Torchwood season 3

[ctc]

>When TV get's too realistic the escapism disappears and so does a lot of fans.

Hmmmm.... I don't think it's a matter of "realism" though. It's just a different tone of story. It's scary, but in a different way from the "something jumps out and goes BOOO!!!" kind of scary: it's scary 'cos the audience risks genuine loss and emotional shock. And yeah, a lot of folks will be turned off by that. Definitely. But I'm very glad they do it. If anything it's an experiment; a test to see how much the audience can take. And ANY art form NEEDS experiments like that, otherwise everything gets inbred in a hurry.

Torchwood does a lot of things other shows don't; and I think that's great! I like how everyone on screen ISN'T pretty. (Although I could have done without seeing Ianto's nephew's butt....) I like how characters have to make ACTUAL tough choices. (And not of the chick flick "do I want the hot rich guy who's a jerk or the hot rich guy who's NOT a jerk" variety.) And I like that they don't always make the right choice. (Like Jack and the original 12 kids.)

>for me it lacks rewatchability like the past season's

I can see that too; but I think that's the risk you runh making shows like this. The story is a definite event; something happens, and once you know what happens it's not as exciting.

>My biggest complaint is the halfass ending (the destruction of the aliens). It was too quick and easy... It's like -- WHY DIDN'T THEY DO THIS ON DAY 1 ?

One of the problems with sci-fi shows is that you want to fill the audience in on what's happening "behind the scenes" even though the characters wouldn't know. It wasn't until the old guy died that they realized the connection the aliens used was two way, and that it was strong enough to inflict damage with. Even though a lot of the audience could probably guess that, since it's a fairly standard sci-fi-ism.

Don C.

[wolfie]

Well i was sorry to see Tosh get killed off because i liked her and Jack & Gwen have to be on the show or there would be no show but as for all the others it would not and does not bother me if they all get, or have been, killed off.

I liked it being more serious, it could get a lot darker and that would be great. You want powder puff go watch Charmed & Buffy.

[Gorn Captain]

Well i was sorry to see Tosh get killed off because i liked her and Jack & Gwen have to be on the show or there would be no show but as for all the others it would not and does not bother me if they all get, or have been, killed off.

I liked it being more serious, it could get a lot darker and that would be great. You want powder puff go watch Charmed & Buffy.

To be honest, Gwen is/was my least favourite character in the whole show.
If I can say it: a wee bit boring. I think that starting a family might be a better calling for her.

As for Jack, at times he can be a real pain-in-the-posterior, and cold too, so the score for me is:
People I like: all dead.
Hmmm.

But as I said, I liked this story, and Jack actually shipping those kids off was a very gutsy thing to do to his character. It gave him depth.
I still feel RTD killed Ianto off for cheap effect. In an interview he stated he "couldn't wait to kill off characters".

My total score:
Great season 3. Liked the "addicted to kids" aliens.
**ck RTD for killing off my favourite.
If there is a season 4, it'll probably be Jack and a whole new team.

And what the heck: I DO like Buffy, too!

[Mikey]

But as I said, I liked this story, and Jack actually shipping those kids off was a very gutsy thing to do to his character.

Killing off major characters I can live with if I had too -- But that's the most thing that really don't sit right with me.
I think they totally killed Jack's character doing that.
Leading those kids off in 1965 and telling them it will be a fun adventure and then seeing them today .... And to make matters worse, Jack knew the aleins were up to no good when he did it.
For me, it ruined the whole show and him.

Yes, it might be modernistic gritty in style ... But destroying your hero for the sake of a shocking conclusion to 1 story was not a smart move, imo.

[Gorn Captain]

Well, you do get the feeling: no matter how wide his smile is, he'll stab you in the back if he thinks it's needed....

[ctc]

>Jack & Gwen have to be on the show or there would be no show

Hmmmm.... y'know; you COULD do the show without ANY of them. I think you'd need a good explanation though, since after the main offices got wiped out Torchwood IS Jack. But the government could assign someone else. (Right now the team has ONE member, who's probably on mat leave.)

>Gwen is/was my least favourite character in the whole show.

HAW! I can see that. She's supposed to be the normal one, so compared to the reso fo those freaks she doesn't stand out at all! (Although it was interesting how she kinda took over from Jack during the last season.)

>I think they totally killed Jack's character doing that.

Jack was always kind of a knob; the guy who'd sacrifice those around him for the sake of the mission. The original kids were sacrificed 'cos they were afraid of the aliens. 12 for the sake of the planet seemed like a fair trade; even though to the AUDIENCE it wasn't. Like I said before, that's cool with me 'cos it's an ACTUAL tough choice.

Don C.

[wolfie]

Jack killing off the kids was the only thing to do, i thought that was made clear, he had no choice. Later on when he did have a choice he fought back with it.

Can't see how this diminishes his character any.

The needs of the many outweigh the loss of a few.

[Gorn Captain]

Jack killing off the kids was the only thing to do, i thought that was made clear, he had no choice. Later on when he did have a choice he fought back with it.

Can't see how this diminishes his character any.

The needs of the many outweigh the loss of a few.

Unless you're one of the few, of course....

[phil]

I picked up the DVD the other day at Best Buy. The price was good and their version includes a bonus CD of one of the Torchwood radio shows.

I thought it was great. After watching "Day Two" I was hooked and watched the rest in one go. It was gripping and I like that horrible, difficult decesions had to be made by characters throughout the story.

I don't think Jack's actions in 1965 damaged the charater. It was made clear that he had no choice. If he hadn't done it someone else would have. The decesion was more difficult because it involved children. Twelve lives against
possibly millions. What choice is there? As has been noted when Jack had more information about the motves of the 456 he stood up to them.

Given what happened in this story and in the new episodes of Doctor Who it sure seems like RTD hates the office of Prime Minister and cabinet ministers.

I haven't seen anything about the BBC commissioning more episodes of Torchwood but it will be interesting to see what happens next considering everything that happened in this story.

I don't remember what part it was in but I found it amusing to hear Gwen mention Hot Dogs. Considering how iconically American Hot Dogs are it was funny to hear a cute Welsh woman mention them.