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Special Features
- Commentary on every episode
- Torchwood Declassified
- Outtakes
- Deleted scenes
- The Captain's Log video diary
- Five Torchwood: Out of This World featurettes
- Four Torchwood: The Team and Their Troubles featurettes
- Welcome to Torchwood
- Torchwood on the Scene
- Torchwood: On Time
- Torchwood: Sex, Violence, Blood and Gore
- Torchwood: On the Road
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
More than a spin-off of the Russell T. Davies incarnation of Doctor Who, the BBC series Torchwood is a wholly enjoyable blend of drama, science-fiction thrills, and mature subject matter that never fails to deliver its main purpose: to entertain on a weekly basis. John Barrowman, who captured the imagination of Who fans during the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant eras as 51st-century adventurer Capt. Jack Harkness, returns as the dashing, immortal time traveler; here, he's the head of Torchwood, a covert organization that investigates extraterrestrial and supernatural events on Earth without the help of the British government or United Nations. Eve Myles is a police constable who joins the team after discovering them in the middle of bringing a stabbing victim back to life (in the debut episode, "Everything Changes"), and she brings a decidedly human touch to the Torchwood team's tech-driven investigations. Among the mysteries encountered over the course of the 13-episode series: an alien gas that absorbs humans during sex ("Day One"); a half-human, half-Cyberman female with a connection to Torchwood support man Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) in "Cyberwoman"; a rash of cannibalistic murders ("Countrycide"); a very different kind of fairies than the ones of legend ("Small Worlds"); and most impressively of all, a skyscraper-sized demon that threatens to plunge the Torchwood team--and the world itself--into chaos ("End of Days," which features an off-screen cameo by a certain Time Lord). What separates Torchwood from the most modern television science fiction (save, say,
Heroes and Battlestar Galactica) is the frankly adult tone of the series: The violence is plentiful and occasionally graphic, and there are frequent bedroom couplings between the team members and supporting players. There's also a maturity to the relationships that exceeds the usual scope of sci-fi, most notably in the affecting "Captain Jack Harkness," which sends him back to the London Blitz, where he meets and falls in love with a handsome American pilot who happens to share his name. Their love affair, like the majority of Torchwood's "grown-up" storylines, is handled with taste and real emotion. Extras on the First Series are remarkably plentiful; six of the seven discs include entirely new behind-the-scenes featurettes that explore the main characters and their major story arcs, location shooting, the impressive SUV that the team drives, and the show's extensive special effects and alien creations. Barrowman also contributes a very funny "Captain's Log," which invites viewers to join him on one of the final shooting days of the series. The entire seventh disc is given over to Torchwood Declassified, the 13-part program which explored each episode on BBC Three and the BBC's Torchwood website. Commentaries are offered for all 13 episodes, with Davies, Barrowman, Myles, Burn Gorman (who plays Torchwood's medical officer, Owen Harper), David-Lloyd, producers Richard Stokes and Julie Gardner, and various episode writers, directors, and producers all lending their voices. A small battery of deleted scenes and outtakes, as well as previews for DVD releases of other BBC programs, including Doctor Who and MI-5, round out this impressive set. --Paul Gaita
Stills from Torchwood (click for larger image)
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Product Description
Separate from the government, outside the police, beyond the United Nations, Torchwood sets its own rules. Led by the enigmatic, ever watchful Captain Jack Harkness, the Torchwood team delves into the unknown and fights the impossible. Everyone who works for Torchwood is young. Some say that’s because it’s a new science. Others say it’s because they die young.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
200 of 223 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Torchwood is the most-times dark, sometimes gory, adult tie-in to the new Doctor Who series, but that hardly matters as it is the most unique TV you'll ever see. ..Dr. Who producer & two-time Hugo-nominated writer Russell T. Davies created the series as an opportunity to do more than just family fare, part CSI, part X-files and the remaining part is out there on its own. In Dr. Who there have been hidden references to the "secret" organization TORCHWOOD (the name which is an anagram of DOCTOR WHO) since season one (an answer given by the ANNE DROID in BAD WOLF episode 12 ), then appearing more physically throughout season two, even featuring the origin of the organization created by Queen Victorian herself to defend the Earth from alien threats, including The Doctor. The series takes place over a hundred years later as Jack says on the promos, "In the 21st century, everything changes." Captain Jack Harkness (played BRILLIANTLY by the dashing John Barrowman, best known to Americans as the singing Nazi lead in the "Springtime for Hitler" number in the Producers musical) is a character introduced during season one of Dr. Who, an ex-time agent, con-man, the Doctor & Rose meet in the 1940's and turn towards the path of good and righteousness, well almost.
