i think Barrowman will stay, hope Tosh, Gwen and english guy wheo i never remember stay too.! not fussed on Ianto so he can go if he wants

I know this'll outrage a few people, but I really do think Captain Jack (the way Barrowman plays him) comes across better in DW, where he is an uninhibited, apparently carefree guy, who has become embroiled in very serious things.
I thought the way they handled the tension between the Dr and CJ over Rose was exquisite.

So far in TW, I really like CJ, but I don't think Barrowman is pulling it off convincingly as the 'charismatic leading man'.
When he is aggressive I find it too contrived, and it grates against the grain of his character.

I really want to like his performance, but it sometimes lacks credibility IMHO.

Some sort of crazy way of launching shows which'll be pinched and moved to the main two channels?! Its a bit daft in my opinion.

I wouldn't like to be Gwen if you and Geraniums were about! You'd have released the pterodactyl and whipped out the BBQ sauce, quick as lightning

But I assume Jack will be lightened up again in "Doctor Who" where he performs a different role in the dynamic. Not sure how Jack and the Tenth Doctor will work as well as the contrast you had with the Ninth. THe Tenth seems to have taken on some of the swagger and 'twinkle' from Jack and they're also physically similar (not to mention Scottish, even if neither uses the accent).

G

It would be interesting to hear the motives behind the move to BBC2.

In these days of "branding" and "channel identity" it's a bit strange to move these "channel defining" shows that have a big launch and whip them over to somewhere else.

It's got to be about viewing figures.

As for John B - he's in great demand, but I think he's having such a good time on the programme that I would be surprised if he jumped ship just yet.

Ha ha! I'd already thought of that one! I've got several more ideas for the demise of Gwen!

I hope now the writers concerntrate strongly on their writing abilities on the show for the second series. Because this series has been touch and go from the beginning despite what the ratings may lead us all to believe.

That wouldn`t work. She`s so compassionate that I`ve no doubt she`s already built a special relationship with the pterodactyl and is planning on releasing it into the wild (well, Cardiff Bay - same thing!) without telling anyone else.

I envisage a much more mundane, irritating end for her. In keeping with her character.

I'm wondering if we'll see changes before then, as the final block was done after the series had debuted.

Certainly they'll have a better idea of what works, what balance to strike and what/who are popular.

G

LOL i nearly wet myself laughing when you said about her releasing the pterodactyl in to the wild! So compassionate is our Gwen!

WHO is the most popular in TW?! What do you personally think has/hasn't worked?

I don't rate my enjoyment of a series on the strength of how popular it is. I have enjoyed this series throughout. Ok - some episodes are better than others but how unusual is that?

I think I am able to make up my own mind thank you very much.

I think Gwen has been a mistake - they tried for Rose mark 2 and it's just a little too patronising for the adult audience. Plus Eve just isn't as engaging on screen as Billie. Share out the screen-time with the other regulars more.

Equally, as has been much discussed, there are different stabs at what constitutes 'adult' and/or what sets this apart from "Doctor Who". Personally I feel it's come off more times than it hasn''t but it's been uneven enough to lose viewers.

The characterisation too has been uneven - especially with Ianto and Tosh too often seeming like afterthoughts in some plots. Developments came out of the blue.

G

They also need to sort out the niggles surrounding their security and 'Top Secret' status.

I think he'll be there. After all, John has just brought a flat in Cardiff...

As for someone else disappearing/leaving/snuffing it....maybe....I did notice that, unlike the Robin Hood press release for the second series, they didn't say 'returning will be...' and list the actors and their characters. May be a hint that one may not return, may be that they just didn't write it in.

I agree with you.
Captain Jack does nothing for me.
I think he's a weak link when it comes to the drama stakes.

Like you say, his attempt at doing angry comes across as contrived and isn't very good. It's as though he turns a switch on for sudden anger with angry face.
It just doesn't feel real.
The lights are on but it doesn't appear that anybody is at home.
It seems too stagey, and looks more like he is acting on stage or in a pantomime.

