Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Torchwood season one was a success in terms of ratings pulling big early numbers and was judged to have preformed well enough to earn a regular slot on BBC Two and a second seasons. However the first season was incredibly hit and miss, with more misses if ones honest. It was certainly entertaining fast paced and smutty. Jack Harkness was a brilliant character, excellently portrayed by John Barrowmen in suprisingly serious fashion at times, and Gwen Cooper was also a well rounded and portray by the lovely Eve Myles, however the rest of the cast characters we're mearily two dimensional and oft annoying. The episodes while always fast paced and watchable, were often sub buffy, and very silly even by Sci Fi Standards. So Season Two not only had to maintain the moment of the first season as the all action adult spin off of Doctor Who, one feels it also had to establish itself as a quality programme in its own right.

Episode One - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Plot Summary: Torchwood is back and so is Jack, however he's not alone, fellow time agent and former friend/lover Capt. John Hart (James Marsters) is with him, to wreak havoc and turn Jack's life upside down.
Review: This is the best openning Torchwood could have hoped for, all action relentlessy paced. The openning sequence is silly and overblown but that's why we love Torchwood. This episode serves to encapsulate what was to come for Torchwood setting a fast pace, while finally devoting time to the characters backstories, this episode begins to add intrigue to Jack's backstory and begins to reveal his dark past. The episode does meander after the half way mark but finishes strongly. This episode really is Torchwood at its ludicrious best, a blowfish driving a car, gay kisses all over the pace and plenty of violence, without out the overbearing moral lessons of Doctor Who. And what's more Ianto gets his first character development. (****)

Episode Two - Sleeper

Plot Summary: A murder mystery abounds as two robbers a killed brutally while robbing a house. Torchwood soon discover an alien sleeper cell are scouting the human race ready for invasion. Of course its up to Capt. Jack and co to stop them.
Review: A decent follow up to the standard set by Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the story was compelling and the moral emotional story of a human being being nothing but a shell to be thrown away was well convayed if a little overacted at times. The conclusion to the story was wrapped up quicker than was probably nessecary but good drama was created none the less. (**3/4)

Episode Three - To The Last Man

Plot Summary: A second world war shell shock patient stored in Torchwood's vault gets his once yearly outing, leading to a romance with Tosh, however the Torchwood team soon discovers rift activity in the hospital were he was treated in 1918 with reports of ghost sitings.
Review: A well acted and well told story, if a little convuluted at times. This was the beginning of a terrible trend as every character either falls in love with or suggests that Toshiko is the most beautifull woman in the world. It gets very old very quick. The story here is nice, short and emotive but nothing special. (**1/2)

Episode Four - Meat

Plot Summary: Rhys' friend dies delivering suspicious meat, Torchwood are called in to investigate, however Rhys catches Gwen in the act, and becomes involved in Torchwoods investigation of the alien meat. Putting a strain on there relationship and leading to a key decision regarding Rhys' knowledge and involvement in Gwen's proffesional life.
Review: Important character development for Gwen and Rhys, and normally I'm in favour of Eve Myles being on my TV screen for the best part of the hour. However while the emotional plot is strong the main storyline is skippable and predictable. (**)

Episode Five - Adam

Plot Summary: Gwen arrives late to work to find new team member Adam, except he isn't knew, the team believe he's been there for five years. Adam is an alien who can implant memories into the minds of people. Can Jack and co uncover him.
Review: Strong episode, this episode continues the strong character development that was totally absent from the first series. Jack deals with his mysterious past, while Tosh and Owen relationship or lack really begins to develop. This is a great episode of discovery, growth as well as establish Jack as ruthless. (***1/4)

Episode Six - Reset

Plot Summary: Martha Jones becomes the latest member of the Torchwood as Unit sends her in to investigate a string of unsolved deaths. Torchwood soon find themselves investigating a new medical centre above the government and Martha must go under cover.
Review: Another interesting episode, Martha Jones was a smart adition and her interplay with Owen, while cliche at times, is very enjoyable. This is more of a classic Sci Fi episode with the theme of pushing the boundaries of morality in the name science. Should lives be lost in the persuit of a miracle cure? It's all ground that's been thoroughly tred throughout Sci Fi history but its nevertheless compelling. The big finish more than makes up for an over familar story. (***1/4)

