack return to investigating Phi-corp who are profiting from the miracle. Good to feel the story getting some pace, but why is that their only line of inquiry? Other people must be profiting too, the designer and manufacturer of the soulless masks for one. But it’s a welcome return for the coolest Torchwood gadget, the contact lenses.
While Jack and Rex have been getting their end away, Oswald has had a less good night getting beaten up by police. We feel so much sympathy for him at this point - Bill Pullman is excellent - and are quite disgusted with ourselves when Jack goes to see him and we remember who/what he is. The tension in that discussion between two men who have both killed a child is uncomfortable and it is the first major bit of character development this series, even if we never properly trust what Oswald says. Having felt sympathy with Oswald the previous night we are now disgusted by the fan Jack meets having been beaten up, had his recorder nicked and been thrown out. These scenes are fantastic, the best of the episode and of the series so far, but since Jack’s recording was deleted it’s back to the question I posed earlier “what was the point of that then?” This scene, like the episode, is kinda cool but barely advances the story.
Episode 4: Escape To LA
This one starts with Esther going to visit her sister, a wonderfully acted scene that knocks the Jack/Oswald scene off the best-bit spot. This is what Torchwood does best. Children Of Earth was full of small intimate scenes between friends and loved ones. As tears roll down Esther’s face later in the episode, we’re reminded of how out-of-her-depth she is, and Alexa Havins pitches her performance really well. It’s great to see a subplot that continues beyond the one scene but doesn’t interfere with the main story much.
Given all that, why is the scene with Rex and his father such a pointless let down? Rex argues with his dad then goes on about his business. It’s as if somewhere in a character profile it said “Rex had a bad relationship with his father,” and they thought they’d better write a scene about it, but keep it short, simple and don’t let it impact on anything.
The team have moved to LA, partly because the bad guys were tracing their call in the previous episode, but mostly because the series new budget allows them to and Russell T Davies thought it’d be kinda cool. There’s a nice mix of comedy, as Jack and Gwen pretend to be an irritating couple to get finger-prints and eye-scans they need to get into Phi-corp, and horror as the villains get the same things but through less moral and more painful means. A mix of comedy and hard-hitting drama/horror has always been Torchwood’s thing, but with these scenes it feels a little bit like they can’t be bothered with either. The horror isn’t particularly horrific and the comedy isn’t very funny. Jack telling Gwen never to do her accent again raises a smile but it’s a joke Russell T Davies has used before a number of times, and - even if it is a running joke - it’s the Doctor’s joke.
So Jack and Gwen infiltrate the building in a style similar to Mission: Impossibe, 24, James Bond, Spooks, T…what I’m trying to say is like a lot of other things. So far there’s nothing really Torchwoody about this. The assassin then starts to explain - a tantalising implication that Jack is involved in the miracle, he was partly responsible for Children Of Earth too, how many more times is he going to bring society to the brink of collapse?! I find this exciting and I started coming up with theories, coz I’m a geek. Rex bursts in and shoots the bad-guy in the throat before he explains all his plans. Damn. It’s passed off as something funny, but it kinda feels like a cop-out because they can’t kill him, but can’t have him explain everything 4 episodes in to a 10 part story.
There is one horrendous non-death though and I love it. “Dead is dead” claims Ellis Hartley-Munro. An interesting look into a right-wing politics reaction to the miracle. I totally believe this, and as a politicsphile I appreciate the political comment and satire woven into this plot strand. What I also totally believe for the first time is Oswald Danes popularity. When he upstages Ellis by walking into the over-flow hospital where confused and scared people are left and delivers an impassioned promise to help these people, I finally see why people would turn to him, all the time I’m unnerved that he’s holding a baby. As with every episode so far, I have to say Bill Pullman is excellent. And this hospital is an intriguing concept that neatly foreshadows events to come. Like the line “There’s cholera in Boston” these tiny brief lines about how the world is changing, really go a long way to make this story feel real. Then comes the brutal car crusher death which is sick and I love it. A shame though that another great character is written out along with the Dead Is Dead plot strand leaving me again pondering, “why was it there in the first place?”
Episode 5: The Categories of Life
The idea of the categories themselves is well crafted, carefully thought out and believable. The politics going on in the background is wonderfully written.
Overflow camps are the big thing this week, and Gwen, Rex, Esther, Rhys and Dr. Vera are all going undercover inside them. Gwen Cooper is the worst undercover agent ever! Someone, probably beautiful brilliant Esther, has gone to a lot of trouble to get her a fake name/passport so what does Yvonne Pallister do? She goes straight to the overflow camp with Gwen Cooper’s husband and shouts to anyone who’ll listen that Geraint Cooper is her dad!
