Uniformed police woman Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) of the Cardiff,
Wales police department has her world seriously rocked one rainy evening when
she responds to a homicide. A young man has been stabbed to death in an alley,
and the crime scene technicians are already gearing up to work the scene--until
everybody is told to back away from the crime scene immediately. When Gwen asks
what’s going on, she’s told that a special unit known as Torchwood is coming in
to take over. A snazzy black SUV pulls up, and out pours four people, two men
and two women, who examine the body by themselves, without any help from the
police.
Wanting a better look at what they’re doing, Gwen goes up in a parking garage
that’s adjacent to the crime scene, where she’s able to peer down at them. And
she’s stunned at what she sees: one of the Torchwood members manages to bring
the body back to life momentarily with the use of a special glove. In the few
sparse minutes that they have to speak with him--the Lazarus-type effect doesn’t
last for very long--the murder victim is questioned about who killed him; yet
the Torchwood members are annoyed to discover that he never saw his attacker.
Once his borrowed time is up, the victim dies again, this time unable to be
revived by the mysterious glove.
But the leader of the Torchwood team, a man in a World War Two era trench coat
who goes by the name of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), knows full well
that Gwen is spying on them. Charismatic, dashing and commanding without being
overbearing, Harkness was a character created for the BBC’s Doctor Who revival (in
the first season’s episode The Empty Child) who proved popular enough to warrant
his own show, a spin off that takes place in present day earth, in the same
universe as the Doctor Who series. As the star of Torchwood, Barrowman effortlessly
carries the series on his shoulders. He's a likeable hero with a mysterious past
who doesn't shy away form making the tough decisions.
The Torchwood concept, which was also originally created in Doctor Who, is that of
a special team which deals with alien incursions, as well as all sorts of weird
supernatural and scientific anomalies they encounter in Cardiff. Think of it as
being a fun blend of the X-Files, CSI and Doctor Who. Why are they
based in Cardiff, Wales? Well, the series explains that Cardiff is the location
of an inter-dimensional rift, the presence of which attracts all sorts of weird
stuff--but the real world reason is that Cardiff is to the BCC what Vancouver,
Canada is to Hollywood: a cheap place to shoot their TV shows. The new Doctor Who
series also shoots there, as well.
Shot in HD, Torchwood is certainly a very professional-looking production, with
superior production values and excellent scripts, which eschews the more
far-fetched flights of fancy of Doctor Who in favor of a more gritty, down to earth,
and far darker approach to its science fiction and supernatural premise. It also
offers a much more mature look at the sexuality of its main characters; who include Burn
Gorman, as Owen Harper, the team’s doctor and resident horn ball; Naoko Mori as
the seemingly straight-laced computer expert Toshiko Sato, and Gareth David-Lloyd
as Ianto Jones, the team gofer whom Jack has a crush on.
What was that? Did I just mention that Jack has a crush…on a guy?! As stated
before, Torchwood takes a more grown-up look at sexuality, and it’s not afraid
to explore all venues on both sides of the street. In the episode Greeks Bearing
Gifts, the meek and mild Toshiko even finds herself involved in a lesbian
relationship. The focus of the stories are just as much on the team members, and
how they’re affected by the monster of the week--rather than being solely about
the monster itself, which is what makes Torchwood so refreshing. And Torchwood’s
SF/fantasy/horror element is also very well done, thanks to imaginative scripts,
as well as a superb special effects team that manages miracles on a TV show budget.
The seven disc DVD set--containing all 13 episodes from the first season--is one
of the most impressive in terms of special features for a TV series, with plenty
of commentaries and behind the scenes featurettes, including outtakes and
deleted scenes, as well as a funny "Captain’s Log" from Barrowman. Thanks to its
mature themes containing sexuality, as well as graphic violence (the marvelous, horror-themed
episode Countrycide is not for the faint of heart), Torchwood really isn’t for
the kids. But adult science fiction fans looking for something different will
certainly find it here in Torchwood, which is vastly entertaining, thanks to
its great writing and a superb cast.
--SF