Jack is originally from the 51st century, which is intended to explain his oversexed ways (i.e. he is very liberal in who he "SNOGS"& "SHAGS" ) His background is really complex, even before he meets the Doctor, but he is missing some of his memories from his time as a time-agent, during the "Parting of the Ways" the first season finale of Dr. Who his character becomes even more interesting, but I won't say more without spoiler warnings.
I know I've referenced Dr. Who, a lot, but WATCHING DR. WHO IS NOT A PREREQUISITE FOR ENJOYING TORCHWOOD, MERELY A BONUS. There is a level to Torchwood that is directed at DW fans, but it isn't obtrusive. The initial season of Torchwood begins introducing the viewer to its world through the eyes of Gwen, a low-rung Cardiff lady cop, eventually becomes part of a jaded almost amoral group that uses scavenged alien-tech to protect the world from future threats. The neophyte member eventually serves as catalysis to re-humanize the team. But the dynamic of the characters is one of abrasiveness, deceit, love and lust. The major players are far from perfect, by the end of the season, most of the team have done things both unexpected and at times alarming.
Most of the performances are great to watch, much Americanized, gritty acting. Gwen, played by Eve Myles, who oddly enough played a Victorian servant girl named Gwyneth who opens the closes the very rift Torchwood is build on in Dr. Who season 1. Gwen is an earthy attractive but not unrealistically so, as are most of the players, except Jack, of course, who is over-the-top silver-screen good looking, which is perfect for his over-the-top fearless-leader-with-a-mysterious-past archetype.
Torchwood is very stylish, lots of aerial shots of building in Cardiff, the Welsh city where the series is filmed and most of the action takes place. Its waterside features remind me of New Orleans. Another anchor location of the show in Cardiff is soooo appropriately the Roald Dahl Plaza (Carciff-born creator of Willy Wonka) it would naturally hold a time-space rift and the headquarters of a secret organization under the fountain where it can monitor extra-terrestrial traffic through the rift. Kind of a sexed up Men in Black, except no one wears black, well ok Iantos does, but he's more of a case manager type. The series music co-composed by Dr. Who's Murray Gold is both edgy and original. As is the special effects and make-up. In the pilot episode, the make-up on the Weevil, a reoccurring species, is so good that a long scene is shot in full-light with Gwen and another character studying the creature. That is how confident and bold the makers of Torchwood are! The series won a BEST DRAMA SERIES BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts), besting Doctor Who season 2 in the category and first episodes gave BBC 3 its highest ratings ever. One series flaw is that Torchwood is meant to be very covert, but they also seem to be high profile "special ops," other than that amusing conflict, I love the series and think that many Americans who may have never watched any British TV before, will be hooked!
The episode guide that follows may have some MINOR SPOILERS, okay?
#1 "Everything Changes"
This is a good one, I give it 9 out of 10, it is one of the best series pilots I've seen. Unlike some series openers, it seems familiar with characters and where they are going, there's no early season one awkwardness here, INFACT, Eve Myles WON a "BEST-ACTRESS" BAFTA (Wales) for this one, John Barrowman got a nom...
Episode Synopsis:
South Wales coffee makin' cop Gwen Cooper is at the scene of a murder when Torchwood shows, Gwen snoops on the group and sees in a disturbing scene in which the victim is temporally resurrected, then questioned. She starts her own investigation to learn more, and ends up meeting an alien and literally going underground unsuccessfully disguised as a pizza-girl, joins up and then things get weird....
#2 Day One
This one is less good, but is all about the fact that Torchwood is an adult series and begins to set some boundaries. Even so, this one has a great pre-titles scene with Gwen & her boyfriend, and a great opening line...7 out of 10 for this one...
