After last week’s controversial episode of TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY, the question that haunted us was not whether it was okay to torture a man to death if he cannot die, but rather: who killed TORCHWOOD? For a show that fans had been clamoring for and which cheered when it was announced that it had risen from certain death and cancellation by the joint financial efforts of Starz and BBC America to resurrect it as an American television series, who knew that within such a short timeframe that one would be wishing it had never been raised from the dead.
The irony is that TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY tells the tale of what the world would look like if death ceased to exist. Miracle Day was the day that people stopped dying. Death had finally abandoned us and left the entire human race to rot for eternity. The blessing soon became a curse and TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY sought to show how horrifying never-ending life can be.
But with only 10 episodes granted for this miraculous fourth season of TORCHWOOD, and seven episodes having aired to date, I found myself thinking something appalling: I wish it had never come back.
When TORCHWOOD ended its third and final season as a British series with CHILDREN OF EARTH, it was heralded as its finest season and one worthy of accolades across the globe. It was a taut thriller that tormented us with its question of what would you sacrifice to save the human race – was the life of a child a price too high to pay?
Coming off that glorious season, the news that the show was not being picked up due to financial issues left fans and critics stunned at its sudden demise. But determined to not let his “baby” die, Russell T Davies took his series to America and secured the financing necessary to continue the TORCHWOOD saga.
But like TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY has so acutely shown: dead is dead. Death may elude for a time, but sooner or later it shall swoop back in. So those who have been marked for death – who have sustained illnesses or injuries so catastrophic as to virtually render them dead – they are essentially dead. They are dead men walking. Zombies, if you will. They arise conquering death only to slowly rot away. It was no wonder that the module ovens were created to dispose of those who would simply not die, but were already dead and yet their bodies would not obey the natural order of life.
TORCHWOOD is the same. It is a living -zombie of its former self. It has risen from cancellation to be but a pale imitation of the show it once was. It was not simply the Americanization of the show, nor the addition of prevalent American characters. It just isn’t TORCHWOOD anymore.
The TORCHWOOD we all knew and loved died. We are now merely watching a caricature of a show that calls itself TORCHWOOD. Captain Jack and Gwen may be there, with brief appearances by Rhys and a few other familiar faces, but the heart and soul of TORCHWOOD is gone. Everyone is going through the motions, but it doesn’t feel the same and it is not the same.
Too much has been changed. The show not only films in America, but it also takes place in America with virtually all the actors being American, letting the American tone and voice color the story and characters. Worse yet, it seeks to cultivate and entice the American viewers who have been leery of embracing a British television series by incorporating some of the most crass elements of American television.
This most recent episode is a good example. In episode 7 “Immortal Sins,” the story sought to spotlight Captain Jack, a character who had been relegated to the sidelines for much of this season, only trotted out to remind us that he was there. Having been afflicted in reverse, his immortality stripped and made mortal the moment everyone else on Earth became immortal, Jack was pushed aside as being too vulnerable to risk his life. But in “Immortal Sins,” it was finally necessary to pull back the curtain and reveal why Miracle Day had been brought about. It was, as suspected, invoked by someone from Jack’s past – a scorned and abandoned lover who had inadvertently turned Jack over to an alien species looking to extend their own lives – at Jack’s expense by killing him repeatedly, bleeding him dry and stealing his blood with its unique healing properties. While the concept was cool, its execution was stomach-turning. The entire episode felt like a cheap horror flick, combining gay porn with torture porn. Not only was the character exploited, but the actor as well. This was not the way to tell the story of how Jack’s blood brought about Miracle Day.
For fans of TORCHWOOD prior to this season, one of the more endearing aspects of Captain Jack was his faithfulness to those he loved. Jack would always sacrifice himself for those he cared for, without hesitation. This episode violated two of those basic principles. One, Jack would have gladly given his life in exchange to save Gwen’s child and family. After all, that is why he returned to Earth — to protect Gwen. Two, Jack loved Ianto. The love story of Jack and Ianto was a beautiful relationship that fans embraced through the second and third seasons of TORCHWOOD. While it may have not aired recently, fans acutely recall Ianto’s sacrifice in CHILDREN OF EARTH. Even seeing Jack fall in love with and seduce another man in Jack’s past feels like a slap in the face. It may have been decades before Jack met Ianto, but for the fans, it feels like yesterday. Jack may not have cheated on Ianto, but it sure felt like it watching Jack portrayed as being in love so soon after such a huge love of his life had been killed. For new fans, it is like yesterday. I know I persuaded many to watch the prior seasons of TORCHWOOD before MIRACLE DAY began airing last month – and Ianto’s death is fresh on their minds as well. So while it is helpful to know that Jack had inspired someone to love him to such a degree that such a man would come back to haunt him many years later, the explicit relationship did not need to be thrown in our faces. It dishonors the memory of Ianto and the relationship that he and Jack shared.
