Torchwood stuff.
Yes, I know my icon is actually from Doctor Who. I don't have any Torchwood icons yet. I'll fix that eventually.
Anyway. After watching the second episode, I need to get my thoughts out or I'll spend the entire night obsessing over it.
Point the first: I could watch utter crap for hours on end so long as it starred Jack. I love him to pieces. Fortunately, despite what TVTropes may say, Torchwood is not utter crap. It's not the best, either, but it's decent and entertaining.
And it has Jack. Which is the important thing. I want more more more of him so I can start writing fic and/or RPing him. (Although I'll actually need to get CR up and running again before I can RP him, admittedly.) The problem is, I'm watching it with my father, so I have to wait until he gets back from Atlanta (he's going tomorrow and will be back on the weekend) to watch more. Alas. Well, we only have one more episode recorded, anyway.
Besides Jack (as if there is anything besides Jack, I mean come on), I can sort of dig the dynamics the show has going. I can get behind the strong implication that the way Torchwood requires humans to bury themselves in the weird and the fantastic is wonderful and terrible for the human mind and soul, and that they need someone very human and down-to-earth to keep them from going insane like Susie in the first episode. Of course, I'm more interested in the subtler implication that the end result of a life steeped in cosmic action and alien weirdness is one Jack Harkness, who looks awesome and confident and perfectly fantastic but is actually balanced precariously on the edge of an island in a sea of madness, terrified of how he's become so divorced from his own humanity. But that's how I get when I really heart a character.
I do, however, have some trouble with how they're executing part of this. Namely, the "they need someone very human and down-to-earth etc" bit. In theory, that works just fine, and it could be awesome. In practice? I am really not sure whether either Gwen the character or Eve Myles the actress is up to it. It feels half the time like either the scriptwriter or the actress is trying too hard. Theoretically, bringing a smart, sensible, determined cop into a group that's becoming overwhelmed with crazy (Tosh becoming too lost in her computer stuff, perhaps; Owen being a general douchebag in his fascination with alien shiny things; Jack being Jack) is both a good idea and interesting. But the show can't seem to decide whether Gwen is a smart, sensible, determined cop trying to adapt to the madness of Torchwood while retaining her humanity and perhaps injecting some of that humanity into the organization...or just kind of useless. And while I enjoy her interactions with Jack because Jack is there (duh) and because they shed interesting light on his character, they feel a little forced. Even this early on, Jack and Ianto's interaction feels more natural. I'd attribute this to John Barrowman being gay, but that's not it--he had equally absorbing chemistry with both Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston. He's too good to be constrained by his own sexuality in his acting (much like Michael K. Williams, amirite...oh yeah, I'm the only person in the world who watches both Doctor Who/Torchwood and the Wire, sobsob). So I don't know.
I will definitely keep watching, though. Augh, I want more already. Jack.
Anyway. After watching the second episode, I need to get my thoughts out or I'll spend the entire night obsessing over it.
Point the first: I could watch utter crap for hours on end so long as it starred Jack. I love him to pieces. Fortunately, despite what TVTropes may say, Torchwood is not utter crap. It's not the best, either, but it's decent and entertaining.
And it has Jack. Which is the important thing. I want more more more of him so I can start writing fic and/or RPing him. (Although I'll actually need to get CR up and running again before I can RP him, admittedly.) The problem is, I'm watching it with my father, so I have to wait until he gets back from Atlanta (he's going tomorrow and will be back on the weekend) to watch more. Alas. Well, we only have one more episode recorded, anyway.
Besides Jack (as if there is anything besides Jack, I mean come on), I can sort of dig the dynamics the show has going. I can get behind the strong implication that the way Torchwood requires humans to bury themselves in the weird and the fantastic is wonderful and terrible for the human mind and soul, and that they need someone very human and down-to-earth to keep them from going insane like Susie in the first episode. Of course, I'm more interested in the subtler implication that the end result of a life steeped in cosmic action and alien weirdness is one Jack Harkness, who looks awesome and confident and perfectly fantastic but is actually balanced precariously on the edge of an island in a sea of madness, terrified of how he's become so divorced from his own humanity. But that's how I get when I really heart a character.
I do, however, have some trouble with how they're executing part of this. Namely, the "they need someone very human and down-to-earth etc" bit. In theory, that works just fine, and it could be awesome. In practice? I am really not sure whether either Gwen the character or Eve Myles the actress is up to it. It feels half the time like either the scriptwriter or the actress is trying too hard. Theoretically, bringing a smart, sensible, determined cop into a group that's becoming overwhelmed with crazy (Tosh becoming too lost in her computer stuff, perhaps; Owen being a general douchebag in his fascination with alien shiny things; Jack being Jack) is both a good idea and interesting. But the show can't seem to decide whether Gwen is a smart, sensible, determined cop trying to adapt to the madness of Torchwood while retaining her humanity and perhaps injecting some of that humanity into the organization...or just kind of useless. And while I enjoy her interactions with Jack because Jack is there (duh) and because they shed interesting light on his character, they feel a little forced. Even this early on, Jack and Ianto's interaction feels more natural. I'd attribute this to John Barrowman being gay, but that's not it--he had equally absorbing chemistry with both Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston. He's too good to be constrained by his own sexuality in his acting (much like Michael K. Williams, amirite...oh yeah, I'm the only person in the world who watches both Doctor Who/Torchwood and the Wire, sobsob). So I don't know.
I will definitely keep watching, though. Augh, I want more already. Jack.