Torchwood Episode Discussion (Spoilers for all eps aired in the UK)

[CatGoddess]

I've watched the first two eps. My thoughts (admittedly random, as I'm sick as a dog and I've been living on Dayquil for the past two days):

I was a bit surprised at the swearing and at the overt sex (particularly, from "Day One", the two people shagging in the bathroom, and then the guy watching them on CCTV and masturbating). Things like that would not fly on American network TV, at least not in prime time. If SciFi does acquire the rights to air Torchwood, they will probably end up doing a LOT of editing. Or maybe some premium cable channel like HBO or Showtime would pick it up; they have more leeway in the swearing, sex, and violence departments.

I thought of the "Somebody Else's Problem Field" too.

It's interesting to see right up front that most of the characters have some big flaws. A small example: Captain Jack tells Gwen that no alien tech is allowed to leave the base. Cut to scenes of Toshiko, Owen, and Susie - each of whom has made off with an item of alien tech for his or her own purposes.

What Owen did with the irresistibility spray was very shady. It's no different from sneaking rohypnol into a girl's drink. He tried to pick the woman up, and she said no, quite clearly... so he used the spray to coerce her into doing what he wanted. If he did get her into bed (it was unclear to me whether he did, or whether he got both her and her boyfriend into bed, or what), then that's rape.

I'm wondering if Gwen is going to become a darker character over time, as she spends more and more time with the rest of the Torchwood team. So far she's been very much the "good girl" but I'm curious to see if the rest of the team rubs off on her.

Oh, and Gwen was very silly to type out her notes on her computer after Captain Jack slipped her the amnesia pill. It would have been better for her to save them, print them out as she went (!), or even write a couple of key words down on paper (she wrote "remember" but she should have added "Torchwood" and "Captain Jack Harkness" at a minimum).

I'm a little concerned about something. Doctor Who is a fairly lighthearted show intended to be ok for children to watch (indeed, it originally was a children's show). Torchwood is a spinoff of Doctor Who. I'm wondering how many parents may have let their kids (including little kids) watch Torchwood, thinking that because it's a spinoff of a child-suitable show, it would itself be appropriate for a small child? Was it advertised as a show more suitable for adults? Was it aired late at night, when the kiddies would be in bed? Just wondering... if I were a 5-year-old watching that show, my parents would have shut off the TV at the first F-bomb. I can just picture some 5-year-old turning to his/her parents and asking, "Mommy, what's an orgasm?"

Anyway. I think the show has promise, and I will keep watching.

[ShadowMaat]

It's interesting to see right up front that most of the characters have some big flaws. A small example: Captain Jack tells Gwen that no alien tech is allowed to leave the base. Cut to scenes of Toshiko, Owen, and Susie - each of whom has made off with an item of alien tech for his or her own purposes.

I wonder if Ianto ever takes his work home with him.

As for worrying about the kiddies, from what I've seen of the press coverage they've made it very clear that Torchwood is an adult show, not for kids. Does the UK have content warnings prior to eps?

[Willow'sCat]

I'm a little concerned about something. Doctor Who is a fairly lighthearted show intended to be ok for children to watch (indeed, it originally was a children's show). Torchwood is a spinoff of Doctor Who. I'm wondering how many parents may have let their kids (including little kids) watch Torchwood, thinking that because it's a spinoff of a child-suitable show, it would itself be appropriate for a small child? Was it advertised as a show more suitable for adults? Was it aired late at night, when the kiddies would be in bed? Just wondering... if I were a 5-year-old watching that show, my parents would have shut off the TV at the first F-bomb. I can just picture some 5-year-old turning to his/her parents and asking, "Mommy, what's an orgasm?"

RTD has actually been for the last 12 mths saying it is for adults, not children and that it is a post watershed show. Every interview with him he has said this or similar things and John often makes references to it being for adults and having sex.... I do hear the BBC may have advertised the show in childrens hour, which seems a little counter productive, but hey if the ad meets the rules for broadcast....

And yes the *cough* copy I have did say (in the voice over) that it contained adult content just before they screened it.

[CatGoddess]

OK, I'm glad to hear this is being advertised as a show geared toward adults. I'm in the US, so I haven't seen any of the advertising, and much of the BBC website content is blocked from non-UK IP addresses. The *cough*copy*cough* of the Torchwood eps that I *cough*acquired*cough* did not include any cautions as to content.

I don't have kids myself, but many of my friends do - in fact, a friend of mine is due to give birth today, so I'm waiting to hear from her DH. So "child appropriateness" is always in the back of my head.

[Reefgirl]

Does the UK have content warnings prior to eps?

If I remember rightly a warning did go out before the ep on Sunday "Contains Bad language and scenes of an Adult nature" or something like that.

Right from it's conception Torchwood has been touted as an 'Adult Dr Who'

[scarimor]

... I'm in the US, so I haven't seen any of the advertising, and much of the BBC website content is blocked from non-UK IP addresses.

It is!?!? I had no idea that was the case. What can you see?

