Torchwood episode 4

[horacethegrey]

Well, just watched this baby. And I must say, that wasn't half bad. Although, it was also not that good either, or more to the point, not as good as it could have been.

Let's start with the negatives first. The Cyberwoman design SUCKS. Seriously, if you're gonna sell the idea that this poor woman was a an incomplete cyborg, dressing her up in metallic S&M gear is not the way to go. I would have preferred it that she appeared very inhuman in her design, something that would repulse a normal person yet similarly encourage sympathy. Kind of like what 7 of 9 looked like when she first appeared on Voyager.

Also, the series has fallen back to it's old tricks. Mainly, lewd humor and a couple of scenes of inappropriate snogging all in an effort to be mature. Honestly, I had enough of that nonsense in the pilot and episode 2. Episode 3 was an improvement because it hardly featured any of that stuff. So why bring it back? ARGH

On to the good points, I like how this episode develops the characters to a degree. Ianto obviously, gets center stage. We get a glimpse on what a weak willed individual he is, so it'll be interesting to see how the events here will influence the team's trust in him in the future. On the other hand, Captain Jack continues to show us what a great character he is. Where Ianto was all weakness, Jack is a pillar of strength. It's obvious the team would be a sorry lot without him in charge.

Also, I like how the episode deals with what happens to the ordinary folks who happen to be in the way whenever the Doctor gets it on with one of his enemies. Hmmm.... maybe in the future, the series could feature a Dalek, and I'd definitely like to see how the team reacts to that.

 

[delericho]

I really enjoyed that episode. It made the Cybermen scary in a way that the recent series of Doctor Who just did not, and in the way that the Borg were before Janeway got her hands on them.

 

[sniffles]

I thought it was a very creepy episode. Very sad. I didn't mind the Cyber-outfit for the most part, since Lisa was supposed to be 'incomplete'. My only quibble was with her high-heeled boots. Those made the heavy metallic footsteps seem rather silly.

I liked it that the episode paid attention to Ianto, a character who hasn't had a personality up to now. I look forward to learning more about Tosh next.

I hope this episode has future consequences. I want to see a showdown between Jack and Ianto, or at least a reference to the events of this episode.

 

[horacethegrey]

I really enjoyed that episode. It made the Cybermen scary in a way that the recent series of Doctor Who just did not, and in the way that the Borg were before Janeway got her hands on them.

Sorry, gotta disagree. The new series of Doctor Who did a much better job of selling the Cybermen as scary and menacing adversaries for the good Doctor.

I thought it was a very creepy episode. Very sad. I didn't mind the Cyber-outfit for the most part, since Lisa was supposed to be 'incomplete'.My only quibble was with her high-heeled boots. Those made the heavy metallic footsteps seem rather silly.

I find it hard to believe that an 'incomplete' cyberman would have visual pantyline. And yes the high-heel boots, what the bloody hell was that about? Since when did the Cybermen ever care for women's footwear.

I hope this episode has future consequences. I want to see a showdown between Jack and Ianto, or at least a reference to the events of this episode.

I'm definitely looking forward to that too. But it'll be real dissapointing if it doesn't happen, and they just go back to their business as usual routine.

 

[Huw]

Well, just watched this baby. And I must say, that wasn't half bad. Although, it was also not that good either, or more to the point, not as good as it could have been.

I agree. Started silly with potential, got sillier, but then redeemed itself at the end. I appreciated the writing - you don't need Ianto's weaknesses or Lisa's cunning spelt out.

On to the good points, I like how this episode develops the characters to a degree. Ianto obviously, gets center stage. We get a glimpse on what a weak willed individual he is, so it'll be interesting to see how the events here will influence the team's trust in him in the future.

Wasn't he fired at the end? Certainly looked like it. But I think he's going to stay around, and a showdown with Jack is likely.

 

[Fast Learner]

I'm not sure why he'd be cleaning up the room if he was fired. "You're fired!" "Ok, but wait, let me clean up all this trash first."

The high heels bugged me, but frankly not as much as her chest. I mean, seriously, do Cybermen have bosoms? Surely the conversion machine would lop those off first thing (yes, yuck), as they don't serve any purpose in the end. There's no way it would have carefully armored them.

Decent ep, though, overall.

 

[Fast Learner]

Also, the series has fallen back to it's old tricks. Mainly, lewd humor and a couple of scenes of inappropriate snogging all in an effort to be mature. Honestly, I had enough of that nonsense in the pilot and episode 2. Episode 3 was an improvement because it hardly featured any of that stuff. So why bring it back? ARGH

Here's a crazy idea: maybe it's not an effort to be mature, but rather to be entertaining. I was way entertained by the snogging in episode 2. It's clear that you don't care for it in the show, but I guarantee that there are plenty of people who do.

I don't believe there's any need to try to be mature: instead, you just write things in whatever way you think they'll be entertaining to the audience (which is the whole idea) while allowing for a more adult slant, which includes violence, difficult moral decisions, and sex. I really think you're going to need to resign yourself to the fact that sex is going to be a regular part of the show if you don't want to find yourself needlessly angry. I can guarantee you that it will be used again and again and again.

 

[horacethegrey]

Hey, who said I had a problem with sex? I'm no prude. The abundance of porn and hentai on my hard drive can attest to that.

Seriously though, what bothers me is not the sex itself, but how it's been written into the show. The other factors you mentioned? Violence and moral decision making have been pretty well handled. But whenever sex comes into the picture, the writers just mess it all up. More often than not, it comes across like they're boasting "Hey! We can do stuff here that we could never get away with in Doctor Who!" Ugh. It's bloody distracting and I think hurts the show overall in the end.

On a related note, Farscape had plenty of sex too. Yet it was never a distraction and was written into the show as a way to develop the characters and advance the plot, ratber than including it just for it's own sake.

 

[Fast Learner]

I certainly agree that Farscape did it a lot better. But then it did all of that better.

I do understand what you mean, but it still seems weird for you to be irritated by something that's clearly a fact of life for the show.

 

[JEL]

I really enjoyed that episode. It made the Cybermen scary in a way that the recent series of Doctor Who just did not, and in the way that the Borg were before Janeway got her hands on them.

Definitely. Spoiler:

Spoiler

The bit at the end where she regains her humanity, but can't stop being a cyberman was very frightening.