So beginning my series of weekly Doctor Who posts leading up to the 50th Anniversary Special in November, we start with a review of the first series of the popular and more mature spin-off, Torchwood. For those of you who need a refresher, the first season of Torchwood takes place during most of the 3rd season of Doctor Who and has a focus on the former companion, Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman), a Time Agent from the future who became immortal thanks to the power of the heart of the Tardis that Rose Tyler absorbed to save the Doctor from the Daleks, although its never really explained to anybody in this show, expect for the viewer of course. Anyway, while The Doctor travels through time and space, Jack assembles a team to help him search for alien creatures and to fight them (or give them sanctuary in some cases) which he decides to call, Torchwood and they base themselves near the rift in Cardiff, Wales. So let's see what they got up to in series 1:
Everything Changes
So the very first episode, basically shows how Gwen Cooper (played by Eve Myles who we previously saw as a nun in 1960s Cardiff in Doctor Who) came across Torchwood and how she got recruited into the team and replaces one of their own members, which I won't spoil here if you haven't seen it yet. Gwen is a police officer who is on patrol, until she comes across a group of people using ways to communicate with a victim to find out who his killer is. Following that, Gwen decides to find out what this so called team is and what they do as their jobs, which ends with some consequences. As the pilot episode, I thought it was a pretty strong start and manged to establish Myles' character very well with no signs of backing down. 9/10
Day One
Gwen has a date with her boyfriend Rhys Williams (a reoccurring character, played by Kai Owen) which is cut short when a meteor hits Cardiff and she is called into action by Torchwood, where as a result of the last episode, is where she now works. She and the others arrive at the crash site which is secured by a military force of some kind and they go to investigate. After being taunted by her colleague Dr Owen Harper (played by Burn Gorman), she throws a chisel at him which she misses and causes the meteor to crack, allowing the purple entity inside to be freed. The entity possess a girl at a nightclub and she then proceeds to "get it on" with a random bloke, which upon reaching the climax, causes him to fall into dust and the girl absorbs the energy that remains and proceeds to do the same to other random blokes. Can Torchwood deal with this entity? Watch to find out. Now this was broadcast literally after the pilot episode and for what it is, it's actually pretty good, but you may get sick some of the way. I think this is the one that tells you that Torchwood is definitely for the more mature Doctor Who fans and we love it. 9/10
Ghost Machine
The episode begins with Jack, Owen and Gwen on pursuit of a man through Cardiff, while back at the Torchwood hub, Toshiko (played by Naoko Mori who we last saw as a scientist in present 21st century London in Doctor Who, presumably to be the same person) tracks an alien energy signature that's coming from the man through the CCTV network. Gwen manages to catch his jacket near a train station and comes across an alien device which she accidentally activates and witnesses an event of the distant past. Afterwards, the team attempt to find the suspect that they are after using what Gwen has given them, but fail, so Owen gives it a shot and when he witnesses an event in time, he witnesses a man raping and killing a woman. He meets the man who killed the woman, and finds that he and the man they were chasing earlier, are both somehow allied with each other and proceed to take them down, in some sense. A very action packed and emotional episode that I'm sure will be one of the stronger episodes in the series so far, with everybody giving it their all. 9/10
Cyberwoman
Serving as a continuation (or extension if you prefer) to the 2 part Doctor Who story that has a Daleks VS Cybermen battle, the Torchwood team decide to go for a drink while Ianto Jones (played by Gareth David-Lloyd) stays behind and invites in a Japanese cybernetics expert who he takes to the basement which is home to an unfinished Cyberman (or woman in this case) known to be Ianto's girlfriend which he saved during the battle of Daleks and Cybermen (how he got her into the hub is unknown, but we can assume that he got her in during times where the others are busy fighting aliens). Asking the expert if she can be cured and be relieved of any cybernetics, the expert manages to get her breathing again, but due to her cyberman influence, she then begins to convert the expert into a cyberman, thus killing him, which causes the hub to be under attack and with Ianto's job on the line, its up to him and the rest of the team to stop her, before she is let lose unto the world. While I do like that Gareth's character is given more screen time and character development this time around, as well as me wondering if anybody survived the conversion during the Dalek and Cybermen battle (apart from the main cast of course), this is more of a weaker episode as it is quite sick in regards to the main antagonist in this one, so really there is stuff to like and stuff to hate in this one. But for me personally, its like Marmite, you either love it or hate it and having seen this episode a few times, I like it because of Gareth's character given more stuff to do, but that's it. 8/10
Small Worlds
The episode begins with Jack waking up from having a nightmare about some of his men from the war (which is a bit of an inconsistency as he claimed to not sleep in an earlier episode), dying with rose petals in thier mouths. Ianto tells Jack of some strange weather patterns in the area and Jack then takes Gwen to see an old friend of his, before investigating these so called fairies that his friend goes on about. They find out that the fairies are beginning to kill people in the attempt to protect this so called "Chosen One" who will be given to the fairies if Torchwood fail to find this person. This episode is another weak one in that its not as action packed as before, but does have the scare factor all around and has some of the best acting in the show so far, and has a few emotional bits as well. 8/10
Countrycide
As the name suggests, this one takes place in the countryside. The entire team are sent to investigate a report of 17 people missing in the same 20-mile radius in the Brecon Beacons, using the mobile phone signal used by the last victim. Strangely enough, their Range Rover gets taken by unknown forces and after trying to track it down, they come across a deserted village. Unsure about whether its an alien they are trying to find or not, the team investigates anyway, with some shocking consequences. This episode is another strong one that brings character development with Gwen and Owen and is pretty much, a blood and gore fest so prepare to get your sick buckets before watching this one. 9/10
Greeks Bearing Gifts
So we've had an episode dedicated to Ianto and now we have one for Toshiko. Toshiko is annoyed by Gwen and Owen's constant flirting and heads for a local bar where she meets a female scavenger of alien artifacts, who gives her a pendant. The next day, with the pendant on, Toshiko discovers that she can read the minds of anyone that she comes across and when she comes across the scavenger, the scavenger says that she has the hots for her and they spend the night together. The majority of the episode is Tosh reporting to the scavenger to find out more about her, which ends with deadly consequences (by this point, I would think that many of The Doctor's companions were trained to kill aliens if they cannot be persuaded to make peace or surrender). This provides a lot of character development for Mori's character and I personally like it. It may not be as action packed as it has been previously, but it's still a good episode nevertheless.
