TW S3: "Day One" Episode Review
Thoughts on Day One:
Reactions to odd moments; may not be chronological:
1) Wasn’t there a Season 1 episode with the same name?
2) Aargh! I missed the whole flashback at the beginning. Despite all the insane promos, I completely forgot we were on BBC1 now.
3) Clearly the writers are more conscious than I of the BBC1 move, and anticipating new viewers. Plenty of outdoor shots to establish setting, and Jack and Ianto may as well be wearing “I’m with stupid” t-shirts. Or something cuter. And less subtle. Seriously, they could have “we are in an established but poorly-defined relationship” tattooed on their foreheads. Bits are coming off cute, but sometimes it feels a bit forced and unnatural
4) Were the writers jerking the shippers’ chains a bit there: We live next door?
5) There’s something distinctly un-Torchwood about all this. Too much daylight, perhaps?
6) Ah, the great coupledom issue. This is what happens when you spend too much time above ground.
7) Who’s this new woman working for Torchwood? She’s smart, efficient, funny, practical, sensitive, well-dressed … holy hell, it’s Gwen! Wow. Bereavement must agree with her.
8) Yay for Rhys! I really, really hope he’s not being set up for joining TW. He’s much better off where he is.
9) Blah blah blah: corrupt, inefficient, lying government. So what else is new? Am I supposed to be surprised?
10) Wait. Stop. Hold it. I thought the new Indian doctor-guy was supposed to be a major character. He didn’t even make it through the first episode. Is he going to somehow come back?
11) Okay, okay I was spoiled about Jack’s daughter. Call me shallow, I thought she’d be prettier. Or more glamorous. Or more charming? *shrug*
12) Ianto’s family: I’ve been looking forward to this. Hee! Awesome. I wonder where this sets the whole canon/fanon ‘debate’ over his background. I don’t think most people would’ve guessed council estate.
13) Was also spoiled about Gwen’s pregnancy, but loved the reveal. Aw, totally sweet Jack and Ianto reaction, too. Very cool.
14) On a related note, Clem is awesome. But the sniffing thing is reminding me of the Family of Blood from DW. All he needs is a red balloon.
15) So at what point did you realise Jack had a bomb in his stomach: A) The moment they cut him open? B) When they disappeared and covered their tracks? C) When the Kill order went out? D) When it showed up on the scan? I bet you’re all dead clever. Me, I didn’t work it out till between C and D.
Okay, so more well-formed thoughts now:
First things first: I loved it. It’s been off the air so long I’d forgotten how overinvested in this show I can get. But seriously, that was the quickest an hour as gone in a long time.
(Side note: Each of the episodes this week is a full hour, right? So it’s more than just five ordinary episodes in length. A normal episode in a regular season is only between 40 and 50 minutes. A full hour felt fantastic!)
Yep, loved it. It’s got the makings of a very good story, with all the best TW action, and humour. And heaven help me if I didn’t miss these characters like actual family members.
I’ve been reading the discussion on Janto with interest. The introductory stuff felt very ‘signpost-y’, like it was for the benefit of new viewers. But the rest of it was pretty damn good. Maybe I’m crazy, but I interpreted their ‘couple’ debate as Ianto being reluctant, initially, and Jack not understanding the fuss. And then there was the whole “I hate the word couple” “Me too (but I’m totally lying)” thing that seemed completely the other way around. The second one was much more obvious, so that seemed to be the way the episode was interpreted. Me, I was actually quite happy with that: neither of them know exactly where it is they stand, or how to define what they have … or, what the other one is thinking, even if it’s exactly the same thing. I like it.
Similarly, I liked the “ugly dog joking about death” thing. Seriously. It seems to me that in their situation, where one can’t die, how do you deal with it? By making wildly inappropriate jokes about it, like your average pigheaded man. Fair enough. Neither of them seemed bothered. Except, in a way, with one stupid joke they spat in the face of the main source of angst in this fandom. Angst which actually produces pretty good fic. But never mind.
I know some people didn’t like the scene with Ianto and his family. Probably not in Janto fandom, but still. Again, I really liked it. You didn’t like the brother in law? I don’t think you were meant to. His sister wasn’t politically correct? Did you see where she was living? She wasn’t hostile, or even particularly slow to understand. The only thing I didn’t necessarily love was the whole “it’s not men, it’s him” thing, the whole idea of which just seemed a bit off to me, but I’m more willing to accept it in sci-fi.
Can’t wait to see what comes next. I can’t believe they’re showing it every night. I’ve barely had chance to recover! I think I’ll be suffering with nervous exhaustion by the weekend :D