Torchwood--to view, or not to view?
I am reasonably able to tell the difference between real life and television. I can watch things and say, "This is not real, it's a TV show, I should really just relax." But deep inside my head, there's a little switch that I can't flip off, and it's not connected so much with how gory or how horrible something is, or how many people die, but how realistic it is. For instance, watching a sci-fi show where a Death Star containing millions of people gets blown to bits doesn't bother me a bit, because there are no Death Stars in real life. But watching some crime show where a skinhead beats his girlfriend over the head with a bottle and then cuts her up with it--that messes me up for weeks. Because that could happen. Has happened, countless times. Even if that particular event on the screen is not real, what you're seeing did happen, somewhere. This is why I don't tend to watch crime shows.
So, I had just about decided to blow through all the new Torchwood this weekend (yeah, without having seen S2. I thought maybe it'd inspire me to go back and catch up), and then I read some spoilers for last night's ep. And now I'm not really sure if I should watch or not.
Apparently there's a scene where some politicians are sitting around and deciding which children they're going to hand over to aliens.
I...I'm not sure I can sit through that. Just the very idea is making me sick. Which I'm sure is the point, and the measure of good drama is that it can evoke an intense reaction. But geez. Do I need this at this point in my life? Is it going to mess me up for weeks, like the end of S3 of Doctor Who did? Or should I just sit back, relax, and repeat "It's just a show," and suck it up?
Because the thing is, I can totally see this happening. Not the aliens, okay, but with something. Say there's a virus or a plague, and there's not enough vaccine to go around. Somebody's going to have to pick who gets to live and who doesn't. I can imagine how those decisions get made, and it upsets me intensely. More so because, in a situation like that, I put myself in the position of being the one to have to make the decision, and I don't know what I'd do. I'd be hollering "Not my kid!" as well, but how could I send someone else's child off to die?
See? I am freaking out over a hypothetical choice for a hypothetical situation, and I have not even seen this episode yet!
Do I watch it and hope that it's no big deal? Or do I avoid it until I feel mentally able to handle it, because that's worked so well for S2 Torchwood?
Re the other spoiler...well, I'm withholding judgment until I find out what happens at the end, but from the reaction of fandom-at-large, I'm kind of glad I got emotionally detached from this show, even though I never meant to and it happened largely by accident. I definitely couldn't handle this level of angst, not right now.
So, I had just about decided to blow through all the new Torchwood this weekend (yeah, without having seen S2. I thought maybe it'd inspire me to go back and catch up), and then I read some spoilers for last night's ep. And now I'm not really sure if I should watch or not.
Apparently there's a scene where some politicians are sitting around and deciding which children they're going to hand over to aliens.
I...I'm not sure I can sit through that. Just the very idea is making me sick. Which I'm sure is the point, and the measure of good drama is that it can evoke an intense reaction. But geez. Do I need this at this point in my life? Is it going to mess me up for weeks, like the end of S3 of Doctor Who did? Or should I just sit back, relax, and repeat "It's just a show," and suck it up?
Because the thing is, I can totally see this happening. Not the aliens, okay, but with something. Say there's a virus or a plague, and there's not enough vaccine to go around. Somebody's going to have to pick who gets to live and who doesn't. I can imagine how those decisions get made, and it upsets me intensely. More so because, in a situation like that, I put myself in the position of being the one to have to make the decision, and I don't know what I'd do. I'd be hollering "Not my kid!" as well, but how could I send someone else's child off to die?
See? I am freaking out over a hypothetical choice for a hypothetical situation, and I have not even seen this episode yet!
Do I watch it and hope that it's no big deal? Or do I avoid it until I feel mentally able to handle it, because that's worked so well for S2 Torchwood?
Re the other spoiler...well, I'm withholding judgment until I find out what happens at the end, but from the reaction of fandom-at-large, I'm kind of glad I got emotionally detached from this show, even though I never meant to and it happened largely by accident. I definitely couldn't handle this level of angst, not right now.