Torchwood Series 3 — Children of Earth — Day Five — A Review: … This Is The End …

10th July, 2009

Day 5 of Torchwood: Children of Earth is the last of the series.

And looks — and dear God, I’m hoping I’m wrong — like the last Torchwood ever.

I hope I’m wrong!

I do know that Colonel Augustus Oduya of UNIT — in one of the early scenes of Day Five — finds out why the 456 are after Earth’s children.

They’re addicted to the chemicals found in young human children.

Oduya realises that the mass handover of Earth’s children is handing heroin to alien junkies.

Junkies.

John Frobisherº comes to a tragic end.

He kills himself, his wife and his two daughters.   After being told by the PM his daughters are to be included in the 10%.

To be that desperate … ?

That desperate and facing the plan the government are putting into action?

He’s a hero.

The other heroes of the piece?

Have been Gwen* and Rhys, the two characters who’ve been the emotional centre of the series since it started; it’s they who, with Ianto’s sister and brother-in-law, manage a brave rescue effort, when the troops go in.

But who don’t find out — ’til after the event — what Jack has had to do to his own daughter and grandson, in order to save the world.

Jack, helped by Johnson and Dekker, has to use a ‘Constructive wave’ to destroy the 456.

But has to kill his own grandson to do this.

You can probably imagine Alice’s reaction to this.

There’s a scene in which Alice meets Jack, in an abandoned corridor, after her son’s death.

She says nothing.

She just turns her back on him and walks away.

The post-script scene to all this is set some six months after the main events; it sees Jack telling Gwen and Rhys that he has to leave Earth.

He still hasn’t shaken the dirt off his feet.

Powerful stuff.

In a series that’s been nothing but powerful stuff.

Can I be frank, here?

I’m actually thinking that Russell T. Davies, in conjunction with the rest of the team, has turned in the best season of Torchwood, yet.

I’m convinced Children of Earth will be a tough act to follow.

It has seriously raised the bar for a fourth series.

Stephen Moffat — should he choose to follow on from this — has work to do.

I also know, amongst tarot card readers, that the Death card isn’t necessarily seen as meaning death; just intense and dramatic change.

That’s Children of Earth.

Intense.

*        There’s a beautiful opening scene, of Gwen making a tape to mark the world’s end: she says that she’s realised why the Doctor hasn’t turned up. He’s turned his head away in shame† …

º        I also know that, having spoken to several fellow fans since this episode aired, that Peter Capaldi as John Frobisher has been viewed as having done extremely well.   I don’t know if it’s an award winner; but I’m convinced on the strength of what I saw, it should be. I’m also thinking much the same of John Barrowman as Captain Jack, actually.   There’s that old line from Friedrich Nietzche, about being careful, fighting monsters.   Day Five showed us that the good Captain didn’t take enough care.   And that the 456 weren’t necessarily the real horrors …

†        I’m writing this in July, of 2020: and that scene has stuck in my mind, even now: as the most powerful in a powerful series.

An Interesting Point to Ponder.

You know, I’ve got to admit, there’s times when second guessing a writer, or a TV shows producers, can be fun.

It’s a bit like flirting, out of sight of a partner: fun when it happens, but not something to do on regular basis.

But definitely fun.

•••••

Says I, in the hope that Allison doesn’t read that, she’ll get the wrong impression!

•••••

At any rate, I do know that one service Blogger provides is the ability to follow other blogs on the service that grab your attention.

One of the ones I follow which is Life, Dr Who & Combom.

And — bless ’im — Combom does get the odd bit of hot Dr Who and Torchwood shaped scoops.

On a regular basis!

Bless!!

Bless ’im!

One thing that caught his eye, this morning, was something that also caught mine.

News the the British Government — through Prime Minister Gordon Brown — issued an apology to those who had, as children, been — effectively — deported to various colonies.

NOT one of the old Empire’s brighter moments.

Maybe not up there with slavery, but certainly not good!

But what Combom was wondering was whether this rather nasty little incident — incidents, maybe’s the word, I understand it covered a long period — provided some of the inspiration for Torchwood: Children of Earth.

I don’t know: it sounds plausible, though, doesn’t it?

Mind you, saying that, it wasn’t the first piece of British imperial history I thought of, on watching the series.

