Having a Torch for Torchwood
June was a dull month for television. Sure, there was "Big Love" and "Entourage," but what about the rest of the nights of the week? "Heroes" had ended, "The Sopranos" was disappointing, and I had yet to experience the smoky joys of "Mad Men" on AMC.
Our solution was to catch up on all the DVD's we brought back from our last visit to Britain. One of our favorites was "Torchwood," which the BBC spun off from its red-hot revival of "Doctor Who."
Unfortunately, our DVD only contains the first five episodes, which only served to whet our taste for this entertaining adult sci-fi series. So you can imagine how I've been looking forward to its premiere on these shows, which occurs tonight at 9:00 p.m. on BBC America.
This new series centers around the sexually ambiguous and very charismatic character of Captain Jack Harkness, introduced in the first new series of DW, an episode set in 1941, during the London Blitz. There he was a time traveling con artist. Here, his feet are firmly planted in modern-day Cardiff and he heads Torchwood -- a quasi-governmental agency that investigates aliens.
They don't just go after aliens, Captain Jack says, they "scavenge the stuff theyleave behind, find ways of using it, arming the human race for the future." Because, "The 21st Century is when it all changes and you gotta be ready."
If you are a fan of "Doctor Who," which has always been the kind of show a family can watch together (even if, during the scary bits, the kids might be tempted to view it while hiding behind the couch), you need be warned that it's best to send the little ones off to bed before you tune in to this one. This show shares its older brother's wicked humor -- but It's adults only -- darker themed, more violent, and definitely sexy. And you don't have to know the back story to enjoy it.
John Barrowman shines once again as Captain Jack, a man with a past somewhere in the future. The fact that he's American may be a plus for those viewers who have shied away from British programming because they have problems understanding the accents. The rest of the team is well cast too, especially Eve Myles, a Welsh beauty who speaks with a sing-song quality. Will they, or won't they? The producers seem to be setting us up for a future romance, even though she has a boyfriend and he -- well, Jack seems to operate on a different plane everyone else.
An equal star of the show is modern-day Cardiff, the Welsh capital where the series is set, which also happens to be my husband's home town. "Torchwood" takes full advantage of the spectacular design of the Cardiff Bay project, and its location scenes and overhead shots are simply stunning. It's also fun to pick out locations we've frequented (something we do all the time with stuff produced in Hollywood, but is kind of a novelty for us with UK productions).
"Torchwood" is an exciting, dark, suspenseful adventure -- a little like "Heroes," although less frenetic and a bit more kinky. You get a taste of that in tonight's premiere episode, which introduces the characters and the world they live in. You really get the flavor of the series next week, when the Torchwood team chases down an alien parasite that feeds off the energy released in sexual climaxes. It's racy stuff, and I will be very interested what -- if anything -- BBC America cuts from the DVD version we've been watching.
Check it out and see.
Unfamiliar with "Doctor Who"? BBC America begins airing the second series tonight at 8:00, just prior to the start of "Torchwood." The kids can stay up for this one. Of course, true DW fans are already midway through series 3, which is currently airing Friday nights on Sci Fi Channel. I can't wait for that one to end, because Captain Jack will reunite with the Doctor and his nemesis, played by another of my favorite Brit actors, John Simm.
