Unbreakable Habits: Torchwood’s Second Season — Better Than The First, But Still No Buffy
K. Tempest Bradford
Torchwood’s second season is now over in both the US and Britain, and, after the disappointing season finale, some viewers are wondering whether they’ll want to return for season three. On the other hand, season two was significantly stronger than the season before it. And if season three continues with that trend, Torchwood might turn into a show people watch because it’s good, not just because it’s like crack.
(Warning: Spoilers for seasons one and two below.)
The creators behind Torchwood may have some funny ideas about what constitutes “plot,” but they know their audience. The show feels like it was created expressly for fan service. And thus, like some fan written works, it’s forgiven for many of its shortcomings because the characters are engaging in activities and relationships not often found in mainstream shows. An episode with a less than stellar story is redeemed, even praised, because one scene included a hot kiss between Jack and Ianto. And really, what more do you need?
Well, maybe I do need some plot that makes sense. Sometimes.
The season’s strongest episodes, “Reset”, “Adrift”, and “Fragments” stand out mostly because they have stories that work from beginning to end. Most of the episodes in this season start with a strong plot then somehow manage to fall down flat in the last 5 – 10 minutes. “To the Last Man” was great until Tommy went back to his own time and promptly lost his memory for no good reason; “Adam” did beautifully until the scene where Jack hypnotized everyone out of remembering the titular character; even “Dead Man Walking” had some good things going for it until Owen went toe to toe with a really horrendously CGIed Death Monster and then, frustratingly, still did not die!
Once again the season finale, with seeds leading all the way back to the first episode of the season, failed to deliver in a big way. It was a big idea, ambitious even. Perhaps a better writer should have tackled it. Or the producers should have learned their lesson from last season. Chris Chibnall was also responsible for the hoary CGI monster from the Rift, while Catherine Tregenna was responsible for the Hugo-nominated “Captain Jack Harkness”. Think about it.
The characters on Torchwood, both regulars and guests, were just as often a source of disappointment and anger as a reason to squee. The previously mentioned Jack/Ianto relationship just got better and better, though it wasn’t particularly deep. But really, any time Jack kisses a hot guy, I’m pleased. (I’m not alone in this, I think.) James Marsters managed to flick that switch and still turn in a great performance in his guest roles. Unfortunately for him, the episodes themselves–”Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” and “Exit Wounds”–were, respectively, meh and devastatingly horrible.
Owen’s continued existence angered me with every episode, particularly after he died the first time. From the very first episode of this series–when he used some alien cologne to coerce people to have sex with him–I’ve considered Owen one of the most annoying and useless characters I’ve had the displeasure to see on my television. Season two did nothing to disabuse me of this notion, and the extremely lame handwave in the direction of he and Tosh finally getting together made it worse, not better. I’m not sure where the creators were trying to go with Owen. Maybe they were just turning convention on its head by having the ugly asshole guy always getting laid while the handsome, decent guys only get laid in innuendo (or have girlfriends secretly locked in a basement). I’m not a fan of this tactic.
The only silver lining here is that Owen is well and truly dead now and we no longer have to suffer his presence or yet another round of Owen-centric episodes.
As for the show’s two female regulars, I must say: the wrong one is dead.
Toshiko was an awesome character, though many of the writers didn’t seem to think so. Helen Raynor seemed to get her best this season and Catherine Tregenna gave the actress a few good bits to chew on. But overall, Tosh was underutilized and her character was only saved by the awesomeness of the actress. When she died a pointless, meaningless death at the end of the season it made me want to never watch the show again.
