Everything Changes
Eeeek! It’s a Doctor Who spin-off! The last time they tried this it didn’t go well. But this time things are different. This time, we’ve had the New Adventures. We’ve had Buffy, and perhaps even more relevant, we’ve had Angel. Still — how do you make a spin-off to the show that has everything?
Torchwood is clearly trying to carve out a peculiar niche in the corner of the Doctor Who world. In Love & Monsters, Jackie talked about how hard it was for “those that get left behind”. If ‘Everything Changes’ is anything to go off, this whole show looks to be exploring the darker, bitterer corners of the Who universe, where the people left behind try to come to terms with the crap around them. Collecting the leftovers, the flotsam and jetsam,1 and trying to make it work. And often, it seems, failing. Near the end, a character cries about how she wishes she could see something better, more amazing, than the shit that turns up in Cardiff. For a second, she almost sounds like a girl who wanted to travel with the Doctor and see the wonders of the universe, but grew up and found her curiosity twisted into something horrid instead.2
The show also looks like it’s the story of Captain Jack Harkness, last seen resurrected on Satellite Five in ‘The Parting of the Ways’. And the poor bastard’s been through the wringer; bad for him, but good for us viewers. A bit of moodiness, a faint streak of cruelty, and an over-arching interest in the greater good makes an interesting hero.3 His cup runneth over with mystery, too — how did he get from Satellite Five in 200,100 AD to Cardiff in 2007? What effects has his resurrection had on him? How did he get put in charge of Torchwood Three?4
And it’s the story of Gwen Cooper, Police Constable and generally down-to-earth woman. Living with her boyfriend, in Cardiff, swept into Torchwood and refusing to let the opportunity to refocus the team on the important things slip by her. She’s a great character too — while the overall structure of this episode is somewhat reminiscent of ‘Rose’, Gwen is just as driven by her principles as she is by her curiosity. And the Torchwood team could really do with some.
There are issues with the show; I like the sweeping shots of Cardiff, but let’s not put Jack on top of buildings any more — it’s a bit cheesy.5 I like the music, with its occasional discordant crescendos, but at other times it’s just a bit wannabe-poppy. And Owen’s little misadventure with the alien love potion is just a bit too far towards the date-rape side of things to be dismissed with a stern look.6
Reviewing this episode, I feel like I’ve been bribed. There are so many cute references to Who, so many intriguing little mysteries and concepts, how could I not love it? Tune in next time, when I review the ‘sex’ episode and talk about whether Torchwood‘s adult qualities are peurile or just realistic.
- The original title of this episode, by the way. ↩
- Or like a character who’s been put in Torchwood but wanted to be in Doctor Who. Depends how meta you like your text. I loved this scene, in part because Indira Varma’s performance is just stunning. ↩
- And an interesting foil for the Doctor, should they meet again in the future. ↩
- Torchwood Four has gone missing. This is hilarious if you’re a Babylon 5 fan and you’re paying attention. ↩
- And a bit too Angel-esque. There’s a few strong similarities to Whedon’s twin shows here, but the emphasis is sufficiently different so that it feels like a continuation of the spirit of those shows, and not a rehash. ↩
- Though, we can’t say for sure that Owen won’t get punished by Karma later in a mynameisearlish sort of way. ↩
andy
October 26th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
They could get away with the sweeping shots of Jack on a building if they had a max of one per episode. I liked the similar shots in Dark Angel, although the city was more scenic.
The B5 reference occured to me to. Will there be an arc where Jack gets sent back in time and becomes the Doctor?
They can’t be outside everyone’s control. Someone must pay for their building.
Tom
October 26th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
They can too be outside everyone’s control. People can fund them and still not control them. Given that Queen Victoria founded Torchwood, the Queen knows about them. I’m pretty sure they didn’t buy their underground real estate on the free market, it was probably just given to them by the crown.
The B5 thing had to be pointed out to me. I hope we meet the crazy scottish Torchwood some day.
Cardiff’s more scenic than some. When getting the picture of Jack on the building I felt that the man was too obviously a fake, but that’s possibly unfair scrutiny.
Tom
October 27th, 2006 at 12:31 am
According to the designers of the Hub set, the Hub was originally created way back when Torchwood was initially founded. They even said something (in Torchwood Declassified) about an underground railroad connecting the three Torchwoods.
andy
October 31st, 2006 at 6:18 pm
I hear that the 21st Century is when everything changes.
Tom
October 31st, 2006 at 6:21 pm
That’s what they say. They were taking the piss with it in episode three but he took so long to say it, one tends to be groaning instead of listening the the joke.
Libbie
January 28th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Hi! My name is Libbie, and I am a HUGE Doctor Who and Torchwood fan. (I found your blog because I was TRYING to figure out how the HECK Jack could get off of Satellite Five to run Torchwood 3 WITHOUT A SHIP!!Granted, I’m pretty positive the Tardis isn’t the only time-traveling machine in the universe – how else wouldJack have gotten to WWII in the first place? But his shipcertainly wasn’t on Satellite Five!!)
Anyway.
Unfortunately, I am only a Torchwood fan through youtube,because I live in the United States and, even more unfortunately,my house doesn’t get BBC!! (I watch Doctor Who on the scifichannel.) But you made a comment on one of your blogs aboutall U.S. citizens being bastards? Well, a lot of the stuffmy government does is extraordinarily stupid, I have to agree.BUT!! We are not ALL bastards. :-D Just the government, and Texas. ;-)
Just so you know, there ARE some of us, shockingly outsideof the UK, who love Doctor Who and Torchwood just as muchas you do. I AM IN LOVE WITH DAVID TENNANT!!!!!!
So yeah, I’m 18 years old (or will be as of Sunday), nice tomeet you and all that! Email me, it’ll be fun to have a pen pal who likes Doctor Who!!! Hopefully hear from you soon!
Your new American friend/fellow Doctor Who and Torchwood fan,
Libbie
Tom
January 30th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I only meant people from the USA were bastards in the sense that they would get iPhones before I did. I know lots of nice Americans. One of them even wrote a Harry Potter review here once (but your Goblet of Fire review is late, Jess).
I’m assuming that the end of Doctor Who season three will finally let us know what Jack’s been up to. Maybe he found the 200,000AD rift and jumped through…
Anyhow, I should point out that we’re also outside of the UK, we all live in Australia. Except Jess, obviously. Though she did, once. Happy Birthday for Sunday, Libbie!
andy
January 30th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
If you are a fan of a foreign show and can’t get it otherwise, it’s worth using torrents to download the shows. They’re of a much better quality than youtube and you get the whole thing at once.
Isn’t Jack a member of the Time Cops, or something? He probably hitched a lift with another time traveller.
Jess
January 31st, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Um, about that review, I’ll have to rewatch the movie and then I shall be able to submit one. Though, I’ll have to first buy the movie. :P
Its been on my “to do” list. I’m more interested in the books. :)
Tom
January 31st, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Oh, Jess, I was only stirring! You don’t need to at all, if you don’t want to. Mind you, if you want to review the books you could just as easily do that. Heh heh. You can’t escape.
Jess
January 31st, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Hehe. No I cannot. I could review comics! Can I review comics? :P
Tom
January 31st, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Of course you can! I’ve got to review ‘Dangerous’ any moment now as I believe the third Astonishing trade is out here right now.
The best thing about reviewing comics is how easy it is to get pictures for them.
Jess
February 1st, 2007 at 8:20 am
Oh yes. And it is out. Came out this week! g
And perhaps I shall review them then. :)