Torchwood

[svetlanamonsoon]

I just made that picture my wallpaper. I will even forgive the lack of Ianto because John Barrowman's sweater wins at life.

[Malle Babbe]

John Barrowman is a hottie, but Dear God, his teeth scare me.

I found this riff on the shortcomings of Torchwood which was damn funny. I know I sound like I hate the show, but I only whine because I care.

Here's a plot idea: Someone finally says "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch" three times fast, accidentally summons Cthulu, and Our Heros save the day in spite of themselves. Or more accurately, Owen and Gwen shag each other cross-eyed in a broom closet, Jack stands on the roof of a tall building and looks dramatic, and Tosh and Ianto actually get the job done.

[Deleted]

I'm finally all caught up on Torchwood and, after the last two episodes, am convinced that my problem is that the reach of the series by far exceeds its grasp. I mean, "Random Shoes" was touching -- heartbreaking, even -- but in the first season of a series, you don't experiment with whole episodes outside (for the most part) the universe of the show. Don't get me wrong, I really liked that episode, but that's a Season Three experiment, not something to play with before the main character's backstory is explained.

So, too, were my feelings about "Out of Time". I thought it would make a terrific two-parter, exploring more than one or two difficulties the time-shifters had in coping with modern life. Jack's reaction to the man's experience reeked with homo subtext (or some subtext of some kind; there was something else going on there), but the guy was oblivious to it and the writers took the subtext nowhere. His suicide was startlingly abrupt, as if they had no idea how to gracefully write him out.

And the pilot's ridiculously frivolous decision to fly into the rift -- because the weather conditions were the same? the hell? -- could have used another episode to play out. I'm just thankful they didn't have Gwen walk in on one of the (too-many) Owen/Pilot shag sessions; that would have me shutting off the television right there.

They have a good thing, here. They just need a guiding hand (or two of them, furiously typing) to make it more consistent, a bit less obvious, and put some focus where it's deserved (Jack).

Ianto was fun in the last episode. While I would have canned him immediately (if not killed him) after "Cyberwoman", he's clearly haunted by what he did and is slowly coming back into his own. The writers are making amends for that bad character action.

Also: Owen is kinda creepy-looking. How he beds absolutely everything with ovaries is beyond me.

[Deleted]

You know, bstewart, I think you've hit the nail on the head. The individual episodes are generally very enjoyable, it's the connective tissue, as it were, that isn't working out. I keep enjoying the episodes when I'm watching them, then getting to the end and being no more the wiser about Jack, or any of the other characters, and muttering "what the FUCK?" for half an hour or so. They've brought in some great well-defined, episode-only characters, and "Out of Time" was a really good example of that, but it's not a good idea to make your one-off characters so much more rounded than your regulars.

Jack's reaction to the man's experience reeked with homo subtext (or some subtext of some kind; there was something else going on there), but the guy was oblivious to it and the writers took the subtext nowhere. His suicide was startlingly abrupt, as if they had no idea how to gracefully write him out.

God, yes. There was something going on there that they never went with, and I couldn't figure out why. I think he was supposed to relate to the guy or something, being out of time, but it wasn't well developed.

How he beds absolutely everything with ovaries is beyond me.

I'm slightly worried that, RTD notwithstanding, they're doing it because John Barrowman's known to be gay and out, and they think the viewing public can cope with him being gay, but would get confused if he was able to, you know, act sexually attracted to a woman. Which would be stupid because we all know and understand that Jack isn't gay or straight; he marches only in the Slut Pride parad. I could be wrong - I hope I'm wrong - but it seems weird that he was such a sex bomb in Doctor Who and here, where he could be having loads of sex ever episode in lots of naked positions, he's become weirdly chaste.

I'm glad they've got a second season, though, as someone mentioned above. Hopefully they'll start to sort out some of their issues. Do you think it would work if we started writing a letter demanding (a) Jack be the lead again, thank you, (b) Jack get some sex again, thank you, and (c) SOMEONE take control of this ship and steer it properly?

