Torchwood Season Two

Regular Cast:
John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness)
Eva Myles (Gwen Cooper)
Burn Gorman (Owen Harper)
Naoko Mori (Toshiko Sato)
Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones)

Semi-Regular Cast:
Tom Price (PC Andy)
Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones)
James Marsters (Captain John Hart)




Episode 2.13 - “Exit Wounds”
Written by Chris Chibnall
****

Still reeling from their injuries and a threatening message from Captain John Hart (see episode 2.12, “Fragments”), the Torchwood team rush towards the Hub in the hopes of stopping him before he can cause any damage. Upon arrival, however, they discover that circumstances are more dire than they had originally feared, beginning a race against time destined to have an explosive outcome...

If you had approached me in 2006, after the final episode of TORCHWOOD's first season had aired, there's no way I could have predicted that just two years later, I'd be raving about a Chris Chibnall-penned episode of the same show. If you'd asked me last year, after the broadcast of Chibnall's frankly atrocious DOCTOR WHO story “42”, I would have thought it almost impossible that the man could move me to tears*. And yet here I sit, with red-rimmed eyes and a lump in my throat, trying to put into words a professional opinion over what I've just seen.

Starting with the long-overdue return of Captain John Hart, as portrayed by the irrepressible James Marsters, “Exit Wounds” takes the viewer on a tour-de-force of gut-wrenching moments, throwing every single member of Torchwood firmly out of their depth and the settling back to see how they cope. The episode's defining scene sees the team watching as Cardiff shatters and burns, momentarily lost in the horror before Jack is kidnapped and Gwen – stepping back into the leadership role that felt so strange to us at the beginning of the season – rallies the remaining agents and despatches them to contain the damage. This is what TORCHWOOD should always have been about; ordinary people doing extraordinary things to protect the population from unearthly threats.

If there's a dour note to the proceedings, it's the introduction of Gray as a villain so late into the season. While it was fairly inevitable that his reunion with Jack would never be a happy one, having him resurface as a textbook nutbar with a desire for bloody vengeance was, perhaps, not the way to go; as it is, his position as antagonist is undermined by his relative lack of screen time and the inappropriately measured (cynics might say “phoned in”) performance given by actor Lachlan Nieboer. His appearance also leads to another needlessly messianic line of dialogue from Jack which, whilst not ruining the scene completely, nonetheless detracts from what could have been a superb confrontation scene.

Don't let this small flaw colour your opinion, though. In a nutshell, “Exit Wounds” is everything a season finale should be -- fast-paced, well-written and full of revelation, heartbreak and surprises. Chris, we never knew you had it in you – let's hope we don't have to wait another eighteen months for season three.

*MANLY tears.




Episode 2.12 - “Fragments”
Written by Chris Chibnall
*****

Gwen races to the remains of an abandoned building after the rest of the team are lured into a trap and caught in an explosion. As they lay in the rubble awaiting rescue, Jack, Ianto, Toshiko and Owen flash back to the events that led to each of them joining Torchwood in the first place...

Flashback episodes in SF are generally a lottery. One the one hand they can be a powerful expositionary tool, filling in characters' histories for the viewer without having a direct influence over the ongoing plot, but on the other they are often employed as a budget-saving device, allowing lazy producers to create a full episode out of recycled shots and clips. Fortunately for us, “Fragments” is an example of the former – and better still, writer Chris Chibnall has used the device to its fullest, providing fresh depth and interest to characters who have already grown exponentially this season.

As you would expect, the stories aren't exactly straightforward, either. Jack's has a distinct HIGHLANDER vibe about it, introducing him as a drunken fop obsessed with finding the Doctor, staggering about 19th century Cardiff picking fights, and still reacting with horror every time he wakes up from another “death”; Toshiko's shows an history for the diminutive tech that none of us would have guessed; Ianto's fleshes out some of the background we already know, whilst sowing the seeds for his eventual relationship with Jack; and Owen's, while perhaps somewhat telegraphed by his misogynistic nature, completely seals him as a sympathetic character.

