TORCHWOOD, 2.2 & 2.3
2.2, "Sleeper": Somebody has been watching Battlestar Galactica and got inspired by the Cylons who don't know they're Cylons.
It might have been better if Jack had been wrong about the alien, but I didn't think they'd go there, and they didn't. Ah, well. The actress who played the alien was awesome. Maybe she'll be back.
2.3, "To the Last Man": Helen Raynor seems to like period pieces, which I am all for, especially WWI. Predictable, yes, but the emotional arc was intense. At least it was for me. And she refrained from gratuitous poppies, hurrah! Even though I wasn't sure at first that the soldier's name was actually Tommy (it was a generalized name applied to all British soldiers). This episode reminded me of my favorite episode of Sapphire and Steel.
I liked that Raynor remembered Owen and Tosh were friends, and that Owen had fallen for a time traveller and had it end badly, as well.
I loved the concept of waking up the frozen guy once a year.
If Tommy was so shell-shocked, why didn't he ever show any symptoms while he was at Torchwood? Just being safe would've helped, but he seemed a bit too steady and normal. Not that the episode really had time to deal with that. His shell shock served to complicate the plot when he went back to 1918, and to give his subsequent death an emotional charge for the viewer, while reminding the viewers of even greater tragedies. Raynor probably remembered that in 1998, the government refused to posthumously pardon the shellshocked soldiers who were shot for cowardice. The group pardon didn't happen until 2006.
Ianto's getting the lion's share of the best lines.
It might have been better if Jack had been wrong about the alien, but I didn't think they'd go there, and they didn't. Ah, well. The actress who played the alien was awesome. Maybe she'll be back.
2.3, "To the Last Man": Helen Raynor seems to like period pieces, which I am all for, especially WWI. Predictable, yes, but the emotional arc was intense. At least it was for me. And she refrained from gratuitous poppies, hurrah! Even though I wasn't sure at first that the soldier's name was actually Tommy (it was a generalized name applied to all British soldiers). This episode reminded me of my favorite episode of Sapphire and Steel.
I liked that Raynor remembered Owen and Tosh were friends, and that Owen had fallen for a time traveller and had it end badly, as well.
I loved the concept of waking up the frozen guy once a year.
If Tommy was so shell-shocked, why didn't he ever show any symptoms while he was at Torchwood? Just being safe would've helped, but he seemed a bit too steady and normal. Not that the episode really had time to deal with that. His shell shock served to complicate the plot when he went back to 1918, and to give his subsequent death an emotional charge for the viewer, while reminding the viewers of even greater tragedies. Raynor probably remembered that in 1998, the government refused to posthumously pardon the shellshocked soldiers who were shot for cowardice. The group pardon didn't happen until 2006.
Ianto's getting the lion's share of the best lines.