Torchwood: Children of Earth
I've been watching Torchwood: Children of Earth in the mornings as my evenings have been chock full.
I both hated it and loved it. I found it awful and brilliant. I doubt if I'll watch it ever again, but there is a lot I respect as much as it angered and disturbed me.
It should be the end of Torchwood as a series.
First off, I loved Gwen in this. I know that there are many Gwen haters out there, and I understand their feelings as her character has been written unevenly, but I thought she was brilliant in this. She showed every bit of confidence and competence of being a full-fledged Torchwood member and a former law enforcement professional while still keeping every iota of humanity and every bit of Gwen-ness that was good over the first two seasons.
Ianto (before THAT THING), admittedly my favorite character on the show, was wonderfully brilliant every step of the way. Getting more peeks into his life, witnessing how complex and difficult his love for Jack was, meeting his family, and seeing him do his Ianto thing... I loved it. When the miniseries began, I knew immediately that what I'd missed about the show the most was Ianto. They built a wonderful character there, and I desperately wish we could have known him even more. More about him later.
The quality of the writing and plot structure of CoE was also really top-notch. While the subject matter were tough, heartbreaking, and occasionally made me want to throw my laptop across the room, you can't fault the quality of how they constructed it. The pacing was perfect, the interlacing of plot elements was masterfully done, and the dialog was spot-on. The performances by our main three (and characters like Frobisher and Lois) was also incredible, especially Gwen and Ianto. I've enjoyed this show from the beginning and how it has evolved, but this is an entirely different show than what first hit the airwaves. Quality-wise, this is the best work they've done.
However, what I respected most about this miniseries it that there was no clean, tidy ending where everyone lives happily ever after, as much as my heart wanted it. There were consequences for fighting back. Yes, I wanted Martha to return from her honeymoon (which must be on some remote island where there were no phones or radios or televisions or internet or cellular service, apparently) to call the Doctor to swoop in and save the day. I wanted Sarah Jane to burst through the doors with K-9 by her side to solve everything. I wanted the band back together. I wanted the joy of TARDIS scene from "Journey's End."
We don't get to have that. We have a messy situation with a messy resolution in which people are destroyed, and not just the nameless redshirts or side characters that you barely know. This wasn't yet another occasion of saving the world and having a cup of tea afterward. I respect that Torchwood went there, putting up a mirror to ourselves that is far less rosy than anything Doctor Who, as much as I adore it, would ever do. I think the reactions of characters were real and true, from the horribly cold discussions in the halls of government to the blind, easy obedience to authority in the name of protection to Frobisher's decision to "save" his family. Awful, but human.
Ianto's death... I have to admit that just the vague cut-tags and mood listings on LJ and the tweets that hit my phone (I avoided the main page) gave that away for me. C'mon, a reaction that huge would be for a character death, and since Jack can't die and most people aren't fans of Gwen, it had to be Ianto. Ah well, that's the danger of the interwebs. But considering how much more I would have been destroyed had I not known and that I've been watching the episodes before work... maybe it was blessing in disguise. It still took quite a bit of effort to make me work-ready after episode four. I hate that he died, HATE IT, but still... consequences. There had to be consequences. And as they've set up Gwen as our ambassador into the Torchwood world, Ianto was the only choice. I HATE IT, but I understand it.
And the children... Now, I'm not a big kid person, but if they wanted to give us a no-win situation, a choice of sacrificing millions of children or having the world destroyed is it. I don't think there could be a more disturbing choice. And that Jack sacrificed children twice for the "greater good," first in 1965 then his own grandson (while his daughter watched... god, that hurt) brought that threat home much more than it was comfortable to witness. I couldn't watch his grandson die. I shut my eyes. I couldn't do it. It hurt far too much to see it. Again, consequences. I hated that one possibly more than Ianto. At least Ianto always knew he was putting himself in danger.
But back to Jack. I miss the Jack for the first season of Doctor Who, fun and carefree and full of swagger. And I understand that living the ages that he has now lived has made him a different person. Had he still been the same old fun Jack, I'd like him a hell of a lot more... but he wouldn't be genuine. This Jack has lived long enough -- worse, lived without consequences long enough -- that he has lost much of his humanity. It's mentioned in one of the CoE episodes (apologies if I don't have the quote quite right, but you get the gist) that a man who can't die has nothing to fear. Jack has lost much more than his fear. I don't think that he's heartless, but I think that he sees things differently than your standard everyday human like Gwen or Ianto. I've loved Jack in Doctor Who, but I haven't really liked him in Torchwood. Now, while I understand how Jack made his decisions, I'm angry at him. So very angry. And I don't know if I can watch him anymore.
Unlike Doctor Who, which not only survives but thrives on constantly introducing new characters and saying farewell to others (even Doctors), Torchwood was about the team. I think it survived the loss of Tosh and Owen, but losing Ianto, and with Gwen starting a family, I don't think Jack can anchor a series on his own. The old Jack could have, and even the Jack at the start of Torchwood could have, but now? I don't know if they should go there.