We still have Gwen, though that isn’t much of a consolation. Whereas in season one Gwen was interesting and watchable enough, season two made me go from feeling indifferent to actively hating her. I decided in the middle of the season that Gwen is actually all right when we’re not seeing her in relation to a man who fancies/loves her. In the first season, her interactions with Jack were fine, but when they introduced the incredibly stupid (and not at all bourne out by continuity) sexual tension between the two of them, every scene with this subtext became torture. Almost every scene with Rhys is torture. Thank goodness she wasn’t sleeping with Owen anymore, else she wouldn’t have any respite from the suck. And I’m eternally thankful that Gwen/Tosh never found its way into cannon. It’s frustrating because Gwen has moments of being a really great character. And I like that she’s (mostly) competent and strong without being a StrongWoman(tm). It’s like the writers couldn’t figure out how to have an amazing female lead without giving her relationship angst or sexual tension with a co-worker.
Despite all of this, this season was more successful, overall, than the previous one. That gives me some small hope for season three. And, as with fanfiction, people will watch, even if it’s not particularly well-written because where else are they going to get their Jack/Ianto fix? And we can always hope for some Jack/Ianto/Martha if the rumors of Freema Agyeman joining the cast are true.
1 • Nina said:
April 30th, 2008 at 3:29 pm, permalink
Your title got to me, so I just had to say (respectfully)…BOLLOCKS! I’d heard BUFFY has a devoted fanbase, but I’d never seen it. Once James Marsters was in TORCHWOOD I decided to check it out. After several epidodes I began fast forwarding through the sappy sweetness of Buffy and her Scooby gang to get to the lovely grittiness of Spike. By the end of the series, with the cast of thousands, it was only taking me a few minutes to zip through each ep and I still think I managed to get the basic plot points.
GIVE ME JANTO or “Two Captains with a Ianto filling” over Buffy’s band of sappy cheerleaders any day!
(Yes, I do so loves my crack!)
2 • catrambo said:
May 1st, 2008 at 11:44 pm, permalink
I thought the wedding one was quite possibly one of the most clumsily written shows I had ever seen.
More Jack/Ianto kissing would be A-OK with me! It’s such a pleasant to see a bi character who is not crazy, homicidal, or some combination of the two.
3 • K. Tempest Bradford said:
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:22 am, permalink
I have to say, I never even downloaded the wedding one. I knew, just KNEW, it was going to suck and make me angry. So I skipped that week. I am contemplating downloading it just so I can have the whole season, but then I might lose my mind and watch it someday.
4 • Jed said:
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:37 pm, permalink
Thanks for the writeup! I finally gave up on the show just before the wedding episode; I ended up skimming the wedding episode, and though there were some nice moments, it reinforced my decision.
My thoughts about various things you mentioned:
1. Ianto never did much for me, and it seemed to me that Jack/Ianto came out of left field. (After Jack made Ianto kill his girlfriend!) And although they obviously have fun together, I don’t get any sense that there’s much emotional depth to the relationship for Jack. The way there is, for example, with Jack/Gwen.
2. Jack/Gwen also never did anything for me. They gaze at each other soulfully a lot. What does he see in her? I liked the original idea that she was there to keep the team human and connected to humanity, but to me that doesn’t translate into romantic connection.
3. I love Rhys. The writers of the show have treated him extremely badly, but I love that he keeps his humanity, that he continues to love Gwen despite everything, that he’s centered and calm and normal in a maelstrom of weirdness. The scenes with Rhys–except for the ones where they’re actively torturing him in one way or another–are often among my favorites. He’s got a spark of just plain decency that seems to be missing from most of the other major characters on the show.
4. I mostly really enjoyed “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”–it had significant flaws, but either they were smaller flaws than normal for Torchwood, or I was more willing to forgive them because of the hot Jack-on-John action.
5. Didn’t think much of “Reset,” despite the presence of Martha, whom I still adore.
6. I agree about “To the Last Man” and “Adam” both being pretty strong but both having problems in the last few minutes. Huh–I’m beginning to think I’m particularly inclined to like episodes written by Helen Raynor or Catherine Tregenna.
7. Didn’t see “Adrift” or “Fragments,” so can’t comment.
8. Sorry to hear Tosh is gone.
Agreed that the character had a lot of unrealized potential. But I guess I feel that way about most of the characters, and the show in general.
