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Mark · Geek God Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 1942 Location: Belfast

I've just seen a trailer for this tonight, I think, if memory serves me correctly, it starts on the 6th of July.

The trailer that I saw had kids stopping and emitting a high pitch scream like those bodies that were taken over in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Mark
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Mark · Geek God Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 1942 Location: Belfast

Yep, I've just linked it on Sky.
I wonder if it's going to run every evening next week, especially as part of it's extended title is 'day one'.

Mark
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Paul · Joined: 23 May 2005 Posts: 1495 Location: The Fortress

Barrowman says he feels that they are being punished with the episode cut.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8125881.stm

The feeling in this house is that Torchwood is doomed, and this will be the swansong.
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Mark · Geek God Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 1942 Location: Belfast

Well, I can see his point.
The only thing I can suggest is that if it's a success then they may well be drafted back in quick succession to get another such 'event' sooner rather than later.
I'm a big fan of Torchwood, and even though I haven't seen these episodes yet I don't think it'll be weak enough to cancel the show.

All that talk about shaking up the format on the linked article just doesn't ring true for me.

Mark
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Mark · Geek God Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 1942 Location: Belfast

Tonight, peoples, tonight. (8+)

Mark
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Paul · Joined: 23 May 2005 Posts: 1495 Location: The Fortress

I know, I know.

Apparently, BBC America is not happy about the format either. RTD says that he isn’t making it for the Americans.

If RTD is off to the USA to seek his fortune, what happens to Torchwood? Do we know who is taking over?
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Paul.
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Mark · Geek God Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 1942 Location: Belfast

Paul · Joined: 23 May 2005 Posts: 1495 Location: The Fortress

Right - two omodern art references in Torchwood so far.

Rachel Whiteread - she made sculptures by casting the negative space in objects - she did a whole house in the south of London. The inside of the cell Captain Jack was trapped in reminded me of this.

Anthony Gormley - best known for the Angel of the North had an installation called Blind Light at the Hayward Gallery a couple of years ago. It was a large tank full of fog. You could go in (though people with asthma were advised not to, so I stayed out). The 456 are in a similar container.

I am just wondering if this is deliberate.
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Paul.
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JJW009 · Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 1:01 am Post subject:

I'm a bit shocked by this.

I was hoping for a "five part special" leading up to a grand new series on prime time; not the entire year's worth in one week.

As usual, the acting has been quite inconcistent. The main characters are brilliant, but some of the important supporting roles were quite cringeworthy.

However, the Welsh accent has been used to great comic effect. The pun about "Auntie Terrorist" would have been more sleazy than funny if it had been done in Mockney. The Cardiff setting adds a huge amount to the charm of this series, with the "small rural community policing" contrasting with the grandeur of the theme.

Do we think they blew up HQ to reduce costs, or to mark a new direction or maybe a bit of both?

What do people think? Who's watching it? I'm pretty captivated. Probably the best thing on TV this year so far, despite it's very British flaws.

Anyone listening to the plays? I'm just off to download them now...

:edit: dag nab it, think I missed the first 2 Crying or Very sad

Don't supposed anyone saved them...?
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Paul · Joined: 23 May 2005 Posts: 1495 Location: The Fortress

I have the middle two plays, but not the first.

I do think that the BBC has finally figured out Torchwood. I was very sceptical about this, but it seems that they can hold a 5 part story and carry it through keeping the momentum up. I’m really liking this more than I thought. I’d like to see more longer stories like this - not only in Torchwood, but in Dr Who too. I find the “monster a week” format rather lacking by contrast, and even the Sarah Jane Adventures manages to stave that off with each story bridging two episodes.

See? This is what happens when you make RTD write for BBC1 properly. You actually get something half decent. Even the gay references are better for being more subtle. I like the ongoing Ianto’s gay joke - every one sees it, and he thinks it’s a secret. It’s subtle, but well handled.
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Mark · Geek God Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 1942 Location: Belfast

Yes I'm watching it, and yes, I'm enjoying it tremendously.
To answer a couple of points, the concrete cell didn't even register with me as being remotely like the interior of that concrete house, but then, I have major problems with that particular story element, namely, it dried too fast, it should've ripped Jack apart when it broke up on impact, it really shouldn't have broken up on impact (it should have buried itself more than breaking up) and Jack should have been cooked alive as the concrete dried.

Now knowing that the dude that did the Angel of the North did something similar to the container that the 456 are in adds nothing to the story line to me.
I actually thought it more reminiscent of ambassador Kosh in Babylon 5 and the encounter suit. When he was out of the suit he had to remain in a sealed off portion of B5 with his own atmosphere.

Like Jason I thought that the blowing up of the Torchwood Hub was a budgetary decision.
This has much larger ramifications in the mythos of Torchwood though, what happened to the people and creatures contained within it? What about all the alien tech that has seemingly gone up in smoke?
It's all a bit too clean at the moment. These things need to be addressed if the show lives on after the end of this week.

On that note, if this is the future format of this show, then please, can we have two per year?
This is proper event TV and having just one week a year isn't going to help with maintaining audiences - even though the BBC shouldn't really be about the audience figures.

Mark
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Paul · Joined: 23 May 2005 Posts: 1495 Location: The Fortress

I do agree - this is event television, and more is needed. I watched the series, I think it was called Criminal Justice, last year and that did much the same - an episode a day for a week, and I really liked it. It was gripping, creepy drama, but it was also well written and produced. Like Torchwood, there were no advance story line leaks, which made watching it a necessity.

All this takes me back to the days when the BBC would routinely roll out a series based on one story. You would not have any idea what was going to happen (unless you had read the novel that they had adapted), and even if you knew the book, the treatment was always a surprise.

I have even higher hopes for the last few episodes of Tennant’s Who now. I’m expecting more from the new adaptation of Day of the Triffids too. I hope I’m not getting carried away.

The concrete block was a classic Chuck Jones gag. Silly, but a good balance for the grimness the preceded it.

The used the Hub set for the Cyberman Christmas Special, so I think it’s days were numbered. Torchwood is clearly going to be more underground than it was before in the future, unless it’s all rebuilt for them after saving the world. What happened to their pteradon they had in series 1?
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JJW009 · Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:05 pm Post subject:

JJW009 · Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:20 am Post subject:

Mark · Geek God Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 1942 Location: Belfast

5.94 million people tuned in for the first episode of the show's third season, it's first on BBC One. If that doesn't sound like a lot, previous season premieres have pulled in 2.4m (Season One on BBC Three) and 3.72m (Season Two on BBC Two), making 5.94 million an impressive leap (more than double than that of its lead-in, an episode of current affairs show Panorama) - and also enough people to win the timeslot for the night.Clicky
Will this be enough to secure a fourth season?

Mark
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