Episode Synopsis:
The title says it all...it is Gwen's first day on the job, and because of her obligatory noob screw up she unwittingly unleashes a hot-sex-addicted-alien....no REALLY...this one is about AN ALIEN WHO SHAGS HER WAY THROUGH THE EPISODE...it seems like a Captain Jack natural. There are some great moments and some great lude dialogue, like following the discovery of the alien's nature and the disintegrated remains of its first partner, Harkness remarks that the guy "came and went, at the same time." More lines like that and hot-girl-on-alien action...
#3 Ghost Machine
This one is spooky and provides some insights into the gruff team member Owen's character. Usually, so far, Owen, played by Burn Gorman, isn't the sort to get involved or outwardly show his real feelings, in the series thus far, he has deflected them and given Gwen and the others attitude to cover. This time, due to his unique interaction with the machine, he is very open and driven.... 8 out of 10 for this one...
Episode Synopsis:
The team retrieve an alien artifact that shows ghost images of the past, thus allowing Owen to witnesses a girl's murder some forty years before. He becomes obsessed with bring the murderer to justice, while Gwen tries to stop future projections from occurring as well.
#4 Cyberwoman
This one may be too much for the Dr. Who fans, but you need not know the back-story to appreciate the story, but it helps to forgive the nature of the story that seems awkward when compared to the rest of the season. The Cybermen, humans converted from a parallel Earth, were all meant to be destroyed at another Torchwood base on this Earth, this is the exception. This time a half converted erotic-cyborg with more gruesome conversion effects and other creepiness, oh and Cyberwoman vs. the pterodactyl...did I mention they have a pterodactyl in the Torchwood HQ...7.5 out of 10 for this one...
Episode Synopsis:
Ianto, played by Gareth David-Lloyd who is sort of the teams Alfred the Butler, managing the Batcave, has hidden what's left of his girlfriend at Torchwood. His plans to get outside help end with the entire team at risk of finding themselves converted or worse!
#5 Small Worlds
This one is creepy, if a little predictable, take something inherently cute and friendly, like say fairies, and make them dangerous, powerful and a little homicidal, throw in a spooky little girl, an old girl friend of Jack's er... Dad...and you have a winning mix, 8.5 out of 10 for this one....
Episode Synopsis:
Jack's senior friend has discovered fairies in a nearby wood, while Torchwood uncovers a mysterious jail death and weird weather bursts. Jack sees a pattern connected to his mysterious past....
#6 Countrycide
This one is grisly, edgy and very frightening, playing-out like a mainstream horror movie, a good one! This one isn't for the squeamish. ...9 out of 10 for Countrycide...
Episode Synopsis:
Deaths in the middle of nowhere split up the team, Gwen and Owen find themselves in another tight situation, a survivor hides from the killer, Tech-chick Tosh and Ianto race against the clock, and the team fight to stay off the menu.
#7 Greeks Bearing Gifts
This one isn't the best of the season, but it does give more development to Tosh's character...6.5 out of 10...
Episode Synopsis:
Tosh gets a strange pendant from a strange woman and she gains the strange ability to read minds. In the process learning way more than just casual thoughts, in order to make things right Tosh must get this woman into Torchwood H.Q.
#8 They keep killing Suzie
This is a great one...disturbing and well written, a fallen Torchwood member returns providing a unique opportunity to deal with the consequences of events in the pilot episode. A great exploration of Gwen and her place in Torchwood... I give it 9.5 out of 10...
Episode Synopsis:
The "Resurrection-Gauntlet" was classified as too dangerous to continue experimenting with, but a link to pre-pilot events, force the team to use the gauntlet on a deceased Torchwood member. Read more ›
Jack is originally from the 51st century, which is intended to explain his oversexed ways (i.e. he is very liberal in who he "SNOGS"& "SHAGS" ) His background is really complex, even before he meets the Doctor, but he is missing some of his memories from his time as a time-agent, during the "Parting of the Ways" the first season finale of Dr. Who his character becomes even more interesting, but I won't say more without spoiler warnings.
I know I've referenced Dr. Who, a lot, but WATCHING DR. WHO IS NOT A PREREQUISITE FOR ENJOYING TORCHWOOD, MERELY A BONUS. There is a level to Torchwood that is directed at DW fans, but it isn't obtrusive. The initial season of Torchwood begins introducing the viewer to its world through the eyes of Gwen, a low-rung Cardiff lady cop, eventually becomes part of a jaded almost amoral group that uses scavenged alien-tech to protect the world from future threats. The neophyte member eventually serves as catalysis to re-humanize the team. But the dynamic of the characters is one of abrasiveness, deceit, love and lust. The major players are far from perfect, by the end of the season, most of the team have done things both unexpected and at times alarming.
