Tom's Take:
So after finishing Series Two of Doctor Who, I decided to start Torchwood Series 1. Naturally, I really enjoyed it. But I suppose the question is. How does Torchwood measure up versus Doctor Who?
I gotta say. I prefer Torchwood.
What is it about Torchwood that I like better than Doctor Who?
Well first off, I prefer the more adult content. Like any red blooded man, I like sex. And I enjoy cussing. So with Torchwood, we get a lot of the science fiction elements of Doctor Who, but add in some cussing and sex. And that's awesome.
I also enjoy that there's a larger cast. I always preferred the later seasons of Angel because they brought in more characters. Similarly Torchwood expands the cast of Doctor Who from two people to five. I prefer this for a number of reasons. It allows there to be more room for the main cast to be the focus of the stories, rather than having the guest stars carry the bulk of the work. It also adds a whole bunch of character interactions between all the main cast.
Finally I enjoy how complex and flawed all the characters are. From the very first episode it is made clear that the Torchwood team is not completely professional. These people are all attracted to the alien technology, because they think it's cool, and they are completely willing to use this technology for selfish purposes. They also all appear to be bisexual, and completely down for any action they can get, despite Gwen at least having a serious boyfriend.
By the way. Why is everyone bisexual in this show?
Anyways, let's look at each character on their own.
Gwen Cooper is Torchwood's version of Rose Tyler. She's the newbie girl who needs exposition, which serves the audience. She doesn't appear to have a romantic interest in Captain Jack though. Instead she has Rhys, and as this series progresses she begins to fool around with Owen. I didn't really understand her attraction to Owen, but I think it fits with the show's take on people as being mostly flawed and selfish. Her highlight episode was "Everything Changes" the first episode, where she was first introduced to Torchwood. She was actually a bit more like Rose in this episode, and it was only the later episodes that showed how much more flawed she was.
Toshiko Sato. I love that the token minority in this show is Japanese, since that's not used very often. Is it a little racist to have the Asian be the computer genius? Sure. But that's okay, because we need everyone in the staff to be competent at their jobs. She apparently had feelings for Owen, but I think those have passed. Her highlight episode was "Greeks Bearing Gifts" which highlighted her loneliness and also had her adventure into a lesbian relationship.
Ianto Jones is the character we know the least about, because for the most part he is very quiet. We do know from subtext that he's banging Jack, but he also had a serious relationship with Lisa. In his highlight episode "Cyberwoman"we saw him using technology to keep Lisa alive, risking the rest of the world in the process.
Owen Harper is the most blatantly flawed character of the cast. He is an asshole quite frankly. Yet he's a lovable asshole, and I found myself rooting for him and Gwen despite myself. His highlight episode was "Combat" which took place after his love story with Diane, and had him bordering on rage and suicidal tendencies. I've seen a lot of Fight Club type episodes, but this was the first one that seemed to really capture the nihilistic and masculine struggles of Fight Club itself. I really appreciated that, and I felt like that worked for Owen and his feelings of manhood in this era of soft masculinity.
Captain Jack Harkness is a bad ass. I don't really see any specific episode as his highlight episode. He's the main character of the show, so he's fairly prominent in all of them. I really enjoyed his dynamic with all the members of his team. He seems to share enthusiasm with them, but he's not as friendly as the Scoobies were in Buffy. They're coworkers, not friends. The show also danced around his backstory. Obviously the audience, or me, knows more about the situation due to Doctor Who, but there's still a lot more to discover in future series.
Best Episode: "Out of Time" was a bit odd in that it isolated the team from each other, but I liked seeing the others lost in time and how their adventures connected with Gwen, Owen, and Captain Jack.
Worst Episode: "Small Worlds" was a little too campy for my tastes. Fairies are sort of dumb, and this episode seemed like a throwaway in the grand scheme of the series.
Predictions: We need more Captain Jack backstory. Also, it appears that the Doctor will be making an appearance?
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