Wheras when Burn Gorman does it, the anger appears to be genuinely coming from somewhere.

Of course the show still needs Jack for all the alien stuff and the threat in the future. There's no way they're going to replace him.

I think that Gwen and Ianto are acted pretty poorly too.


I like Owen and to an extent Tosh.
When they've got it right I think they've been the most convincing actors, and they manage to make me interested in their characters.

I hope that they up the ante a bit now that they are on BBC2.
I hope that more attention is paid to story threads that run throughout the series, and that the episodes and characterisations aren't as disjointed from each other.
Last edited by Alrightmate : 12-12-2006 at 13:56

Is there any chance they could sack off the the whole cast and replace them with people who can act. JB is the best one, loosing him, and keeping all those am-dram co-stars would be a huge mistake.

Exactly right. Owen and Tosh are the best and most convincing.
Ianto is the weakest actor (Cyberwoman - eeshk!) although when he's not hamming up the melodrama, he can be quietly convincing.... He is also adorable and may be having a fling with CJ, so all is forgiven

The real problem is with Barrowman - he doesn't quite cut the mustard IMO... still enjoying TW though.

Compared to its cost though?
Remember BBC3 has a tiny budget compared to BBC1 and BBC2 and sci-fi isn't cheap. Shows only move for budget reasons or due to ratings, as happened with Little Britain. Whilst 850,000 viewers is decent to good viewing figures for BBC3, does it justify the budget?

I agree with all your points really.

I think you're right about the Rose mark 2.
It does feel like a very children's television plot device in the way that it's done here.
Gwen's conversations with Jack are almost a bit like Stephen Fry's voice asking Pocoyo what he's doing today.

I also think that they've got to locate away from that ludicrous idea of that 'Batcave'. I can imagine John Barrowman springing to action telling his team "To the Batmobile, let's go".

Acting really 'hard' when they get out of the 'Batmobile' to the location of a crime scene looks really stupid as well.
When you see the Torchwood team walking in a line towards the crime scene looking tough, it looks like they are on a photoshoot for a music album cover.

I think it has enough about it to be able to be improved upon.
One or two of the stories looked like the show has potential.

Or a Westlife video!

Yup - those faux-moody shots wind me up.

G

I think they`re great.

John Barrowman in slow motion, airforce coat flapping in the wind. Ahhhhhhhhhh.......!

Okay. I`m shallow. I admit it!

Sure it justifies the budget. The show broke records when it appeared on BBC3. I`m pretty sure the controller of BBC3 is bloomin` miffed at losing it to BBC2.

Yes, I enjoyed the last two stories before the one shown on Sunday. I still think that there were plot issues with the Susie one though.
I haven't seen Sunday's episode yet though, so I reserve judgement on it.
I missed 'Small Worlds' though. I wish I saw that. I only caught the last 15 minutes or so, but it seemed to have a good feel about it.
I only caught bits of the cannibal one as well.

They can do it I think. I just think that they need to be a bit more thorough with some aspects and tighten things up a bit.

I really enjoyed 'Greeks Bearing Gifts'.
I really liked Tosh. It all felt kind of more real, give or take an alien or two obviously. It just had something about it which made me feel that this show does have a lot of potential if they get it right.

There was a bit in that episode I found funny when Tosh was reading the minds of passers by. One guy walked past her on the way to an interview or something and was fantasising how the appointment would go, and she read his mind as he was thinking of something really stupid and random like "Ah, I've been expecting you Mr. Bond".

I think that Burn Gorman has occasionally delivered too.
But I think that if they are going to use him, then they have use him wisely, as I feel that if any of them decide to walk, then Burn Gorman will walk if he doesn't believe in the show.
His career is in an ascendacy, and I think he will ditch the show if he thinks it's a bad career move as he will have people knocking on his door with offers of work.
Last edited by Alrightmate : 12-12-2006 at 14:33

Neither am I.