Most of the performances are great to watch, much Americanized, gritty acting. Gwen, played by Eve Myles, who oddly enough played a Victorian servant girl named Gwyneth who opens the closes the very rift Torchwood is build on in Dr. Who season 1. Gwen is an earthy attractive but not unrealistically so, as are most of the players, except Jack, of course, who is over-the-top silver-screen good looking, which is perfect for his over-the-top fearless-leader-with-a-mysterious-past archetype.
Torchwood is very stylish, lots of aerial shots of building in Cardiff, the Welsh city where the series is filmed and most of the action takes place. Its waterside features remind me of New Orleans. Another anchor location of the show in Cardiff is soooo appropriately the Roald Dahl Plaza (Carciff-born creator of Willy Wonka) it would naturally hold a time-space rift and the headquarters of a secret organization under the fountain where it can monitor extra-terrestrial traffic through the rift. Kind of a sexed up Men in Black, except no one wears black, well ok Iantos does, but he's more of a case manager type. The series music co-composed by Dr. Who's Murray Gold is both edgy and original. As is the special effects and make-up. In the pilot episode, the make-up on the Weevil, a reoccurring species, is so good that a long scene is shot in full-light with Gwen and another character studying the creature. That is how confident and bold the makers of Torchwood are! The series won a BEST DRAMA SERIES BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts), besting Doctor Who season 2 in the category and first episodes gave BBC 3 its highest ratings ever. One series flaw is that Torchwood is meant to be very covert, but they also seem to be high profile "special ops," other than that amusing conflict, I love the series and think that many Americans who may have never watched any British TV before, will be hooked!
The episode guide that follows may have some MINOR SPOILERS, okay?
#1 "Everything Changes"
This is a good one, I give it 9 out of 10, it is one of the best series pilots I've seen. Unlike some series openers, it seems familiar with characters and where they are going, there's no early season one awkwardness here, INFACT, Eve Myles WON a "BEST-ACTRESS" BAFTA (Wales) for this one, John Barrowman got a nom...
Episode Synopsis:
South Wales coffee makin' cop Gwen Cooper is at the scene of a murder when Torchwood shows, Gwen snoops on the group and sees in a disturbing scene in which the victim is temporally resurrected, then questioned. She starts her own investigation to learn more, and ends up meeting an alien and literally going underground unsuccessfully disguised as a pizza-girl, joins up and then things get weird....
#2 Day One
This one is less good, but is all about the fact that Torchwood is an adult series and begins to set some boundaries. Even so, this one has a great pre-titles scene with Gwen & her boyfriend, and a great opening line...7 out of 10 for this one...
Episode Synopsis:
The title says it all...it is Gwen's first day on the job, and because of her obligatory noob screw up she unwittingly unleashes a hot-sex-addicted-alien....no REALLY...this one is about AN ALIEN WHO SHAGS HER WAY THROUGH THE EPISODE...it seems like a Captain Jack natural. There are some great moments and some great lude dialogue, like following the discovery of the alien's nature and the disintegrated remains of its first partner, Harkness remarks that the guy "came and went, at the same time." More lines like that and hot-girl-on-alien action...
#3 Ghost Machine
This one is spooky and provides some insights into the gruff team member Owen's character. Usually, so far, Owen, played by Burn Gorman, isn't the sort to get involved or outwardly show his real feelings, in the series thus far, he has deflected them and given Gwen and the others attitude to cover. This time, due to his unique interaction with the machine, he is very open and driven.... 8 out of 10 for this one...
Episode Synopsis:
The team retrieve an alien artifact that shows ghost images of the past, thus allowing Owen to witnesses a girl's murder some forty years before. He becomes obsessed with bring the murderer to justice, while Gwen tries to stop future projections from occurring as well.
#4 Cyberwoman
This one may be too much for the Dr. Who fans, but you need not know the back-story to appreciate the story, but it helps to forgive the nature of the story that seems awkward when compared to the rest of the season. The Cybermen, humans converted from a parallel Earth, were all meant to be destroyed at another Torchwood base on this Earth, this is the exception. This time a half converted erotic-cyborg with more gruesome conversion effects and other creepiness, oh and Cyberwoman vs. the pterodactyl...did I mention they have a pterodactyl in the Torchwood HQ...7.5 out of 10 for this one...
