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More than a spin-off of the Russell T. Davies incarnation of Doctor Who, the BBC series Torchwood is a wholly enjoyable blend of drama, science-fiction thrills, and mature subject matter that never fails to deliver its main purpose: to entertain on a weekly basis. John Barrowman, who captured the imagination of Who fans during the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant eras as 51st-century adventurer Capt. Jack Harkness, returns as the dashing, immortal time traveler; here, he's the head of Torchwood, a covert organization that investigates extraterrestrial and supernatural events on Earth without the help of the British government or United Nations. Eve Myles is a police constable who joins the team after discovering them in the middle of bringing a stabbing victim back to life (in the debut episode, "Everything Changes"), and she brings a decidedly human touch to the Torchwood team's tech-driven investigations. Among the mysteries encountered over the course of the 13-episode series: an alien gas that absorbs humans during sex ("Day One"); a half-human, half-Cyberman female with a connection to Torchwood support man Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) in "Cyberwoman"; a rash of cannibalistic murders ("Countrycide"); a very different kind of fairies than the ones of legend ("Small Worlds"); and most impressively of all, a skyscraper-sized demon that threatens to plunge the Torchwood team--and the world itself--into chaos ("End of Days," which features an off-screen cameo by a certain Time Lord). What separates Torchwood from the most modern television science fiction (save, say,
Heroes and Battlestar Galactica) is the frankly adult tone of the series: The violence is plentiful and occasionally graphic, and there are frequent bedroom couplings between the team members and supporting players. There's also a maturity to the relationships that exceeds the usual scope of sci-fi, most notably in the affecting "Captain Jack Harkness," which sends him back to the London Blitz, where he meets and falls in love with a handsome American pilot who happens to share his name. Their love affair, like the majority of Torchwood's "grown-up" storylines, is handled with taste and real emotion. Extras on the First Series are remarkably plentiful; six of the seven discs include entirely new behind-the-scenes featurettes that explore the main characters and their major story arcs, location shooting, the impressive SUV that the team drives, and the show's extensive special effects and alien creations. Barrowman also contributes a very funny "Captain's Log," which invites viewers to join him on one of the final shooting days of the series. The entire seventh disc is given over to Torchwood Declassified, the 13-part program which explored each episode on BBC Three and the BBC's Torchwood website. Commentaries are offered for all 13 episodes, with Davies, Barrowman, Myles, Burn Gorman (who plays Torchwood's medical officer, Owen Harper), David-Lloyd, producers Richard Stokes and Julie Gardner, and various episode writers, directors, and producers all lending their voices. A small battery of deleted scenes and outtakes, as well as previews for DVD releases of other BBC programs, including Doctor Who and MI-5, round out this impressive set. --Paul Gaita
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Most helpful customer reviews
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your Doctor Who's Jack Harkness... and that's just fine.,
By
This review is from: Torchwood: The Complete First Season (DVD)
This show isn't Doctor Who but then again, it's not supposed to be.This isn't a show about monsters, regardless of its monster of the week format. It's a show about the blemishes in humanity, the mistakes and the compromises that we make as a deeply flawed race. The monsters aren't the things that the Torchwood team chase; I'll let you guess what the monsters are. This show brilliantly explores the other side of Doctor Who. While Doctor Who shows the brilliance of humanity and its ability to overcome adversity, Torchwood shows the cracks in the vaneer. It shows the dark side of the human face and makes sure we don't like what we see--while doing it in a very compelling fashion. We see a very different Jack in this show to those who are familiar with his presence in Doctor Who. Less carefree and feeling the weight of the world, we follow Jack as he leads an essentially selfish team that is charged with selfless work. The show takes on more adult themes and more mature ideas and doesn't resolve them in happy, tidy little bows. The story telling is more nuanced and shades of grey permeate every choice that the team is faced with. This isn't a show that leaves you feeling happy at the end, it's one that makes you think.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely fantastic,
By
This review is from: Torchwood: The Complete First Season (DVD)
I'm not much of a fan of TV in general, but there are a few series here and there that really stand out for their intelligence, innovation and quality... and Torchwood is a standout even among those.While season one didn't quite hit the same level as season two eventually did, it was still stunningly good -- far more interesting, entertaining and mature than the vast majority of other shows. Torchwood even at its worst is better than most other shows at their best. The acting is consistently excellent, and the characters all intriguingly complex, flawed people, who are not overidealized but shown as being capable of both heroism and terrible mistakes. Above all, they're very, very human. It does take a while for some of them to fully develop over the course of the series, though, so don't expect to feel like you fully know everyone after just the first few episodes (or even by the end of the first season, for that matter). However, it's definitely not for everyone's tastes - Torchwood does not shy away from dealing with dark and/or controversial themes, and the conservative or easily offended should probably stay far away. In particular, those who are expecting it to be similar in style and tone to Doctor Who may be in for a bit of a shock. Even the character they have in common has gone through a lot of changes between his parting of ways with the Doctor at the end of DW season one, and the beginning of this series (for reasons that are eventually made clear in season 3 of DW) - Captain Jack as he appears here is a lot more serious and driven, and less playfully hedonistic than we originally saw him, though there are certainly still flashes of that. But many of the same things that upset some viewers - like the strong presence of LGBT themes and characters, sudden shifts in style or content just when you think you've got the series pinned down, exploration of moral ambiguities, and the occasional shock of having "good" characters do very bad things - are what make the series so unique and compelling for those of us who find most television banal. The only real flaw I've found in Torchwood is that it sometimes seems to focus on character development and emotional impact to the point where logic suffers. There are things that seem to happen for no other reason than that they provide an opportunity for intense and emotionally affecting scenes, and don't really stand up to logical scrutiny afterwards. But on the whole that seems like a minor failing in a series that's otherwise so powerful. All in all, highly recommended for anyone who wants a change from the usual TV fare, and isn't afraid of being shaken out of their comfort zone.
37 of 46 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Torchwood... Not What You Might Be Expecting...,
By JohnD (Winnipeg Manitoba Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Torchwood: The Complete First Season (DVD)
Season one of Torchwood, Russel T. Davies' spinoff of his Doctor Who revival is a bit of a mixed bag, and achieves varying levels of success as a result.The show aims to be more "adult" than Doctor Who, focusing on a less optimistic (supposedly realistic) view of humanity it seems. The "realistic" aspect of this I thought was generally done well, but the "adult" side of the equation was, quite frankly, mildly embarassing at best (seemed obvious that this was a show trying real hard to be "grown up" and failing miserably).... There are some real good episodes here though, the one dealing with the aftermath of the Canary Wharf battle between the Daleks and the Cybermen, and Countrycide standout in my opinion. One big problem though, and this is showing up in almost every new release... the price difference in Canada vs the US. I'm seriously wondering why Canadian consumers are still being asked to take a bullet to the brain in terms of the exchange rate. Buying this release on amazon.ca will cost you $79.02 Canadian. Going to amazon.com will cost you only $60.78 Canadian after paying for "international" shipping and taking the (currently) $1.05 CDN = $1 USD exchange rate into account... a savings of $19.
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