Torchwood: Children of Earth; Day One
So I went to the TW: CoE; Day One screening last night. I had originally planned to write a very spoilery play by play, but instead I've decided to write a more broad and less spoilery general review. I honestly think people will be missing out a lot of things by knowing too much about the episode (and that's coming from one of the biggest spoiler whores around!)
If anyone DOES want to know any details then please do feel free to ask and I'll answer, so note there might end up being spoilers in the comments.
But for you all... my review...
Torchwood: Children of Earth; Day One
After such a long wait since the end of Series 2 the question on most fans lips was 'Is the wait worth it?' After seeing the first episode of Series 3 I can categorically answer Yes.
Torchwood: Children of Earth ups the ante on all episodes prior. In 60 minutes we get the sort of programme that it seems this show always should have been. It's grown up and matured and taken its place; and if the first episode is anything to go by then we are in for one amazing ride with this story.
Gone is the cheesy 'Outside the Government and beyond the police' opening speech and gone too is the credit sequence and theme music, replaced simply by a white title card and the familiar 'bleeps'. It's glossy and a lot slicker and reflective of the episode as a whole. The directorial style is superb and Euros Lynn deserves as much commendation for it as possible.
The pacing of the episode is superb. It manages to fit the introduction of quite a few new characters without feeling clunky, and introduce them in a way that actually makes them all interesting and intriguing. They all manage to feel 'real', perhaps more so than characters in the show have managed to do in the past. We're handed drama, humour, plot and character development in a way that manages to intertwine and link all the important elements. The humour doesn't feel as though it's needlessly inserted, in fact there are times when the placing of it is just wonderful and makes an already fantastic scene even more so.
The characters are all so well drawn; from the ones we've become familiar with to the brand new ones who by the end of the episode we're already caring about. It really is a testament to the writing of the episode that it manages to so effortlessly provide so much new information while making it interesting and compelling.
Relationships have evolved since the last time that we saw our team, and done so in a really satisfying way that works for the characters and doesn't feel forced for any of them. It's a point I know a lot of fans are interested in and hopefully they'll be pleased with what they see.
More than once the entire room fell completely silent as the action played out on scene. Utterly compelling. Three separate scenes stand out in my mind for this, each one with a different feeling and with different revelations be they personal or on a bigger scale.
The episode is a constant build up to a dramatic climax that leads into the next of the five episodes with events and discoveries along the way that even the most ardent of spoiler fans won't have discovered.
Seeing episode one has just upped my excitement level for the series by 200%. I can't wait. Hold onto your seats, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
ETA: Anonymous commenting on for people who might be reading from elsewhere.
If anyone DOES want to know any details then please do feel free to ask and I'll answer, so note there might end up being spoilers in the comments.
But for you all... my review...
Torchwood: Children of Earth; Day One
After such a long wait since the end of Series 2 the question on most fans lips was 'Is the wait worth it?' After seeing the first episode of Series 3 I can categorically answer Yes.
Torchwood: Children of Earth ups the ante on all episodes prior. In 60 minutes we get the sort of programme that it seems this show always should have been. It's grown up and matured and taken its place; and if the first episode is anything to go by then we are in for one amazing ride with this story.
Gone is the cheesy 'Outside the Government and beyond the police' opening speech and gone too is the credit sequence and theme music, replaced simply by a white title card and the familiar 'bleeps'. It's glossy and a lot slicker and reflective of the episode as a whole. The directorial style is superb and Euros Lynn deserves as much commendation for it as possible.
The pacing of the episode is superb. It manages to fit the introduction of quite a few new characters without feeling clunky, and introduce them in a way that actually makes them all interesting and intriguing. They all manage to feel 'real', perhaps more so than characters in the show have managed to do in the past. We're handed drama, humour, plot and character development in a way that manages to intertwine and link all the important elements. The humour doesn't feel as though it's needlessly inserted, in fact there are times when the placing of it is just wonderful and makes an already fantastic scene even more so.
The characters are all so well drawn; from the ones we've become familiar with to the brand new ones who by the end of the episode we're already caring about. It really is a testament to the writing of the episode that it manages to so effortlessly provide so much new information while making it interesting and compelling.
Relationships have evolved since the last time that we saw our team, and done so in a really satisfying way that works for the characters and doesn't feel forced for any of them. It's a point I know a lot of fans are interested in and hopefully they'll be pleased with what they see.
More than once the entire room fell completely silent as the action played out on scene. Utterly compelling. Three separate scenes stand out in my mind for this, each one with a different feeling and with different revelations be they personal or on a bigger scale.
The episode is a constant build up to a dramatic climax that leads into the next of the five episodes with events and discoveries along the way that even the most ardent of spoiler fans won't have discovered.
Seeing episode one has just upped my excitement level for the series by 200%. I can't wait. Hold onto your seats, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
ETA: Anonymous commenting on for people who might be reading from elsewhere.