Whilst the entire cast turn in first-rate performances throughout, the real star here is Chris Chibnall himself. Having clearly learned some harsh lessons from the season one, Chibnall has now polished himself into the writer that TORCHWOOD deserves, cramming in suspense, drama, humour and action without once breaking the episode's flow. Moreover, he manages a punchy revelation for each of the principle cast in turn, all of them contrasting with viewers' previous conceptions of the characters without being at odds with their established personalities. It was these qualities as a writer that made Chibnall's work on LIFE ON MARS so successful, so it's pleasing to see that he's finally ported them over to the Whoniverse.

So, how do you top forty-five minutes of brilliant fantasy television? Why, by finishing on a cliff-hanger, of course – and this week's climactic message from Captain John Hart is a humdinger. Always leave 'em wanting more, as the old maxim goes, and it certainly applies here. Roll on the finale next week – we can't wait.




Episode 2.10 - “From Out of the Rain”
Written by Peter Hammond
*****

At night they came, appearing like ghosts from out of the rain: the infamous travelling Night Circus. Starved for entertainment, the local people would travel from miles around to see their spine-tingling variety show... until cinemas arrived and killed off their trade. Now, in the present day, the same technology that destroyed their livelihood will return them to life, and this time they intend to gather a new audience -- an audience of the dead...

Review
Let's sound a triumphant cheer, because Peter Hammond marks the first guest writer besides Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffatt to return to the Whoniverse with a script that's every bit as blindingly good as his first. Following his début last year, with the brilliantly menacing “Small Worlds”, Hammond has struck with the sinister pseudo-horror that served him so well the first time around and created a spiritual successor to DOCTOR WHO's “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy”. If you're not a fan of Classic Who, this means forbidding and baleful drama set around the supposedly familiar and innocent stage of a travelling circus, with plenty of chills heaped on for good measure.

In DOCTOR WHO, the relatively low production values and waning interest from viewers and producers alike led a story more camp than creepy but here, unfettered by budget and with a decent ensemble cast to call upon, it simply flies. The sense of menace that permeates Hammond's script is utterly palpable, driving the plot (and the viewer) onward towards it's surprisingly dark conclusion. In fact, at this stage you really have to wonder what exactly the former Z-CARS script editor has against children, given how poorly the minors in both of his TORCHWOOD episodes have come off! Nonetheless, this is *exactly* what TORCHWOOD should be -- gripping, fantastical, grotesque and different.

There are now only three episodes left until the end of the season. Traditionally, this means that the finale will effectively start from next week, as Chris Chibnall begins dropping in characters, situations and references that will come into play at the finish, but it's difficult to see what he could possibly do that will top this. Utter brilliance.



Episode 2.9 - “Something Borrowed”
Written By Phil Ford
***

On the night before her wedding, Gwen is bitten by an alien shape-shifter and wakes up the next morning to find she is eight months pregnant. Determined to marry Rhys despite her unwanted “guest”, and under the watchful eye of her colleagues, Gwen pushes ahead with the wedding -- but unbeknownst to Torchwood these shape-shifters mate for life, and mother is coming for her child...

Review
At this shaky stage in the game it's quite brave of TORCHWOOD to be attempting a mainly comedic episode, especially following last week's rather dark instalment. Happily, however, “Something Borrowed” works rather well, even if it does run far too many clichés for comfort. If you want to know who to thank for this look no further than Eve Myles, whose wide-eyed, flustered performance as Gwen delivers the bulk of the episode's humour. After being largely persona non gratis all season -- especially in light of the personality transplants experiences by the other cast members this year -- this is a rather welcome move.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast get to play at “Carry on Torchwood” to great comedic effect, running around the wedding with pistols and chainsaws and hunting shape-shifters. The principles are clearly having a whale of a time throughout (especially John Barrowman, who comes over all Max Schreck thon.e moment he gets the alien makeup), and aside from Rhys' best man -- who has to rank amongst the most irritating incidental characters of all time -- the guest actors all play their part with appropriate aplomb. Sadly, however, there's something keeping the episode grounded firmly in the average, and that's how it handles Gwen's romantic feelings for Jack. After dropping the bombshell that she's completely in love with him as far back as “Adam”, dealing with that in such an off-hand manner seems like a major misstep. Of course, time will tell whether this particular thread will be picked up again, but here and now it feels like a waste.

