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| Torchwood Foundations |
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mr_nos
Registered: 12/01/06
Posts: 6
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 Friday, December 08 2006 @ 06:13 AM EST |
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As Torchwood is now well over half-way through its run, isn't it about time they started concentrating on the main foundations of the series.
For example:
1. We've been told that this 'hub' was set up in Cardiff due to the location of the rift - so why have none of the plotlines had anything but passing comments on it? We've had references to technology that came through the rift, but the fairies, canibals, meteor/sex beast, etc. have had no link to it at all.
2. "The 21st century is when it all begins..." is the main quote at the beginning of each episode - is this also going to be left til the end of the series? Seems a bit odd to have it mentioned in the credits of every episode and not build up the tension week-on-week.
3. The Weavils... The resident alien, which has made all of two flighting appearances but had nothing to do with any episode plot.
It seems a bit obvious that they're going to put these three eliments together for the series finale, but if that is the case, why haven't they been included/built upon, throughout the series run?
In my opinion successful series have all have a running plot, from Buffy to Babylon 5, having that teaser of something big and nasty waiting in the wings keeps you watching to see what will happen in the end.
Season one of Buffy had a very similar layout to Torchwood in that each episode built on the character of one of the main cast, however there was always something hinted at manipulating the events of that story.
It's that link that makes the series work, it creates a universe of its own and gives reason to why things happend every week.
Before this becomes a full-blown essay, I'll conclude that (again) in my opinion, the writers of this series should have sat down and discussed what the Torchwood organisation is (i.e. it's 'Top Secret' however, everyone in Cardiff seems to have heard of them, plus, covert operatives probably don't drive around in a pimped SUV with their insignia etched on the side) and most importantly how they could have developed some form of running plotline in keeping with the three points raised above.
So (if you've managed to read this far), do you agree/disagree with this?  |
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seanhuxter
Registered: 08/27/05
Posts: 825
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| Friday, December 08 2006 @ 07:52 AM EST |
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Why limit yourself?
You set up a premise for a show, that doesn't mean the show must be limited to expounding on the premise.
We have a rift. It's been mentioned. It explains why so many weird things are falling through and ending up in Torchwood hands. That doesn't mean every episode has to focus on it.
Same with the Weevils. They exist. They have one as a prisoner. That's how where we came in. That doesn't mean every episode has to be about the Weevil. Nor for that matter does ANY episode have to be about the Weevil. It already featured in the first show, it introduced Gwen to the alienness that she's unaware is going on around her.
You establish an environment in which to tell your stories, you don't have to restrict yourself to that environment, and you don't have to focus too heavily on that environment.
X-Files wasn't always about Mulder's sister's abduction. Doctor Who isn't always about Gallifrey or the Daleks.
With that said, I'd be very surprised if we didn't start getting some back-story soon, if the show continues. We'll probably see a flash-back episode to the Weevils, and something will happen to the Rift, forcing them to focus on it.
Torchwood's mission, as set out by Queen Victoria, is to investigate the unnatural, it wasn't set up to police the rift. Investigating fairies and cannibals would definitely fit on their tour of duty.
As for "The 21st Century is where it all begins." I don't get your complaint. It's all around, it's not left to the end of the series. It really all began when the Sycorax detected the Doctor's energy and proved for the first time to all mankind that they were not alone. And with the rift, and all of the alien encroachment, the 21st century (a long time by the way) IS where it began. What more are you waiting for?
I will agree with you that the name and reputation of Torchwood is being bandied about way too freely as it is supposed to be a top-secret organization. The police should know one thing about them: If Torchwood is involved, fall back and let them do their jobs.
Ridiculing them over the phone? Sure wouldn't happen in any episode I wrote... (not that anyone's asked me to write one... yet.)
Hmmmm... I wonder if any of my GI Joes look like Gwen, Ianto, Jack and Tosh...
Sean.
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One solid hope is worth a cartload of uncertainties.
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mr_nos
Registered: 12/01/06
Posts: 6
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| Friday, December 08 2006 @ 11:14 AM EST |
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See, I agree that you shouldn't limit yourself to one aspect, e.g. the rift - if nothing else doing that would become tedious and make you wonder why no-one else in Cardiff has noticed the strange things going on there. However, delving into it now and again to deepen the mystery surrounding it wouldn't be a bad thing.
A lot of successful serials used this to create more three dimensional characters and stories, the X Files and Mulders sister, Babylon 5 and the Shadows, Buffy and the Hell Mouth brigade, etc. Even 'Life on Mars' had recurring images which deepened each story, creating something more than just a stand-alone story.
I think if, as has been mentioned on other posts, Torchwood had been created with a teenage audience in mind rather than an 'adult' one it would be more successful (for me).
I could then dismiss all my complaints as just fluff. However, my expectation were that an 'adult' serial would be dark, disturbing and thought provoking and not just Doctor Who scripts and production with an extra helping of sex and violence...
Still, I did enjoy the last episode so things are looking up, plus if you look back at the first few episodes of any new series (bar Life on Mars/Twin Peaks) they all take time to find there feet.
With all that said, maybe what is needed is a little more patience - then the series can be judged as a whole, not as a sum of its parts... |
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merlin_mccarley
Registered: 07/30/06
Posts: 733
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| Friday, December 08 2006 @ 12:17 PM EST |
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It may be just me, but I feel it is time to visit the only other operational (known) base of Torchwood.
Somehow I don't think the hormones are in quite the smae state in the Scotish branch. This is from
a post I put on the Doctor Who Online Forums, Seems to fit here.
TW1-Britan (Being reconstructed?)
TW2-Scottland ("Very Strange Man")
TW3-Wales (Hormonal 30 somethings)
TW4-Northern Ireland? (Missing- Presumed Prodestant) |
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I'm a Time Traveler, I point and laugh at archaeologist.
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