I think it can be agreed that the first series of Torchwood can be considered a mixed bag. For me there are some that are quite dull, some that are ok but then there are a few that I think are superb and Countrycide is one of them. I know that some people thought that it was one of the worst that was in the series because ‘it didn’t have any aliens in it’. Well that’s a slightly flawed argument because in The X-Files they went several episodes (in the early years anyway) without any aliens in it so in that respect it’s a slightly absurd comment. The story is quite brave in that it deals with some grizzly topics and also takes the characters out of their comfort zone (Cardiff) and force them to deal with things without any wizardry.
The story sees the crew investigate the possibility that the rift has spread after a series of grizzly deaths. Their stupid little car was taken by an unseen thief and they then stumble across a set of apparently abandoned houses. This is set up in the middle of no where and it was like something out of The Whicker Man (not the crap 2006 version) when they encounter a bloke pretending to be a policeman and other weird people. I have a certain fear of being stuck on my own in the middle of nowhere in this exact situation. Knowing my luck it would happen. All the members are separated and it’s like they are been picked off by the weird villagers. Gwen has the hardest time when she gets shot and Owen has to finally put some of his medical training to use.
There are things that don’t quite work. I think that the swearing is something I could have done without and thought the moment where Captain Jack storms into a room with a tractor before shooting everyone with a shotgun seemed to be slightly naff. That is the only thing that is wrong in an otherwise strong story. Chris Chibnall has written a solid story that looks very cheap in money terms but its far better in terms of writing a dozen or so characters that aren’t over the top but are very creepy. Andy Goddard also does a great job with no Torchwood hub or naff car but most impressively he does well in slowly cranking up the tension and its about as close to horror as I would want to get (being a wuss and having a low tolerance of horror).
The best line in the entire episode came when Gwen was asking Evan why he did what he did and he simply replied by saying “It makes me happy!” It’s the end of a simply superb performance from Owen Teale who was someone that I didn’t remember seeing before but after this episode I saw him in pretty much every TV that I have ever seen. His performance in this is episode is solid from start to finish and is very unsettling. Another grim moment came when Tosh and Ianto were searching for something and they find meat in the fridges and it’s implied that they are human. This is another grizzly moment and something that happened to just add to the grimness that the story had running through it like a stick of rock.
In case you haven’t figured it out, this is one of my top three Torchwood stories ever. It shows that in this modern age where special effects are used to death that this episode shows that you can make a cheap yet impactful piece of drama.
The story sees the crew investigate the possibility that the rift has spread after a series of grizzly deaths. Their stupid little car was taken by an unseen thief and they then stumble across a set of apparently abandoned houses. This is set up in the middle of no where and it was like something out of The Whicker Man (not the crap 2006 version) when they encounter a bloke pretending to be a policeman and other weird people. I have a certain fear of being stuck on my own in the middle of nowhere in this exact situation. Knowing my luck it would happen. All the members are separated and it’s like they are been picked off by the weird villagers. Gwen has the hardest time when she gets shot and Owen has to finally put some of his medical training to use.
There are things that don’t quite work. I think that the swearing is something I could have done without and thought the moment where Captain Jack storms into a room with a tractor before shooting everyone with a shotgun seemed to be slightly naff. That is the only thing that is wrong in an otherwise strong story. Chris Chibnall has written a solid story that looks very cheap in money terms but its far better in terms of writing a dozen or so characters that aren’t over the top but are very creepy. Andy Goddard also does a great job with no Torchwood hub or naff car but most impressively he does well in slowly cranking up the tension and its about as close to horror as I would want to get (being a wuss and having a low tolerance of horror).
The best line in the entire episode came when Gwen was asking Evan why he did what he did and he simply replied by saying “It makes me happy!” It’s the end of a simply superb performance from Owen Teale who was someone that I didn’t remember seeing before but after this episode I saw him in pretty much every TV that I have ever seen. His performance in this is episode is solid from start to finish and is very unsettling. Another grim moment came when Tosh and Ianto were searching for something and they find meat in the fridges and it’s implied that they are human. This is another grizzly moment and something that happened to just add to the grimness that the story had running through it like a stick of rock.
In case you haven’t figured it out, this is one of my top three Torchwood stories ever. It shows that in this modern age where special effects are used to death that this episode shows that you can make a cheap yet impactful piece of drama.
No comments:
Post a Comment