If they do? As much as they just destroyed me, I will watch.
I both hated it and loved it. I found it awful and brilliant. I doubt if I'll watch it ever again, but there is a lot I respect as much as it angered and disturbed me.
It should be the end of Torchwood as a series.
First off, I loved Gwen in this. I know that there are many Gwen haters out there, and I understand their feelings as her character has been written unevenly, but I thought she was brilliant in this. She showed every bit of confidence and competence of being a full-fledged Torchwood member and a former law enforcement professional while still keeping every iota of humanity and every bit of Gwen-ness that was good over the first two seasons.
Ianto (before THAT THING), admittedly my favorite character on the show, was wonderfully brilliant every step of the way. Getting more peeks into his life, witnessing how complex and difficult his love for Jack was, meeting his family, and seeing him do his Ianto thing... I loved it. When the miniseries began, I knew immediately that what I'd missed about the show the most was Ianto. They built a wonderful character there, and I desperately wish we could have known him even more. More about him later.
The quality of the writing and plot structure of CoE was also really top-notch. While the subject matter were tough, heartbreaking, and occasionally made me want to throw my laptop across the room, you can't fault the quality of how they constructed it. The pacing was perfect, the interlacing of plot elements was masterfully done, and the dialog was spot-on. The performances by our main three (and characters like Frobisher and Lois) was also incredible, especially Gwen and Ianto. I've enjoyed this show from the beginning and how it has evolved, but this is an entirely different show than what first hit the airwaves. Quality-wise, this is the best work they've done.
However, what I respected most about this miniseries it that there was no clean, tidy ending where everyone lives happily ever after, as much as my heart wanted it. There were consequences for fighting back. Yes, I wanted Martha to return from her honeymoon (which must be on some remote island where there were no phones or radios or televisions or internet or cellular service, apparently) to call the Doctor to swoop in and save the day. I wanted Sarah Jane to burst through the doors with K-9 by her side to solve everything. I wanted the band back together. I wanted the joy of TARDIS scene from "Journey's End."
We don't get to have that. We have a messy situation with a messy resolution in which people are destroyed, and not just the nameless redshirts or side characters that you barely know. This wasn't yet another occasion of saving the world and having a cup of tea afterward. I respect that Torchwood went there, putting up a mirror to ourselves that is far less rosy than anything Doctor Who, as much as I adore it, would ever do. I think the reactions of characters were real and true, from the horribly cold discussions in the halls of government to the blind, easy obedience to authority in the name of protection to Frobisher's decision to "save" his family. Awful, but human.
Ianto's death... I have to admit that just the vague cut-tags and mood listings on LJ and the tweets that hit my phone (I avoided the main page) gave that away for me. C'mon, a reaction that huge would be for a character death, and since Jack can't die and most people aren't fans of Gwen, it had to be Ianto. Ah well, that's the danger of the interwebs. But considering how much more I would have been destroyed had I not known and that I've been watching the episodes before work... maybe it was blessing in disguise. It still took quite a bit of effort to make me work-ready after episode four. I hate that he died, HATE IT, but still... consequences. There had to be consequences. And as they've set up Gwen as our ambassador into the Torchwood world, Ianto was the only choice. I HATE IT, but I understand it.
And the children... Now, I'm not a big kid person, but if they wanted to give us a no-win situation, a choice of sacrificing millions of children or having the world destroyed is it. I don't think there could be a more disturbing choice. And that Jack sacrificed children twice for the "greater good," first in 1965 then his own grandson (while his daughter watched... god, that hurt) brought that threat home much more than it was comfortable to witness. I couldn't watch his grandson die. I shut my eyes. I couldn't do it. It hurt far too much to see it. Again, consequences. I hated that one possibly more than Ianto. At least Ianto always knew he was putting himself in danger.
But back to Jack. I miss the Jack for the first season of Doctor Who, fun and carefree and full of swagger. And I understand that living the ages that he has now lived has made him a different person. Had he still been the same old fun Jack, I'd like him a hell of a lot more... but he wouldn't be genuine. This Jack has lived long enough -- worse, lived without consequences long enough -- that he has lost much of his humanity. It's mentioned in one of the CoE episodes (apologies if I don't have the quote quite right, but you get the gist) that a man who can't die has nothing to fear. Jack has lost much more than his fear. I don't think that he's heartless, but I think that he sees things differently than your standard everyday human like Gwen or Ianto. I've loved Jack in Doctor Who, but I haven't really liked him in Torchwood. Now, while I understand how Jack made his decisions, I'm angry at him. So very angry. And I don't know if I can watch him anymore.
Unlike Doctor Who, which not only survives but thrives on constantly introducing new characters and saying farewell to others (even Doctors), Torchwood was about the team. I think it survived the loss of Tosh and Owen, but losing Ianto, and with Gwen starting a family, I don't think Jack can anchor a series on his own. The old Jack could have, and even the Jack at the start of Torchwood could have, but now? I don't know if they should go there.
If they do? As much as they just destroyed me, I will watch.