Torchwood

[marshlander]

I knew there had to be somewhere on here to start this off mile:

I've been a follower of Dr Who since "Grandfather" first set up shop in Steptoe's yard ( yikes, I must have been about 6 then, :eek: )

I passed within 2 or 3 metres of John Barrowman at last year's pride march in London and decided, even without the aid of my spectacles, that he is more gorgeous in real life than on the television.

However, some episodes of Torchwood have made me very uncomfortable and I am delighted to have met a series in sci-fi clothing that challenges me to ask questions about my attitudes and assumptions. I found last week's episode particularly thought-provoking in this respect. Not only was I required to examine my feelings about the lovely Mr Barrowman (yes, I know it's fiction and he's only playing a role!), but I felt challenged to think about the nature of the outsider, the individual who discovers something unbearable about themselves after everything should have felt settled, perhaps even something about the cost of sacrifice. In writing that, maybe I have an idea as to why I feel uncomfortable ... :frown:

Still, great series, and so different from anything else I've seen in so many ways. Long may it last.

[wouldlikemuscle]

I've not been watching Torchwood really... although what I HAVE seen of it I've liked.

Oh... in before Mark (saltybeanz)

[princealbertofb]

As I have not seen Torchwood, or John Barrowman in the flesh or in that series, I'm sure I don't know WHAT you're talking about... What made you uncomfortable? Maybe you'd prefer not to say on this forum... I'll understand.

[marshlander]

... I'm sure I don't know WHAT you're talking about... What made you uncomfortable? Maybe you'd prefer not to say on this forum...

No that's okay.
1. The Captain Jack character. JB has a very high media profile and in real (if any tv appearance can be said to be "real") life comes across to me as jolly, loud, somewhat earthy, but on balance a "good guy". In Dr Who the character appears as fearless, heroic and a bit of a chancer. In Torchwood I get the impression he is more a victim of his destiny, brooding, distant, even potentially cruel ... an altogether more complex character. I find the differences very striking and it is interesting noticing my responses to them.

2. As an example, last week's episode featured a sleeper alien warrior who was convinced that the life she had built for herself on earth was her real purpose, until her alien self was prompted into action. For me, the questions the show raised included concepts such as the nature of love, loyalty and sacrifice of self for a greater good.

Great sci-fi writers have often explored philosophical questions, but these issues have generally become secondary to the action in televisual and film drama. There is a more striking balance in Torchwood than we are used to seeing on screen I think.

Like I say, it's only television, but I have been made to think about a number of my own attitudes and preconceptions to, for example, relationships or even immigration. To me, that is clever storytelling.

[princealbertofb]

Well, I couldnt agree more, now that I understand the nature of your discomfort... And yes, you are quite right, science-fiction writers are often preoccupied by philosophical questions and I daresay ETHICAL ones too... somethin about "What sort of future for the planet, now that everything has been laid bare/rebuilt/destroyed/utterly changed...?" And yes again, it is a shame that television and cinema seem to be more interested in getting the whole set to explode and featuring car-, UFO-, astroglider- (you name it) chases rather than presenting what philosophy might carry the human race into the next generations.

Do you think this guy ... ==> ... has a Tardis?
(not that mobile) PA