Dead Tree Alert II: Get Fired Up for Torchwood: Children of Earth
BBC America
If you've been hearing about next week's BBC America miniseries, Torchwood: Children of Earth, which I briefly review in TIME this week, you may have thought it's not for you. You may think you need to be a fan and follower of the Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood, or Doctor Who itself, to appreciate it. I can tell you that's not true, because... I have never been a fan of Doctor Who.
[Ducks]
OK, if the Doctor Who fans have stopped throwing things—ow! that almost hit my eye!—let me tell you a little about this excellent and chilling TV event.
First, because someone will ask, I don't really know why I've never gotten into Doctor Who. I've given it several chances, over several series. Maybe I still associate it with the campy iterations I first saw as a kid in the '70s and '80s. Maybe it appeals more to Anglophiles, or harder-core sci-fi fans. (I'm a fan of a lot of sci-fi shows—Lost, BSG, The X-Files—but I don't seek out sci-fi as a genre; I get drawn in more by character stuff than story or science, and for whatever reason Doctor Who's characters never connected with me.)
The point being, I also gave a chance to Torchwood—the Doctor Who spinoff about alien investigators—and dropped it. So I went into Children of Earth with very little background—and I loved it.
What you need to know is provided in the series. One day, every child on Earth begins speaking a message: "We are coming." As more messages come, the world is thrown into a panic, while certain members of the government, knowing more about the message than they let on, begin stealthily making preparations. This draws the attention of the Torchwood Institute (in the series, a group of investigators, led by the immortal Who associate Jack Harkness, who deal with extraterrestrial phenomena; but again, you don't need to know much about that here). As the identity and intent of the message-sender becomes clearer, the entire planet is thrown into chaos, and world leaders are forced to make wrenching moral choices.
There's plenty of action, suspense and sci-fi stuff in Torchwood: COE, but what makes it an unmissable event is how well it sets up its dilemma—a classic conflict over whether the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few—and how maturely it deals with both the morality and the politics of the premise. It's a story about terrible things, but also about how decent people can be driven to do them.
I almost want to suggest that you DVR it (it's five episodes, nightly from Monday through Friday), so that you can watch it straight through the way I did. Because trust me, once the end of episode 3 kicks in, you are going to want to watch another and another immediately.
It almost makes me want to go back and watch more Torchwood or Doctor Who. I probably won't, but I'm guessing the longtime fans will love this miniseries as much or even more. And as for everyone else: trust me, it's safe to come in. Join us... it's bliss...
-
1
I'll be there, with bells on.
-
2
Looking forward to it!!!
-
3
I've seen the first 3 episodes, too, with the same skepticism because I also don't care for Dr. Who or Torchwood. And Children of Earth is really great. I don't know if people who like the other two shows will go for it. Maybe it won't be goofy/campy/shoddy enough for their tastes, if that's what they like about those shows. Children of Earth is more serious and ominous and less funny, though it does have some humor. It seems more grown-up to me.
-
4
James: whether you like Doctor Who or not you should absolutely watch the tenth episode of season three entitled, "Blink". You should watch it late at night too. Trust me.
-
5
I agree with tyrantking, "Blink" is probably one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes, even though it only briefly features the Doctor. It's one of the reasons why I'm excited about Steven Moffat taking over running the show; he wrote the episode. I like the first 4 seasons, but the episodes that stand out for me have been the ones written by Moffatt, although they all have a horror element to them. Russell T Davies, who reimagined the show brillantly, occasionally gets stuck on auto-repeat. And I'm not that big into the sci fi genre; I like Lost, but I just never got into BSG. I watched most of the first season of Torchwood, but it just didn't interest me and frankly it's tone was radically uneven. I've been reading the Guardian's blog reviews of Children of Earth and while they do spoil the episodes (so don't read if you want no surprises) it sounds like Children of Earth was really better than the first 2 seasons of Torchwood. I'm also all kinds of excited about Being Human, which starts on BBC America soon.
-
6
Interestingly, I am not a big Doctor Who fan (I was in the 80s, but not so much now) but I absolutely love Torchwood. I am so looking forward to this mini-series. My best friend lives in the UK and has already seen it. He is being very good and has not given me any spoilers, but he cannot wait for me to check it out! I have heard that it is amazing!
-
7
They've been playing previews for it on Hulu, and it looked interesting, but I might watch it now, if they put it on Hulu.
This is standalone, right? I don't have to watch the past Torchwoods to see this? -
8
[...] the meantime, you can check out reviews from fellow relative Torchwood neophytes Dan Fienberg and James Poniewozik, as well as some more a more seasoned perspective from Maureen [...]
-
9
[...] Mondays @ 9pm, on BBC America. Truth is I have no idea what this show is about, but maybe people I who’s opinion I respect are loving this show. mylistofcoolness @ 11:49 am [filed under TV [...]
-
10
I'm so glad I read this review last week. I've been watching the show this week and loving it.
-
11
COE was such a vast improvement over the previous two series of Torchwood that It might as well be different show entirely. Here in the UK, this was the first outing for the show on BBC1 (the more mainstream of the BBCs channels, and most watched), and it seemed to be pretty successful. Fingers crossed that they bring it back...if they can maintain the quality.
- poniewozik NPR doing segment "How to Talk to Your Kids About Gossip Girl." Sometimes when three people love each other very much... - 14 hours ago
- poniewozik Seconded. RT @televisionary Spoil-Sport: Why Talking About an Episode That's Already Aired Isn't a "Spoiler" http://bit.ly/44I6DN - 17 hours ago
- poniewozik Among the weird things abt old Hanna-Barbera cartoons: the laugh track. Imagining a tiny cartoon studio audience. - 19 hours ago
Most Popular »
- Motorola DROID review (Verizon Wireless)
- BREAKING NEWS: Bill Clinton Ringtone Mystery Solved
- Breaking: Non-White Males Allowed in Late Night
- The Military Death Penalty: The President Must Approve
- Not Exactly a Profile in Courage
- Bill Clinton Talks Health Care Lessons with Senate Dems
- When A Haircut Is More Than A Haircut
- Why Wasn't Hasan Discharged?
- Mad Men Watch: Buying the Farm
- Bill Clinton Lobbies the Senate for Health Reform
- Former Nazi Hitman Boere, 88, Finally Stands Trial
- Obama's Fort Hood Speech and Television Culture
- Joe Cada, Poker World Series Winner, Is Youngest Champ
- IEA Report: Recession Recovery Could Spark Energy Crisis
- Stroller Recall: Maclaren Burns Fingers on Response
- That Viral Thing: I Love Local Commercials
- Large Hadron Collider: Damaged by a Time-Traveling Bird?
- FBI Fights Claims It Dropped the Ball on Hasan
- Have Obama's Demands Stalled Israeli-Palestinian Talks?
- The Meaning of Manny Pacquiao
Quotes of the Day »
RSS