Product Details

• Actors: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Peter Capaldi, Paul Copley
• Directors: Euros Lynn
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Widescreen
• Language: English (DTS-HD High Res Audio)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Warner
• DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
• Run Time: 293 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002BVYBK6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,499 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Television > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Torchwood

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After two engagingly frothy seasons of action-packed science fiction TV, the Russell T. (Doctor Who) Davies-produced Torchwood takes a decidedly dark and thoughtful turn in its abbreviated third season miniseries, Children of Earth. Here, Captain Jack Harkness and the Torchwood Three team, still reeling from the deaths of two of its key members in the previous season, investigate a outbreak of hypnotic chanting by children across the globe. The phenomenon heralds the arrival of an invading alien force, the 456, who plan to destroy the human race if 10% of the Earth’s children are not given to them. Captain Jack and his cohorts must find a way to stop the 456’s plan, but encounter formidable obstacles along the way, including enemies in the British Home Office and Jack’s own past, which is intertwined with the 456. Penned in part by Davies, Children of Earth does an impressive job of bringing the Torchwood characters and mythology into a more complex and mature storyline (which borrows and elaborates pleasantly on John Wyndham’s novel The Midwich Cuckoos and its film adaptation, Village of the Damned). Dedicated fans of the series may decry some of Davies’ decisions regarding some of the show’s characters (and new ones are introduced here), but most should enjoy this attempt to bring weight and suspense to the Torchwood universe. The Blu-ray release contains all five episodes of Children of Earth (which were broadcast on consecutive nights on the BBC and its affiliated stations), as well as a 31-minute episode of its companion series, Torchwood Declassified, which addresses the season’s production (and under no circumstances should be viewed prior to watching the episodes). --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 07/28/2009 Run time: 300 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The darkest, sharpest series of 2009, July 10, 2009

By	Asian movie connoiseur (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

Russell T. Davies, freed from the restraints of the family-friendly brief of DOCTOR WHO, takes full control of TORCHWOOD and fulfills the spin-off series' more adult, tragic and even political agenda.

This is Davies creating a show with the safety wheels off. Where the previous two seasons often promised the characters would be pushed to their limits, this season really means it this time. A mysterious, seemingly unbeatable alien race makes contact with Earth by controlling and manipulating every child in the world, their demands as unfathomable as their threat to the human race, and the politicians are driven to both cover their own skins while committing a monstrous act in the name of the greater good. The question is whether Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood are up to the challenge of averting a worldwide tragedy without losing their lives and their souls, and how much they're willing to sacrifice. Davies uses the medium of Science Fiction to explore issues of government corruption and cravenness, complicity and moral failure. This is adult Science Fiction drama, not the silly, adolescent teases of previous series of TORCHWOOD.


As some reviews have already noted, this 5-part miniseries changes all the rules of the show, raises the stakes and suspense to an almost unbearable degree, and by the end, nothing will ever be the same again. The changes to the show are tragic, permanent, and leaves the continuation of the series in doubt. However, it is also the angriest political drama the BBC has produced in years, the story openly states that governments are corrupt and untrustworthy, and practically encourages class warfare. This is on par with classic Old School British Leftist series such as EDGE OF DARKNESS, BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF and STATE OF PLAY. It's attitude towards the government is consistent with what the British public currently feels about their government, and proves that Russell T. Davies has his finger firmly on the pulse of the nation.

This is the best political Science Fiction miniseries of recent years. No US drama would dare push things this far. It takes its influences from QUATERMASS, CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED, Lovecraft, and creates an angry indictment of government that took me by surprise.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for the first 3 episodes, Meh for the last two, August 5, 2009

By	whoperson - See all my reviews

I enjoyed the first three episodes, but I felt it fell apart in the last two. In some of the "making of" videos, Russell T. Davies waxes about how the Torchwood universe is more realistic than the Dr. Who one (but both must be reconciled). Sorry, Mr. Davies, but you make the mistake of thinking that dystopian is more realistic than utopian. While I don't want to provide spoilers, I found the actions of both the government ministers (as a group) and the soldiers in the last two episodes to be so unrealistic that I found myself unable to completely enjoy the show. These episodes seemed just too contrived to make Gwen and Jack suffer. As a result, the final episode lacked an emotional punch for me. I'd like to see more Torchwood along the lines of the first season, and most of the second, but not more like this, please!

4.0 out of 5 stars Excited to have this on blu-ray, October 5, 2009

By	Patricia A. Fischetti (Yuba City, CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Because this show is a spinoff of Dr. Who, I have watched it from the beginning. I love scifi and this is very clever. The characters are very quirky and super intelligent and work well with each other. Sadly, two of the characters died in the last season, which leaves Gwen, Capt Jack and Ianto to solve this mystery. I saw the first episode on tv and the premise is that aliens take hold of the childten of the earth and use them to let the adults know that they are coming to take over. What happens next-stay tuned for the next exciting episode! This disc comes with specials that were shown on tv - such as a tour of Torchwood headquaters, interviews with cast and crew. A must see for sci fi fans. The only thing that I find objectionable is the affair between Capt Jack and Ianto but usually they are brief and then the action starts up again. I am glad that this title is on blu-ray.