A Comparison
The situation:
Someone uses an amnesia spell on their partner to make them forget how much of a bitch they've been.
On Buffy:
The victim finds out. They break up, even though they're still terribly, terribly in love. Maybe they'll get back together, maybe they won't. They've got a lot of stuff to work out. They're both damaged. It's all very traumatic, and adds depth to both characters and to the show as a whole.
On Torchwood:
Consequences schmonsequences.
---
The situation:
The lead character takes down six men singlehanded in a gunfight.
In Unforgiven:
They'd killed his best friend and put his body on display out the front. After killing everyone in the room, Will proclaims that he will not only kill anyone else who gets in his way, but that he'll also kill his wife, children, friends, and acquaintances, and then burn down their house.
On 24:
They'd tried to assassinate the US President, and he thought they'd murdered his daughter. After killing everyone in the room, Jack chases down the chief villain, who surrenders. Jack empties his pistol into him.
On Torchwood:
They'd killed and eaten everyone in the village and were about to kill and eat his friends. After kneecapping everyone in the room, Jack calls for an ambulance to make sure the cannibals are all okay, and then sits down for a chat with the head villain.
Next week, he executes someone because she'd given his friend a pendant.
---
The situation:
A man with nothing to live for tries to commit suicide by suffocating himself in his car.
At Lifeline:
Counsellors persuade you that you have every reason to live, and give you a new sense of purpose.
On Torchwood:
Jack gets in the car with him, and makes sure he does it right this time.
---
The situation:
The Big Bad is unleashed during the season finale.
On Buffy:
That villain they've been chasing for the last twelve episodes finally cranks his or her plan into top gear. The gang triumphs because they've all got something they can bring to the fight, and they work together. People might get killed. Everyone is changed by the experience.
On Doctor Who:
The thread of clues woven throughout the season finally comes together. The Doctor does something terribly clever to save the day, but is still completely fucked over at the end of the episode.
On Torchwood:
Apparently, there's a giant demon imprisoned under the rift. Who the hell needs a plot arc? Jack wins by kneeling down in a field and doing nothing. He pretends to die for a bit, and is then picked up by the coolest man in the universe.
Someone uses an amnesia spell on their partner to make them forget how much of a bitch they've been.
On Buffy:
The victim finds out. They break up, even though they're still terribly, terribly in love. Maybe they'll get back together, maybe they won't. They've got a lot of stuff to work out. They're both damaged. It's all very traumatic, and adds depth to both characters and to the show as a whole.
On Torchwood:
Consequences schmonsequences.
---
The situation:
The lead character takes down six men singlehanded in a gunfight.
In Unforgiven:
They'd killed his best friend and put his body on display out the front. After killing everyone in the room, Will proclaims that he will not only kill anyone else who gets in his way, but that he'll also kill his wife, children, friends, and acquaintances, and then burn down their house.
On 24:
They'd tried to assassinate the US President, and he thought they'd murdered his daughter. After killing everyone in the room, Jack chases down the chief villain, who surrenders. Jack empties his pistol into him.
On Torchwood:
They'd killed and eaten everyone in the village and were about to kill and eat his friends. After kneecapping everyone in the room, Jack calls for an ambulance to make sure the cannibals are all okay, and then sits down for a chat with the head villain.
Next week, he executes someone because she'd given his friend a pendant.
---
The situation:
A man with nothing to live for tries to commit suicide by suffocating himself in his car.
At Lifeline:
Counsellors persuade you that you have every reason to live, and give you a new sense of purpose.
On Torchwood:
Jack gets in the car with him, and makes sure he does it right this time.
---
The situation:
The Big Bad is unleashed during the season finale.
On Buffy:
That villain they've been chasing for the last twelve episodes finally cranks his or her plan into top gear. The gang triumphs because they've all got something they can bring to the fight, and they work together. People might get killed. Everyone is changed by the experience.
On Doctor Who:
The thread of clues woven throughout the season finally comes together. The Doctor does something terribly clever to save the day, but is still completely fucked over at the end of the episode.
On Torchwood:
Apparently, there's a giant demon imprisoned under the rift. Who the hell needs a plot arc? Jack wins by kneeling down in a field and doing nothing. He pretends to die for a bit, and is then picked up by the coolest man in the universe.