Review: 'Torchwood: Miracle Day' - 'Dead of Night': Miles to go before we sleep
One of Russell T. Davies' favorite boogeymen pops up as a potential villain
Rex (Mekhi Phifer) goes for a drive in "Torchwood: Miracle Day."
As I said in last week's "Torchwood: Miracle Day" review, I'm too swamped with Comic-Con to give a proper write-up to tonight's episode, but I have a few quick thoughts coming up just as soon as I sit at my desk and read blogs for a living...
First of all, if you watched Russell T. Davies' run on "Doctor Who," you know that the man has very strong feelings against the power and influence of large corporations, so it shouldn't be a surprise that "Dead of Night" suggests that the power behind the miracle (or, at least, a major accomplice to it) is a pharmaceutical conglomerate. I have my own ambivalent feelings about conglomerates, but Davies tends to demonize his enemies to the point that it often winds up backfiring for me.
Second, we spend a lot of time on the US and UK members of the new Torchwood getting to know each other, find common language (along with the inevitable gag about someone driving on the wrong side of the road), etc. And along the way, Rex gets softened up a bit (but not entirely; see the comment that leads Dr. Juarez to kick him out of bed), but not in a way that makes me especially interested in forgiving his earlier characterization as an unrepentant jackass.
Third, I continue to find myself more interested in the scenes dealing with the unexpected side effects of the miracle - no more miscarriages or murder, outbreaks of old diseases like cholera - than in seeing Torchwood try to get to the bottom of things.
And fourth, the world may be in a major crisis, but Jack and Rex both have time to go out and get lucky. Given how mad many "Torchwood" fans still are about Ianto (in some reviews of this series, the comments are filled with nothing but objections from Ianto lovers), I'll be curious to see how people respond to Jack's one-night stand with the bartender. More importantly, relationship-wise, I'm glad that while Davies and the writers have to keep playing the card of Jack being attracted to Gwen, they're also smart enough to recognize that, while she might be interested in him under other circumstances, Rhys and the baby are whom she really cares about.
Also? "Bigger on the inside than the outside." Always nice to get a little nod to the series' origins, even if the move to Starz/America has all but erased any remaining "Doctor Who" links.
What did everybody else think?
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July 22, 2011 at 11:31PM EST Reply to CommentI loved the first installment, but this one, uh . . . am I the only one totally creeped out by the oddly explicit gay sex? The plot really suffered just so they could get that in. I'm done with it.
alynch Heh, you think that was explicit?
July 23, 2011 at 12:06AM ESTTausif Khan How else are you going to know that Captain Jack is polysexual?
July 23, 2011 at 8:02AM ESTYou know, "television is a visual medium"
Hwat @rw
July 23, 2011 at 8:14PM ESTYou could wait for the BBC versions, and see if you could happen upon them - they edit that out ;)
@Tausif Khan
Hardly from those scenes, he looked like a gay guy with mommy issues.
Also what's hardly visual, they didn't show how it worked with a man on man like that - wouldn't it be dueling dicks?
Tausif Khan I never said it had to be good sex. I am not debating the quality of the sex. Showing two men together is a huge taboo and a big political statement. Look at how weird the creators of Modern Family felt about letting Mitchell and Cameron kiss.
July 24, 2011 at 11:34AM ESTWhogirl515
July 23, 2011 at 12:11AM EST Reply to CommentI agree with RW about the explicit sex~gay or otherwise! This show was about the stories & STARZ has trashed it up American Style! Don't get me wrong I love this country but did we really need 2 go there??? I'm also sad that The Doctor will not b a part of it in any way.
stebber uhhh the original series had...um...lots of gay sex!
July 23, 2011 at 12:25AM EST
July 23, 2011 at 7:07AM ESTOMFG, sorry if this sounds bitchy but you've obviously never seen the original 'Queer as Folk'. Don't. Just don't.
Tausif Khan Where on American broadcast television do you see gay characters in romantic situations? Glee and...?
July 23, 2011 at 8:04AM ESTNic-e In reply to Tausif Khan I can name these shows just off the top of my head that have gay romantic sittuations - Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, Glee, All My Children, True Blood, Modern Family, Will & Grace, and I'm sure there's more.
July 23, 2011 at 8:20AM ESTTausif Khan Modern Family doesn't count. They made a big deal about a kiss between two long time partners. I mentioned Glee myself. True Blood is not broadcast. All My Children is a daytime soap opera (they have to push the envelope to keep viewers and the amount of stories they have to go through to keep things interesting I would assume they would have a gay relationship). Will and Grace and Brothers and Sisters are no longer on the air (Brothers and Sisters was recently canceled). Also, how often would you see Eric McCormick or Sean Hayes kiss someone? Wasn't it a big deal when they kissed on the episode where they went on The Today Show and kissed each other in front of Al Roker (genuine questions I am not sure)?