They Keep Killing Suzie
As we all know, none of us really knew what and who Suzi was, until now. The team investigate a murder of a couple, who's murderer has left some of his hair which under further analysis, discovers that his DNA has forms of Retcon (more information on that can be found on Wikipedia and other places). Gwen is given permission by a reluctant Jack to use the resurrection glove to get information about the victims murderers and they all give the name Max who was a member of a group called Pilgram and knew a former and now deceased member of the team, Suzi Costello (played by Indira Varma). With no other leads, the team use the gauntlet on Suzi who somehow manages to be still alive even after the gauntlet's time is up. What is Suzi up to and how can she be still alive? Watch to find out. While this episode is the only other episode besides the pilot to feature Suzi, it's one that fans have been waiting for and it gives us a chance to finally find out who Suzi is and what she did for Torchwood before Gwen took over from her. But as a whole, this episode begins slowly, but picks up gradually towards the end, which may not go down well for some, but for others, it might. 8/10
Random Shoes
This episode tells the story of a man called Eugene (played by Paul Chequer as an adult and Luke Bromley as a child) who died in a car accident and is under investigation by Torchwood. The episode is told from his perspective with the Torchwood team playing mostly minor roles instead of major roles, except for Gwen who decides to do the investigation herself later on. I won't go any further than that, but there are aliens involved, hence Torchwood's investigation. It offers character development for a character who we never get to see again in the whole show, so I feel that this one, was just a waste of time and money on that, but it's enjoyable in some respects. 8/10
Out of Time
Three people arrive in a vintage aircraft called the Sky Gypsy in a present day airfield, not knowing that they have entered the rift and thus, have time travelled to this exact time. Jack, Gwen and Owen decide to take them into their care individually in the hopes to get them to adapt to the lifestyle of the modern day world, which ends happy for some, but emotionally for others. It may not be as action packed as before, but we do get a lot of character development from Jack, Gwen and Owen and its one of the more emotional and heartbreaking episodes that make the show, worth watching for what it is and what it has become. 9/10
Combat
In this episode (which wraps up a few ongoing storylines within the show), the gang notice that various Weevils (which are a common alien in the whole show who act like dogs in some sense) are being captured for unknown reasons. Jack sends Owen to investigate this himself (which after the events of the last episode, is something that will keep him occupied for a while). This is one of the more important episodes in the series as it plays some importance in the next series with Owen's relationship with the Weevils, but as for the episode itself, it's not one of the greatest in that it just about Owen and Weevils, but it's good that he now gets an episode dedicated to him. 8/10
Captain Jack Harkness
The name of this episode is going to annoy a lot of us if you're trying to find the episode and not the actual character, but I digress. Anyway, Jack and Tosh go to investigate an abandoned dance hole, only to have somehow time travelled to 1941, which they are now stuck in and must rely on the others to get them back. While stuck in this time period, the dance hall is being used by service personnel and they meet the real Captain Jack Harkness, a name that Jack takes when this man dies. During the whole episode, Tosh leaves stuff around the dance hall for the rest of the team to pick up to attempt to get them back. This is a pretty good episode that sets the tone for the final episode of this series and I enjoyed watching it. It has great acting all around and a very unique enemy, who we meet again in the next episode. 9/10
End of Days
In the last episode of the series (which is as epic as the picture suggests), Strange rift activity begins to happen all over the UK after the team uses it to get Jack and Tosh out of 1941 in the last episode. A lot of historical figures begin to appear and each member of the group see glimpses of their now deceased friends or family members, all convincing them to open the rift, but with all that has been happening, are these ghosts of the past, telling the truth or is it a trap set by the unique enemy from the last episode? Watch to find out. I thought this was a great ending to what has been a good first season that will be a favourite among whovians and sci-fi fans alike. It shows us how things would've gone if the Doctor wasn't about and it immediately connects to the 3rd season of Doctor Who at the end. 9/10
So was the first series good? Yes it was. Sure, some of the episodes may be off putting at times, but it gives the more mature fans of Doctor Who, something to enjoy watching until the next Doctor Who series comes about and I love it. 9/10
Hey Howdy Hey People of the Internet and welcome to my blog Wolfathon! Here I do written reviews of films, TV shows and video games along and other posts too! I'm also on YouTube and my channel is quite simply called Wolfman407-. On there, I upload footage of games I have reviewed and do other things like talk about different topics and hauls (both in the form of a vlog). Thanks for checking my blog out and Peace to you all!
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