I couldn't think of anyplace else to put this...
This is going to be a bit of a rant about Torchwood and will contain spoilers for, lessee, ALL of Torchwood, up to and including the novels, the radio plays, and the most recent episode of Miracle Day, as well as about Doctor Who up to and including the most recent episodes.
So I guess I'll be a good person and put it
I was not one of the people who felt cheated when I didn't get to hear Jack tell Ianto he loved him before Ianto died. I was not pleased with that plot twist but the "I love you" problem wasn't something I worried about. (Personally, I think that offering to sacrifice the entire of humanity just to have Ianto back was good enough and Ianto was still alive to hear it so...) But the Torchwood Lost Files radio play "House of the Dead" is 45 minutes of my life I'll never get back and it existed ONLY so that Jack could finally tell Ianto he loved him.
But I'm already digressing.
I remember how I felt when Tosh and Owen died at the end of the second season of Torchwood. It saddened me, but I remembered that Rhys had died in the final episode of the first season and he was still around. Given how Owen died without really dying for the second half of the second season, I could come up with dozens of ways for him to come back. And I reasoned that Naoko Mori might have had theater work lined up so she might have wanted out.
Then I realized even Owen wasn't coming back. That, again, saddened me, but it made sense, especially in "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End" when Gwen and Ianto think they're going to go out in a blaze of glory, "Like Tosh. Like Owen."
Then...."Journey's End" killed Donna Noble's memories. Her body survived but all the wonderful things that had happened to her? All the growth she'd done? All of what made her (in my opinion) the most amazing Companion of all time (and I'm including Sarah Jane and Ace in there) was GONE. She wasn't dead, just...what she was, was dead.
This was starting to feel like an old fashioned vinyl disc with a skip in it.
THEN we had Torchwood Children of Earth. And Ianto died. And I got really pissed off at Russell T Davies because he was proving himself a one trick pony and I was really fucking sick of that one pony trick.
But that wasn't the end of it. No, he couldn't just wring my heartstrings dry and be satisfied.
THEN we had "The End of Time." Sure, the Tenth Doctor went out with a bang and what a bang it was! But...why did he have to take Donna and make her loss of memory irreversibly permanent? The Doctor gave his best friend a safety valve, yeah. HE MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYTHING GOOD TO EVER COME OF HER! Sure, he gave her money but...shit...
When the Matt Smith era of Doctor Who began, I was hopeful. Moffatt was a new hand on the helm and, for all his dark leanings, he didn't seem so dedicated to killing people to get an emotional rise out of his audience. Then Rory died. I was very annoyed, but Moffatt dealt with it gently, with the Doctor handling Amy with extra care. So that when Rory showed up again, it didn't feel like a cheap shot. He turned out to be an Auton, yeah, but he had managed to become a HUMAN in an Auton's body. Moffatt had taken RTD's pony trick and turned it on its head. I could have kissed the man!
I realize Rory may die again, especially now that we've discovered what an AWESOME BAMF SUMBITCH his really is. Nurse? I'll nurse YOU back to health, DAMMIT! But I'm not braced for awfulness.
And that, perhaps, is why I am now so pissed off at RTD again. Give me a fan-fucking-tastic character like Vera in Miracle Day. Get me to admire and love her. Get me to count on her as part of the new Torchwood. AND THEN FUCKING KILL HER IN A FIRE??????
I'm kind of blaming Moffatt for this. He made the whole death of Rory thing so understandable, so easy to deal with, that my guard was down. I forgot that Davies thinks he has only that one trick up his sleeve.
I will continue to watch Miracle Day. I adore Gwen. To be honest, I'm not a big Barrowfan. Jack is not as integral to the Torchwood concept for me as Gwen is. I'm braced for her father to die but I'm sure she'll kick ass and take names up until the last possible moment. I suspect her mother will, too, and Rhys is going to be just as much a BAMF as always. But I'm really, really angry now. RTD has got to find a new trick.
For me, then, Torchwood ended with the death of Owen and Tosh. What has been called Torchwood since then has been some other show. Because to believe any differently for me would be to accept that my heart wants to be wrung out and tortured over and over again. And to continue watching Miracle Day, I have to pretend it's a different show.