Episode Synopsis:
Ianto, played by Gareth David-Lloyd who is sort of the teams Alfred the Butler, managing the Batcave, has hidden what's left of his girlfriend at Torchwood. His plans to get outside help end with the entire team at risk of finding themselves converted or worse!
#5 Small Worlds
This one is creepy, if a little predictable, take something inherently cute and friendly, like say fairies, and make them dangerous, powerful and a little homicidal, throw in a spooky little girl, an old girl friend of Jack's er... Dad...and you have a winning mix, 8.5 out of 10 for this one....
Episode Synopsis:
Jack's senior friend has discovered fairies in a nearby wood, while Torchwood uncovers a mysterious jail death and weird weather bursts. Jack sees a pattern connected to his mysterious past....
#6 Countrycide
This one is grisly, edgy and very frightening, playing-out like a mainstream horror movie, a good one! This one isn't for the squeamish. ...9 out of 10 for Countrycide...
Episode Synopsis:
Deaths in the middle of nowhere split up the team, Gwen and Owen find themselves in another tight situation, a survivor hides from the killer, Tech-chick Tosh and Ianto race against the clock, and the team fight to stay off the menu.
#7 Greeks Bearing Gifts
This one isn't the best of the season, but it does give more development to Tosh's character...6.5 out of 10...
Episode Synopsis:
Tosh gets a strange pendant from a strange woman and she gains the strange ability to read minds. In the process learning way more than just casual thoughts, in order to make things right Tosh must get this woman into Torchwood H.Q.
#8 They keep killing Suzie
This is a great one...disturbing and well written, a fallen Torchwood member returns providing a unique opportunity to deal with the consequences of events in the pilot episode. A great exploration of Gwen and her place in Torchwood... I give it 9.5 out of 10...
Episode Synopsis:
The "Resurrection-Gauntlet" was classified as too dangerous to continue experimenting with, but a link to pre-pilot events, force the team to use the gauntlet on a deceased Torchwood member. Read more ›
113 of 124 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Some SPOILERS here.
TORCHWOOD, a spinoff of DOCTOR WHO, is yet another television show with nifty science-fiction and paranormal elements, and it IS a marvelous and fun show. The premise: the Torchwood Institute is a covert organization given the responsibility of being Great Britain's watchdog against all things malicious and extraterrestrial. This series revolves around the amazing exploits of Torchwood Three, a branch of the Torchwood Institute which operates out of Cardiff, Wales.
In the debut episode "Everything Changes," Policewoman Constable Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) witnesses a deceased stab victim's temporary return to life. This becomes her introduction to a hidden world of frightening monsters, incomprehensible alien technologies, and extreme paranoia. She meets the very charming Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), a man displaced in time and leader of Torchwood Three. Oh, and he can't die. He obligingly places Gwen in the loop: "We don't just catch aliens. We scavenge the stuff they leave behind, find ways of using it, arming the human race against the future." Fairly soon, after some fairly interesting - not to mention, harrowing - moments, Gwen finds herself recruited as the group's police liaison. And with a spacetime rift located in Wales, she and the other Torchwood members remain up to their necks in weirdness and peril. On a more personal scale, Gwen struggles to maintain a normal relationship with her lived-in boyfriend. It's not easy being Scully.
I happened to stumble onto this dark, moody series on the On Demand's BBC America channel and became speedily hooked. It's done by the Brits and they bring their sensibilities to the table. Its tone, while somewhat reminiscent of the X-FILES, also does remind me a bit of DOCTOR WHO, but that one's to be expected as these two shows are closely linked. In fact, the word "Torchwood" is an anagram of Doctor Who and was a security code used by the crew of that series to foil television piracy.