Oswald Danes is about to make a speech and Jack keeps appearing in the corner of his eye and standing enigmatically before running away. Eventually he gives Oswald a new speech he’s written. Oswald doesn’t deliver this speech. Jack’s effectiveness this series has been 0%. Unless you ask the gay bar tended in episode 3, most people would agree Jack has had no affect on proceedings.
Colin Maloney is an unpleasant piece of shit running the overflow camp, he provides a nice little sideshow of sleaziness that leads to him shooting Vera and putting her with the category ones. A 2D character.
Then the cliffhanger. Basically we have Vera, Rex, Esther, Gwen and Rhys all discovering what happens to the category ones separately. Which means we get told it five times, which given that I reckon most people saw this coming back as far back as episode 1 kinda robs it of any shock or scale. Not helped by the fact that it’s intercut with Oswald swaying around on stage that first makes you think “Oh, right he’s doing that is he?” then “Why is he doing that?” then “Actually what is he doing?” then “is he going to stop doing this?”
Episode 6: The Middle Men
In this episode Torchwood basically shout at people about how evil they’re being. Gwen shouts at nurses for running concentration camps and Rex shouts at Colin for what he did to Vera. They’ll show the world. Good ol’ Torchwood. This episode is mostly action though, Rex and Esther trying to get out of the camp, Esther getting beaten up and Rex being tortured. This is all style and no substance. Their performances are good though. Mekhi Phifer’s rage and conviction stands out as does Alexa Havins horror at category-1ing Colin.
Gwen rescues her dad and then blows-up the module. Heaps of style here, still no substance. It’s entertaining, but it’s hardly absorbing and thought-provoking like Torchwood used to be.
If it’s absorbing and thought provoking you want then look no further than the awesome-guest-character-whose-then-never-seen-again-of-the-week. This week: Stuart Owens. Jack sneakily and quite nastily manipulates his way into a meeting with Stuart who then reveals all he knows. Turns out that isn’t much, but we have the first mention of the blessing. Six episodes in, if that’s the only answer we’ve got so far, I’ll take it. This one scene stands out as being good in this episode. The dialogue is simple, concise and effective. The two characters, their knowledge (or lack of), their feelings everything is conveyed perfectly. For the first time in the series we get, if not answers, then hints. It’s the first time Jack has done anything proactive that hasn’t been a waste of his time.
The cliffhanger nails it. And pushes the pace and tension right up. Very promising end to the episode.
Episode 7: Immortal Sins
And Miracle Day gets good. This one is basically 2 two-handers. One between Jack and Gwen in the present, one between Jack and Angelo in the past. Lots to enjoy in this episode. How do the past events affect the present? For the first time this series, I’m wondering “How is this relevant?” without worrying that it probably isn’t. When Jack talks about the Doctor and making Angelo his companion it’s quite an interesting statement on the Jack/The Doctor relationship, hero worship in a way we’d not seen before, and in the context of a gay lover. Although Angelo is another awesome-guest-character-whose-then-never-seen-again-of-the-week, his story is set up so well, and there’s so much history and personality in the character that he doesn’t need more. The story of Jack and Angelo in the past is a complete perfectly formed one.
When Jack is hung in a basement being repeatedly killed. This is really well directed and followed with brief but tantalising stuff with 3 mysterious businessmen. What is going on? For once I care. This is brilliant TV and well up to Torchwood’s standards.
With nothing much to complain about regarding this episode though, it did strike me about the problem with the series as a whole. The lack of Oswald Danes in these last two episodes, I think is symptom of the shows really bad pacing. I think 10 episodes was too much for them and having advanced Oswald’s plot a lot they realised they had to write him out for a while to give the rest of the plot a chance to catch up. That said, to include Oswald in this episode would have ruined it, but to leave him out of two in a row is weird.
Episode 8: End Of The Road
Since when can the contact lenses do that? Even if the contact lenses can do that, how does Rex know how to make them do that? It all felt a little unbelievable. Then who should turn up but Q! Roger De Lancie, known to Star Trek fans as inter-dimensional piss-taker Q. And he’s basically playing Q with a different name (Helen Shapiro I think it is). Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I love Q and these scenes made me laugh out loud. The best calling Gwen English joke of the series (De Lancie delivers it perfectly, giving just enough emphasis to convey, he knows he’s getting it wrong, he just wants to be annoying), “you, red baron” the kind of beautifully delivered gag this series needed after the hard-drama of episode 7, “I am sick of her all ready. Can we deport her? Let’s deport her.” He’s hilarious, and show-stealing, and Q! and I’m bloody loving it. It’s fun.
