The title of this episode pretty much describes the episode. It’s now been decided that as you can’t be dead or alive but then there are three different ‘categories of life’. The Torchwood team try and infiltrate ‘overflow camp’. This is another episode written by Jane Espenson and it also sees Vera join the Torchwood group after she is appalled by the new categories. I think this was done partly because Gwen buggers off to Wales (UK) and Esther needs some female company. This episode features the most UK stuff since the show began. It almost felt odd to hear people talk in an English accent instead of American. That said it was good how we got more UK stuff because it was starting to feel like this was just an American problem. Oh and whilst I am at it. When there are the news readers talking, why aren’t there any British ones? There are plenty of American and other nationalities but no Brits. A good thing in this series has been the frosty relationship between Jack and Rex. There is clearly some respect but its hidden behind the childish back biting which leads to one of the few comedy moments when Rex gives Jack the middle finger as he is been put into the back of the ambulance. Rex’s thing in this episode is to be bought into the overflow camp and via a change in peg (blue means flu and red is dead) he ends up in the module and sees what it is before it goes up in flames. It’s another good episode for Mekhi Phifer who does the shoot first asks questions later thing pretty well and is a good opposite to John Barrowman.
Bill Pullman steals the show yet again in this episode as he spends most of the episode preparing for the Peace rally. It seems to be a standard thing where Oswald Danes doesn’t really do much for the majority of the episode but then comes out with a fantastic scene firstly with John Barrowman where Jack tries to persuade Oswald to read an alternative speech. This uncertainty is helped by the constant changing of speeches that Oswald is given and the fact he doesn’t get a dressing room like everyone else. Even Julie Kitzinger is unsure as to what Oswald will say and the way that Pullman delivers that speech is brilliant and the moment when the PhiCorp logo appears behind him was the culmination of the entire episode and shows Jack that things won’t be simple. The individual that threatened to steal the show was Marc Vann who played Colin Maloney. Now to many (including myself) he is known from the CSI Las Vegas series and he was an unlikeable character. In this he goes to a whole new level where he starts off as a nice person who is slightly creepy and then when he is shown to be mishandling things by Vera he shoots her in the leg and hand and dumps her body in the module.
Eve Myles does seem to be as well catered for as the other members. Ok she’s gone to Wales to break her dad out of the overflow camp but at times her stuff bordered on silly. Everything was going fine until she finds her dad and tries to get him into the lorry when he suffers another heart attack. Now if it were me I would have just put in the lorry and drive off but no, this being Torchwood she called for a Doctor and they he was returned to his bed. I think that this is an off week for Myles and she will be back to her best next week.
The end of the episode has to be one of the most intense that Torchwood has ever done. With the shocking revelation about what the modules are (yet again given to us by Rhys) comes at the same time as Vera has been placed in one of them. The moment the fires gets started and you realise that she is going to be cooked the whole tone of the show changes. The fact that the producers can be so ruthless shows that no one is a safe.
This is definitely the best episode of the series so far and at the half way stage of the series it seems like the previous episodes have really been a holding pattern for this moment. It seems that the next five episodes will be unmissable television.
Bill Pullman steals the show yet again in this episode as he spends most of the episode preparing for the Peace rally. It seems to be a standard thing where Oswald Danes doesn’t really do much for the majority of the episode but then comes out with a fantastic scene firstly with John Barrowman where Jack tries to persuade Oswald to read an alternative speech. This uncertainty is helped by the constant changing of speeches that Oswald is given and the fact he doesn’t get a dressing room like everyone else. Even Julie Kitzinger is unsure as to what Oswald will say and the way that Pullman delivers that speech is brilliant and the moment when the PhiCorp logo appears behind him was the culmination of the entire episode and shows Jack that things won’t be simple. The individual that threatened to steal the show was Marc Vann who played Colin Maloney. Now to many (including myself) he is known from the CSI Las Vegas series and he was an unlikeable character. In this he goes to a whole new level where he starts off as a nice person who is slightly creepy and then when he is shown to be mishandling things by Vera he shoots her in the leg and hand and dumps her body in the module.
Eve Myles does seem to be as well catered for as the other members. Ok she’s gone to Wales to break her dad out of the overflow camp but at times her stuff bordered on silly. Everything was going fine until she finds her dad and tries to get him into the lorry when he suffers another heart attack. Now if it were me I would have just put in the lorry and drive off but no, this being Torchwood she called for a Doctor and they he was returned to his bed. I think that this is an off week for Myles and she will be back to her best next week.
The end of the episode has to be one of the most intense that Torchwood has ever done. With the shocking revelation about what the modules are (yet again given to us by Rhys) comes at the same time as Vera has been placed in one of them. The moment the fires gets started and you realise that she is going to be cooked the whole tone of the show changes. The fact that the producers can be so ruthless shows that no one is a safe.
This is definitely the best episode of the series so far and at the half way stage of the series it seems like the previous episodes have really been a holding pattern for this moment. It seems that the next five episodes will be unmissable television.
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