![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I want to be fannish about this series, I really do. I loved the character of Capt. Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and was really looking forward to this spin-off series when I heard about it. The thing that's holding me back from becoming a squeeing little Torchwood fangirl is how unprofessional the Torchwood staff is.
Did you ever watch Battle of the Planets on Saturday mornings as a kid? There was this one episode where the leader of G-Force, Mark, was caught by the enemy. The rest of the team was so busy arguing about who was in charge in Mark's absence that Mark gave up on them and rescued himself. The gang at Torchwood always remind me of that ep. They really need a clear chain of command and a respect for the chain of command they establish, because as soon as there's a crisis, everybody thinks they're the boss and nobody listens to orders from anybody else. And somebody definitely needs to take their guns away from them because they spend more time pointing guns at each other, and sometimes shooting each other, than they do bad guys/aliens.
Speaking of shooting each other, a little more to the right, Ianto, and I would've been your biggest fan.
This week, Tosh and Jack are caught in a temporal rift and wind up in Cardiff in 1941. With the temporal rift linking the present to a past wartime era, this ep kind of reminded me of "The Railway Station" episode of Sapphire & Steel, only without all the malevolence and torture.
Bilis Manger is the best antagonist they've had on the show so far. He creeps me out a whole lot more than the Weevils do.
I really need a graphic to display my level of Owen hate, because the Owen hate-o-meter in my head nearly pegged out at maximum. This time, Owen spent the whole episode risking the entire planet by trying to open the temporal rift under the guise of rescuing Jack and Tosh, when we all know that what he really wanted to do was bring his girlfriend Diane back. Owen thus becomes a temporal stalker in addition to a date rapist. My hero. The whole time, he was complaining that Ianto's plans were "safe and boring." Owen? Some people might use the word "responsible." Look it up in the dictionary. Your picture won't be next to it.
Tosh really needs to be kept back at the Hub as a permanent assignment. She's great with computers and math and research, but her personality is totally not suited to field work. She was wound so tight, she was probably making diamonds in her colon. She also completely fails at stealth and nonchalance.
I loved the slowly building romance between the Captains Jack Harkness. It was very sweet, and they made such a cute couple. But as much as I love the final dance and the kiss, I also find it a bit jarring because they did it in the dance hall in front of everybody. That sort of thing just did not fly in 1941, and I always worry about some of the other military guys dragging Past!Jack out into the alley to beat the crap out of him after Our!Jack left. I wish they'd had that scene in private on the balcony instead.
Our!Jack was very adamant that Past!Jack go after Nancy and kiss her good-bye. He looked really upset about it. I wonder if he was just upset because he knew Past!Jack was going to die, or if he himself lost someone he loved without having had a chance to say goodbye?
In the Torchwood Declassified bit during the commercial break, Russell T. Davies said that the most perfect person for Our!Jack to fall in love with was himself. That seemed a little harsh. Jack has been through a lot of sex partners, but he always seems to make sure they're having as much fun as he is, unlike Owen, who doesn't even care if they're consenting. Owen is way more selfish and self-absorbed than Jack is.
Only one more episode left in the season. Any bets on whether Owen buries the needle on my hate-o-meter? Or is that a sucker bet?
Did you ever watch Battle of the Planets on Saturday mornings as a kid? There was this one episode where the leader of G-Force, Mark, was caught by the enemy. The rest of the team was so busy arguing about who was in charge in Mark's absence that Mark gave up on them and rescued himself. The gang at Torchwood always remind me of that ep. They really need a clear chain of command and a respect for the chain of command they establish, because as soon as there's a crisis, everybody thinks they're the boss and nobody listens to orders from anybody else. And somebody definitely needs to take their guns away from them because they spend more time pointing guns at each other, and sometimes shooting each other, than they do bad guys/aliens.
Speaking of shooting each other, a little more to the right, Ianto, and I would've been your biggest fan.
This week, Tosh and Jack are caught in a temporal rift and wind up in Cardiff in 1941. With the temporal rift linking the present to a past wartime era, this ep kind of reminded me of "The Railway Station" episode of Sapphire & Steel, only without all the malevolence and torture.
Bilis Manger is the best antagonist they've had on the show so far. He creeps me out a whole lot more than the Weevils do.
I really need a graphic to display my level of Owen hate, because the Owen hate-o-meter in my head nearly pegged out at maximum. This time, Owen spent the whole episode risking the entire planet by trying to open the temporal rift under the guise of rescuing Jack and Tosh, when we all know that what he really wanted to do was bring his girlfriend Diane back. Owen thus becomes a temporal stalker in addition to a date rapist. My hero. The whole time, he was complaining that Ianto's plans were "safe and boring." Owen? Some people might use the word "responsible." Look it up in the dictionary. Your picture won't be next to it.
Tosh really needs to be kept back at the Hub as a permanent assignment. She's great with computers and math and research, but her personality is totally not suited to field work. She was wound so tight, she was probably making diamonds in her colon. She also completely fails at stealth and nonchalance.