July 24, 2011 at 11:32AM ESTSo really where is the ubiquity of gay romantic/sexual interaction on broadcast prime time network television. Since Will and Grace and Glee what other gay programming is there on broadcast primetime television.
webdiva First, Jack was in character being randy. but more to the point, when people are really feeling their mortality (and may even be at least partially in denial about it), they tend to act out. Capt. Jack Harkness is having a really postponed midlife crisis -- delayed because it's been decades, if not centuries, since he's felt mortal and honestly threatened. And now the true death with no return appears to be hunting him. Hell **YEAH** he's acting out -- he's terrified inside! But still in character, and still omnivorous, so to speak.
July 24, 2011 at 11:04PM ESTAs for his wanting to be okay with Gwen, he knows her husband and baby will always come first; but she's also his last living friend, if you're not counting The Doctor (capital D), so he really needs to know that they're okay and that she'll be there for him if the worst comes. Otherwise, he'll die alone.
But here's a thought: we already know that his future self dies in New New York with the 10th Doctor present, even if Jack doesn't yet know this -- so he has to come out of this alive, I think. Doctor #10 has already seen that future.
Whogirl515 I have seen every TW ep from the begining and yes there has always been sexual tendencies in the show & some straight out acts but not in this manner. This was a show I thought Maybe my 15 yr old could watch w/o being exposed to such outright sexual acts. I know there r Many show with this in it but that doesn't mean Everyone watches them or that Everyone wants to see it! Mayb I'm just the only Conservative Bitch that likes SciFi as a whole & hates 2 see a really good show that I now have to "self edit" so I don't have 2 see it. Capt Jack is who he is I don't dispute that~we all know that! And it's quite an endearing quality in him :) all I'm sayin is that I don't want 2 see the sexual act (hetero or gay or anywhere inbetween) on tv period. It used 2 b inuendo was enough & we all got the picture. I love Capt Jack's character as a whole but that doesn't mean I want 2 see him or any1 else 4 that matter 'get it on' regardless of what show it is~and all those other shows every1 has mentioned, I don't & haven't watched any of them. So conservative bitch I must be :) and I'm ok with that even if your not.
July 25, 2011 at 10:18AM ESTmilaxx
July 23, 2011 at 12:22AM EST Reply to CommentThis was one of the weaker episodes. I could give a pass to the cliche language bit, but Jack sudden;y deciding he needs a booty call made no sense. As much of a jerk as Rex may be, at least there has been some lead up to the pairing of him and Dr. Juarez. I also hate when Gwen suddenly becomes the smartest TW team member.Sure jack has always been a flirt, but I can't recall him ever letting that interfere with whatever mission TW was on.
webdiva Yeah, and you've never seen Jack REALLY, REALLY mortal and non-resurrectable before, either. See my comment above.
July 24, 2011 at 11:11PM ESTShein
July 23, 2011 at 12:24AM EST Reply to CommentIt doesn't have the excitement, the 'wow' factor that the BBC Torchwood has, plus it seems too wordy. I also am unhappy with the 2 new additions to the team - Not happy. Although, it's a treat to see Capt. Jack and Gwen again :D
misses10thdoctor
July 23, 2011 at 2:57AM EST Reply to Commentjack and booty calls make total sense.
he has always been an incorrigible flirt and sexual person...even the 10th doctor knew it, remember his farewell gift to the captain?
rex is like nails on chalkboard for me...the less screen time the better... i don't understand why he is so skeptical of torchwood and Extra-Ts in general when all this takes places after the events of the 456.
i really hope this series kicks it into high gear soon though bc i am getting bored with pointing out all the differences between CIA/torchwood and US/UK...we get it, let's move on.
BUT on the plus, I love Gwen and Jack! Like you, I appreciate show acknowledging all the consequences of the Miracle. As a DV attorney, I got the chills re: the patient whose husband repeatedly strangles her. Still a great hour of TV, and am so intrigued about where they will go next week.
misses10thdoctor just for fun:
July 23, 2011 at 3:35AM ESThttp://youtu.be/cJUvYu2R8Po
Nic-e
July 23, 2011 at 8:11AM EST Reply to CommentI think you're missing why Jack went into that bar on tonight's episode. For the first time in how long Jack can actually feel something{death?}. Right now everyone else in the world is immortal like Jack usually is while Jack actually finds himself now to be mortal. So that whole scene w/the bar, getting drunk, and having sex w/that guy was all pretty much irony and a symbol of what Jack is going through right now. I mean the phone call to Gwen and everything. I thought it was a really nice taste of the struggles we are going to see his character face this season...or maybe I'm just overanalyzing things. Jack also keeps bringing up the fact that he's dying and I'm sure that's weighing on him...or is it? For the first time in a long time Capt Jack can actually die. It has got to get old dying over and over again as he has so expressed more than once on the show. Maybe Jack just wants to be normal and normal people can die. I think the writers were showing us a different side to Capt Jack a side into his mortal thought process instead of just his usual flintiness. In a way he's been a prisoner to his immortal body and now maybe he wants to discover what it could be like to be mortal. And p.s. there's always been guy-on-guy action in the other seasons but I do admit that tonight's scene I think was the most raciest. ;)
Â
Pat I am glad I am not watching because seeing Jack with another guy who is not Ianto would make me feel sick.