The sci-fi elements naturally loom large. The show immediately immerses the audience in its peculiar and scary universe lurking just behind the veil of normality. Cool and wondrous gadgets and concepts abound: perception filters, invisible lifts, ghost machines, time rifts, resurrection gloves - you know, screwy science-run-amok stuff. The show's contents do tend to stray toward more adult themes, and the casual use of earthy language underscores this. As a reflection of this maturity, the show isn't shy in depicting several of the team members as leaning towards an alternative lifestyle. Captain Jack Harkness himself is bisexual and disarmingly casual about it. In the sexually-charged "Day One" the baddie is a snog-happy (wonderful word, "snog") space creature who snuffs out its victims at the moment of orgasm (As Jack off-handedly comments regarding one casualty: "He just...came and went."). So, no, not for the young 'uns, this show.
There are 13 episodes in the first series, and they are thoughtful and lushly plotted and just as splashy as their American counterparts. The CG is certainly there. The mostly British actors are very good. Gwen Cooper is played by Welsh actress Eve Myles, and Gwen makes for an engaging and ideal point-of-view character. The popular Captain Jack Harkness, last seen in the DOCTOR WHO series, comfortably crosses over into this show and drags actor John Barrowman with him. Barrowman, by the way, is magnetic! The cast of characters is interesting and complex and develops as the series progresses, with team members keeping their share of dark and dangerous secrets. One of them even turns traitor, dies, and comes back from the dead. Needless to say, the group dynamics tend to be volatile.
One negative is that most of the episodes are self-contained, which introduces a certain faltering in overall cohesion and continuity. However, the episodes will still suck you in. The best ones, in my opinion, are "They Keep Killing Susie" (Former Torchwood member Susie Costello returns), "Out of Time" (great and melancholy episode with three aircraft passengers from 1953 disembarking in the present and forced to acclimate to this brave new world), "Captain Jack Harkness" (very good time travel story as Jack and Toshiko journey temporaly to 1941 and meet the real Captain Jack Harkness, whose identity Torchwood's Jack would soon steal), and the exciting season finale "End of Days" (Wales' time rift becomes unstable and begins causing disturbing temporal anomalies).
Hmm, the Doctor Who universe seems to be rapidly expanding. First, this riveting Torchwood offshoot and now followed by THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES (longtime Doctor Who-philes will recall investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith, a popular companion to the 3rd and 4th Doctor). As a fan, I say keep it coming. To the curious out there who somehow haven't yet turned on to a good thing: c'mon, get hip to TORCHWOOD.
TORCHWOOD, a spinoff of DOCTOR WHO, is yet another television show with nifty science-fiction and paranormal elements, and it IS a marvelous and fun show. The premise: the Torchwood Institute is a covert organization given the responsibility of being Great Britain's watchdog against all things malicious and extraterrestrial. This series revolves around the amazing exploits of Torchwood Three, a branch of the Torchwood Institute which operates out of Cardiff, Wales.
In the debut episode "Everything Changes," Policewoman Constable Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) witnesses a deceased stab victim's temporary return to life. This becomes her introduction to a hidden world of frightening monsters, incomprehensible alien technologies, and extreme paranoia. She meets the very charming Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), a man displaced in time and leader of Torchwood Three. Oh, and he can't die. He obligingly places Gwen in the loop: "We don't just catch aliens. We scavenge the stuff they leave behind, find ways of using it, arming the human race against the future." Fairly soon, after some fairly interesting - not to mention, harrowing - moments, Gwen finds herself recruited as the group's police liaison. And with a spacetime rift located in Wales, she and the other Torchwood members remain up to their necks in weirdness and peril. On a more personal scale, Gwen struggles to maintain a normal relationship with her lived-in boyfriend. It's not easy being Scully.
I happened to stumble onto this dark, moody series on the On Demand's BBC America channel and became speedily hooked. It's done by the Brits and they bring their sensibilities to the table. Its tone, while somewhat reminiscent of the X-FILES, also does remind me a bit of DOCTOR WHO, but that one's to be expected as these two shows are closely linked. In fact, the word "Torchwood" is an anagram of Doctor Who and was a security code used by the crew of that series to foil television piracy.
The sci-fi elements naturally loom large. The show immediately immerses the audience in its peculiar and scary universe lurking just behind the veil of normality. Cool and wondrous gadgets and concepts abound: perception filters, invisible lifts, ghost machines, time rifts, resurrection gloves - you know, screwy science-run-amok stuff. The show's contents do tend to stray toward more adult themes, and the casual use of earthy language underscores this. As a reflection of this maturity, the show isn't shy in depicting several of the team members as leaning towards an alternative lifestyle. Captain Jack Harkness himself is bisexual and disarmingly casual about it. In the sexually-charged "Day One" the baddie is a snog-happy (wonderful word, "snog") space creature who snuffs out its victims at the moment of orgasm (As Jack off-handedly comments regarding one casualty: "He just...came and went."). So, no, not for the young 'uns, this show.