Equally funny, but darker is Oswald and Jilly starting to get so pissed off with each other. When Oswald puts the music on and ignores Jilly, it’s very funny, but we’re reminded what a horrible person he can be just moments later when he asks for a “girl…legal age.” Then later he flips out and attacks Jilly destroying any last sympathy we might have. A brave choice by the writers and well-handled in the scripting and performance.
I question the point of the CIA agent sent to keep an eye on Jilly, since she is killed having done nothing at all. Why is nothing they do effective? It seems really silly sometimes. Overall though I really liked this episode and Angelo’s death was a very nice twist and I like that Jack, Rex and Esther form a bit of a team and get on now.
Episode 9: The Gathering
I have a real thing about cliffhangers that are followed by “2 Months Later” (amount of time may vary). I love them. I can see why some people think it’s a cop-out. Why some people would like to have seen Jack bleeding on the backseat of Ester’s car and a rush to save his life, but I don’t mind just assuming that happened and being plunged into a situation that shows us where that leads and how much worse the situation has got.
Rhys Williams is the man! So angry! So much hatred of Oswald! It’s nice to see Kai Owen in an episode properly and not relegated to the odd video call or bit of van driving.
There’s something wonderful about Gwen helping out the locals from her kitchen with stolen drugs. That’s very Gwen. Doing it, even though she’s harbouring her cat1 father in the basement. That storyline is made so unbearable (in a good way, intentionally) by the fact that the officer who comes round to search the place is clearly loving his job. Although he clearly isn’t any good at it, as Jack and Oswald can just turn their backs on him and go unarrested - not suspicious at all guys. I like that it’s Rhys who works out the connection too. Things are moving, falling in place ready for the finale.
Episode 10: The Blood Line
In Wales, Rhys goes to be with Gwen’s father when he dies, while PC Andy goes and holds hands with the unknown girl (proving what an underrated character he is. I like to think that if it were still set in Cardiff he would have had a bigger part.)
In Shanghai, Jack’s speech to Oswald about the future is pure poetry that makes me wish Russell T Davies had scripted more episodes of the series himself. He has a beautiful writing style and, with all sympathies for Oswald gone, we love it when Jack hits him with “then you’d know how small you’d made your life.” Gwen’s opening monologue is great too and I love “Anwen says Hello.” “No, she doesn’t she’s tiny.” I can’t help feeling, if Russell had been more hands on, this series could have been so sharp.
The switcheroo with Jack/Rex’s blood is a nice twist. In hindsight the hints (Rex being in pain, just like Jack) are so well placed. Oswald meanwhile is loving having a bomb strapped to him, Pullman delivers another top performance, a mixture of enjoying doing the right thing and an everlasting love of his own voice. We don’t get any real science to explain how the blessing works (the best I could come up with is “it’s a bit like that bit in The Doctor Dances”), but again Russell’s ideas and descriptions are poetry and to the ear of a Doctor Who fan all those back-references Jack uses to try and explain it are poetry too.
Jack then makes the ultimate sacrifice, he faces his new mortality and vulnerability and lets Gwen shoot him, the other side of the world Rex sacrifices Esther to save the world. An epic conclusion, perhaps not what we’d hoped from ten-weeks of build up, but suitably momentous. The cutting between Barrowman and Phifer does show clearly how much Barrowman can ham it up, but it’s Torchwood and he’s John Barrowman, and lets face it we quite like it don’t we.
Dark comedy follows as Gwen and Jilly fight in the lift. Going up, then down, then up, then down. The dark comedy works in this context because silly though it is, it’s what we’d all do. Gwen grabs Jack who obviously survived, as if there was any real doubt and they run for it before Oswald blows-up, shouting at sexy school children to start running. Chilling and brilliant.
So what’s left? Some tidying up. Esther’s death/funeral didn’t really bother me like it should have done. I’m sad that she wont be in the next series, but it just felt somewhat lacking in impact. I think because so much of the series had been exciting set pieces and big show and so little of it had truly made me care, that now I just felt “oh.” Rex being immortal like Jack was a nice twist though, even if you saw it coming a mile off, a nice lead in to the next series, when I hope Rex will return and, to be honest, it’ll get back to Cardiff. Jilly meanwhile broods in a park and we’re reminded that some of the bad guys are still out there and still have plans. I hope the next series isn’t a sequel to this though. Although the last few episodes were good, it was nowhere near as good as Children of Earth and the writing was just nowhere near as sharp and 10 episodes was too much. It was a good idea to go after the American money, butTorchwood sacrificed too much for it. The series was totally upstaged by Torchwood: The Lost Files a trio of radio plays on Radio 4, set before series 3 so Ianto was still in it!! They were so much better, simpler, Iantoey and the emotional elements were properly emotional.
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