It
was last year, of which I found Torchwood, and it found me and took me into its
universe of fandom. Glancing at the lifeless shows of normal telly, I was
bored. Being with Virgin Media, and their subscription, I found On Demand and
many Doctor Who episodes! However, to get there, I had to go through options of
what category it was. Scrolling down the categories, I would select Sci-Fi, and
at the top of the list, there it was; a universe of episodes of Doctor Who. I
looked down the list as it spoke of Red Dwarf, Doctor Who and then Torchwood. I
was intrigued by this, and after wearing out Series three of Doctor Who, I
decided it was time to move on. I checked most days to see if Series Four had
made it to the list, but instead Torchwood Series Two was sat, jumping out at
me. A few days later, I forced myself into the temptation, and played the first
episode of Series Two, because Series One had not made it there yet. I watched
the title sequence, which was very modern and jumpy, and then a blowfish in a
sports car going along to traffic lights. I was very sceptical, and once the
team rode up in a big black car (The SUV) and the woman with the black hair
(Gwen Cooper) asked the old lady at the traffic lights the common quote: “Have
you seen a blowfish in a sports car?”, I dismissed the whole fact of Torchwood,
and tossed it out of mind, as I felt it was just trying to be an adventure
Doctor Who, which had a very childish factor (The Blowfish), even though it is
cert 15.
About
a month later, TV was plain dull, and once again I had gone through all the
menus to access On Demand, I found no new Doctor Who, but there was Torchwood:
Series One. I had nothing better to do, no homework, no social networking and
it was a cold blustery day. I clicked on it, and began to play it. I thought if
I started watching it from the start, I would get more immersed and begin
understanding the drama taking place. I adore the element of action, guns,
weapons, and assassination. As bad as that sounds, I love the feeling of not
knowing what is going to happen next, instead of that old romance, of which you
know from the first second a male and female meet in a story, it is predictable
that they would fall in love, after a bumpy road. Torchwood was just what I
liked, the twists of not knowing what was going to happen next, and the thrill
of the tension, whilst having relationships which surprise you, and do not make
you sigh in boredom of the predictable relationship. (Other than The Decoy Bride;
starring David Tennant who made it extremely funny and twisted!) Two police
officers, in the soaking rain, surrounding a body, as forensics took samples.
Already it was interesting, a murder mystery I questioned? Well that mystery
was soon revealed as a team sauntered up to the body, and everyone left, as the
ginger police officer (Andy) suspected they were ‘Special Ops’, and then
babbled later in “CSI Cardiff that’s what I’d like to see, they’d be measuring
the velocity of a kebab!”.
We
are turned to the attention of the team, and I am inquisitive to what they want
with a dead body in the middle of Cardiff city, especially on a rainy day, when
the blood has been diluted and all. Then after the police officer had mentioned
‘Torchwood’ in a great Welsh accent, and the title ‘Torchwood’, things began to
unravel. However, they are alien catchers? Or so I thought. I sat back as they
kneeled over the body, and Jack spoke “There you go. I can taste it. Oestrogen.
Definitely oestrogen. You take the pill, flush it away, it enters the water
cycle, feminises the fish. *pause* It goes all the way up into the sky and then
falls all the way back down onto me. Contraceptives in the rain. I love this
planet. Still, at least I won’t get pregnant. Never doing that again. How’s it
going?” I loved how this brought some humour towards the show; it was not all
focused on the body; and it then showed how the body was not as important, even
as the rest of the team scrabbled along with a metal glove, and the dead man.
It automatically showed how Jack was dictating, and was the leader. Once they
resurrected the body, which could only be seen as a God alone action, we learnt
how the team were normal human beings, as Owen snapped about “Freezing my arse
off here” and the team froze in the frosty evening. We could relate to the
characters, and see ourselves in them, they were unique, but they were real!
They weren’t these fake people who carried a gun, and had the common blond
hair, whilst having layers of make-up, and then walking around in killer high
heels. No, this team, they were the relatable, not the sexiest team, they were
not all super models, but they showed how you do not have to have the beauty of
angels to be part of a team. It brought some reassurance to those of us (including
me) who have a low self esteem. It was interesting as the corpse awoke and
started talking, and then after a minute and Suzie using the glove, they were
left in peace, and the team swanned off, and left the body surrounded by the
police boundaries.
As
Gwen peeked round corners, and looked for information of Captain Jack Harkness,
the only name she had heard, we learnt as she learnt, whilst getting an insight
to her life -and Cardiff around her. It teaches you about real friends too, the
ones which would take a bullet, and then the ones who stand and watch as you
take the bullet suggesting strengths of relationships. However, the team to me
seemed like a small family, quietly working away in the depth of the city night
above them. We understood Gwen was a clever woman, she knew her role, and being
an Officer meant she would question every aspect which was unclear to her. I
took it all in a light-hearted way, I was not a defined fan, but it did
question the next episodes and showed reality, with the Sci-Fi feel. As we were
launched into Gwen getting your average pizza guy to search the database, it
showed she had authority, and I started to like her. After seeing the point
where he is asked about a ‘Torchwood’ and his reply “Aye, we do ‘em all the
time, good customers them”, it gave another funny aspect, however, Owen was not
so secrete about their organisation. This made me laugh, but still I questioned
the existence of ‘Torchwood’, and gave me the love of every individual, and the
understanding of every characters life.
After
Gwen calling Jack a ‘bastard’ as we would have all reacted, we saw her trying
to remember, but also, it questioned, why use a computer, why not write it
down, but she was in a drugged state. I loved how the story moved throughout
the episode, and the development was fantastic. (Well done Russell T Davies!) I
wondered why I had not heard of Torchwood before, or even why I dismissed it in
the first place. Once Gwen remembered, which showed the awesomeness of her
character, her remembering took her into trouble. Then after Suzie producing
the gun, I felt the feeling, I loved of tension, once more Torchwood had me
gripping the edge of the seat in suspense. Then, once Jack rose on the step, we
saw Suzie not even hesitating as she pulled the trigger. I was gripped to the
story. Then Jack stood up, after being shot in the head, as an act of glory,
saving Gwen, and it shocked me, when in a split second, Suzie pointed the gun
towards her, and put it at the bottom of her face, pointing up, and shot
herself. My heart was actually pounding and basically missed a beat as she
killed herself, trying to stop future consequences. Then Gwen was looking
mortified, in total shock. Jack just walked on, like it was nothing, and
offered Gwen the vacancy. After it finished, I was blown away by the intense
start, and then thought, with such a good episode, I would watch the next. The
more I watched, the more I would stay up late nights, just to finish an
episode; and that was it, I and Torchwood were in a passion. The more I
watched, the more my parents would sigh at the continuous titles of Torchwood,
but I just adored it! Once I had watched all the episodes from series one to
three, and everyday checked ‘On Demand’ for series four. I only started
watching series four once it had been repeated on Watch. I also refuse to watch
the last episode of Miracle Day, as I do not want Torchwood to end, because
once I watch it, it will end my image and imagination. I have not watched all
of it either because the characters change, they become badass and blow
everything up, and Gwen changes her attitude. So no spoilers please!
It
has changed my out view on life, and has shown me, you do not have to be the
blonde cliché, who has the best body, and the perfect plastic face. It showed
me that being heartless was a bad decision in life, and given me the confidence
whilst making me a selfless person. It influences my life, and I have fallen in
love with Eve Myles! (Gwen Cooper). Torchwood brought me this personality, and
I would be heartbroken if this is the way Torchwood ends…
Photo source:
BBC Torchwood
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