torchwood
So Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon played This Is A Low at the NME awards tonight/last night. Be still my heart.
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This was supposed to be that general media post, but, uh, turns out I have enough to say about Torchwood to merit its own post! ._. Spoilers for... let's just say all of season 2, to be on the safe side. Oh, and a bit for Doctor Who 4x02. Having read only a moderate amount of reaction/meta/speculation thus far, if you are a longstanding fan this is probably all old meme to you. Just to warn you. :)
"Sleeper" and "Meat": Hello Ianto Jones where have you been all my life. *_* I was more or less prejudiced to like him thanks to the wide world of fandom but I finally see him come into his own here. :D The snark! The kicking ass and taking names! The waistcoats! *_* the making out with jack yeah yeah shut up. Since everyone else talks about Ianto and his many, many charms at great length (completely understandably), I don't really need to elaborate. Instead...
"Reset": ...speaking of people with the surname Jones, MARTHA. MARTHA JONES. ♥♥♥ Martha SAVED THE WORLD and is not going to listen to Jack tell her where and where not to go just because he's a little overprotective, thank you very much. Augh, she's so hardcore Martha iluuuuuuuu.
Eventually I'll talk about Who S3 and about how much I loved the Doctor-Martha-Jack team overall, which of course made me squeal like a dolphin when I saw the preview for her appearance on Torchwood. But I loved the little references from Martha and Jack to the end of the universe and the year that never was. :) And "everyone else has had a go", ha. And Martha and Ianto's scene in the medical bay ahahahaha and the adorable expression on Martha's face. sjka;ds I want her to join Torchwood, please. (Even though I know Freema Agyeman has another show. With Jamie Bamber, actually! /tangent)
"Dead Man Walking" and "A Day In The Death": I have lots of Owen thoughts -- overall I actually quite like him and always have, which I think puts me in the minority. (Occasional moments where I wanted to reach into the screen and slap him in "Greeks Bearing Gifts" notwithstanding, but I really disliked that episode for reasons touched on below.) But for now -- "I'm a bloody brilliant doctor" that's right, you are. The A-plot -- or is it the B-plot and Owen's inner struggle is the A-plot? I've never figured these things out -- of "Dead Man Walking" reeeally didn't do much for me but Owen the consummate doctor focused on saving leukemia-child's life even when he's about to go literally grapple with Death (like I said, A plot, wtf), and in "A Day In The Death" at the old collector's bedside trying against hope to resuscitate him -- yes, please. Owen. ♥
"To The Last Man" and "Adam": I just really like Tosh, although I think she's criminally underdeveloped/underused -- or maybe I mean wrongly used? It would be great if she could have a plot to herself that didn't involved being love/sex and the alien-or-otherwise-oddly-placed-person of the week. (Or Owen. Much as I might be shipping them just a bit and yes I know exactly how this series ends and I'm NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.) Because honestly, Mary, Tommy, Adam... ^^; Her part in "Captain Jack Harkness" was close but it wasn't a major storyline at all -- I just liked that a. she was totally hardcore with the equations in blood and everything and b. the show actually touched on the implications of a Japanese girl popping into 1941. Of course I imagine it was set early 1941 to avoid having to deal with any kind of serious repercussions of Tosh's appearance, but, you know, better than the handwave it could have been. There's a lot of rather skeevy overtones in the series' treatment of Tosh -- geeky and social awkward Asian girl good at math and science! what is this word stereotype you speak of? NOW LET'S OBJECTIFY HER EVERY TIME SHE GETS A PLOTLINE OF HER OWN -- but, good lord, if you started on the skeevy overtones in Torchwood you'd never get out. XD (Though they are getting better.) I understand "Fragments" has good things, though, so I'm looking forward to that.
