kingandy | (no subject)

Christmas: Fun. Love to all!

This post is really about this week's Torchwood: Much better. Noel "Mickey Smith" Clarke appears to be capable of writing engaging character interplay as well as actual investigative work (a new one for the Torchwood team) and something that's a lot more like sci fi drama than the soft fantasy soap opera porn of previous weeks. The swearing is natural and in context and the cast seem to flourish with a script that has some actual meat. Not to mention pacing and structure - none of it felt rushed or slow to me, things were set up in the first act for use later, there were themes and resonance and all fancy stuff like that.

And the team are being competent. And complex. There's signs of concern for the monsters as well as their fellow man. They did throw the Jellied Eels website together a tad quickly - complete with FMV of Owen with some lackeys - but I can believe they'd have various cover stories already set up for such an occasion.

Toshiko eats at her desk. Gwen uses police radio alphabet. Jack's arrogant for a reason.

And, crikey, Gwen's not dealing well with this spy stuff at all.

Why can't the whole season have been like this?

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I keep using my Season One Babylon 5 anaolgy, but broadly, now they've worked out what's good and what's toss, season two has no excuses.

There are a lot of shows like that, though, imo; that's why I have trouble trusting TV to not cancel a good show partway through its first season.

Or, for that matter, to cancel Lost ever.

It's getting good?

Would we need to watch the rest of it in order to appreciate it, or can we just jump right in wherever it starts getting good?

Well - it sort of helps to build up the emotional investment in the characters, and this week's did have a few links back to last week's episode (which has met mixed reviews - some have praised it for dealing with a seldom-touched subject, others have condemned it for not dealing with it particularly well or interestingly). I think you'd need to watch the rest of it, head-thumpingly bad though it has been at times, to be startled by what Gwen does rather than just watching some silly bint being odd. It's also possible that you need to see the bad to appreciate how much better this week's has been - potentially it's only good by comparison. I don't know.

Of course, at the end of the day, I have seen it all, so I have no idea what you'd really see if you hadn't. Good luck...

Yeah, at the end of the day I'll probably wait until the season (or possibly the next) is over before I give it a shot. I have a full plate of media right now.

Is it wrong of me to have emotional investment in the characters to the tune of dislike? Owen and Gwen specifically. I'm curious what other people think of them - I can only but assume that we are supposed to dislike them.

From what I've seen, I've disliked them too. Owen is a twat. Gwen is staggeringly self-centred and inconsiderate.

I'm routing for Gwen's boyfriend. I hope he snaps and goes postal on the team.

Yeah, Gwen's boyfriend was lovely. Poor bloke.

Was good.

I'd been joking for a while that a certain character looked like a certain type of (possibly) alien and whatdyaknow ... it might not have been a coincidence.

OK it was an improvement of some of the previous showings. However it was basically a rip off of Fight Club with aliens

I was hoping someone would acknowledge their sources on-screen. At several points Owen could have complained that "you people have seen Fight Club a few times too many" or something. What with a good deal of the rhetoric coming directly from that movie, and everything.