in which there is terrible luck displayed, as if the universe didn’t like it either

[grass_angel]

My parents and I had the most TERRIBLE luck when Children of Earth ran on TV2. It was on a 10:30 at night on a Wednesday, which is a bit too late if one intends to wake up at 6 the next morning, so we taped most of them.

First episode we completely missed, either to the fact I mis-read the day or that they changed the day at the last minute.
Then for the next two episodes, the video recorder chopped off the last five minutes because it ran past the time it said on the digital schedule thing.
For the fourth episode, my dad had left the TV on mute, so there was no sound. (Luckily, the episode had been subbed for the hearing impaired.)
And for the final one, we decided to stay up late, but if we hadn’t, the timer would have worked WONDERFULLY as I had figured out how to alter the digital schedule thing.

I almost ended up paying $50 for a Blu-Ray disc of CoE that I might not have been able to watch as well, except I nicely asked the lady behind the counter, and there was a regular version, so luck was with me then, fortunately.
So… it’s kind of pointless for me to do an episode by episode thing, seeing as I still haven’t gotten around to watching the DVD and what I did see was compromised in someway.
Thusly, in vaugely chronological order:

1. There was not quite enough material in the episodes to quite merit the full five. I think they could’ve pared down some scenes or removed them and maybe they would have ended up with a nice four part mini-series that was very tight and action packed.
   
2. Gwen’s pregnancy was… rather unnecessary I felt. Or at least not wanted by me.
   
3. Agent Johnson’s half French braid was a very nice hairstyle. I want it. It appears to keep her hair out of her face while being slightly feminine and not completely utilitarian and this is partly why I started thinking about number 12.
   
4. The entire ‘free Jack’ sequence was FUN. Especially the forklift. And the explosion.
   
5. Rhys got to see Jack naked. Because Jack hasn’t actually been (wholly) naked on Torchwood, just partially. So it’s only fair that the other guy who’s been seen wholly naked should get an eyeful too. (He dances around his and Gwen’s kitchen naked! And I’m sure there have been other times when he’s been partially dressed, but I’m more shocked that RHYS got his butt-shot before Jack did.)
   
6. I rather liked the Hustle-esque sequence where Torchwood turns criminal. Even though it does kind of show how low they end up stooping.
   
7. Nice foreshadowing there Ianto, asking about how Jack will handle your death.
   
8. And I kind of really wish that Gwen had got it into her head that SHE would go and then everything would be weird, but still sad, but it would at least make sense that she rushed in head first. (It would also make an epic AU and I want to write it sometime.)
   
9. But keeping to what actually happened, I found it almost OOC that Ianto, the one that needs to have all the information and be in control, just barged in there alongside Jack. I can kind of understand that he’d been under a lot of pressure, but I kind of optimistically doubt that he was that head-over heels for Jack that he didn’t consider the consequences.
   
10. Gwen going and helping Rhiannon with the kids was kind of an unnecessary whack around the head with a large fish that Gwen should have a kid~! She is such a mother and has such a ~kind~ ~and~ ~caring~ ~heart~.
    
11. On the flipside, Andy stripping off his police vest and joining the brawl against the Army was AWESOME.
    
12. Nearing the end of Day Five, I was really hoping Agent Johnson and Alice would get together and be femmeslash-y because they both hated Jack.
    
13. Related to above and to number 3, Agent Johnson appears as if she can be nice, as long as she doesn’t have a job to do/her job isn’t to kill you. I started liking her here.
    
14. Stop being such an angstbucket Jack. We know loosing loved ones hurts, but that’s no excuse to kill yourself run away into the night stars.
    
15. Also, Gwen and Rhys are right in front of you and you should have a threesome with them.
    
16. The entire mini-series was kind of OT4 fuel for me, except for that one scene where Ianto and Gwen go “yeah, um…” about using the video contacts in the bedroom. That was slightly squicky, even though the pairing potential is great.

All in all, I’m kind of glad that the current season of Doctor Who means that maybe Children of Earth never happened. Because well, it’s Torchwood taking themselves far too seriously and while it’s kind of good (in a high paced, high tension drama kind of way) it isn’t fun. And I miss that. I miss Team Torchwood 3 because they tried to fix everything, and while yes, you could start with a clean slate and it WOULD be better, I liked all the scribbles on this one.
So while I’m not reading fix-it fic, as all of the CoE ones are HORRIBLE as of writing this, I am wilfully ignoring this little mini-series for the most part and REALLY hoping that the events in Doctor Who season 5 will make that belief come true. *crosses fingers*

And the reasons for hoping that Doctor Who will save everything about this series is because the plot holes in the universe because of this are TOO FREAKING BIG. I don’t buy the “Rani, Clyde, Luke and Maria are out of puberty’ line, because, well, they aren’t. No one has said anything about giant pillars of flame in the middle of London, which they should’ve if they’ve mentioned planets in the sky and flying buses and mass unconsciousness at Christmas. Also, though the British government in Whoniverse is EVEN MORE SCREWED UP than RL government, I would kind of maybe hope something that big and scandalous would at least be mentioned? Or at least exploited as a plot device?

ETA: Oh hahaha, I am so glad I left off posting this until now, as I just heard about how Torchwood is getting a third/ fourth season. An hour after those tweets (according to my twitter) TV3 (aka the not as lame free-to-view channel) did a news story on it  via twitter.
Firstly, I am loling because of the timing, especially as I was going to post this last night,
Second, I’m thinking TV3 really want that franchise. And I would gladly welcome them if they did do a deal with TVNZ to take over the licensing.
Third, and probably the most important, Eve Myles and John Barrowman are returning, plus new characters. Which means no retcon, which in turn makes me REALLY SAD and hope somefen take the whole ‘rewriting time’ plot/mytharc from DWs5 and play with it’s consequences in Torchwood.
Lastly, and kind of important, this third/fourth season (I call it third, because five episodes does not a season make) was made possible by funding from an American cable network. Which means, in a roundabout way, there is an American Torchwood, just not what everyone thought it would be.

The entry on The Sarah Jane Adventures should be up in a couple of days? Hopefully.