"Something Borrowed": Oh, man, I really thought it was so touching! And, you know, hilarious. XD I mean, it was all about the various relationships of all flavors -- Gwen and Rhys, Gwen and Jack, Jack and Ianto, Owen and Tosh, even Gwen and Tosh and Gwen and Ianto (Ianto the WEDDING FAIRY bwahaha and how sweet was their little kiss at the end? I love them as friends ♥) -- and not simply in service of the alien of the week plot, which is still rare enough on this show to be pleasing. *g*
I'd heard all kinds of less-than-positive things about the episode but I didn't think it was like that at all. There never seemed, to me, to be any serious question of who or what Gwen cared about, or even a feeling that the episode was trying to play Gwen-and-Rhys against Gwen-and-Jack -- more that it was trying to show how she cared very much about them both, and how the relationships were different but not competing. She came right out and said that even though this fascinating, mysterious, drop-dead gorgeous stranger dropped into her life out of nowhere, she still wants to marry Rhys. She is so obviously not just "settling" for him! (I could swear the word "settling" was explicitly brought up somewhere in the series but I can't find it anywhere... And omg, I loved Rhys in this episode. What a good guy. Rhys and his CHAINSAW hee hee.) And of course she's going to have a few moments of UST with the hot boss -- hello, it's Jack Harkness. If I had to guess I would say at the beginning of the series they were planning on having Gwen and Rhys' relationship fall apart and maybe moving in a seriously Jack/Gwen direction, hence Rhys being much less developed and sympathetic and the heavy Jack-and-Gwen moments like the shooting range scene, but as it is now I'm quite fond of Rhys and of Gwen and Rhys together (especially after not only this episode but also "Meat" and "Adam"), and I really appreciate how the show's dealt with her two important relationships. :D
And as for Jack, Stephen James Walker can say that he thinks Jack was pining for Gwen at the end of the episode until he's blue in the face and I still won't agree with him. XD Jack sitting alone in the Hub with his little handful of confetti and his old wedding photo completely highlighted that, omg -- I don't know how much clearer that scene could have said "I AM ALONE AND EVERYONE I LOVE WILL DIE EVENTUALLY AND NO ONE CAN EVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ME AND ALL THE THINGS I HAVE SEEN AND EXPERIENCED AND DID I MENTION I WILL ALWAYS EVENTUALLY BE ALONE" without him opening his mouth and speaking in all caps, for crying out loud. (Notice how I am not even going touch the "omg Jack doesn't really care about Ianto!!1!" thing, oh lord, or I will end up banging my head against the keyboard and seriously damaging something. XD)
Maybe I'm giving the show too much credit, but I hope not. This season is soooo much better. :D
Also I've really gotten to like Gwen. And mananeh disagrees but I think Eve Myles is super pretty. ♥
So that's as far as I've seen of S2, and whether or not I finish up in the next couple days or in the next couple weeks depends on the sort of free time my Torchwood-watching companion has before she leaves for vacation. (My Who-watching companion -- pun unintended *snort* -- is currently in a rural Alaskan village as part of her teacher training so I'm already going without for two weeks and considering downloading the next episode on the sly anyway...) But I'm not in a huge hurry: as I said, I know what's coming at the end of the season. It's not going to be pretty.
...so, moving right on from that thought, Children of Earth:
I'd read about the three writers responsible for Children of Earth (RTD, John Fay, James Moran) some time ago, so when I saw Moran credited as the writer for "The Fires of Pompeii", aka The One Where The Doctor and Donna Become Household Gods (insert beaming and giggling here), I took notice and was quite pleased! Obviously that was a great episode as far as the main emotional conflict went -- the scenes of Donna trying to tell everyone to stay away from the beach, omg, and of course the emotional climax re: saving someone when you can't save everyone -- but also the lighter stuff, the running gag with the TARDIS translator and the Spartacus exchange and the household gods, was great. :D Though I lost the plot a bit when they were all running about inside the volcano. So I was already quite pleased and then I saw the much-talked about "Sleeper" and is Moran responsible for the beginning of the Ianto Jones: King of Snark and Stun Guns trend?? The alien-of-the-week plot was shaky, to me, but the character dynamics and dialogue were fantastic. :D And THEN. And then I found out he wrote all the Captain's Blog entries for BBC America. The ones that are frequently likened to officially-sanctioned fanfiction. Cue explosion. I'm v. glad he's going to be involved. :D I've been reading his blog, too, and it's quite entertaining, plus fun background on what it was like pitching, developing, and writing the scripts for Who and Torchwood.
Also interested, naturally, in seeing what RTD's episodes are like, given that he hasn't actually written for Torchwood before.