Episode Seven - Dead Man Walking

Plot Summary: Capt. Jack decides he has to bring Owen back from the dead. However he unleashes more than he bargained for.
Review: This is the first genuinely silly Torchwood episode, the theme of reserection is an intriguing one but the key issues and character development is lost in a ridiculous plot about the Grim Reaper, with an over the top cheese laden finale. (*1/2)

Episode Eight - A Day In The Death

Plot Summary: Owen still alive, is coming to terms with being dead and narrates the story of his return to life and subsequent life to a woman ready to commit suicide.
Review: A Return to form this is the episode that the last should have been, Owen character really becomes interesting for the first time here, as he struggles is the bizzare life he now leads, and comes to terms with his death and how his relationships have changed.(***)

Episode Nine - Something Borrowed

Plot Summary: Its time for Gwen to marry Rhys, but at her Bacherlarette party will fighting of an alien attack she is impregnanted, regardless the wedding must go on, however the mother plans to crash the wedding and rip her baby from Gwen's stomach.
Review: Completely ridiculous in almost everyway, but never the less brilliant, this is the silly tongue in cheek over the top Welsh action of Torchwood season one. This isn't a regression however, just a fun send off to a long running story line. It's simply campy brilliance. (***1/2)

Episode Ten - From Out Of The Rain

Plot Summary: An evil nineteenth century circus who only appear at night, escape from the film reels to bring a string of murders to Cardiff.
Review: Its the once a season horror episode, its all very by the numbers and very skippable, it serves its purpose as the filler episode after a big emotional build up coming from the previous episodes. Not particularly scary, not particularly fun, not particularly good. (*1/2)

Episode Eleven - Adrift

Plot Summary: Gwen is helping out the police investigating some unsolvable disappearances. Having met the families torn apart by the vanishings Gwen decides to put her heart and soul into the investigation. Gwen is warned to stay away by Jack but she continues regardless leading her to a suspicious island.
Review: Absolutely brilliant episode, a classic slice of Sci Fi, could easily have been an episode of the outer limmits. The emotional pull of the episode is immense, and the conclusion is brilliantly written as Gwen comes to realises just what being a member of Torchwood means. (*****)

Episode Twelve - Fragments

Plot Summary: The team all nearly die as they are lead into a trap. As Gwen and Rhys struggle to rescue the team, we are shown how all the team members came to join Torchwood.
Review: This is an episode that probably should have happened along time ago, finally rounding out Tosh, Owen and Iantos characters. The episode is strong Jack's back story is an amusing interlude, Tosh's is rather silly but serves to show how she has developed, Iantos is fun but its Owen who benefits the most from this episode. Owen becomes a fully three dimensional character, and is now along side Gwen and Jack as genuinely captivating Character, shame its too late in the day. (***)

Episode Thirteen - Exit Wounds

Plot Summary: Following last weeks cliff hanger Capt. John is back with Jack's long lost brother in toe, and he bring destruction with him as the Torchwood team and Cardiff face total destruction.
Review: A very strong conclusion to a very strong serious of Torchwood. The characters reach some brilliant conclusions, and it really becomes apparent how far Owen and Tosh have come from there paper thin shells at the beginning of this season. The action is great and dramatic but is majorily let down by being crammed into one episode, the resolutions is sandwiched in to the final fifteen minutes when it really deserved to be spread accross two episode or at least be a feature lenght 90 minutes. Thus your left a little dissapointed, you've had a damn good ride but you can't help but think it was over to soon. That said as a stand alone episode its hard to criticize it was compact non stop and well acted. (****)

Final Thoughts: Torchwood certainly managed to establish itself as a serious Sci Fi show. No longer a scattergun of sex and silliness. It now proved capable of developing strong and compelling characters and at times delivering brilliant writing and top quality Science Fiction. Always exciting, often excellent, occasionally stupid, highly reccommended.