Children of Earth - Day 4 (2009)

The penultimate part is where everything starts to go crazy. The story moves from action to emotional feelings as children have to be given to the 456 and the shock death of a regular character makes this the best episode so far. We learn a bit more about the events that we saw at the beginning of episode one. The 456 will give the humans a vaccine for a flu that will kill out a lot of people. In 1965 they just want 12 people which is what Jack finds acceptable until he learns he has to hand the kids over because as the woman he is talking to says ‘he doesn’t care’.

We finally get to see a bit more of the 456 apart from green goo and something hitting the glass of the box. However we never see it properly because of the gas and also the image from the camera that they use. Then there is the really grim image of the bodies of the children from 1965. That fact is made even worse because we see one of the bodies blinking, thus showing that it’s conscious. The reaction of everyone really shows how serious it is. Sadly we say goodbye to Clement who I have really warmed to by this stage and thought that he had contributed a great deal to the story.

When the 456 say that if they don’t hand over 10% of the children that it will wipe humanity off the face of the earth, I was thinking that it’s the perfect opportunity for the Doctor to arrive and save the day. The tension is raised when we learn that the 10% refers to each country and not of the world. The cabinet meeting is the start of the very long debate as to what to do about handing over the children. I think its great how they bicker on how to decide which children should be given to the 456. The character that stands out is Denise Riley (played brilliantly by Debroah Findlay) who is the voice of reason. I don’t know what has happened by Mr Dekker has lost some of the things that made him so enjoyable.

After years of faithful service. Nicholas Briggs gets an on screen role as Rick Yates. It seems odd having him on screen as I often think of him as a Big Finish personality. Yates is a character that is pretending to be looking after the population that would survive and tries to paint a picture that the cull would be a good thing. I might be biased but I think the character is very good. It’s nearly two-thirds of the way into the episode before the Torchwood crew start moving and head towards Thames House however it’s at this point that it start to get going again after the long cabinet session. When Lois reveals to everyone in the cabinet that they have been recorded and she threatens to publicise what they have said is a wonderful moment because everyone is crapping themselves that they will be ruined politically. Showing what politicians really care about – themselves.

The last few minutes are brilliant because the viewer is left with the shock at the death of Ianto. Then it’s the discussion by the cabinet deciding that they have to start collecting the children. The final few minutes are brilliantly directed and acted because of John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and the music along with the extras who all show a wonderful sense of fear and desperation. After Owen and Tosh have bitten the dust the numbers of Torchwood personnel are getting to extremely low levels. Also the personal loss for Jack is very heartfelt and I think that it was a big mistake to kill of Ianto as he was a brilliant character. He was the only character that has been consistently strong and Gareth David-Lloyd will be missed from the series. The sight of Jack and Gwen looking over Ianto’s body is a really sad sight and is not an action packed but emotionally packed cliffhanger.

The final part has the potential to be an epic and fitting conclusion to this series.

Children of Earth - Day 3 (2009)

The middle story of the series is where the story continues and it’s at this stage that things start to get really seriously as the 456 are expected to arrive and the personal stakes rise along with the tension. They may not have the Hub but its comforting to know that they have a temporary base where they can do their scooby gang things, The Torchwood crew go on a bit of a crime spree instantly reminding me of bits from Hustle where they go on a little spree to raise some cash. Quite interesting to see how outside the law they have become. There is a great moment where after everything that has happened there is a ‘were back’ feel when the crew get their new clothes.

Lois well and truly gets involved in the action. She is quite literally the eyes for Torchwood as she is present when the 456 and Frobisher have their first meeting. It’s quite a Bond moment where Lois has to wear contact lenses. Mr Dekker has a light episode after being sinister in the previous episode. This episode belongs to Frobisher as he is pushed into the limelight by the evil Prime Minister and there is a wonderful moment when Frobisher and Jack are talking on the phone, when Jack threatens Frobisher’s family and John says he wont because he is the better man was a nice indication that the character does have morals but feels like he has to do his duty.

