Calling Dr Jones...

[redscharlach]

Hooray for BBC iPlayer! Thanks to this technological marvel, I have managed to painlessly catch up with last night's second Torchwood episode, "Reset".

• Not knowing anything in advance but the title, I assumed that an episode called "Reset" would be a reset button episode in some way. Perhaps a version of that Groundhog Day-style time-loop plot that loads of other shows have already done their own versions of. But errr... it wasn't.
  
  
• Gosh, Martha seems so young. I can't imagine she's much younger than Gwen in real life, but she comes across like a perky teenager in comparison. It's just a little bit jarring. She's also not that great at splurting out technobabble, which is a mite unfortunate, given a lot of her dialogue here. The new grown-up hair is nice, though; much more chic than the spiky do.
  
  
• I find it odd to associate red caps with UNIT, and I'm not even very knowledgeable about classic Who. Nonetheless, I realize that the real UN wanted to dissociate themselves with this sort of silliness, and let's face it, light blue is much more Jack's colour than Ianto's...
  
  
• The chat between Jack and Martha was warm and sweet, with Jack being much more of his charming Who-self. Being "under the same Doctor" certainly brings people together. I also like "*point at the sky*" being a euphemism for We-All-Know-Who. Religious symbolism, score one!
  
  
• Free bonus screencap: Ianto doing his sulky face after Owen nearly blows his head off:
  
  
  
  BLESS HIM.
  
  
• Hoorah, it's that ubiquitous colossus of TV drama, Jim Robinson from Neighbours!
  
  
• So Jack had a boyfriend whose nostrils flared when he was lying? Gosh, Jack's had a boyfriend for all occasions. He probably used to keep them all in a wardrobe and select the right one every morning to match his mood and outfit. (Although I bet the twin acrobats went with most things.)
  
  
• I think my favourite Who reference was "I had a bad experience with a politician recently." It's sometimes hard to figure that the two series are set in the same world, when Torchwood!world seems much more staidly realistic and Who!world seems much simpler and more stylized and fairytale-like.
  
  
• Trust Martha to cut to the chase and ask the question the world's been waiting for since "The Empty Child": namely, just how good is Jack at dancing dabbling? And the answer is: "Innovative, bordering on the avant-garde.... Oh yeah." HA! And I LOVED that misty-eyed gaze into the distance. BLESS. I'd love to see Ianto take that one to Newsnight Review.
  
  
• Christopher Isherwood cruising Berlin with Jack? Sweet heavens above. THERE MUST BE FANFICTION FOR THIS. Or possibly a Broadway musical. Farewell, mein Lieber Herr / It was a fine affair / But now it's over.....
  
  
• Owen and Tosh, going on a real date? Doomladen foreshadowing ahoy! I bet they never make it to the pub...
  
  
• Oh no, Martha is being crucified on a sickbed. Religious symbolism, score two!
  
  
• Now Martha, you have to understand that Torchwood is an adult show. I note that you're keeping your language clean and family-friendly, but we will nevertheless be needing you to thrash around pseudo-orgasmically on a table-top, possibly wearing a fairly skimpy top, and with evidence of quasi-phallic pulsating in the pelvic area. Ah, I see you're taking to this game like a duck to water...
  
  
• Weird ship of the day is Gwen/Mayfly: it lasts for one hot day of shagging and then dies!
  
  
• Ah, so Martha has a man already, AND he's saved her life. But who is he? Is it Dr Milligan from "Last of the Time Lords"? I imagine we'll find out.
  
  
• Crikey! Owen is dead! OR IS HE? I haven't seen the trailer for next week, but I know the episode is called "Dead Man Walking", which I'm guessing is a bit of a clue to what happens now. (And I bet it won't involve Susan Sarandon pretending to be a nun.) Hey, maybe this IS a reset button after all?
  
  
• In conclusion, then, a mainly action-centric episode, with a plot that clipped along at a fair whack, but that felt a bit stapled together and haphazardly designed to lead to a specific finale. Some nice character moments along the way, though. I'm not sure that Martha is adding all that much to proceedings, other than keeping Jack chirpy (which is no bad thing) but she's a pleasant if decidedly lightweight presence. I am curious to see what happens next week, however.

So yeah, it's Valentine's Day and Torchwood is what I have instead of a relationship. It's one-sided, sometimes frustrating and probably unhealthy in the long term, but hey, it's a fabulous kisser...