Remember, in Day 5, Colonel Oduya of UNIT, asks the 456 representative, why they are stealing ten percent of Earth’s children: and is informed that the 456 are drug addicts, whose drug of choice …

Are children.

Human children.

The idea, now, is as revolting to me as it was on watching the show, then.

But not as revolting as what those who ruled the Empire did to its own, either to those forced to emigrate to the colonies in as part of the Child Migration Programme.

Or to those we sold opium to.

The Empire — through the East India Company — were dealers.

Which, when Oduya learns 456 why the 456 are stealing human children — and told by the 456 they are shooting up on them — I was revolted …

And thinking of the Opium Wars, and the reasons for them.

•••••

After all, Torchwood: Children of Earth, makes it perfectly clear what’s happening, and that the British Government approved.

Indeed, actively cooperated.

You know, now I come to think of it, I’m thinking Combom has a point.

The same applies to both the Child Migration Programme, to Torchwood: Children of Earth, and to the British East India Company’s sale of opium to China.

You know, this could be an interesting area to debate.

Feel free to comment … !

The War Between the Land and the Sea — Episode 5 — “The End of the War” — A Review

20th December, 2025: “The End of the War”.

An Introduction.

Right … 

It’s officially Saturday.

Which means I’m writing this the day before Sunday, 21st December, 2025, and the day before the last episode of The War Between the Land and the Sea.

Something I’ve been watching — and reviewing — ever since the most recent member of the Whoniverse franchise started.

Given that the BBC has broadcast two episodes a night, over the past two weeks?

I’ve had my work cut out for me.

But?

I’ve been looking forward to Christmas — this coming Thursday — and the final episode.

That final episode, “The End of the War”, airs tomorrow: and, frankly?

I’m looking forward to it.

~≈🧜🏼‍♂️≈~

Torchwood Series 3 — Children of Earth — Day Two — A Review: On Floor Thirteen …

7th July, 2009

Oh, my Giddy AUNT, but the BBC have done it again!!

I mean THREE classic Sci fi references, in the space of two days!

After the “X-Files” alien abduction routine and the horrifying “Midwich Cuckoos”, Day Two of “Torchwood: Children of Earth” brings a reference to “A For Andromeda”; as the seriously geeky amongst us will have no doubt noticed.

Day One saw the children of Earth all seemingly possessed by mysterious aliens known only as the 456, warning us that “We Are Coming”, with an unnamed government department — headed by Peter Capaldi, as John Frobisher — blowing up the Torchwood Hub — with a bomb implanted in the good Captain’s guts— in an effort to prevent Cap’n Jack, Gwen and Ianto doing anything about it; talk about a cliff hanger!

Day Two follows on from this, when we find the mysterious Frobisher agency has managed to decode a 456 transmission; that turns out to be instructions to build — on Floor 13 of the MI6 HQ, at Vauxhall Cross — what one character jokingly refers to as the ‘ambassadorial suite’.

A glass tank.

Or possibly cage …

Filled with as highly a poisonous collection of gasses as one would want to avoid.

I’ll be honest, it took me about all of a second to work out that this was an atmosphere for something …

Now, I don’t want to spoil things too much, but our Jack survives!

Hang on, bit of a side-step, here. What exactly do you mean, Cara, my mind’s in the gutter? Who made the bean-pole sandwich comment? Excuse me? Hello?

Back to my theme, here, Jack survives being blown up. Despite Ms Johnson being on something of a mission, there. One that comes complete with a cement mixer.

One that’s on a lorry?

Yeah, a cement mixer!!

Sidestepping again, for all the new — and old — “Doctor Who” fans, out there, did you notice that Jack’s … ah … revival seemed to start with his head? That’s a nicely observed bit of continuity, given what we learnt about Jack in “The Last Of The Timelords”.

Day Three looks rather good.

It looks like the plot is thickening …

And the fightback … will begin.

After all, the penultimate scene of Day Two was one HECK of a ram raid!!

Torchwood Miracle Day: Episode 1: The New World. The Day Begins

(Originally posted on Nik Nak & Grub’s Who Peculiar, on 14 July 2011)

Hmmm …

You know, I’ve got to admit, I’m possibly going to go into Rant mode at some stage during tonight’s post, I really am … !

You see, I’ve just had a quick virtual natter with my former co-author, Grub, about DVD prices.

