The Super-Sexy Doctor Who Spin-off Drama (Torchwood: The Complete First Series (DVD))

Member Name: sarah1882

Product:	Torchwood: The Complete First Series (DVD)
Date:	11/08/09 (12 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Flashy guns and black SUV's but with intelligence

Disadvantages: Occassionaly standards of writing/ acting can vary from episode to episode.

Torchwood: Guns, time travel, aliens, the supernatural , betrayal, love, interspecies sex, girl on girl action, man on man action and the occasional oddly arousing Welsh accent thrown in, and you have everything you could ever want to satisfy your deepest, most primal box-set desires!

The spin-off from Dr Who is a delight for any adult who enjoys a bit of sci-fi fantasy. Actually, even if aliens aren't normally your thing, the clever story writing and intense character relationships supplies enough by itself for those not normally turned on by the prospect of an evening in filled with manning-up moments and gruesome deaths. Although a good knowledge of the Dr Who series helps fill in some of the gaps (or for the geeks, making constant inter-storyline connections) it's not necessary to become an avid fan of Torchwood in its own right.

From episodes such as Cyberwoman that go down the more traditional sci-fi root, to Countrycide which excites the horror senses, the story writing rarely fails to deliver. Pacing is tight, pulling in all the right highs and lows that make a successful action programme- this at times is so well done it makes even the most cynical of reviewers not want to turn the lights off before bed!

Eve Myles plays the feisty, yet maternal Gwen Cooper and brings arguably the best acting of the bunch, skilfully sliding from subtle humour to tragic sensitivity throughout the series. And for those shallower of persons, the wardrobe departments' talented use of tight-leather jackets and jeans will please men and women alike. John Barrowman also surprisingly manages to pull off Captain Jack, making his leadership believable (and likeable though much darker than some might have anticipated). However, at times you can see a dim flickering behind Barrowman's eyes, like a slow computer retrieval of acting school classes. Whether or not he's reliving his parent's divorce or the Spice Girls' split, we may never know, but such observations sometimes makes it hard to take him seriously in his more 'emotional' scenes. Although supporting characters Owen (Burn Gorman), Toshiko (Naoko Mori) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) are all well acted and written in most respects, it would have been nice to see a little more character depth and attention in every episode rather than the odd episode which concentrated on them as the lead.

One of the major accomplishments of Torchwood is its ability to combine action and horror with life's deeper questions. Quite often you'll find that the writers have cleverly and sneakily drawn both the characters and the audience into philosophical discussions, questioning ideas such as what constitutes as humanity, the goodness of the human heart, and the age-old question of death. At times, these discussions can slip into the morose, leaving you feeling rather deflated about the world and you start to question your own crumb-filled bed existence....But in light of all of this, it's refreshing and ultimately enjoyable, as too many programmes today are filled with superficiality that leads one to question the direction of the modern world.

So anyway, coming from a reviewer that tends to avoid action and guns at all costs (French movies, anyone?) I can say with honesty Torchwood is not a niche series. It'll never have the brilliance of a HBO production for example, but the rather hopeful flicker of intelligence and a solid understanding of story structure, makes it a fantastic watch for everyone, leaving it up to the viewer to decide how much they want to draw from it.

Summary: Well worth the money!