A bit more about the bus scene in episode one is explained with the three other people that were killed along with Jack. Clement’s role in that also become more clear. It turns out that Clement was one of the children on the bus and Jack was the one driving the bus thus bears some responsibility for what happened to them and to Clement. I am quite amazed at the child actors who are quite creepy when they are standing still and shouting ‘we are coming’. To add to the creepiness they start pointing towards the air. The line that everyone is pointing towards the UK somehow gives me a greater feeling that this is an international event.

I’m still unsure about Jack’s daughter and grandson. It’s the best performance by Lucy Cohu (Alice) but the grandson has still to do anything to impress me. There was a nice bit of bitchy moment between Alice and Agent Johnson. Paul Copley is really good in this episode and has gone from being slightly annoying to being impressive.

The arrival of the 456 coming into Thames House is when the action really kicks in for this episode. The special effects are quite impressive as they are simple yet still enjoyable. When I was watching this I really didn’t know what to expect in terms of visuals as well as how they would soon. The scene with John Frobisher, Mr Dekker and the 456 is very chilling especially as we don’t really see the 456 but just some green goo. During the first big meeting, the 456 say they want the 10% of the children and this is when the intense feeling that I felt at the beginning of the story returns.

Another big name joins the show when Colin McFarlane dons a military uniform and plays an American General. He comes into it mad that Britain has been chosen by the 456. It mirrors the bit in ‘Sound of Drums’ from 2007 when the American President is angry at The Master/Prime Minister for going ahead with diplomatic relations with an alien race. The revelation that Jack was involved in the 1965 ‘gift’ is the cliffhanger and it’s the weakest so far. It’s a big thing to say that one of the main stars was involved but it lacked the drama that the first cliffhanger had or that the eerie feeling the previous one had. Oh well, there had to be a weak one sooner or later.

Resurrection of the Daleks (1984)

Following the successful return of the Cybermen the previous year, it seemed like the natural progression to bring the Daleks back after a near five years absence. The Daleks were last seen in Destiny of the Daleks and for anyone who’s seen that story will know it wasn’t their finest hour (and a half). This story also marks the departure of Janet Fielding as Tegan who had been with the show since Logopolis in 1981. This story is famous for the fact that it has a high death count than Terminator 2 which is funny when you think about it.

After a poor previous story, it was good to see the Daleks restored to their proper glory and I mean that both in terms of storytelling and also production wise. Another thing that has improved is the character of Davros. Terry Molloy appears in his first of three performances and it’s a great performance. The mask fits Molloy and whilst its not a patch on Michael Wisher, its still a good outing.

Maurice Coburn is one of the best of the supporting artists. The character of Lytton is a very well written one and superbly played by Coburn. He was so good he would return the following year but it’s not a patch on this performance. It’s never quite explained why Lytton is working with the Daleks. It’s not that Lytton is a prisoner or a slave of the Daleks but neither is he in charge of them. Another big name in this story was Rodney Bewes who is most famous for ‘Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?’. I can’t quite make my mind up about his performance because he’s good when we think he’s a good guy but when there is the plot twist I find it difficult to believe. It’s a bit like Beryl Reid in ‘Earthshock’, it just seems like John-Nathan Turner hired him because he’s a big name.

The departure of Tegan isn’t handled particularly well because there is a scuffle with a Dalek and gets a slight mark on her head and spends the rest of the story in bed. So after spending a long time on her back she then decides to leave the Doctor. Having spent three years on the show it was clear that there was nothing more that Janet Fielding could do with the role and this was a classic example of how at times she was badly used. Mark Strickson does a good job in this story leading the fight to get the prison ship that Davros is on blown up. He doesn’t do much for the early part of the story and it’s only when he ends up on the prison ship that he gets into his stride. Peter Davison is on good form in this story. The best moment comes when the Doctor has the power to kill Davros, it’s quite a thing and it echoes the moment in ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ where the Doctor has the power to wipe out the Daleks but doesn’t go through with it.

There are issues with this story. The helmets that the Dalek troopers have to wear are very stupid. It was only noticed at a very late stage and too late to change. Well they could have taken them off and it would have improved things drastically. I also found some of the prison staff to be very annoying. I thought that Rula Lenska was miscast and deserved a more important role. Also Professor Laird was a character that was totally pointless. Well actually she wasn’t that pointless because it was another female character for Tegan to interact with. Her death was amusing purely because of the scream that Chloe Ashcroft gave.

