Torchwood is a science fiction TV series created by Russel T. Davis, the show acts as a spin-off to Doctor Who. The show follows a group of agents led by Captain Jack (John Barrowman), who fight to protect the human race from extra-terrestrial threats as well as paranormal ones.
This show is the anthesis of Doctor Who, for all that show is about exploring other worlds, in a family friendly manor, this show is Earth based and very much not fit for child viewing. To that extent there are moments in each episode that seems to push the boundaries of what they can show on television, or at least what the BBC will let them show. There are many quite gratuitous sex scenes and lots of over the top swearing and violence. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me, because normally it is done in a tasteful way, but here it really isn’t.
Another issue with this show is that unlike Doctor Who, classic Who not the current bastard version of the show, and even the other spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood does not have any memorable monsters. A lot of them are just fairly generic and don’t leave much of an impression on you, it is to that regard that I think this is the weakest of the 3 shows; as I am not even going to acknowledge Class.
Captain Jack is easily the one of the best characters Doctor Who ever created, he is both charming, funny and carefree, but also troubled and brooding; Barrowman can pull of both emotional ranges with ease. The episodes that focus on him are easily the best in the shows run, however, these are few and far between. Mostly we get episodes devoted to the other members of the agency, with Jack only playing a very small part in their adventures and most of these other characters are dull and uninspired. Moreover, the characters often do things that are morally reprehensible, Gwen (Eve Myles), and Owen (Burn Gorman), are both examples of this and yet we are supposed to cheer for them? I think not.
I think the later season of this show are far better than the early seasons as it very much finds itself somewhere during its second season. I think that this show tries too hard to be an adult version of Doctor Who, it loses sight of what it was originally intended to be, of all the shows in the Doctor Who Universe the only show worse than this was Class, and that is saying something.
With Captain Jack coming back to current Doctor Who I wouldn’t be surprised if Torchwood did as well, hopefully time will gift this show with a fresh and less unnecessary take.
Another Millennial Reviewer 