[CatGoddess]

It is!?!? I had no idea that was the case. What can you see?

I can see the layout, but not the video clips. Instead of the clips, I see the following:

"If you are outside the UK you will not be able to watch any of the video on bbc.co.uk/torchwood for rights reasons."

Drat...

[scarimor]

I can see the layout, but not the video clips. Instead of the clips, I see the following:

"If you are outside the UK you will not be able to watch any of the video on bbc.co.uk/torchwood for rights reasons."

Drat...

How annoying. Oh well

[Catsitter]

Oh dear, I hope this doesn't make us bad parents, but we did let our 12-year-old watch it with us. I wouldn't have bothered watching any more after the first episode if it weren't for the fact that he liked it, though. The "funny" bits just fall flat with me, and the plots have such big holes in them. Not sure if we have to put spoiler tags on, so just in case:

Spoiler:

- Could the sex alien fiend have got out of its spaceship if Gwen hadn't thrown the chisel at it? If not, then what was the point of it coming to Earth? If it could, then it wasn't really Gwen's fault, was it?
- Jack can't die, so why didn't he just go off with the S.A.F. for a prolonged bout of how's-your-father while the rest of the team thought up a plan? (And the BBC wouldn't actually need to show what they got up to if they didn't want to.)

[Willow'sCat]

I can see the layout, but not the video clips. Instead of the clips, I see the following:

"If you are outside the UK you will not be able to watch any of the video on bbc.co.uk/torchwood for rights reasons."

Drat...

I posted about this in the Doctor Who news thread, if you use the link below, you can get to the video's but for many people *myself included* the videos still don't work.... I have to rely on friends... elsewhere...

This is the link:

Torchwood

As I said it still is not working for me so it may not work for you. I am thinking they look at your ISP address so maybe using a Proxy would work.

[ShadowMaat]

Proxies don't work. Or at least I haven't found one that works yet. *sigh*

[Shep'sSocks]

Proxies don't work. Or at least I haven't found one that works yet. *sigh*

If I could find a proxy that worked I'd be able to d/l SGA from iTunes or Amazon as well as everything else I wanted. It sucks.

[ShadowMaat]

So where is this memo about Ianto and his special coffee blend? I tried hunting through the intranet files and only gave myself a headache with all the floaty things. Although I did learn a few interesting tidbits. None coffee-related...

[Mr Prophet]

So where is this memo about Ianto and his special coffee blend? I tried hunting through the intranet files and only gave myself a headache with all the floaty things. Although I did learn a few interesting tidbits. None coffee-related...

It's on his workstation in the Flash version of the main site, at the bottom of the one about leaving monitors on (apparently the floaty things give the pterodactyl a headache as well).

So, were you at all surprised to learn why Dr Harper isn't doctoring for a living anymore?

[Catsitter]

After I got off the computer and went to bed last night, I was still worrying that... spoiler for "Day One"...

Spoiler:

my suggested solution to the S.A.F. problem still meant that Carys's body would explode if they didn't think of something fairly soon, but then I realised the logical solution - Jack can't die, so he should have offered to "host" the SAF, and then... well, he wouldn't actually need a partner to generate the energy required, as proven by the security guard and the sperm donors... but now I've thought of it, I can't understand why RTD didn't put this into the plot! It so should have happened!

[Mr Prophet]

I was assuming that the being had to be in a female body, just as it had to 'harvest' from men. As has been noted, the alien sex gas was - bizarrely - the most determinedly hetero character in the series.

[ShadowMaat]

So, were you at all surprised to learn why Dr Harper isn't doctoring for a living anymore?

I'll have to go back and look again because I didn't see anything about leaving monitors on or why Owen isn't a doctor anymore. *sigh*

Maybe I was a pterodactyl in a former life...

EDIT: Ah, yes... I can't access Ianto's desktop/node because the content is locked. *******s.

[Mr Prophet]

I'll have to go back and look again because I didn't see anything about leaving monitors on or why Owen isn't a doctor anymore. *sigh*

Maybe I was a pterodactyl in a former life...

EDIT: Ah, yes... I can't access Ianto's desktop/node because the content is locked. *******s.

Same for everyone: What you need is the page on the main site that gives you the link to the Torchwood Extranet. The main image on that page should be Ianto's memo.

Um...

Blag it! I've grabbed a screen but I've nowhere to host the image to load it here. I'll slap it up at my livejournal.

Owen's node is, unsurprisingly, full of snippets of love letters from patients and an extract of an email about 'serious allegations'.

[ShadowMaat]

Ahhh... after comparing node numbers it looks as if Ianto's memo is one of the many things that, as a Damn Yank, I'm not allowed to access. *grumble* Thanks for the screengrab though, that helps.

Although now it makes me wonder if Ianto is related to Luke, what with the whole super-secret coffee blend thing (and I'm betting Ianto's uses something not strictly kosher as well).

[Mr Prophet]

Just so long as they stay away from Mess Sergeant Tabor's stash.

I wonder if anyone's ever written an SGC mess employee who doesn't have a secret coffee stash?