July 23, 2011 at 9:08AM ESTNic-e Well it was part of his pain/an escape. It was a one night stand that meant nothing more than a temporary comfort for Jack.
July 24, 2011 at 4:15AM ESTGB
July 23, 2011 at 11:22AM EST Reply to CommentI didn't mind Jack hooking up with someone other than Ianto. The Tenth Doctor already hooked him up with someone in his last episode, although we don't know what else happened there. If he was going to be immortal I didn't think he was going to remain celebate forever
abby
July 23, 2011 at 6:01PM EST Reply to CommentOh for goodness sake. I loved Ianto too but Jack was never a one man/woman/alien guy! This is a man who in a normal lifetime would have had at least a hundred sex partners. So with a several hundred years to fill and hundreds of species to charm... Being with someone else needn't take anything away from how he feels about Ianto. It was a one night stand! Ascribing traditional values to Captain Jack seems (to me at least) to be misreading the character. He is who he is and people often revert to type in a crisis, not always their most noble traits, as evidenced by the AA chips folks turned in at the bar. And it's neither here nor there but personally I'd have been delighted to see the Jack/hot bartender sex scene a bit more explicit and I'd wager I'm not the only one.
abby I should say here that my exclamation points and the generally dramatic tone of the post above were directed at the boards Alan describes as talking exclusively about Ianto, not any comment here.
July 23, 2011 at 6:05PM ESTMulderism
July 23, 2011 at 9:14PM EST Reply to CommentI've forgotten how much I dislike Gwen. She needs to calm the #$%% down...
webdiva Really?? WHY? I don't see her being unreasonably upset. Why should she calm down (even further) when she's the only one other than the doctor (small d) who seems to be dealing sensibly with what's going on? Gwen is no pushover, nor is she a screamer or a whiner. She yells on occasion; that's different. And she takes no prisoners, and that doesn't bother me in the least. But then, I'm a tough bitch, too, and I imagine that if I were in the same situation and trying to fix things, I'd be running over with a tank anyone who got in my way. And I'd be far more in-your-face than she's being. I think you're reading more into Gwen's behavior than is actually there (though I'll skip theorizing why, but I do wonder if strong women are your bugaboo), and I suspect as I don't cut anyone any slack either, I'd probably piss you off, too. Not that that would bother me. So: Gwen's okay in my book.
July 24, 2011 at 10:44PM ESTMulderism Sorry honey, no issues here. I work with strong, smart women all the time.
July 25, 2011 at 11:50PM ESTRick
July 23, 2011 at 9:22PM EST Reply to CommentAlan, I know you've seen at least one episode past this, so let me ask- will there be a point where this actually starts to go somewhere? Three episodes into Children of Earth, I was edge-of-my-seat captivated. I'm not sure whether the problem is spreading things out over ten episodes, or going back to a weekly rather than a nightly release, or if the story is just atrocious, but this is just bad. FlashForward levels of bad.
A good first step would be to incorporate a humanizing side to the horror of the Miracle, rather than talking about it. Last year, between Jack's nephew, Gwen's pregnancy, and the government worker's children, the terror had a human face. Here all we get are board room conversations with the lady doctor who is barely connected with our core characters.
Whogirl515
July 25, 2011 at 10:46AM EST Reply to CommentIt has already been said by the producers & writers that The Doctor will have Nothing to do with TW: Miracle Day period. And yes I know how Capt Jack dies according to Dr#10~who was present at the event. So I don't know what they will do to Jack :( The original TW was edge of ur seat nonstop happenings~this one seems to have not followed that template. Rex is just plain~not sure how to say it~just don't care for the character in general. Too many lulls that are drawn out & nothing happening (except sex of coarse~and yes I do believe if you know you may have 1 foot in the grave as Jack seems to believe of himself, he's reacting in a very usual human way). I just want the action & crazy senerios that where given 1 piece at a time but kept the pace up to a quick tempo~feels like the show has suffered from it's 'move'.
Ben Kabak
July 25, 2011 at 11:28AM EST Reply to CommentI really dislike Gwen and the in your face gay sex.
KIR And how about the hetero sex?
July 27, 2011 at 3:01AM ESTb carroll
July 27, 2011 at 7:32AM EST Reply to Commentit's pretty telling that the comments so far don't log complaints about 'the sex scenes', but only about 'the gay sex scenes'.
i would love to admit to hope for humankind in that those who felt compelled to take the time to write up their complaints eventually realize that their actions say more about them than about the show or the inclusion of the scenes themselves, but i guess that would be expecting too much...
my only issue with this year so far (and which is echoed by Rick's comment above) is that it seems while storyline itself *may* have the same density as CoE, CoE compressed that storyline into five episodes whereas MD is stretching things out into 10 - and thereby diluting the intensity.