He’s thinking about investing in the DVD of the first half of this year’s series of Dr Who.

As you may or may not know, the series has been split into two halves, with the first 7 episodes having been shown earlier this year, and the last 6 due to be broadcast in the autumn.

Grub, like me, is on something of a restricted income.

So tends to be a touch careful with his DVD purchases.

The fact that the BBC has released those first 7 episodes to DVD, a short time after their broadcast caught his attention: especially as the the recommended retail price of £25 seemed fair enough.

However … ?

Well …

I don’t think Grub was impressed with the lack of extras.

By the sound of things, it’s an extremely vanilla release, at a price he — and I, I should add — felt a touch too high, for just the first 7 episodes.

The Confidentials, as well, would’ve been appreciated.

As I pointed out … ?

I could do better, myself.

I’m not kidding, either … !

Especially given the fact that HandBrake — the freely available open source DVD ripper — is capable of copying the contents of a programme recorded onto a blank DVD by a home DVD recorder as well as it can copy a commercial DVD.

You can take my point, there, I think.

Not that I’m advocating outright video piracy, there: never have and never will.

However … ?

I’m AM suggesting that the BBC should really think about their pricing policy.

Especially when you consider that any of us reading this either have — or can easily get — the basic tools* to make the equivalent product for ourselves.

»»·««

Actually, there’s a reason I’m burbling on, like this, there really is.

You see, I’ve just seen — and happily recorded‡ — the first episode of Season four of Dr Who spin off, Torchwood.

Torchwood’s fourth series — or Miracle Day, as I should call it — opens with Owen Danes — Bill Pullman — a convicted child abuser, rapist and murderer who survives his execution by lethal injection.

And with CIA agent Rex Matheson — Mekhi Phifer — surviving a car crash that should have killed him.

A car crash, I should add, that takes place whilst Rex is talking on his mobile phone to workmate, Esther Drummond — Alexa Havins — who’s noticed some that the CIA computers have ALL had an email consisting of just one word.

TORCHWOOD…

That’s where thing’s start to get Hairy … !

Because, as event’s unfurl, we find that Agent Matheson and and Owen Danes aren’t the only ones to have been affected by what the press quickly terms Miracle Day.

The day, in other words, when everyone — everyone — stops dying …

»»·««

Meanwhile, back in Wales … … ?

Back in Wales we find that Gwen — Eve Myles — and Rhys — Kai Owen — trying to raise their daughter, Anwen, in the Welsh backwoods.

And seriously scared for their lives, after the events of Children of Earth.

It’s only when Gwen’s former fellow officer, Andy, gets in touch to let her know her father’s had two serious heart attacks that she and Rhys find out that heart attacks needn’t be fatal.

As they’ve taken place on a day like this.

A day when the last thing one needs is trouble …

»»·««

Now, I’ve got to confess, I’ve actually enjoyed this opening episode of Miracle Day.

I’ll admit, I don’t think it’s on quite the same par as Children Of Earth. But then, very few things are: I happen to personally believe that Children Of Earth was Torchwood’s equivalent of Genesis of the Daleks. The story, in other words, that leaves an LASTING imprint in people’s memories, and on subsequent stories in the series.

And, granted, I’m thinking that Jack’s newly found vulnerability will be the key to the whole plot.

But I do think Miracle Day to have a rock solid opening episode: with enough references to keep old fans happy, and attract a new bunch of US fans.

Granted, I’ve felt some recent TV sci-fi hasn’t made the grade: the remake of The Prisoner and Outcasts in particular.

But I’m also thinking, here, that Torchwood is not going to suffer the same fate.

Especially given that Miracle Day — going on its opening episode — shows us the series is as solid as ever.

* A copy of HandBrake, or other DVD ripper, a DVD or Blu-ray recorderº, a home computerª … and a pile of blank optical discs^.

º Such as can be bought from Argos at a reasonable price.

ª SENSIBLE people, like me, get them from Apple stores. Cheapskates like Grub get any old Windoze-based thang from the back of a lorry. A smelly lorry. That has bits that fall off. On a regular basis. Ever get the feeling you’ve walked into an on-going domestic incident … ?

‡ For my own personal use, I should add: I’m going to keep that recording, until Miracle Day’s official UK DVD release, which is when it’ll get replaced.

^ Available in many local shops. Chuck a brick.