obligatory post-CoE reaction post

[dbskyler]

First off, I'm really glad I've finally seen the damn thing because now I can actually read LJ and Teaspoon again. I already had a pretty good idea that something bad was going to happen to Ianto on Day 4 (all the Teaspoon stories titled things like "loss" and "grief" and "5 ways Ianto Jones should have died" were not exactly subtle in their implications), but I didn't know if there was going to be some sort of "reset" button on Day 5. Well, there wasn't, but I didn't really care much about Ianto one way or the other, so his death is not my problem with this miniseries.

I do have a problem with this miniseries, however, and I can sum it up in two words: Jack Harkness. He's turned into a character that, put simply, I no longer want to watch. After Day 5, I couldn't help thinking of all the different ways the Doctor would have managed to get rid of the 456 without sacrificing a child who had no knowledge or consent as to what was going on. And yes, this is Torchwood, and things are darker, and so the script has to forego the eas(ier) way out, but don't tell us a story where it all completely sucks, okay? Or if you do, at least give us some more struggle against the inevitable, and some more justification. And the notion that this was Jack's big tragedy, and Jack's loss too? Well, the show established early on that Jack's relationship with his grandson was distant, and I don't know if it was played this way deliberately or not, but I definitely didn't get any particular spark or connection between the two of them at any point -- and most definitely not at the moment when it should have been there, when Steven was about to die, when there should have been some attempt to get his permission for what was about to happen.

The show did do one thing for me, though. It made me realize, once and for all, that I prefer optimistic stories over pessimistic stories. I don't like "dark" that much, and I especially don't like "dark" for the sake of being "dark." In fact, I think I finally understand why I never got into the new Battlestar Galactica -- it's because it was too dark. The original BSG had some very dark moments, don't get me wrong, but there was an underlying optimism to the show, just as there is an underlying optimism to Doctor Who despite all the bad things that happen. I'll take my shows with optimism, thank you. And trade in Torchwood Jack for Doctor Who Jack while you're at it. With a little flirting on the side, please.

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Someone on my flist (hhertzof I believe) suggested RTD hated Jack 'cos Moffat created him, and this is his way of getting his own back.

This sums up how many feel.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link, and I'm not surprised. I watched Torchwood, but it never hooked me and I don't really care if it comes back for another series or not. I liked Jack/Ianto, but I'm not into shipping in general and I don't get bothered when "OTP true love" gets broken up. But for people who are fans of the show, and lovers of the Jack/Ianto relationship, CoE must have been devastating.

It did seem as if RTD wanted to end the show. I guess he can always revive it with new characters, but without Tosh, Owen and now Ianto, would it be the same show? I just don't know. Maybe -- Doctor Who is the same show even when companions leave and the Doctor regenerates, but the format is set up that way. Torchwood was tied to a particular group of people in one time and place. But maybe this is RTD's way of shaking up that concept.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Given RTD's allegedly off to America, it's possible he just wanted to end the show in such a way that it's not worth reviving it...

I didn't think the show was that brilliant (I've always preferred DW or SJA to TW), and don't care about the Jack/Ianto ship (which always had a pasted-on quality to me anyway), but I'm pretty annoyed with some aspects of it - in particular Steven's death and the portrayal of the 456 as being 'hooked up' to the kids. I also think he treated Jack shoddily.