Overall, Phil Ford – a writer who, lest we forget, cut his teeth on the distinctly non-adult SARAH JANE ADVENTURES -- does a fair job. It will be interesting to see what happens when Ford is given a more serious story to write.



Episode 2.8 - “A Day in the Death”
Written By Joseph Lidster
****

Atop a high-rise building in the centre of Cardiff, the recently-resurrected Owen discusses life, death and suicide with a distraught young woman. Latching on to her desire for death, Owen fills her in on the past few days of his own life, alien devices and all...

Review
At one point in this episode, Owen points out the bitter symmetry of Jack's immortality and his own eternal death. It's a poetry that TORCHWOOD has never really attempted before, and it's moments like these that save “A Day in the Death” from completely bottoming out as a tired “regular cast member goes off the rails” cliché -- which otherwise, in fairness, it is.

Luckily, Joseph Lidster's script is full of wonderful little moments that keep its head above water -- Owen sticking to his now-pointless daily routine, then realising its futility and emptying his home of all food and toiletries; his “tuning out” of banel conversation that once held an attraction, but now means nothing to him; his frustration at taking over coffee-making duties from Ianto; Ianto's unexpected encouragement of his colleague, at once gentle, simple and utterly welcome; and the silent but powerful shots of a young woman at the roadside, wearing a wedding dress drenched in her husband's blood.

Cast-wise, Burn Gorman makes a fine job of channelling Owen's usual anger into a kind of bewildered bereavement, as the character finds his mask of brusque humour slipping more and more frequently. Even better is Richard Briers, popping up in what amounts to an extended cameo as an elderly collector of alien artefacts -- he puts so much weight into his performance that you end up more convinced by his few lines of dialogue than anything else in the episode. If this sounds like a back-handed compliment it shouldn't; Briers is a damn fine actor, and that's all there is to it.

“A Day in the Death” walks a fine line between success and failure, happily landing on correct side in the finish. Whilst it would be an exaggeration to say that this is the direction TORCHWOOD should take more often, it's nonetheless welcome just this once, and it will be interesting to see what Joseph Lidster comes up with the next time he's invited to write for the show.



Episode 2.7 - “Dead Man Walking”
Written By Matt Jones
***

Reeling from Owen's death, Jack locates a second resurrection glove and uses it, bringing his colleague back to life just long enough for the rest of the team to say their goodbyes. As with the first glove, however, the resurrection has unforeseen side effects – and as Torchwood look on in horror, Owen begins to change into something quite deadly...

Review
Consider the following statement: if they hadn't have been superseded by Paul Cornell's “Human Nature”, Matt Jones' “The Impossible Planet” would be the best New Who story ever written. Such is its quality that it ranks among the finest episodes that DOCTOR WHO has ever produced, ranking Jones alongside the likes of Bob Holmes, Eric Saward, Terry Nation and Douglas Adams. This puts him is some damn fine company, and gives him a tremendous legacy to live up to. Now force yourself to consider this: there is such a thing as beginners' luck.

“Dead Man Walking” is a convoluted, almost aimless mess of an episode, saved from the dross bin only by an interesting performance from Burn Gorman and some top-notch (if misplaced) emoting from Naoko Mori. In the interim, Matt Jones paints himself as a one-trick pony by plagiarising his previous scripts and penning a meandering story that never seems to know quite what it wants to be. Owen's a monster... now he's not. Owen's connecting with Tosh... now he's pushing her away. Owen will be dead before the end of the episode... now he'll live indefinitely. Ooh, Weevils everywhere. Oh, nobody's noticed. And the most tragic part? Given tighter control and a little more thought, this story really could have worked.

Given his previous work for the Whoniverse, it's not entirely unfair that we were expecting great things from Matt Jones this time around, which makes this mediocre tosh even more difficult to swallow. Utterly disappointing.



