| Torchwood done A couple of nights ago we finished watching the first season of Torchwood. If you do not want to know anything about the show or are intending to watch, you probably should stop watching... er, reading, now. For those of you that didn't catch my first post, Torchwood is the spin-off of the current series of Doctor Who. Somewhere inside many of the episodes of the current romps of the Doctor were references to characters and an agency that deals with the same marauding aliens and monsters as the Doctor did. It was originally created by Queen Victoria after a run-in with a werewolf and the cult associated with it. Of course, the werewolf is of alien origin. Torchwood the agency has an office in Cardiff, Wales, and that is where our series takes place. Capt Jack, no not Sparrow, is their leader and he is very familiar with the Doctor and the circumstances of time and the universe. His team is not. It's the first attempt at a more "adult" themed Doctor Who style series. And by adult, yes I do mean sex. The themes of the series are very clear and very intentional and include homo & bi-sexuality, the ramifications of having a life that interacts with often violent monsters & alien civilizations and the age old theme of Life & Death. The sex is blatant and at first glance, you might think it's a ratings grab. It sort of is. It doesn't shirk away from a bit of titilation. But it is there for anyone's interest, not just the heterosexual majority audience. Capt Jack is essentially a gay character -- that is not the focus of his character but it is very important to his makeup. But he also has feelings for Gwen and keeps a relationship with a woman he loved in the 40s. And throughout the season, every character has a sexual relationship with the same sex. Sometimes it's via alien influence, sometimes it's seduction but it does happen to them all. Well all but Dead Suzie. And Owen's is only passing -- he definately likes being a standup hetero guy. I like that the series was able to cover the full gamut of sexuality without being a show about the full gamut of sexuality. This is not the annoying sluttiness of Lexx or the usual sexual tension of every other scifi series. The tensions are there but usually our characters give into them and not with the best consequences. We lose respect for Gwen went she cheats on her BF but people have affairs with co-workers and that is life. Jack is a sexual being but we see a very tender side of him in one episode when he meets his namesake. It's a very sweet and sad episode. In other adventurous scifi series, the characters run about from situation to situation watching guest stars and unamed extras get killed by the dozens. And as long as the central story arc is solved and our main characters survive, we are not supposed to care much about the rest of the people. This show smacks us in the face with that idea having Gwen react to every body they put into their morgue. It also covers the idea of what a shadowy organization would have to do in order to cover up alien abuctions, monster killings, etc. -- they have a morgue full of bodies at their disposal. Sure people are going to die when a nasty alien attacks but those people have families and it is a shadowy agency's responsibility to answer to these families. Why? Because if they don't, who will? Someone has to factor the human side to all these happenstances. Death? Well I am hoping it was just a story arc but Death does not seem like a good thing in this world. There is nothing on the other side but a Darkness and now that the creature in the Darkness has been destroyed, there is nothing. Jack is immortal but still fears what is out there. They have a glove that ressurects people for less than a few minutes and they don't bring back good stories. In a world that takes into account a million alien cultures all with their own idea of religion and afterlife, I imagine there has to be some connective tissue. That there is possibly nothing after you die scares the daylights out of me. I mean there is nothing but you are still sentient. You are aware there is nothing. It was a good season one, possibly the best collection of single episodes I have seen in a series. You do not like all the characters, are not happy with the way they deal with alot of things and wished other choices have been made. But they do work their hardest to make sure the right thing happens in the end, the grand story, not the little "i won't cheat on my BF" kind of stuff. They are stuck making sure that Cybermen don't take over the planet. It deals with the stuff that I usually think about when I watch the other series. Bring on season 2 !! January 26 07 |
--------------------------------------
Comments
Post a comment