Have seen the official trailer, various filming footage posted on YouTube (all plastered with massive spoiler warnings, all more or less spoiler free XD), and the behind the scenes footage/interviews aired at NYCC. How pleased am I at the cheers for Kai Owen and the further cheers when he says Rhys will play a significant part? So pleased, hee! ♥
Oh god, this post is long and full of parentheses. Must wrap it up. The sad thing is this is only a fraction of my thoughts. Goodness.
crossover of doom is now "torchwood three visit camelot" orz
(honestly, it's because i'm too lazy to properly deal with arthur and merlin adjusting to modern technology without their heads exploding)
--
This was supposed to be that general media post, but, uh, turns out I have enough to say about Torchwood to merit its own post! ._. Spoilers for... let's just say all of season 2, to be on the safe side. Oh, and a bit for Doctor Who 4x02. Having read only a moderate amount of reaction/meta/speculation thus far, if you are a longstanding fan this is probably all old meme to you. Just to warn you. :)
"Sleeper" and "Meat": Hello Ianto Jones where have you been all my life. *_* I was more or less prejudiced to like him thanks to the wide world of fandom but I finally see him come into his own here. :D The snark! The kicking ass and taking names! The waistcoats! *_* the making out with jack yeah yeah shut up. Since everyone else talks about Ianto and his many, many charms at great length (completely understandably), I don't really need to elaborate. Instead...
"Reset": ...speaking of people with the surname Jones, MARTHA. MARTHA JONES. ♥♥♥ Martha SAVED THE WORLD and is not going to listen to Jack tell her where and where not to go just because he's a little overprotective, thank you very much. Augh, she's so hardcore Martha iluuuuuuuu.
Eventually I'll talk about Who S3 and about how much I loved the Doctor-Martha-Jack team overall, which of course made me squeal like a dolphin when I saw the preview for her appearance on Torchwood. But I loved the little references from Martha and Jack to the end of the universe and the year that never was. :) And "everyone else has had a go", ha. And Martha and Ianto's scene in the medical bay ahahahaha and the adorable expression on Martha's face. sjka;ds I want her to join Torchwood, please. (Even though I know Freema Agyeman has another show. With Jamie Bamber, actually! /tangent)
"Dead Man Walking" and "A Day In The Death": I have lots of Owen thoughts -- overall I actually quite like him and always have, which I think puts me in the minority. (Occasional moments where I wanted to reach into the screen and slap him in "Greeks Bearing Gifts" notwithstanding, but I really disliked that episode for reasons touched on below.) But for now -- "I'm a bloody brilliant doctor" that's right, you are. The A-plot -- or is it the B-plot and Owen's inner struggle is the A-plot? I've never figured these things out -- of "Dead Man Walking" reeeally didn't do much for me but Owen the consummate doctor focused on saving leukemia-child's life even when he's about to go literally grapple with Death (like I said, A plot, wtf), and in "A Day In The Death" at the old collector's bedside trying against hope to resuscitate him -- yes, please. Owen. ♥
"To The Last Man" and "Adam": I just really like Tosh, although I think she's criminally underdeveloped/underused -- or maybe I mean wrongly used? It would be great if she could have a plot to herself that didn't involved being love/sex and the alien-or-otherwise-oddly-placed-person of the week. (Or Owen. Much as I might be shipping them just a bit and yes I know exactly how this series ends and I'm NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.) Because honestly, Mary, Tommy, Adam... ^^; Her part in "Captain Jack Harkness" was close but it wasn't a major storyline at all -- I just liked that a. she was totally hardcore with the equations in blood and everything and b. the show actually touched on the implications of a Japanese girl popping into 1941. Of course I imagine it was set early 1941 to avoid having to deal with any kind of serious repercussions of Tosh's appearance, but, you know, better than the handwave it could have been. There's a lot of rather skeevy overtones in the series' treatment of Tosh -- geeky and social awkward Asian girl good at math and science! what is this word stereotype you speak of? NOW LET'S OBJECTIFY HER EVERY TIME SHE GETS A PLOTLINE OF HER OWN -- but, good lord, if you started on the skeevy overtones in Torchwood you'd never get out. XD (Though they are getting better.) I understand "Fragments" has good things, though, so I'm looking forward to that.