I loved the slowly building romance between the Captains Jack Harkness. It was very sweet, and they made such a cute couple. But as much as I love the final dance and the kiss, I also find it a bit jarring because they did it in the dance hall in front of everybody. That sort of thing just did not fly in 1941, and I always worry about some of the other military guys dragging Past!Jack out into the alley to beat the crap out of him after Our!Jack left. I wish they'd had that scene in private on the balcony instead.
Our!Jack was very adamant that Past!Jack go after Nancy and kiss her good-bye. He looked really upset about it. I wonder if he was just upset because he knew Past!Jack was going to die, or if he himself lost someone he loved without having had a chance to say goodbye?
In the Torchwood Declassified bit during the commercial break, Russell T. Davies said that the most perfect person for Our!Jack to fall in love with was himself. That seemed a little harsh. Jack has been through a lot of sex partners, but he always seems to make sure they're having as much fun as he is, unlike Owen, who doesn't even care if they're consenting. Owen is way more selfish and self-absorbed than Jack is.
Only one more episode left in the season. Any bets on whether Owen buries the needle on my hate-o-meter? Or is that a sucker bet?
no subject
Date: 2007-11-25 05:16 am (UTC)From:I'll take that bet. God, Owen was getting on my nerves tonight. As Ianto pointed out, Owen was only with Diane for a week! He's going to risk the planet for someone he was with for a week? I'm sure wherever she is, Diane is *so* over him....
And Ianto did still refer to Jack as their leader..
Tosh actually moved up a few steps in my book in this ep, though. I just took her stifflike acting as a bit of nervousness as the token Japanese woman in the room... And she did write that bit in blood..
The whole Jack/Jack romance was just beautiful...But you are right, I didn't even think of the repercussions that the Past!Jack would have faced after the very public display of affection. Just was unheard of in 1941. I guess I was just wrapped up in it all...
no subject
Date: 2007-11-25 06:17 pm (UTC)From:I would be the happiest person on earth if Owen actually managed to find Diane, and she was all, "You look kind of familiar. What's your name again?"
And Ianto did still refer to Jack as their leader..
The gang at Torchwood only acknowledge Jack as their leader when either (a) it doesn't matter, or (b) something unpleasant needs doing. Then they make him do the unpleasant thing (like killing Suzie or giving the little girl over to the faeries) so they don't have to, and snub him afterward. It gives them the illusion of having the moral high ground while still getting the job done.
I just took her stifflike acting as a bit of nervousness as the token Japanese woman in the room... And she did write that bit in blood..
I'd agree with you, but Tosh always acts like this in the field. The only reason she was able to pull herself together and be useful in "Countrycide" was because Ianto was freaking out even worse than she was and it grounded her.
The whole Jack/Jack romance was just beautiful...But you are right, I didn't even think of the repercussions that the Past!Jack would have faced after the very public display of affection. Just was unheard of in 1941. I guess I was just wrapped up in it all...
I was too, and that's what bothers me so much about that scene. There I am, having a good wallow in how sweet that scene was, then the camera pulls back to show the whole room frozen and staring at them. I start having repercussiony thoughts and it throws me out of the scene when I'm not ready to be done with it. I really wish they'd had that dance off to one side or on the balcony so I could bask in the glow of that scene as long as I wanted.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-25 07:12 pm (UTC)From:Can't wait to see how season one wraps up next week...then it's not too long of a wait until we get season two. We'll see how much character development/growing we get...
no subject
Date: 2007-11-25 10:59 pm (UTC)From:::keeps finger and toes crossed:: I'm really hoping the characters learned some lessons this season. And I'm hoping for more overt Jack/Ianto.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-26 01:03 am (UTC)From:yeah, that would be nice....
no subject
Date: 2007-11-28 03:18 am (UTC)From:HOW very true. Although if he did incapacitate Owen completely we may not have got to see just how beautiful a dead guy Jack made (the second time, not the first) in the final episode.
And yeah, as lovely as the dance/kiss scene is, ONE of the Jacks should have had the sense to stop it. Did Our!Jack, who lived through the period, not realise what he was condemning Past!Jack to when he joined him on the dance floor? In a way, THAT was just as irresponsible as Owen's actions (sorry to say, since I despise him too) because he was all but certainly writing and signing his death warrant.
I've only read one fan story on LJ that portrayed what really would have happened to Past!Jack - it was written from his PoV the morning after, as he waited and was then led out to be executed at dawn. Very bleak, but true.
I'd LIKE to see someone write a story where Past!Jack is actually shot down by his own men, after surviving the surprise attack by the Germans, thereby making it directly Our!Jack's fault that he dies. Now wouldn't that be unbearable if he were to find that out?
no subject
Date: 2007-11-29 03:24 am (UTC)From:I think Our!Jack just felt bad for Past!Jack because he knew Past!Jack was going to die the next day. I'm not sure it occurred to him that actions on his part might affect an event that he considered to have happened already. Besides, we saw him in that era in "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" and he wasn't exactly shy about his sexuality then. I'm not sure he knows how to be.
I'd LIKE to see someone write a story where Past!Jack is actually shot down by his own men
It never occurred to me that Past!Jack might've been shot down by his own men with the dogfight as cover. I did wonder, though, how hard they tried to back him up during the attack.
And yes, I think it would kill Our!Jack (if he could die, that is) if he found out that he was responsible, however indirectly, for Past!Jack's death.