As some of you may know, I have a little bit of a history with Torchwood… suffice it to say, I thought the last series was a bit rubbish. If I was grading it as a school piece, I would probably put: “Could try harder” (Of course, that’s not really a grade, but still…) — it showed promise, but never realised its potential.
Yesterday’s episode, I think, showed a little more of that potential. The main thing that I had a problem with last year was the series took itself way too seriously. I can forgive a lot of things if it’s done slightly tongue-in-cheek, i.e. “we know there are plotholes and inconsistencies – but it’s just a bit of a laugh, isn’t it?” Torchwood last year was just depressing. Yesterday’s episode showed a good deal more of a sense of humour, and I actually felt like I cared about the characters (but just a bit).
OK, there were a few plotholes, and not everything made sense (it was a Chris Chibnall episode, after all). And yes, some of the dialogue was a little wooden and contrived (it was a Chris Chibnall episode, after all). And the whole gay theme just seems to me like they’re actually trying to be an ‘adult’ show by shoe-horning in a few ‘adult’ themes rather than because there’s a particular point to make there, or what have you (it was a Chris Chibn… actually, to be honest I can’t really blame that one on him).
But I could forgive all that because, for those 50 minutes, I did actually quite enjoy it. But ssssh — don’t tell anybody!
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