Resurrection of the Daleks is a good story but there are some flaws to it. The Daleks are used more effectively than in previous stories and Davros is also better. Eric Saward (writer) wasn’t keen on this story but I think he’s doing himself an injustice because its well written and very dark and grim.

Children of Earth - Day 2 (2009)

Following on from the fantastic cliffhanger, the action starts immediately with Gwen and Ianto being hunted in the wreckage of the Hub which has just been blown up. This is where we start to get into unchartered territory because there has always been the comfort blanket of the Hub but now that has been blown up and the Torchwood crew being hunted down there an excitement when watching this episode. After being mentioned in the first episode, 456 starts to get more and more involved in the plot. We learnt that they are coming back which when I was watching it at the time thought it had something to do with children on the bus in 1965. It’s at this stage that we see the return of Tom Price as PC Andy. This is clearly an attempt by RTD to introduce some comedy to the story because up until now it’s been a bit intense and it was in danger of running out of tension too soon into the series. Another fun comedy moment is with Rhys and Gwen sneaking into a lorry that is filled with potatoes.

The 456 announce that they are coming tomorrow so there is already a build up of excitement for the next episode. Along with the construction of a device which will house the 456. The whole room (including the box that will hold the 456) is very atmospheric. It’s essentially a normal room but is made all the more important by the box. It’s where a large chunk of the action in the next few stories will occur.

One of the things I like about this story is the government conspiracy. It’s like the X-Files in the UK. The plan to wipe out Captain Jack and the rest of the Torchwood team is something that seems to have been in the works for sometime due to their popularity or lack of. The Prime Minister Brian Green (played by Nicholas Farrell). Farrell is utterly dislikeable from the moment he appears in episode one but he really steps up a gear in this episode. Another great character that really steps up a gear is Liz May Brice as Johnson who is a character (donned head to toe in black) is tasked with killing the Torchwood crew. This is nice little character that is well acted by Brice. The character of Habiba is fleshed out a bit more as she starts to betray her boss and starts to help Gwen. It’s the start of the fight back by Torchwood. In just two episodes my opinion has gone from not really having an opinion of an ok character to being really liking a strong character who is not portrayed as a mildly important character but is starting to be.

Episode two is quite violent and dark with Gwen shooting someone in the foot and a mutilated Jack merging himself back together. The start is quite creepy with the bag getting bigger and when the bag is opened, Jack is red raw with blood and other stuff on him. It’s quite difficult to watch even though the skeleton is only on screen for about a second. Jack goes through the ringer in this episode. He starts off being exploded by a bomb to being drowned in cement to being chucked off the edge of a cliff.

The regular characters are all very good but John Barrowman doesn’t feature in this one too much so it falls to Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd who carry the story and are involved in the action sequences. Peter Capaldi, Nicholas Farrell and Ian Gelder are the main stars from the supporting cast. In particular Gelder who plays Mr Dekker and is a very sinister figure who I really really like because he is just so good as a baddie and there is a sense that Dekker is enjoying everything that is going on but is clearly someone who cant be trusted.

The cliffhanger to episode one was fantastic and whilst the cliffhanger for this episode wasn’t as explosive it was just as entertaining. It’s the revelation of the box filled with poisonous gas and ends with Dekker walking towards the box and breathing. Very sinister. Episode Two is a great continuation of the story with some impressive characters and the story is moving along at a steady but frustrating pace. I say frustrating because I always want to know what is going on immediately. But RTD is not rushing the story and allowing things to move at the right pace.

By the way the Dead Jack count is now 3.

Children of Earth - Day 1 (2009)

The third series of Torchwood was the boldest one yet. Having started on BBC3 before moving to BBC2, the fact that the series had moved to a primetime slot on BBC1 was a ringing endorsement that Science Fiction was back in vogue. It could be seen odd that the series went from being thirteen episodes to five might be seen as a worrying sign but the series seemed to be part of a experiment as all five episodes were aired at 9pm on BBC1 over five consecutive nights.