9. I still love Captain Jack as portrayed in Dr. Who. But I still think that making him a leader–possibly the most inept leader ever to be portrayed as a hero on TV–is a mistake, exacerbated by the writers apparently not recognizing just how bad he is at management.
Anyway. If Martha’s back as a regular in season 3, I may be forced to watch it. But I think for me to really enjoy this show, what they would need is a different set of writers. Including someone on staff who cares at all about filling in holes in the plot, and someone on staff who cares at all about keeping character motivations consistent from one episode to the next.
5 • Manhattan Linksfer « Torque Control said:
May 7th, 2008 at 6:45 am, permalink
[...] “The creators behind Torchwood may have some funny ideas about what constitutes “plot,” but they …“ [...]
6 • Gena said:
May 18th, 2008 at 9:11 pm, permalink
Don’t you think you are being a bit hard on the show? Besides Doctor Who there are few shows out there better. I agree that every episode doesn’t nail it but Jack makes it worthwhile to watch anyway. I wasn’t crazy about Owen’s character either but he’s not nearly as annoying as Rhys! I, too, will miss Tosh and cannot believe they killed her off. In the end, I hope the shows continues for a very long time.
7 • Jane said:
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 am, permalink
I think its amazing. but i think that owen and gwen should get back together again. they really suit each other and it makes it better.
8 • Ray said:
January 7th, 2009 at 3:31 am, permalink
I just love the Jack/Ianto relationship. as a gay male, i find that it’s hard to find a really good show with gay/bi characters. i read books that have gay characters in them and i’ve seen other tv shows that have them in them but somewhere along the way, they get killed off for no reason. so it is a fresh relief to see that the gay characters in this series are not killed off (yet) and that they’re not insane or anything like that.
The reason i started watching it was because a friend told me that it was a gay tv show. and then after watching a few eps (i actually got to see a few eps from season 2 so i got to see the Jack/Ianto relationship first. I actually watched Adrift with the hot office scene) i fell in love with the series, as well as Jack and Ianto. i will continue to watch for as long as it’s on.
9 • cathy said:
March 31st, 2009 at 11:50 pm, permalink
Hi.
I think all shows have their flaws, and their good points. You mention that the writers have funny ideas about what constitutes plot: don’t forget that this is a spin-off of Dr Who and is therefore probably not inclined to take itself seriously at all. I think they’re just having fun with it.
I personally love Torchwood, and am really looking forward to Season 3.
I don’t agree with you on some things, but I do agree on Owen -he’s a truly unlikeable character 90% of the time. I’m also really sad about Tosh’s loss…she was my second favourite character (after Jack.)
Btw, Tommy “lost his memory” for a good reason- when he returned to 1918 he became, once again, shell-shocked.
I hope you did eventually watch the wedding episode…I loved it- it’s pure comedy:)
10 • orbis said:
July 15th, 2009 at 6:13 pm, permalink
Theres no season 3.
Iantos dead, Tosh is dead, Owens left, Jaks left and Gwens Pregnant. So if there is a season three it’ll be with a new team.
11 • Malcos said:
August 14th, 2009 at 5:53 am, permalink
I know Jack is coming back to Earth, cuz in the finale of the David Tennant era he will be in it. So who knows, maybe he’ll convince Jack to go back to Torchwood
12 • Malcos said:
August 16th, 2009 at 7:29 am, permalink
oh and orbis, the children of earth was series 3, so theres no season 4, not 3
13 • Malcos said:
August 28th, 2009 at 11:18 am, permalink
Woohoo, I have heard news of a Torchwood series 4. Lets all just cross our fingers and hope its true. I deffenitely hope it doesn’t end with that stupid last 5 minutes of the last episode. There’s more Torchwood to come if this is true
14 • Laura Jones said:
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:02 am, permalink
Life isnt always well written
15 • Malcos said:
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:35 am, permalink
What do you mean Laura?