I'm going to go make lemonade now and wash the nasty taste out of my mouth. And watch Warehouse 13. Which has not, yet, ripped my insides out and twisted them.
So I guess I'll be a good person and put it
I was not one of the people who felt cheated when I didn't get to hear Jack tell Ianto he loved him before Ianto died. I was not pleased with that plot twist but the "I love you" problem wasn't something I worried about. (Personally, I think that offering to sacrifice the entire of humanity just to have Ianto back was good enough and Ianto was still alive to hear it so...) But the Torchwood Lost Files radio play "House of the Dead" is 45 minutes of my life I'll never get back and it existed ONLY so that Jack could finally tell Ianto he loved him.
But I'm already digressing.
I remember how I felt when Tosh and Owen died at the end of the second season of Torchwood. It saddened me, but I remembered that Rhys had died in the final episode of the first season and he was still around. Given how Owen died without really dying for the second half of the second season, I could come up with dozens of ways for him to come back. And I reasoned that Naoko Mori might have had theater work lined up so she might have wanted out.
Then I realized even Owen wasn't coming back. That, again, saddened me, but it made sense, especially in "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End" when Gwen and Ianto think they're going to go out in a blaze of glory, "Like Tosh. Like Owen."
Then...."Journey's End" killed Donna Noble's memories. Her body survived but all the wonderful things that had happened to her? All the growth she'd done? All of what made her (in my opinion) the most amazing Companion of all time (and I'm including Sarah Jane and Ace in there) was GONE. She wasn't dead, just...what she was, was dead.
This was starting to feel like an old fashioned vinyl disc with a skip in it.
THEN we had Torchwood Children of Earth. And Ianto died. And I got really pissed off at Russell T Davies because he was proving himself a one trick pony and I was really fucking sick of that one pony trick.
But that wasn't the end of it. No, he couldn't just wring my heartstrings dry and be satisfied.
THEN we had "The End of Time." Sure, the Tenth Doctor went out with a bang and what a bang it was! But...why did he have to take Donna and make her loss of memory irreversibly permanent? The Doctor gave his best friend a safety valve, yeah. HE MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYTHING GOOD TO EVER COME OF HER! Sure, he gave her money but...shit...
When the Matt Smith era of Doctor Who began, I was hopeful. Moffatt was a new hand on the helm and, for all his dark leanings, he didn't seem so dedicated to killing people to get an emotional rise out of his audience. Then Rory died. I was very annoyed, but Moffatt dealt with it gently, with the Doctor handling Amy with extra care. So that when Rory showed up again, it didn't feel like a cheap shot. He turned out to be an Auton, yeah, but he had managed to become a HUMAN in an Auton's body. Moffatt had taken RTD's pony trick and turned it on its head. I could have kissed the man!
I realize Rory may die again, especially now that we've discovered what an AWESOME BAMF SUMBITCH his really is. Nurse? I'll nurse YOU back to health, DAMMIT! But I'm not braced for awfulness.
And that, perhaps, is why I am now so pissed off at RTD again. Give me a fan-fucking-tastic character like Vera in Miracle Day. Get me to admire and love her. Get me to count on her as part of the new Torchwood. AND THEN FUCKING KILL HER IN A FIRE??????
I'm kind of blaming Moffatt for this. He made the whole death of Rory thing so understandable, so easy to deal with, that my guard was down. I forgot that Davies thinks he has only that one trick up his sleeve.
I will continue to watch Miracle Day. I adore Gwen. To be honest, I'm not a big Barrowfan. Jack is not as integral to the Torchwood concept for me as Gwen is. I'm braced for her father to die but I'm sure she'll kick ass and take names up until the last possible moment. I suspect her mother will, too, and Rhys is going to be just as much a BAMF as always. But I'm really, really angry now. RTD has got to find a new trick.
For me, then, Torchwood ended with the death of Owen and Tosh. What has been called Torchwood since then has been some other show. Because to believe any differently for me would be to accept that my heart wants to be wrung out and tortured over and over again. And to continue watching Miracle Day, I have to pretend it's a different show.
I'm going to go make lemonade now and wash the nasty taste out of my mouth. And watch Warehouse 13. Which has not, yet, ripped my insides out and twisted them.