Torchwood: The
Complete Original UK Series (2006 – 2011/BBC Blu-Ray Set)
Picture: B
Sound: B Extras: A+ Episodes: A
From the very first episode of the first season of Torchwood
viewers get the sense that just about anything can happen, and character
(save perhaps one) could perish. Born
from its sister show Doctor Who, Torchwood tells the
tales of a super-secret government agency of the same name. They exist above and beyond any other agency
in the British government, tasked with cataloging, storing, and sometimes using
alien technology to further UK and world security. Led by Captain Jack Harkness (John
Barrowman), an immortal, bisexual chronal vagabond who once traveled with David
Tennant’s Doctor, the team also consists of Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), Owen
Harper (Burn Gorman), Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori), and Ianto Jones (Gareth
David-Lloyd).
This twelve disc set contains thirty-one episodes spread
across three seasons. The third season
entitled “Children of Earth” totals out at only five episodes. Extras include interviews with cast and
creators, commentaries, featurettes, and more.
Agent Suzie Costello (Indira Varma) features in episode
one of the first season, but makes a surprising departure by show’s end,
setting the stage for many gut-wrenching twists and turns throughout the rest
of the show. This surprise sets the tone
for a show that grows progressively darker as the episodes rumble along at a
frenetic pace. “Countrycide,” episode six from Season
One, explores very dark territory when the team investigates disappearances
around a rural English town and comes face to face with a group of vicious
cannibals. In the aftermath of these
shocking events, new team member Gwen commits a transgression that threatens to
unravel her personal life.
Amidst its sci-fi trappings, Torchwood is a show
that delights in crossing boundaries.
Its “leading man” (Captain Jack Harkness) is happily bisexual, and he
manages to snog more than his share of men and women as the show goes along. The show delves heavily into the twin themes
of sex and death, and creator Russell T. Davies fearlessly tortures his
characters, breaking their hearts and their bodies with trials and tragedies
both mundane and macabre. Series Two sees the team begin to
unravel, and ends with powerful sacrifices from several members. In the mini-series Children of Earth, a now reduced team must face
terrible choices when confronting an alien threat, and learns some troubling
truths about Captain Jack.
While Doctor Who remains a family show
with some adult themes, Torchwood is very much a
show for grown-ups. The action and
themes featured in the episodes in this set stand on the ragged edge of TV
science fiction. Fans of Doctor
Who will most likely enjoy Torchwood as it is well
made and brilliantly acted, but its grimmer aspects may give some pause. Folks not interested in the inherent zaniness
of Doctor Who might find Torchwood
a better entry point into the whole “Who-verse,” but the show will stand
strongly on its own. Whether a big fans
of Doctor Who or not, this set will become a must-have for most
sci-fi fans.
- Scott Pyle
