2011 may be remembered as a banner year for genre material: halfway in we’ve had the good (Source Code), the bad (“The Green Hornet”), the middling (Green Lantern) and the yet-to-be-determined (X-Men: First Class, Thor). And we’ve still got Cowboys and Aliens, Captain America and the final installment of the Harry Potter series. But one of the most promising genre features may be on the small(er) screen.
Torchwood was conceived as “a science-fiction/crime drama in the style Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel… sinister and psychological...As well as being very British and modern and real." Spun-off from the 2005 revival of Doctor Who (“Torchwood” is an anagram of “Doctor Who”) it followed the exploits of the Welsh branch of the Torchwood Institute, an organization set up by Queen Victoria to defend the British Empire against “extraordinary threats” (supernatural beings, aliens, the usual). Slated to air after what we Yanks call the “family hour” (8-9 pm), the show would deal with more mature themes and content (violence, language, sex) and would not have the intentional camp cheesiness of the good Doctor.
The current series, Torchwood: Miracle Day, a joint production of the BBC and Starz, begins with a CIA monitoring operation reporting a sharp spike in Internet searches for the term “Torchwood” when suddenly their computers crash. When they reboot it seems that all references to the term have disappeared. At the same time hospitals around the world notice that no one is dying anymore. The latter is not as peachy as it sounds: just because terminal cancer is not killing you doesn’t mean it’s not getting worse or that the pain is lessening. And if you jump from a 22nd story window, you may still be alive after landing but you’re still seriously FUBAR too. The CIA quickly ascertains this experience is something right up the Torchwood Institute’s alley—and the simultaneous occurrence of both events can’t be coincidental. Ultimately they requisition the only surviving members of Torchwood—Gwen Cooper and Capt. Jack Harkness, a reformed con artist from the 51st century—and bring them to the U.S.
It should be noted that the CIA contingent of the new Torchwood is run by Rex Matheson, whose best description is “sort of a black Jack Bauer.” (Just call him “Jack Black” or “Blackjack” or make up your own pun.) His relationship with CIA analyst Esther Drummond is very reminiscent of the one between Jack and Chloe and you wonder if this is homage. You might also wonder if it’s a case of “color blind casting” (they just picked a black actor and didn’t change the name—I’ve never met or even heard of a black person being named “Rex,” but if Morgan Freeman could be “Red” in The Shawshank Redemption...) or deliberate, in which case it takes a British writer to create a black American male character that forceful.
But let’s not dwell on such things. Just set your DVR to catch one of the airings (new episodes 10 pm EST, Fridays, several repeats during the week) or be extra nice to your friends with expanded cable/dish packages. But don’t wait for the DVD release. Torchwood: Miracle Day is worth the effort.
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