Episode 2.6 - “Reset”
Written By JC Wilsher
****

Jack calls upon fellow TARDIS traveller Martha Jones for help when an investigation into a rash of apparently unconnected deaths turns up links to a prestigious medical research lab. Sending Martha undercover at the lab, Torchwood discover evidence that alien biology is being exploited for commercial gain -- but whilst getting Martha into the complex was easy, getting her out again will be an entirely different matter...

Review
“Reset”, as an episode, is a paradox. On the one hand, it's clear at the finish that the whole story is simply set-up for the next two episodes, especially if you already know that Freema Agyeman has been contracted for three in total this season. Also, the whole problem with the Whoniverse is that people who die don't necessarily *stay* dead -- so when Owen is shot and killed in the final scene (something telegraphed by he and Tosh finally arranging a date and the fact that Jack has co-opted another MD from UNIT!) you have no doubt in your mind that he'll be up and walking again next week.

On the other hand, of course... it's a damn good episode. Martha fits in at the Hub so well you'd swear she'd always been there, bouncing effortlessly off of the regulars and grabbing more than her fair share of great lines into the bargain. The villian is a lot more interesting than the usual moustache-twirlers and the main plot, whilst not exactly unpredictable, carries along at a pleasing pace, even presenting scenes that manage to make you feel sorry for a giant fly!

Overall, as the first par in a three-episode arc this is definitely one of those “wait and see” deals – and luckily for us, it's good enough that we do actually want to wait and see. Roll on next week!



Episode 2.5 - “Adam”
Written By Catherine Tregenna
****

Returning to work after a trip to Paris, Gwen arrives at the hub to be greeted by someone she's never met. The rest of the group are confused – surely she remembers Adam? He's been working with them for the last three years, after all...

Review
It was only a matter of time before TORCHWOOD attempted the “sci-fi paranoia” story, as featured on every SF show from STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION and THE X-FILES (where they did it with parasites) to STARGATE SG1 and SUPERNATURAL(where the did it with shapeshifters). It all could have been so different, so clichéd; Gwen returns to the Hub to find everyone acting odd, and slowly comes to realise that they're all aliens in disguise! Cue lockdown, Gwen running around doing an Ellen Ripley act, trying to escape and find her real colleagues... yawn, yawn, yawn. Rule of thumb: if ENTERPRISE has tried it, avoid.

Luckily for us, however, Catherine Tregenna is one of the better writers on the planet (who mentioned “Captain Jack Harkness”? Silence! I kill you!), so instead of the usual “dead ringer” rubbish we get a memory-altering alien who presents the regulars with an opportunity to act against type and show us “what could have been” versions of our favourite (and not-so favourite) characters. Tosh is self-confident, in-charge and (above all) happy, Owen is quiet, sensitive and up-front about his feelings, Jack has become uneasy following the regained memories of his family, Ianto is racked with guilt over imagined crimes and Gwen loses every trace of her life with Rhys. So far, a nice little shake-up.

What follows is a neat little game of cat and mouse, with various team members noticing (and having their memories wiped of) little inconsistencies, slowly but surely growing closer to the truth behind their new colleague. It's a shame, then, that Tregenna has to spoil it a little by introducing yet another needlessly messianic, Jack Harkness-based conclusion. The idea the the team are forced to access their defining memories in order to make their true personalities resurface is a good one -- although surely we're not saying that Gwen is defined only by her relationship with Reece? -- but having Jack walk around the meeting table delivering the Sermon on the Hub simply reeks of cheese.

A good episode, overall, but one which misses out on greatness thanks to TORCHWOOD's persistent Jack/Jesus analogy. If this could be dumped, the show would benefit a great deal.





Episode 2.4 - “Meat”
Written by Catherine Tregenna
****


Gwen's loyalties are tested when a courier van belonging to Rhys' delivery company is found to be carrying alien meat bound for the general population. Refusing to bring him in for questioning, Gwen is forced to accept the possibility of his guilt when Torchwood track the meat back to its point of origin and find him already there – but is everything as clear-cut as it seems?

