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Post by jjpor on Jul 8, 2009 22:10:46 GMT
Yeah, good idea, Merry; whited out:
Yeah, well, they're allowed one good idea...then they revert back to being goons who can't shoot straight! ;D And you're quite right, IM - what about the poor pterodactyl??
Gwen suits the sort of action role she's fallen into, I think - her and Rhys taking on The Man was pretty cool. And Ianto's been good too. And even Jack has more amused than annoyed me so far - the bit in Pt. 3 when he got his new coat was a little cheesy, thought!
Regarding the aliens, before they started building the big tank, I had a mad theory that they were going to turn out to be some famous Who villain, like the Daleks or something...but they weren't... ;D. And we have seen a little bit more of the aliens now, and they're still keeping them mostly out of sight, which is I think a good idea. The whole embassy/negotiation thing is so good - Capaldi continuing to excel. Don't trust the PM, though!
And a hell of a cliffhanger too; "We request...a gift..."
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Post by clocketpatch on Jul 9, 2009 1:11:25 GMT
This is probably on yt isn't it if I were that way inclined? Your whited-out summaries intrigue me and test that resolution I made never to watch TW again...
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Post by timeywimeyding on Jul 9, 2009 19:10:08 GMT
Regarding the aliens, before they started building the big tank, I had a mad theory that they were going to turn out to be some famous Who villain, like the Daleks or something...but they weren't... ;D. My younger sister (also a whofan) has her own theory - she thinks the 456 are the Macra - based on the fact that they breath a thick, noxious gas and have big crab-like claws. Meh, it's a theory I'm willing to test.
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Post by timeywimeyding on Jul 9, 2009 21:06:25 GMT
Ianto!?? Dead?? No! No way! How can this be??!?
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Post by clocketpatch on Jul 10, 2009 1:03:20 GMT
I highlighted your signature text. I couldn't help it:
NOooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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Post by IMForeman on Jul 10, 2009 3:31:16 GMT
Major spoiler, folks. Seriously, don't read this if you haven't seen Day Four:
*Huh. Well. That was interesting. I can't say it was totally unexpected, because that spoiler's been floating around for ages, even if I was avoiding any official confirmation on it. Plus there was been all that foreshadowy dialogue Ianto was spouting about how Jack was going to outlive him, people in Torchwood don't live very long, blah blah blah, issues that they logically would have worked out ages ago. And Lois seeming to be lined up as his replacement (does this mean we can keep her? I hope so).
I maybe think that they might bring Ianto back with magic science. That's not me being in denial, because I've gotten over the initial shock and am mostly unaffected, despite having really liked Ianto - I suspect that's a combination of still being resentful about Tosh, the fact that his death scene was pure schmaltz, and me being indifferent about Jack/Ianto - it's just, are they trying to kill the whole team now? Is Gwen going to get offed in the last episode? Or will they do that wondrous Torchwood reset? *
Oh, or alternate theory: *Gwen gets sick of all the death and doesn't want her kid to grow up without a mother so she leaves Torchwood. Jack hopefully doesn't retcon her, proceeds to angst a lot and gets a shiny new team. Aww, okay, now I'm sad. Ianto!*
Also Nick Briggs was in this. Yay!
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Post by timeywimeyding on Jul 10, 2009 12:11:13 GMT
*Well, Rhys suddenly died then came back to life because of the rift or something. Owen died and was brought back by the magic glove of un-death. Jack's come back numerous times since the start, so is this really the end for Ianto?
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Post by timeywimeyding on Jul 10, 2009 21:12:42 GMT
Day Five upate: *Oh dear. Jack's left, Gwen's preggers, Ianto's dead, and the Hub's been plown up. It's quite likely that this is the end of Torchwood.
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Post by poetry on Jul 11, 2009 0:18:38 GMT
I can't believe it. Just as it became amazingly good, it's over. Will we ever find out what happened to Jack? Can he ever redeem himself? I'm in such despair right now. If Jack has no hope to redeem himself, I feel like none of humanity does, you know? He's at the ultimate low point and all he can do is run away. I feel like RTD is giving us an incredibly bleak view of the human condition.
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lynda
Auton Daisy
Posts: 480
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Post by lynda on Jul 11, 2009 2:23:15 GMT
Did they make a family-friendly cut of this? I'm tempted to watch this season, but from paast experience I know that it makes me need brain bleach and that the family-friendly version at least cuts out the worst (though definitely not all) of the sex and violence
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Post by poetry on Jul 11, 2009 2:47:45 GMT
Don't even use past Torchwood episodes as a template. This is nothing like the Torchwood you know. Throw every last assumption out the window. Just...watch it.
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Post by Stripes on Jul 11, 2009 2:48:44 GMT
Is it good?
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Post by IMForeman on Jul 11, 2009 4:09:08 GMT
Did they make a family-friendly cut of this? I'm tempted to watch this season, but from paast experience I know that it makes me need brain bleach and that the family-friendly version at least cuts out the worst (though definitely not all) of the sex and violence I'd be very surprised if they did. This is the most adult Torchwood has ever gotten, not because of sex or sexy violence, but because they went some really dark places. To be honest, I though it went a little too far at times. It was effective, but felt a bit ugly. And yeah, it was good. Really good. Extraordinarily better than Torchwood's ever been before. But it was harsh. * I believe RTD said he was going to keep working on Torchwood, although it's not like he hasn't lied to us before. Still, I can't really see where they can go from here. Or if they bring Jack back on Doctor Who - is he going to be fun flirty Jack again? The man killed his own grandson, for god's sake. I'm not sure if he can recover from that. But I want more Torchwood, if it can stay at this level of quality.*
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Post by jjpor on Jul 11, 2009 13:41:09 GMT
Oh yeah, better than anything in Torchwood up to now, and better than about 90% of NuWho as well, probably. Certainly didn't pull any punches, though, although I have often suspected that RTD has this bleak, rather hopeless view of human nature, whatever words he may put in the Doctor's mouth regarding us; see his best work for NuWho, "Midnight" and "Turn Left".