"Something Borrowed": Oh, man, I really thought it was so touching! And, you know, hilarious. XD I mean, it was all about the various relationships of all flavors -- Gwen and Rhys, Gwen and Jack, Jack and Ianto, Owen and Tosh, even Gwen and Tosh and Gwen and Ianto (Ianto the WEDDING FAIRY bwahaha and how sweet was their little kiss at the end? I love them as friends ♥) -- and not simply in service of the alien of the week plot, which is still rare enough on this show to be pleasing. *g*
I'd heard all kinds of less-than-positive things about the episode but I didn't think it was like that at all. There never seemed, to me, to be any serious question of who or what Gwen cared about, or even a feeling that the episode was trying to play Gwen-and-Rhys against Gwen-and-Jack -- more that it was trying to show how she cared very much about them both, and how the relationships were different but not competing. She came right out and said that even though this fascinating, mysterious, drop-dead gorgeous stranger dropped into her life out of nowhere, she still wants to marry Rhys. She is so obviously not just "settling" for him! (I could swear the word "settling" was explicitly brought up somewhere in the series but I can't find it anywhere... And omg, I loved Rhys in this episode. What a good guy. Rhys and his CHAINSAW hee hee.) And of course she's going to have a few moments of UST with the hot boss -- hello, it's Jack Harkness. If I had to guess I would say at the beginning of the series they were planning on having Gwen and Rhys' relationship fall apart and maybe moving in a seriously Jack/Gwen direction, hence Rhys being much less developed and sympathetic and the heavy Jack-and-Gwen moments like the shooting range scene, but as it is now I'm quite fond of Rhys and of Gwen and Rhys together (especially after not only this episode but also "Meat" and "Adam"), and I really appreciate how the show's dealt with her two important relationships. :D
And as for Jack, Stephen James Walker can say that he thinks Jack was pining for Gwen at the end of the episode until he's blue in the face and I still won't agree with him. XD Jack sitting alone in the Hub with his little handful of confetti and his old wedding photo completely highlighted that, omg -- I don't know how much clearer that scene could have said "I AM ALONE AND EVERYONE I LOVE WILL DIE EVENTUALLY AND NO ONE CAN EVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ME AND ALL THE THINGS I HAVE SEEN AND EXPERIENCED AND DID I MENTION I WILL ALWAYS EVENTUALLY BE ALONE" without him opening his mouth and speaking in all caps, for crying out loud. (Notice how I am not even going touch the "omg Jack doesn't really care about Ianto!!1!" thing, oh lord, or I will end up banging my head against the keyboard and seriously damaging something. XD)
Maybe I'm giving the show too much credit, but I hope not. This season is soooo much better. :D
Also I've really gotten to like Gwen. And mananeh disagrees but I think Eve Myles is super pretty. ♥
So that's as far as I've seen of S2, and whether or not I finish up in the next couple days or in the next couple weeks depends on the sort of free time my Torchwood-watching companion has before she leaves for vacation. (My Who-watching companion -- pun unintended *snort* -- is currently in a rural Alaskan village as part of her teacher training so I'm already going without for two weeks and considering downloading the next episode on the sly anyway...) But I'm not in a huge hurry: as I said, I know what's coming at the end of the season. It's not going to be pretty.
...so, moving right on from that thought, Children of Earth:
I'd read about the three writers responsible for Children of Earth (RTD, John Fay, James Moran) some time ago, so when I saw Moran credited as the writer for "The Fires of Pompeii", aka The One Where The Doctor and Donna Become Household Gods (insert beaming and giggling here), I took notice and was quite pleased! Obviously that was a great episode as far as the main emotional conflict went -- the scenes of Donna trying to tell everyone to stay away from the beach, omg, and of course the emotional climax re: saving someone when you can't save everyone -- but also the lighter stuff, the running gag with the TARDIS translator and the Spartacus exchange and the household gods, was great. :D Though I lost the plot a bit when they were all running about inside the volcano. So I was already quite pleased and then I saw the much-talked about "Sleeper" and is Moran responsible for the beginning of the Ianto Jones: King of Snark and Stun Guns trend?? The alien-of-the-week plot was shaky, to me, but the character dynamics and dialogue were fantastic. :D And THEN. And then I found out he wrote all the Captain's Blog entries for BBC America. The ones that are frequently likened to officially-sanctioned fanfiction. Cue explosion. I'm v. glad he's going to be involved. :D I've been reading his blog, too, and it's quite entertaining, plus fun background on what it was like pitching, developing, and writing the scripts for Who and Torchwood.
Also interested, naturally, in seeing what RTD's episodes are like, given that he hasn't actually written for Torchwood before.
Have seen the official trailer, various filming footage posted on YouTube (all plastered with massive spoiler warnings, all more or less spoiler free XD), and the behind the scenes footage/interviews aired at NYCC. How pleased am I at the cheers for Kai Owen and the further cheers when he says Rhys will play a significant part? So pleased, hee! ♥
Oh god, this post is long and full of parentheses. Must wrap it up. The sad thing is this is only a fraction of my thoughts. Goodness.
crossover of doom is now "torchwood three visit camelot" orz
(honestly, it's because i'm too lazy to properly deal with arthur and merlin adjusting to modern technology without their heads exploding)