Torchwood Series 2
John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) is undeniably one of the most handsome human beings on this planet. His good looks are accentuated by a smirk of a grin that would make anyone crumble and his eyes are wonderful as well.
Why is it then, that Russel T. Davies (the writer) decided that all of the other characters have to be dreadfully unattractive? Why was there such a necessity for the cast to be English or Welsh? Was there such a desperate need to counter John Barrowman's American accent..? I will concede that Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones) is marginally good-looking, but even he has a slight oddness about him that is worrying. While I agree that there is no need for the supporting cast to be visually pleasing, one would have thought that there would be -some- good-looking actors who wanted to be in a BBC Drama.
Then again, any intelligent ones would have took one look at the script and said 'Not on my life'. Torchwood isn't Doctor Who, nor should it be viewed as a spin-off. It should merely be viewed as a fanfic turned into a television series. Badly.
Now, I will concede that the first episode had some good moments. The end credits, for example. They were quite asthetically pleasing. The introduction video wasn't bad either... why, if the whole show could just be like that...
And here is where it all falls down. All that stuff in the middle of the opening and closing credits. Such as the fact that every character, no matter what, -must- be bisexual! It drives me mad that the writers of a serious drama could actually have their five central characters all bisexual. That scene in the episode the other night between Jack and Ianto... Oh -God-. For God's sake... Both of the actors obviously didn't want to be saying the dialogue (either that or they're simply bad actors) and the script...
The script. All of the scripts. They're all CRAP! I hate to say this about anything Doctor Who related but, if we're truly honest, there were some awful scripts for Doctor Who as well. The Dickens episode, for example (which coincidentally had Eve Myles (Gwen in Torchwood) playing the part of a maid) was filled with shoddy dialogue and poor acting. I'm sorry to say that some scripts just can't be made good, no matter the quality of the talent.
Now don't get me wrong. I love Doctor Who. I think that David Tennant is one of the best (not quite Sylvester but still awesome), however there have been some -bad- scripts. There have been some good ones too, and Steven Moffat's "Blink" is a prime example of a beautiful episode of television; certainly one of the best programmes that I have ever watched. There have been some bad episodes, not quite as bad as Torchwood, but not very good.
Now, a lot of you will disagree with this, and that's fine. However, I ask that you look at it objectively... to that extent, I shall leave you with a quote taken from my favourite episode of Torchwood; a quote made more perfect if you speak it aloud in a low, gruff voice...
"When was the last time you came so 'ard you forgot where you were..?"
Why is it then, that Russel T. Davies (the writer) decided that all of the other characters have to be dreadfully unattractive? Why was there such a necessity for the cast to be English or Welsh? Was there such a desperate need to counter John Barrowman's American accent..? I will concede that Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones) is marginally good-looking, but even he has a slight oddness about him that is worrying. While I agree that there is no need for the supporting cast to be visually pleasing, one would have thought that there would be -some- good-looking actors who wanted to be in a BBC Drama.
Then again, any intelligent ones would have took one look at the script and said 'Not on my life'. Torchwood isn't Doctor Who, nor should it be viewed as a spin-off. It should merely be viewed as a fanfic turned into a television series. Badly.
Now, I will concede that the first episode had some good moments. The end credits, for example. They were quite asthetically pleasing. The introduction video wasn't bad either... why, if the whole show could just be like that...
And here is where it all falls down. All that stuff in the middle of the opening and closing credits. Such as the fact that every character, no matter what, -must- be bisexual! It drives me mad that the writers of a serious drama could actually have their five central characters all bisexual. That scene in the episode the other night between Jack and Ianto... Oh -God-. For God's sake... Both of the actors obviously didn't want to be saying the dialogue (either that or they're simply bad actors) and the script...
The script. All of the scripts. They're all CRAP! I hate to say this about anything Doctor Who related but, if we're truly honest, there were some awful scripts for Doctor Who as well. The Dickens episode, for example (which coincidentally had Eve Myles (Gwen in Torchwood) playing the part of a maid) was filled with shoddy dialogue and poor acting. I'm sorry to say that some scripts just can't be made good, no matter the quality of the talent.
Now don't get me wrong. I love Doctor Who. I think that David Tennant is one of the best (not quite Sylvester but still awesome), however there have been some -bad- scripts. There have been some good ones too, and Steven Moffat's "Blink" is a prime example of a beautiful episode of television; certainly one of the best programmes that I have ever watched. There have been some bad episodes, not quite as bad as Torchwood, but not very good.
Now, a lot of you will disagree with this, and that's fine. However, I ask that you look at it objectively... to that extent, I shall leave you with a quote taken from my favourite episode of Torchwood; a quote made more perfect if you speak it aloud in a low, gruff voice...
"When was the last time you came so 'ard you forgot where you were..?"
Total Comments 3
Comments
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Totally agree about the torchwood scripts, very rarely good. One of the things is that I'm still not sure what it wants to be. It was originally trying to be an adult sci-fi, but the way they went about it was just to slam in sex and swearing. That's not how you make a grown up sci-fi, to see how to do that see bsg or firefly for that or even to an extent farscape.
Doctor who episodes have always been hit and miss, it's just one of those things.
Oh and seriously? No hotties apart from Barrowman? Eve Myles --drools--Posted 01-18-2008 at 03:15 PM by Sum 
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Eve "Bucktooth" Myles? Seriously? She just isn't my type. The annoying voice is one thing, but the gaping hole between her two front teeth is very unattractive. Maybe if she kept her mouth shut all the time like she does in Torchwood...
But i'm glad that you agree! It is unfortunately just like that; a kid's show made adult by gratuitous swearing and sex, yet filled to the brim with unexplained plot points. The plot problems are acceptable in Doctor Who because they are rarely noticable; this mainly being because of the nature of the main character and the fact that it is aimed at a younger audience; but in Torchwood the problems are far more severe. So often, Jack appears out of nowhere to save the day with no reason to explain how the heck he knew where his team was!
Oh well.Posted 01-18-2008 at 03:23 PM by JackSpratt
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He knew where his team was because he has L33T skillz, duh!
but i agree, it was poorly written, the writers seem to think " oh i know, after water shed, heres an idea, lets make them all bisexual, maybe throw in a bit of bestyality, and in the next episode, lets make cap'n jack, reveal himself to be an Horse!"
to be honest its hard to buy into the scripts, especially because horses dont have thumbs.Posted 01-18-2008 at 03:41 PM by Simple_me