Review
Whilst it should perhaps function as the series' emotional core, and certainly as Gwen's grounding in the normal world, the relationship between Gwen and Rhys has always been the least interesting thing about TORCHWOOD, so it's pleasing to see it gain fresh purpose in this week's episode. Pleasing too is writer Catherine Tregenna's return to form; after a mixed bag in season one (sliding from the outstanding “Out of Time” to the distinctly messy “Captain Jack Harkness”) “Meat” comes up trumps with a thoughtful and emotive piece that will almost certainly leave a lump in your throat before it ends.

Given the impending nuptials, it was inevitable that the writers would have to find a way to reconcile Gwen's home life with her job with Torchwood before the series' end; it's easy to forget, in fact, that Rhys still doesn't know where she works, thanks to the big reset switch pressed in “End of Days”. Take two is achieved in a surprisingly low-key manner; rather than fireworks or a big, melodramatic face-off, Rhys stumbles on to Gwen's world through sheer happenstance, and whilst the ultimate outcome of this is fairly predictable (amnesia pills and all – come now, Catherine, we've been here before) it's nonetheless handled with enough skill that it's not offensive.

More impressive is the way that the surrounding plot -- the discovery and origins of the alien meat -- isn't neglected or relegated in the least. The whole affair is explored in satisfying detail and the denouement, which sees Jack empathising in an unexpected way and Owen making a painful decision, is nothing short of heartbreaking.

Great stuff from a great writer, “Meat” proves that “Out of Time” wasn't a simple fluke. Roll on Tregenna's next episode, because it promises to be special.




Episode 2.3 – “To the Last Man”
Written by Helen Raynor
***


Once per year, Toshiko spends a day with the man of her dreams. Put into suspended animation during the First World War, Torchwood defrost him once per year and check on his vitals, allowing him one day of freedom before his is returned to the freezer for another twelve months. They know that at some point in the future he will be required to prevent a cataclysmic time-crash, but the exact details are hazy – and in the meantime, there's all the time in the world. Or is there...?

Review
By now, it's clear to regular viewers of the Whoniverse that Helen Raynor has a distinct fondness for time-hopping drama. Following on from a gripping exploration of humanity's darker impulses (TORCHWOOD's “The Ghost Machine”) and a fairly unsatisfactory depression-era love story (DOCTOR WHO's “Daleks in Manhattan”/”Evolution of the Daleks”), “To the Last Man” attempts to riff on themes of destiny and self-sacrifice, throwing in an encore of tragic romance for good measure.

The result, sadly, is a little disappointing. Given the set-up there is little doubt that Tommy's destiny will manifest before the credits roll, and Raynor makes absolutely no attempt to disguise it or misdirect the viewer, instead actually beginning the episode with a scene of him embracing it. Moreover, despite this effective plot-spoiler the script still tries to draw tension from this scenario, asking us to buy into a relationship that A) we know full well is doomed from the outset and B) we know is utterly pointless, thanks to the ongoing development of Toshiko's mutual attraction to Owen.

The only stand-out part of the episode at all, in fact, is Tommy himself; Anthony Lewis brings a believability and a quiet dignity to the character, helping to hold the viewer's interest throughout the double-helping of cliché and predictability on offer. On average, however, the episode rarely climbs above mediocrity, leaving most of the principal cast out of the mix almost entirely and Toshiko – who by rights should have centre stage – with little to do but simper and occasionally state the obvious.

TORCHWOOD has come on leaps and bound this year, but clearly it's still got a long way to go if this is the best that a writer like Raynor can muster on a third attempt. With any luck, the next time she returns to the series she'll have learnt a trick or two.




Episode 2.2 – “Sleeper”
Written by James Moran
***


After two burglars are brutally sliced apart inside their home a young woman named Beth and her husband become the target of a Torchwood investigation. With all evidence pointing to Beth being a murderer of uncanny ability despite her claims of being unconscious at the time of the attack, Jack is forced to order a deeper interrogation – but when more invasive methods reveal something about Beth that she didn’t even know herself, the team unwittingly stumble on to a terrifying invasion plan that’s already underway...