*Like IM, I don't really see where Torchwood, or indeed Jack as a character can go from here; this didn't feel like a story that expected to have any sequels, if you know what I mean. I really do think we might have seen the last of them, and if you'd told me that a year ago, I'd have just shrugged my shoulders, but now I'm thinking that I want to see more of this strange, good programme which bears the name Torchwood but otherwise bears little resemblance to the show we know and..er...
I really hope they released all of the recordings, though, destroying not just the PM's career but also that woman who came out with the idea of using the school league tables to decide who got offered up. Seriously, the cavalcade of Evil Whoniverse Prime Ministers continues.
A couple of things did diminish the story slightly, I think; typical RTD sort of fallings-down, though. Ianto's death scene was so overblown it robbed it of a lot of its potential power. And the "solution" to the mess, while horrible, didn't really make a lot more sense than the usual handwavy endings to NuWho series finales; it felt a little rushed, if you see what I mean, after the gradual, well-paced build up of tension in the first four episodes. Other than that, top stuff, if angsty.*
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Post by timeywimeyding on Jul 11, 2009 14:40:51 GMT
I don't really watch much TV, but I thought it was against broadcasting regulations or something to depict the death of a child? I don't know.
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Post by merrythemad on Jul 21, 2009 12:29:19 GMT
*refuses to look above this post*
okies, just wanted to say I did watch the little catch up w TW and day one of CoE on bbca yesterday and I did like, but i think some things are too obvious (though a bomb in jack yegads) one thing I hate is that SJS and TW come to DW but not ther otherway around, wouldn't Sarah jane have gone looking for jack at least, when Luke n compnay stopped? WOuld she have tried to call the Doctor? they either have to have it both ways or have it neither way. okay, done kvetching. by the way, I mean that just for suspension of disbelief purposes not because I am a huge cross over fan
ooooh also the cute black temp is going to be the next operative, yes? I had a question but I forgot it, oooh yes, was this meant to be a an entire series for TW and not a mini-series event? The after interviews kinda gave me the feeling it was.
And JJ I nearly spit milk from nose each time RTD said it was "the best EVAH"
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Post by jjpor on Jul 21, 2009 19:25:17 GMT
Ah, Rusty; gotta love him if only for the reason that anything you may say about him turns out to be funny because it's true!
I agree about the crossover thing, really; it's more than obvious as the story unfolds that this is the sort of situation the Doctor would be all over under normal circumstances and would probably resolve far more neatly and positively than Jack and co manage. It sort of underlines the fact that Torchwood really doesn't fit with the rest of the NuWhoniverse.
Having said that, stick with it; the first episode is possibly the weakest and most Torchwood-y of the lot. It is a grower, and turns out to be a really good story, you know with characters you care about and stuff and important ideas about politics and the ethics of making hard choices when faced with difficult circumstances. And believe me, I never thought I'd say that about anything with Torchwood written on the side of it.
My only quibble would be that the resolution of the plot, while powerful emotionally, is a bit rushed and doesn't make overmuch sense, but we're used to that from RTD, right?
I've heard comments from various people, most notably John Barrowman, which seemed to imply that they thought there'd be a full third series, but then it was cut down to this five-episode format. I don't know why that might have happened, if it did happen, but I can make up some conspiracy theories about it if you'd like... ;D Anyway, I think what we did get was far better than another thirteen episodes of sexy-alien-of-the-week stories would have been.
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Post by merrythemad on Jul 23, 2009 13:48:32 GMT
right, so I concede I am enjoying but on day three when jack brings up the Doctor, umm hello!!! Yeah, where IS he by the way?? as his "huge family" is uber threatened by nasty aliens and bad leadership decisions mightn't he umm idk, be about? Unless it's Christmas he may be avoiding christmas there these days...
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Post by merrythemad on Jul 25, 2009 12:39:30 GMT
day five. um, wow. so, after having spent the better part of a week angry with jack it culminates in...well you know. i STILL find their explanation over lack of Doctor more than unpleasant, i find it unbelievable. Riiiiight, cuz the time he DOES turn away it will be when the victims are to the smallest number completely innocent. grrrr aside from that, wow, poor * gwen* never was much of a fan before, perhaps I am now also, speaking as someone who really REALLY dislikes TW, yes yes yes, watch it absolutely finally copy n paste the following whitedout addy if CoE left you a bit blue, a friend of mine posted this for me on FB and it at least made me giggle, she says uber full of spoilers though (hence the whiting out) * www.saveiantojones.com/
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Post by jjpor on Jul 26, 2009 20:25:55 GMT
Yeah, the "explanation" for the Doctor not showing up is lame beyond lame, probably best not to mention it and hope nobody noticed... ;D
It is a really good story, though, isn't it? Sort of Three-like in feel, if they'd been allowed to go into those sort of areas back in Three's day. Or maybe like one of the Quatermass stories...
Hard to see where Torchwood goes from there, though...
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