[svetlanamonsoon]

erinnyes said:

I'm slightly worried that, RTD notwithstanding, they're doing it because John Barrowman's known to be gay and out, and they think the viewing public can cope with him being gay, but would get confused if he was able to, you know, act sexually attracted to a woman. Which would be stupid because we all know and understand that Jack isn't gay or straight; he marches only in the Slut Pride parad. I could be wrong - I hope I'm wrong - but it seems weird that he was such a sex bomb in Doctor Who and here, where he could be having loads of sex ever episode in lots of naked positions, he's become weirdly chaste.

I never thought about it along those lines and while it would gravely disappoint me I wouldn't be completley surprised if this was the case. And it's ridiculous because Jack and Rose had an insane amount of chemistry during the 9th Doctor's season and while I don't want to see Jack/Gwen happen I do think that John Barrowman and Eve Myles have a certain amount of chemistry between them.

I've decided in the interest of really wanting to love this show I'm going to watch it and pretend that they have explained that the Doctor and/or Rose was the love of Jack's life and even though he only spent a short amount of time with them it was enough and he no longer needs to sleep around.

I am very sad and shippery when I want to be.

[laconicchick]

pretend that they have explained that the Doctor and/or Rose was the love of Jack's life

I think this is a sound way to go about it. After all, why else would he keep the hand in the jar?

[Deleted]

After all, why else would he keep the hand in the jar?

Because nothing says romance like severed limbs.

I've decided in the interest of really wanting to love this show I'm going to watch it and pretend that they have explained that the Doctor and/or Rose was the love of Jack's life and even though he only spent a short amount of time with them it was enough and he no longer needs to sleep around.

It's a reasonable argument. But I want them to actually develop that. Because without some explaining, fondling a severed hand, however belonging to the love of your life, isn't so much "I have seen the true face of love and no longer need engage in meaningless sex" as "I have seen the true face of madness and everyone should be very afraid".

I never thought about it along those lines and while it would gravely disappoint me I wouldn't be completley surprised if this was the case.

It would disappoint me too, but yeah, not really surprise me.

And it's ridiculous because Jack and Rose had an insane amount of chemistry during the 9th Doctor's season and while I don't want to see Jack/Gwen happen I do think that John Barrowman and Eve Myles have a certain amount of chemistry between them.

Jack and Rose had great chemistry. Of course, Jack and the Doctor had great chemistry too. I agree that John Barrowman and Eve Myles have good chemistry too, and I wish they'd develop it - not even sexually, just as a friendship. They sort of got it started - Gwen was the only one who knew that Jack couldn't die, and he'd started confiding in her a little - but dropped it all.

They just haven't dealt with Jack that well at all. Sigh.

[laconicchick]

Because nothing says romance like severed limbs.

Well, it's all he has! It's not like the Doctor sent him flowers or something.

[laconicchick]

I apologize for the double post, but it was a day and a half ago and on a different subject...

If Owen turns into a weevil, I am going to be pissed off.

I liked how there actually seemed to be some continuity (with Owen's anger and "heartbreak") from last week.

[Deleted]

If Owen turns into a weevil, I am going to be pissed off.

For real. I don't know what that was about, and the "next week" doesn't seem to show a Weevil!Owen, but if that wanker Mark's hypothesis about how the Weevils are just a bunch of disenfranchised upper middle class white guys a thousand years in the future turns out to be right, I'm going to be annoyed.

What was up with this episode? Was the writer just sitting there with Fight Club on repeat on his DVD player, making extensive notes? What a load of wank. I mean, Fight Club pretty much is a load of wank - the club, if not the movie or book, been awhile since I've seen it - but it's wank that's framed a lot more convincingly than this was. That weird-looking Mark just isn't as charismatically bonkers as Tyler Durden.

I was glad to see a bit of continuity - finally bringing back the Gwen/Owen arc, dealing (if evasively) with the Gwen/Rhys issue (although the amnesia pill is a cop out) - but I wish it hadn't been in the middle of an Owen-centric episode about how he's so heartbroken over the departure of a woman he knew for a couple of days. Seriously, why did they give so much more weight to his non-relationship with Diane than they did to his relationship with the female lead of the show?

Oh, this show is driving me crazy. I keep enjoying the episodes while I'm watching them, but as soon as I spend two minutes thinking about it, I start going nuts.