There are 13 episodes in the first series, and they are thoughtful and lushly plotted and just as splashy as their American counterparts. The CG is certainly there. The mostly British actors are very good. Gwen Cooper is played by Welsh actress Eve Myles, and Gwen makes for an engaging and ideal point-of-view character. The popular Captain Jack Harkness, last seen in the DOCTOR WHO series, comfortably crosses over into this show and drags actor John Barrowman with him. Barrowman, by the way, is magnetic! The cast of characters is interesting and complex and develops as the series progresses, with team members keeping their share of dark and dangerous secrets. One of them even turns traitor, dies, and comes back from the dead. Needless to say, the group dynamics tend to be volatile.
One negative is that most of the episodes are self-contained, which introduces a certain faltering in overall cohesion and continuity. However, the episodes will still suck you in. The best ones, in my opinion, are "They Keep Killing Susie" (Former Torchwood member Susie Costello returns), "Out of Time" (great and melancholy episode with three aircraft passengers from 1953 disembarking in the present and forced to acclimate to this brave new world), "Captain Jack Harkness" (very good time travel story as Jack and Toshiko journey temporaly to 1941 and meet the real Captain Jack Harkness, whose identity Torchwood's Jack would soon steal), and the exciting season finale "End of Days" (Wales' time rift becomes unstable and begins causing disturbing temporal anomalies).
Hmm, the Doctor Who universe seems to be rapidly expanding. First, this riveting Torchwood offshoot and now followed by THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES (longtime Doctor Who-philes will recall investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith, a popular companion to the 3rd and 4th Doctor). As a fan, I say keep it coming. To the curious out there who somehow haven't yet turned on to a good thing: c'mon, get hip to TORCHWOOD.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I never got into the X-Files, but I love Torchwood! It's smart, funny, and a little bit naughty. The science fiction parts are always interesting, sometimes scary and usually pretty cool. All the characters are well developed, well written and well acted. The show is anything but predictable. Many times, the show goes in an unexpected direction and really keeps you on your toes. Russell T Davies is a genius. I've even started watching Doctor Who for some of the background to Torchwood. Can't wait until Torchwood - Season 2 comes out in September!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Hotter than any other syfy series to date...
I recently subscribed to Netflix. What a fantastic surprise to find the first two seasons along with the shorter third season at the tip of my remote. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Cathy Carol
Very entertaining, quirky, unusual, innovative
Torchwood is a team centered on its leader, a mysterious man with an unusually long history given his apparent age, and the team he has assembled to manage aliens and deal with... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mark Colan
Torchwood Season 1 on DVD
The DVDS themselves are in perfect condition, but the casing they came in was cracked and not attached the box itself. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lindsey
Love it!
My family and I love the Torchwood series. We first watched Torchwood: Miracle Day when it came out on Starz. I then looked it up and ordered the previous seasons. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Brenda Hill
If You Like Conspiracy
Better than most "let's stop them from taking over" series. It keeps you guessing how Jack is, where is really came from, and what is roll is in all this. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Gayle A Dean
Love The Series
i really love this series i randomly found it on netflicks and the first episode grabbed me in. to be honest i am not usually huge on these types of shows. Read more
Published 10 months ago by shelld
Something different
Until my purchase of this wonderfully directed and acted First Season of "Torchwood", I had never purchased or viewed any series that deals with the "catching of Aliens"(no "Dr. Read more
Published 11 months ago by GEORGE RANNIE
Wow.
Like, the title of this review says, just...wow. I have just finished watching the entire series and I LOVED it. I had heard of the show before, but never gave it much thought. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Lisa Verson
Fantastic
An elite police forced called, "Torchwood," is responsible for watching fractured portals in space which can allow aliens to slip through and rage havoc on earth. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Couch Potato Michael
Love Captain Jack and Torchwood!
I LOVE John Barrowman in everything he does, but especially as Captain Jack as that is the first role I ever saw him in. Read more
Published 14 months ago by B. D. Bunn
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