Day One is the set up episode where the story has to introduce us to a whole group of new characters and make us interested in them and that is done quite well. We meet the government minister (John Frobisher) and his secretary (Bridget Spears) as well as the new temp Lois Habiba (Cush Jumbo). Then there is a nurse working in the A&E department Rupesh Patanjali (Rik Makarem) who witnesses something alien happening. Soon the main story starts with children acting weird. The image of children standing still with an alien voice coming out of them is something that is Russell T Davies is good at. Making the simplistic seem scary. Another character that is quite important is Clement McDonald who is the only adult to be uttering the “We Are Coming!” line. I quite like the mystery surrounding him and it well handled in this first episode.

At the start of the episode there is a scene with some kids on a bus in 1965, soon there is a flash of light with the kids walking towards it. Talk about starting off in style. However nothing more is mentioned in this episode. There is a lot of emotional stuff going on apart from the main alien threat, this is another RTD trick which he has mastered in Doctor Who since it returned. In this opening episode we are introduced to a mother and son with the son referring to Jack as ‘Uncle Jack’ we would find out that she is in fact her son and he is his grandson. We are also introduced to Ianto’s sister, boyfriend and kids who live on a council estate which isn’t where you would imagine his relative’s living. Also Gwen and Rhys are looking for a house and it’s also revealed that Gwen is pregnant. The way she finds out is possibly the strangest way for someone to find out.

The three main characters seemed to have grown even more since the end of series two and considering that they have lost Tosh and Owen the set up is stronger than ever. Jack and Ianto are a ‘couple’ though it’s never really beleiveable despite all the chemistry that there has been since Torchwood began. John Barrowman impresses me because when you see him on TV away from Torchwood he is an irritating person who you wouldn’t want to go anywhere near yet when he is playing Captain Jack in either Doctor Who or Torchwood he is impressive. Eve Myles continues to impress me as Gwen as she is the connection for the viewer and she has grown from that police officer in ‘Everything Changes’.

Despite being one long story, it is important to end each episode with a cliffhanger and the first one is a fantastic one. They plant a bomb inside Jack which explodes in the Torchwood Hub. It’s just as well that we only had to wait 24 hours for the next episode because it was the perfect way to end the first episode which did what it was suppose to do and that was to set the characters and the various plot strands up.

Smith and Jones (2007)

So the third series gets underway with the introduction of Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman). This was the second new companion since the show returned and a test again to see whether the show could ride the post-Billie Piper effect. The defining image is that of a hospital being taken from the earth to the moon with rhino looking aliens storming. The CGI effect from the hospital on the moon to the Judoon walking on the moon. The hospital is on the moon because the Juddon have no jurisdiction on earth but the Juddon are looking for Florence Finnegan who in an attempt to escape intends to fry the side of earth facing the moon.

I quite liked how Martha refused to call the Doctor by his name saying that he had to earn that title. A brilliant opposite to Rose who at that time was just two stories ago. However it’s not long before the Doctor and the companion are locking lips. I do find this tiresome as if the show is trying to make up for 26 years of sexual oppression. They may have got round it by some clever science idea of transferring alien DNA to a human but still. Freema Agyeman is a superb companion because she has the intelligence but also acts like a proper companion. Her time in the show might have been brief but it’s still a strong showing. In his second season as the Doctor, it feels like David Tennant has got a handle on his Doctor and it feels a more stable and stronger version of the character. Also on a fashion front, I do prefer the blue version of the Doctor’s suit to that chocolate brown one in season two. David and Freema set up an instantly good on screen relationship and it’s perhaps a more professional relationship than that of the Doctor and Rose.

I really liked Anne Reid as Florence Finnegan. She had previously appeared in the 1989 story ‘The Curse of Fenric’. As Florence she seems like a nice old lady but turns into a blood obsessed alien. She played it really well and was effective as a villain. The meer idea that a villain could create terror by sucking blood from someone through a straw is quite amusing and well handled by Reid. Roy Marsden (who would go on to appear in the Paul McGann adventure Human Resources) is good in his short appearance as Mr Stoker.

