Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Science Fiction > Thriller > British TV > Torchwood – The Complete Second Season (BBC DVD)

Torchwood – The Complete Second Season (BBC DVD)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: B+     Episodes: A+

 

 

The popular BBC spinoff of Doctor Who returns in this complete second season boxed set.  Folks new to Torchwood should check out our review of the Complete First Season in both formats as follows:

 

DVD-Video

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6699/Torchwood+–+The+Complete+First+Season+(2007/BBC

 

Blu-ray

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7632/Torchwood+–+The+Complete+First+Season+(2006/BBC

 

 

With all of the emotional and plot groundwork laid in the previous season, this second installment possesses a smoothness and flow that gives each episode added impact.  When Season Two opens, Torchwood leader Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) returns from his adventures with Doctor Who (occurring at the end of Who Season Three) to find Gwen (Eve Myles) running the operation.  The team is slow to welcome Jack back, but once they do, the season kicks into high gear with some amazing and gut-wrenching tales.  The show is famous for its sexual tension among its cast members, and this season is no different, seeing sparks fly between Gwen and Jack, while tragic circumstances surround the fitful relationship of Owen and Toshiko.

 

This set provides plentiful extras.  The Life and Deaths of Captain Jack Harkness clocks in at twenty-two minutes and examines the immortal nature of Torchwood's libidinous leader.  Torchwood Declassified provides extra details on every episode, giving fans a glimpse of the behind the scenes production of the show.  A number of deleted scenes and outtakes round out the package.  Both picture and sound on this set are solid, and in keeping with the high quality of the previous newer BBC releases.

 

Challenging any thought of the status quo for these characters, the talented creative team puts them through incredible hardship.  It must have been tempting for the writers and producers to "stay safe", not upsetting the balance the show had achieved.  However, they instead chose the high road and profited immensely from that choice with rich stories that stick with the viewer long after watching.  The Torchwood team faces a host of villains, from an avatar of death itself, to one of the creepiest characters ever conceived for BBC, the enigmatic Ghostmaker.  The team ends the season forever changed, but most important, they leave the viewer wanting more.  With news of an abbreviated, 5-part third season in 2009, fans of the show will get just that.

 

 

-   Scott R. Pyle


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com