Review
Despite being a definite step back from “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, “Sleeper” nonetheless provides a firm indication that the TORCHWOOD production team have learned from their mistakes, giving us a thoughtful, if clichéd and predictable take on the ol’ alien conspiracy tale.

Guest star Nikki Anuka-Bird gives a measured and believable performance as the unfortunate Beth, making a case of a life that was never hers which would have been exceptionally moving, had David Tennant not done the same thing -- and infinitely better – in DOCTOR WHO last year. Despite this, however, she works well alongside the regulars and thankfully the episode never once melts into the dribbly emotional mess that dragged season one’s “Cyberwoman” into the gutter.

The main characters thankfully continue with their much-welcomed rebirth; Ianto, especially, seems to have undergone a complete metamorphosis, changing from last season’s watery-eyed irritant into entertaining comic foil with apparent ease and firmly nabbing all of the episode’s best lines.

Overall a solid, if decidedly average episode, and still well worth your time. As long as the series’ quality doesn’t dip below this we’ll have no worries for the remainder of season two.




Episode 2.1 - "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Written by Chris Chibnall
****


Jack returns from his adventures with the Doctor (see DOCTOR WHO 29.11 - 29.13) to find that the team have pulled together into a coherent team in his absence. Before he can offer an explanation for his disappearance, however, Jack is forced to confront the ghosts of his past when fellow Time Agent -- and former lover -- Captain John Hart comes strutting out of the space/time rift with a request for help. Whilst the rest of Torchwood are taken in by Hart's charm, Jack maintains an air of suspicion -- but is his mistrust legitimate, or merely covering up for a past he'd rather forget...?

Review
If there was one thing TORCHWOOD was lacking throughout its decidedly lacklustre début last year -- besides the more consistent writing talent of its stablemate -- it was *charisma*. Jack Harkness was no longer the confident, flirtatious reformed con-artist that had enamoured audiences in DOCTOR WHO a year earlier, instead devolving into a brooding, sub-standard emo version of ANGEL. The rest of the principle cast were little better, with only Burn Gorman's arrogant, bullying Owen Harper displaying anything *close* to a pair of balls.

As season two kicks off, it seems our prayers might have been answered. Five minutes into episode one, a space-time rift opens and out steps Spike from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Oh, he calls himself Captain John Hart, his hair's not bleached and (like everyone else in the TORCHWOOD universe) he's a rampant bisexual, but when he comes swaggering out of that wibbly orange anomaly and smiles you half-expect him to light up a cigarette and say "Home sweet home!". Chris Chibnall, it seems, has not spent TORCHWOOD's year-long hiatus shedding his plagiarist's streak.

The thing is... it really does work. Spike was written to James Marsters' strengths as an actor, and transplanting a carbon-copy of the character into the oft-dreary TORCHWOOD universe gives the series a much-needed shot in the arm. John Hart absolutely exudes that missing charisma, butting heads superbly with the principal cast to tremendous effect. Moreover, Captain Jack is now back to his old self, thanks to his cathartic travels with the Doctor over on BBC One, and the rest of the crew seems to have been hastily re-written for the better, with their more irritating characteristics tamed or, in some cases, eradicated completely. Gwen is now an effective leader, Owen no longer a boor, Tosh is actually given things to do (not to mention a personality) and Ianto's wet streak appears to have dried up, his nervousness toned down and happily explained as a result of his hasty promotion.

On the downside, the plot is so flimsy that, if not for the strength of the guest star and the impressive revised performances of the main cast, it really couldn't stand on its own; the whole thing has been written as a set-up for the remainder of the series, and it comes across in a fairly obvious way throughout. Chibnall's script also drops some hints at future developments which are either confusing (such as Gwen's sudden attraction to Jack, which didn't seem to be that strong in season one) or simply feel ill-advised (like the potential romance between Owen and Tosh). Overall, however Chibnall has made a sterling effort with this year's opener -- if things are developed properly over the next twelve episodes, TORCHWOOD could finally become the US network-bating drama that the BBC have been hoping for.




Matt Dillon