Review: Torchwood Buries Its Past With ‘Children of Earth’
By John Scott Lewinski July 20, 2009 | 9:56 pm
With its third season miniseries, “Children of Earth,” Torchwood leaves behind any semblance of the uneven, unconvincing show that Russell T. Davies first spun off of Doctor Who. The week-long story arc that starts Monday night on BBC America is a tense, sober adventure that successfully sets Torchwood apart from the more playful show that spawned it.
When Torchwood first arrived following the runaway success of Davies’ rebooted Doctor Who, the show’s cast of characters seemed unfit for saving the planet each week. Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman) led a band of well-meaning but neurotic and selfish bumblers who seemed unable to manage a Starbucks, let alone a top-secret, anti-alien intelligence service.
But in “Children of Earth,” Harkness and his small team of Torchwood survivors — Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) — have grown into seasoned, haunted operatives mourning the loss of dead comrades while tackling alien intrusions with almost routine familiarity.
That apparent malaise is quickly shattered during the five-episode miniseries when every child on Earth completely stops — announcing in one inhuman voice, “We are coming.”
That’s just the first 20 minutes as the tight, brisk narrative (written by Davies, John Fay and James Moran) quickly builds into a global crisis threatening to destroy human civilization. The writing trio deftly handled the challenges of assembling an epic, five-hour narrative that builds to an effective cliffhanger after each hour.
Barrowman’s Captain Jack leads the way with his usual aura of comfortable charm tinged with genuine heroism. Throughout the five-episode arc, Jack must come to terms with his role in Torchwood and how the organization affects (and destroys) those he comes to love.
In the miniseries’ first episode, Jack is struggling to mix that love with work as his affair with team member Jones clashes with their duties. The narrative’s handling of their homosexual relationship unveils how far Torchwood has come since its first season. Show-runner Davies is a homosexual activist who admits that he uses Torchwood to promote the acceptance of gays on television. It was a noble pursuit, but the gay elements often felt clumsy and forced early in the series — as if they were inflicted on the stories rather than playing organically within Torchwood’s world.
The deft, sympathetic handling of the romance between Harkness and Jones in “Children of Earth” not only grows out of the story’s reality, it plays with such genuine sympathy and pathos that Jones’ eventual fate is easily the miniseries’ most powerful moment. David-Lloyd’s performance as Jones is a key element in the success of the five-episode story arc as his evolution from meek office assistant to heroic warrior highlights how the series’ pending alien invasion transforms the planet.
Myles’ turn as Cooper remains the conscience at the heart of both the Torchwood team and the show itself. Her desperate hope of saving her own loved ones while fending off an alien invasion aided by a corrupt government symbolizes the terror parents all around the world must be experiencing as their children are threatened.
The first four episodes of “Children of Earth” build effectively to a terrible choice for the world’s governments: Sacrifice innocent lives or risk the destruction of the entire world. Of course, only Torchwood can save Earth — but that same corrupt government stands in their way.
It’s in the fifth episode’s rapidly paced solutions to these threats that “Children of Earth” falls a little short. Captain Jack is there to save the day in humanity’s darkest hour, but he does so with such speed and efficiency that it seems too slick for the scope of the alien threat.
But that might be nitpicking, as this new Torchwood presents more genuine suspense in its brief, five-hour run than most sci-fi shows provide in a full season — making the show’s fourth go-around all but a lock.
Torchwood’s “Children of Earth” miniseries airs July 20 to 24 on BBC America.
Wired: Well-written and skillfully structured to keep an audience coming back each night.
Tired: The series’ resolution plays out too quickly and conveniently.
Rating:
When Torchwood first arrived following the runaway success of Davies’ rebooted Doctor Who, the show’s cast of characters seemed unfit for saving the planet each week. Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman) led a band of well-meaning but neurotic and selfish bumblers who seemed unable to manage a Starbucks, let alone a top-secret, anti-alien intelligence service.
But in “Children of Earth,” Harkness and his small team of Torchwood survivors — Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) — have grown into seasoned, haunted operatives mourning the loss of dead comrades while tackling alien intrusions with almost routine familiarity.
That apparent malaise is quickly shattered during the five-episode miniseries when every child on Earth completely stops — announcing in one inhuman voice, “We are coming.”
That’s just the first 20 minutes as the tight, brisk narrative (written by Davies, John Fay and James Moran) quickly builds into a global crisis threatening to destroy human civilization. The writing trio deftly handled the challenges of assembling an epic, five-hour narrative that builds to an effective cliffhanger after each hour.
Barrowman’s Captain Jack leads the way with his usual aura of comfortable charm tinged with genuine heroism. Throughout the five-episode arc, Jack must come to terms with his role in Torchwood and how the organization affects (and destroys) those he comes to love.
In the miniseries’ first episode, Jack is struggling to mix that love with work as his affair with team member Jones clashes with their duties. The narrative’s handling of their homosexual relationship unveils how far Torchwood has come since its first season. Show-runner Davies is a homosexual activist who admits that he uses Torchwood to promote the acceptance of gays on television. It was a noble pursuit, but the gay elements often felt clumsy and forced early in the series — as if they were inflicted on the stories rather than playing organically within Torchwood’s world.
The deft, sympathetic handling of the romance between Harkness and Jones in “Children of Earth” not only grows out of the story’s reality, it plays with such genuine sympathy and pathos that Jones’ eventual fate is easily the miniseries’ most powerful moment. David-Lloyd’s performance as Jones is a key element in the success of the five-episode story arc as his evolution from meek office assistant to heroic warrior highlights how the series’ pending alien invasion transforms the planet.
Myles’ turn as Cooper remains the conscience at the heart of both the Torchwood team and the show itself. Her desperate hope of saving her own loved ones while fending off an alien invasion aided by a corrupt government symbolizes the terror parents all around the world must be experiencing as their children are threatened.
The first four episodes of “Children of Earth” build effectively to a terrible choice for the world’s governments: Sacrifice innocent lives or risk the destruction of the entire world. Of course, only Torchwood can save Earth — but that same corrupt government stands in their way.
It’s in the fifth episode’s rapidly paced solutions to these threats that “Children of Earth” falls a little short. Captain Jack is there to save the day in humanity’s darkest hour, but he does so with such speed and efficiency that it seems too slick for the scope of the alien threat.
But that might be nitpicking, as this new Torchwood presents more genuine suspense in its brief, five-hour run than most sci-fi shows provide in a full season — making the show’s fourth go-around all but a lock.
Torchwood’s “Children of Earth” miniseries airs July 20 to 24 on BBC America.
Wired: Well-written and skillfully structured to keep an audience coming back each night.
Tired: The series’ resolution plays out too quickly and conveniently.
Rating:
