I’ve never followed Doctor Who, except for a few old episodes from the 1970s with who I now recognize as the fourth Doctor and a hokey television movie from 1996 that even my mom thought was silly. Naturally, the spin off, Torchwood, didn’t hold much interest for me.
Until I saw ads for Torchwood while watching a Jekyll marathon on BBC America a couple weeks ago and something unexpected happened.
I started getting excited about Torchwood.
It’s just that I’m so jaded that I expect the onslaught of genre programming headed our way this season to disappoint – if not at first, then eventually.
No, it doesn’t suck to be this negative. It’s part of my chemical make-up now.
Torchwood follows the Torchwood Institute, specifically the branch located in Cardiff, Wales, which investigates alien related incidents in the area and adapts found alien technology for their own use.
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Leading Torchwood Cardiff is Captain Jack Harkness, an American babe who went missing in Great Britain in 1941. His second is Suzie, who’s having some existential troubles with the quality of alien lifeforms that find their way to Earth.
“There’s got to be great stuff out there. Beautiful stuff,” she says, “But, all we get is $h!t.” Like Weevils, man-eating creepies who slipped through a tear in space and wound up in the sewers of Cardiff.
Rounding out the crew is Dr. Owen Harper, computer specialist Toshiko Sato and Ianto Jones, the front desk guy.
The series premiere focuses on Welsh police constable Gwen Cooper who stumbles onto Torchwood during a serial killer investigation, becoming an agent by the end of the episode. It’s a good intro to the institute and the crew and, with the new girl, is a viable place to start the story.
Torchwood may be my new favorite show. At least, if it keeps up with what was presented in the pilot, then it could potentially be my new favorite show. There I go being all jaded again.
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I, too, am not a “Doctor Who” fan but I found myself watching this show with the dawning realization that it has the potential to be absolutely cracktastic. Seeing the preview for episode 2? Methinks I was right!
That said, I adored the sheer bloody-mindedness of Gwen. I hope she retains the same level of smarts and resourcefulness and avoids falling (re: being written) into Captain Jack’s shadow. She’s the reason I’ll be tuning in again.
Definitely check out the new Doctor Who series if only to get a handle on who Jack is. The Who episodes complement and expand his character in Torchwood. It’s like coffee, it’s good black but even better with cream and sugar. I’m so glad Torchwood has finally reached our shores, it’s the best show in a looong time.
I’ve caught the last few minutes of Doctor Who when I’ve tuned in for Flash Gordon lately. Those few minutes have really caught my interest and I think it’ll be added to my regular viewing schedule.
I love Torchwood. Can’t wait for second season to start. I like the dark undertones of the show. And I’m also a big fan of the Doctor Who series.
They had me with the pizza delivery scam. I’ll be tuning in again tonight.
Good luck to you with this. I hope you turn to back to Who again. It’s way awesome if you know where to look.