TorchwoodSeries1

Torchwood Series 1 (2006)

Torchwood: A secret organization established to protect Great Britain from otherworldly threats. They operate above the law, the government, and answer to no one. Taking alien artifacts, they use them to arm themselves in battles yet to come. Because, as the opening of every episode tells us, the 21st century is when it all changes.

Spinning off from the second series of Doctor Who, Torchwood follows the team on some of their many adventures through the town of Cardiff. Bringing the audience into the fold of an already established group is Gwen Cooper, a young police officer we meet in the first episode so those of us unfamiliar with Torchwood lore from Doctor Who can ask questions and learn pertinent information on our behalf.

The mysterious yet highly charismatic Captain Jack Harkness is in charge, and he’s picked up a new ability since we last left him in his parent series, he can’t die. It’s a pretty handy talent to have in his line of work, because he always seems to be getting shot. Owen Harper is the cocky medic, Toshiko Sato is the geeky computer expert, and Ianto (pronounced Yanto) Jones is the Alfred Pennyworth-like butler.

The first series is a solid science fiction offering owing a great debt to the X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and numerous other shows, sometimes even taking basic plot ideas and retooling them to fit the already established universe. Thankfully, episode two gets the sex monster out of the way early on so we don’t have to fear it cropping up later as other shows seem to do, and for me, that just breaks the whole flow down.

If you want to watch Torchwood, it’s a fair assumption that you’ve seen Doctor Who. It lacks the quality and polish, but what kept me going were the characters. They’re all likeable, yet flawed enough to be interesting, and the sub-plots involving their interpersonal relationships are largely what kept me going through the first series. Each one gets an episode to really focus who they are, and what they bring to the team. In this capacity, it makes the following two series that much stronger.

It’s very much a ‘monster of the week’ show, without a strong overall arc running through the duration of the 13 episodes. That isn’t to say that there aren’t a few episodes which stand out above the rest. ‘Countrycide’ forces the team from their home base to investigate the disappearance of an entire village, and the monsters they find aren’t aliens at all. Think ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ with a British twist. Another great episode is ‘Captain Jack Harkness,’ which finds Toshiko and Jack in Cardiff during the WWII Blitz, and Jack meets the man he took his name from.

All in all, it’s a gritty show without being grimy. There’s a substantial amount of violence, monsters, swearing, and a healthy amount of sexual innuendo, both hetero and homosexual. Learning more about Captain Jack is always fun, even though who he isn’t fully explained. Seeing how much of a complete bastard he can be is quite a bit of fun, however.

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by Seth Moore