Torchwood: Children Of Earth

It is far from uncommon for a popular television series to be used as the basis of a spin off. Typically the writers simply take a breakout character or two or perhaps the defining situation of the original show and slightly alter it to produce another series. I hesitate to use the term ‘new series’ since in the majority of cases there is little new about the result. The one notable exception here in the United States was the ‘Lou Grant Show’ which was completely different from its parent ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’. In England one example of a spin off with a dedication to taking a different direction is ‘Torchwood’. It started as a loose spin off of the longest lasting science Fiction series in existence, ‘Doctor Who’. While ‘Doctor Who’ was more in the vein of light hearted adventure well known for somewhat cheesy special effects and quirky, off beat characters, ‘Torchwood’ from the start was geared towards a more adult demographic. The stories delve deeper into the dark side of human psychology while the characters are much more sexually motivated; in fact many are sexually ambiguous in orientation. Even though the series shares the same universe as its progenitor there is a more involved concern for a gritty realism here than with the perpetually good doctor. I had been made aware of the series through one of my best friends who is a hard core fan of British Sci-Fi since my cable company didn’t offer BBC America so when I had an opportunity to review the first season (or series as they call it over there) I jumped at it. By the time season two started I was hooked as a fan. The second season cut back a bit on the sexual antics on to a greater concentration on more involved story lines. It was with great anticipation that fans awaited series three. Because of circumstances over at the BBC the 13 episodes where cut back to a five hour mini season. Apparently one of the reasons was their migration to high definition. This resulted in a need to upgrade their equipment and retool their special effects. In the bottom line ‘Torchwood: Children of Earth’ is a tautly executed return to good old fashion science fiction.

The creator of ‘Torchwood’, Russell T. Davies, has been involved in ‘Doctor Who’ for many years as well as creating another of its spin-offs; the teen oriented ‘Sarah Jane Adventures’. Perhaps some of the sexually orientation themes in the series were assisted by Davies’ association with the late night cable series ‘Queer as Folk’. The title refers to the ‘Torchwood Institute’ chartered by Queen Victoria to investigate unnatural events and defend against extraterrestrial menaces. The main section of ‘Torchwood is located in the Welsh city of Cardiff. The leader of the group is captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman). Due to a very strange set of circumstances Captain Jack is immortal. Not only will he live forever he can regenerate from any degree of bodily harm which becomes central to the story here. Jack is what you would have to call poly sexual. Not only he is open to either gender but being non- humanoid appears to be no hindrance at all to the lusty eye of Jack. After recent events depicted in series two most of the team has been killed leaving only the former police woman Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and their administrator extraordinaire Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). The miniseries opens with a normal school day that is until 8:45 a.m. local time when every child freezes for a few minutes. It turns out that it affected every child in the world at the same instant. Everyone including the government is greatly alarmed and when it happens again, this time with all the children chanting in English ‘We Are Coming’. It turns out that in the mid sixties a species only referred to by a frequency used to contact humanity ‘4-5-6’ had extorted the British government to hand over a dozen children to the aliens for some unknown purpose. Jack had been part of this dark chapter in unrecorded history so now the government wants him and all of Torchwood eliminated permanently. This plot device alters the dynamic of the narrative making the few remaining members of Torchwood outlaws on the run without access to their normal vast store of superior alien technology. This resulted in a much more character driven story with the focus on the private lives of the regulars, Jack has a daughter who looks older than him and a young Grandson. Ianto has to come out as bi-sexual to his sister and her husband while Gwen and her husband Rhys (Kai Owen) discover that she is pregnant. There is also a Sci-Fi staple, government conspiracy to hold the episodes together. Secretly the government open negotiations and are willing to go ahead with their demand to turn over one tenth of all the children in the world. The British government comes up with the heinous idea to hand over kids in orphanages, homes for the delinquent and those deemed unlikely to contribute to society. The concept that such criteria would be decided in some clandestine back room is a very dark and foreboding horror. This five part series is gripping, well crafted and the perfect length to tell this particular part of the saga. I can’t wait for the next season in high def.

Posted 12/11/09