Plus, the over emphasis of Jack’s relationship with the man who created Miracle Day did not serve to endear the character to the audience. It just felt misplaced.
And don’t even get me started on the exploitive torture scene! Is that truly what the writers think American audiences are attracted to — explicit sex and explicit violence? Speaking for myself, I have always loved TORCHWOOD because it was able to tell the darkest, most horrifying stories ever to grace the television screen without resorting to explicit sex or violence. Both sex and violence have been a part of TORCHWOOD from the beginning, but it was never used to titillate and make us a party to its glorifying excess. TORCHWOOD was about the dark side of human nature and what we will do when confronted with our darkest fears and the means to conquer them. It was a psychological thriller challenging our perceptions and beliefs. Instead, it has been resurrected in typical misconception with the strategy to simply “shock and awe.” But there is no substance in that.
When Vera died within the fires of the module oven, did we weep? No. But we should have. TORCHWOOD has always been magnificent at introducing characters in such a way that it is gut-wrenching when they die. Even the traitorous Suzy left us with a haunting impression that sent ripple-effects throughout the subsequent seasons. TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY has been slapped together without finesse, insight or care. It reeks of too much money, too much ambition and not enough craftsmanship. I lay the blame squarely on two shoulders: Jane Espenson, who has written 5 out of the 10 episodes (more than any other writer this season), who writes with such a broadstroke and lack of respect to the core of what made TORCHWOOD special; and Russell T Davies, who entrusted TORCHWOOD into the care of writers who could not deliver the quality necessary to invoke the true TORCHWOOD spirit. Showrunning does not simply mean recruiting writers, it means keeping a watchful eye over them to ensure that due care and respect is given.
Echoing the millions of TORCHWOOD fans across the globe, we expected so much more. Now we can only pray the show gets a dignified death and is not cursed to live for eternity in its zombie state. It is but a shell of the show we all know and loved.
Where to find this article:
Oh I though I read somewhere on Twitter that Jane Espenson said Jack timetraveled into the “NYC story” somewhere before CoE? Otherwise it wouldn’t make no sense at all, as he has his coat (okay Ianto got him a new one in CoE) but also his gun (which he hasn’t in Miracle Day) und most of all HOW ON EARTH could Jack have known that he was a fixed point in time and space, about 70 years before the Doctor told him so???
I’m not a friend of the time travel idea, but that way it would at least make a wee bit sense….
I agree with most of what has been said here. RTD has allowed ambition to compromise his work on Torchwood….
The explicit sex and violence is totally inappropriate in this show, so much more has been revealed in previous series through excellent dialogue and performance episodes such as Captain Jack Harkness, Adrift and From Out of the Rain.
I feel John B has been exploited because Jack has become a sidelined character in favour of the USA cast and only brought out to get his clothes off or to flirt with the pathetic gay stereo type extras…..
Jack would willingly go in exchange for Gwen’s family.
The plot holes come from hired script writers not researching properly and RTD clearly not interested enough to maintain the continuity and character of the show.
The slow ‘plot’ for Miracle Day has been weak and held up by scenes that do not drive the story forward. I know some of these have been attempts to bring us closer to the new characters, but have failed because the actors have nothing to work with.
The editing on Episode one was quite frankly, bloody awful and don’t get me started on the music.
I could go on.
I feel let down by RTD, STARZ and the BBC. I recieved a reply to my complaint from the BBC and they seemed pleased that the show had more special and helicopters and made no comment on the story itself. I suspect they are still formulating an appropriate response.
After writing all this I hope it posts…
Tiffany I am glad you written what many of us think..