There is a moment which seems totally odd where the Doctor stops infront of Martha and takes off his tie. It’s only towards the end where this is revealed to be a ploy by the Doctor to prove he has a time machine. The moment where Martha walks into the TARDIS is quite similar to what Rose experienced back in series one and then we get the ‘It’s bigger on the inside’ line which is something else that harks back to the classic series.

As the alien of the week, the Judoon are an ok creation who whilst look very good don’t really have a lot more to offer. They do make appearances in the future but it’s unlikely that they would form the basis of a story again.

The series arc is started properly (after a mention in the runaway bride) and the Saxon arc is mentioned as briefly again before posters are plastered on the wall by the TARDIS. When I watched this with my friend we were watching every frame and listening to absolutely everything for Saxon references.

Like the previous two series, we are introduced to a companion’s family. The Jones are a family at loggerheads due to mum (Adjoa Andoh) and dad (Trevor Laird) splitting up. Thankfully this is kept to a minimum throughout the series but as a family they are all very interesting and put in good performances. Thankfully we never get to see Annalise (Kimmi Richards) again after this episode. It’s the best opening story of a series so far (though that’s not tough to do). The introduction of Martha Jones was well handled and the series gets off to a strong start.

The Runaway Bride (2006)

The Runaway Bride was the second Christmas Special since the show returned the previous year. Whereas the previous story was a post-regeneration story, this could actually be a proper adventure. At the end of the previous story, Catherine Tate shocked everyone by just appearing in the TARDIS in a wedding dress. I remember all those years ago waiting for this because a Christmas special was just that…special. There is still a lot of emotional linkage to Rose with the Doctor not having enough time to get over that loss before Donna appears.

The main monster in this are the Racnoss a giant spider (sound familiar?) as played by Sarah Parish. Parish does a good job and the make-up does a fantastic job to create the effect. As the Empress, Parish is almost unrecognisable from what we have seen her in the past (most recently the ITV drama Monroe). Lance is also another good character. Credit to Don Gillat because he does a good job of making us believe that he was a good guy but really he was a baddie. He would go on to be serial killer Lucas Johnson in Eastenders but in this he is another character that is cruel. He is the human minion to the Racnoss, promised the chance to see the stars but in reality we all know the truth. Watching this in 2011, there is a hint of sadness watching Geoff Noble as played by the wonderful Howard Attfield. He was due to appear in the 2008 series but was too ill and his part was re-written for Bernard Cribbins. This remains his only contribution to the series. In this his role is brief and hidden behind Jacqueline King’s performance as Sylvia Noble.

The plan of the Racnoss is to bring them back after they formed the creation of the earth millions of years ago. I quite like the idea that at the centre of the earth is the Racnoss spaceship. The idea that in Inferno they could have unleashed the Racnoss 36 years early. There is a little part of me that actually feels sorry for them but when the Empress refuses the Doctor’s offer then you sort of lose sympathy for her.

The Donna Noble we get in this story is not the same that would return for the 2008 series. In this she was loud and brash and not what a companion should be. Catherine Tate is a very good actress and when she has her 2008 run then you see why she is so good but in this she is slightly too close to irritating but in a post reflective five years down the line look I think that her performance is actually quite good. David Tennant is allowed to be more comedic in this story than he normally is and he seems to enjoy it. I think that there are moments where he is on fine form and his chemistry with Catherine Tate is one of the highlights.

There is a nice link to Torchwood which at this point if memory serves me correctly had just begun on BBC3. This is that H C Clements which Donna works for is owned by Torchwood. There are a couple of things borrowed from ‘The Christmas Invasion’ such as the robot Santa’s as well as the idea that Christmas trees kill. There is also the first link to the story arc for the 2007 series where we hear “Order from Mr Saxon”. I think at this point we already knew (or I did at least) that Mr Saxon was the Master.

The Runaway Bride is a fun adventure that is better than the previous years adventure. I wont say that it’s the best ever because there were some crackers but it’s a story that has a nice mixture of comedy and drama. A lot of people weren’t a fan of Donna because of this story but thankfully when the character returned in 2008, she had been modified. The only thing about these Christmas Specials is to get past the festive part as it’s not terribly effective when your watching them in early April.