Jack didn’t go back in time between season one and coe. The fixed point in space and time thing is a plothole, simple as that. Any attempt by the writer to explain it away by claiming it’s a post series one time travelling exploit is just a case of back peddling in order to try and dig herself out of a hole.
I’d agree with nearly everything the reviewer says except the bit about the BBC cancelling it. As has already been pointed out this is not true and the review would have been all the more poignant if the reviewer had checked her facts first. Also, as far as I’m aware BBC America weren’t involved with the project – it’s a three way production between Starz, BBC Worldwide and BBC Wales. My own guess is that RTD wrote the overall story arc and the first and last script then lost interest, handing it over to the American writers who don’t know what they are doing. How else do you explain the fixed point in space and time blunder.
wel it is debatable when Jack went back-he tells Angelo he is a fixed point in time so one assumes he went back in time between season 1/COE–he is also carrying a webley and wearIng a WW2 RAF coat–so again we assume he went back in time–some time after WW2–and if so how does he travel with his wrist thingy disabled.
However getting on to fans reactions–i just found the use of Ianto/Jack lines (and in this episode we even seem a similar scenario with Jak landing on top of Ianto followed a meaningful gaze) totally unnecessary and to be honest I do not understand why.
As for MIRACLE DAY –it is not TW and does not come anywhere near.
Interesting post that hits some very good points. But on other points, not so much.
The biggest ‘not so much’ point that jumps out is “Jack portrayed as being in love so soon after such a huge love of his life had been killed”. First off, Ianto won’t be BORN for another 50+ years & lives until he’s 27, so to say it’s “so soon” after his death is erroneous in the extreme. In fact it is most likely Angelo’s betrayal of him that helps to make Jack overly cautious in emotional love leading to his leaving most of his future partners before they catch on to his immortality. That same betrayal also caused his overly secretive nature because when he meets Angelo he’s very open about so many of the things that he keeps hidden from his team as we were shown in series 1 & 2 of Torchwood. Heck, even series 3 & 4 for that matter.
Yes many fans may take it as “a slap in the face” but that is because they are only seeing Jack w/ someone other than Ianto. They aren’t seeing that this takes place 80-some-odd years in Jack’s PAST and is what made him into the man we see in 21st century Torchwood. There are true slaps in the face in series 4 ( “Dead is Dead” & the memorial wall) but Angelo isn’t one of them.
Morgan
This season just reminds me of what Jack said to Adam. Something like “When I see you I know you’re part of my team, but it doesn’t feel like it.”
To be honest, I had to stop watching Miracle Day and only follow the rest of the story through reviews etc now, because otherwise it would have dragged my love of the old, the real, Torchwood down in the dark hole the show is falling in, too.
It’s a shame really, if the producers would have noticed what people loved, but also what people hated about Children of Earth and if they had used their “joker”, because this show is Sci-Fi, you can make anything happen with a good plot Torchwood could have been huge.
RIP Torchwood.
This is obviously a hot-button issue with a lot of fans and I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. This season of “Torchwood” just isn’t what we were all hoping for. (sigh)
The BBC never cancelled Torchwood. Russell T. Davies intended the five episodes to be the last of Torchwood, leaving him free to pursue his career in America. When Children of Earth was an unexpected success, the BBC offered another five episodes (they wouldn’t budget a thirteen episode series) but weren’t keen on Davies being in charge. After floating around in the US for a bit, Davies announced he was taking a pilot script to Fox – wasn’t commissioned to do one by the broadcaster, just taking one – and created a bit of a profile for a fourth series. FOX didn’t bite, and neither did any of the other major broadcasters. Eventually Torchwood settled on Starz paying a large chunk of the budget and the BBC allowing them the rights.
I think Davies should have taken the hint, left it with the BBC to polish his Cucumber in the states rather than destroying this show to make a crappy CSI-with-bumsecks. He probably thought he was making the show the US wanted, not realising that Torchwood was successful because it was different, and relied on plot rather than explosions and cleavage shots.
I fully support the BBC choosing to cut that sex scene from episode three. The BBC have never relied on gratuitous sex to sell their shows, so why should they have left in?
Oh, Torchwood. I wish they’d just let you rest in peace with Tosh, Owen and Ianto. Or at least killed Gwen off first….