12 days left and we're continuing on my countdown to Miracle Day, Torchwood re-watch! I'll be watching an episode a day and blogging bits and thoughts. With any luck this is going to read like an episode guide and commentary. Let's dive right in!
Episode: A Day in the Death (Series 2 Episode 8)
Written By: Joseph Lidster
Original Air Date: 27 February 2008
Sentence Sum-Up: Owen finds a woman on a roof and they reflect on his life since his death.
Notable New Characters:
Maggie Hopley (Christine Bottomley): The woman on the roof. Considering killing herself. Sad story but really she's just a plot devise.
Henry Parker (Richard Briers): Old man who collects alien artifacts. Another plot devise in the telling of Owens life after his death.
Favorite Quote:
Owen: We all assume life's going to be shit, don't we? That it's all just darkness.
But you know what? Sometimes, it's not.
Never Noticed:
When Owen is sneaking into Henry's house and he's stopped by the guard they exchange words. The guard asks, "what are you" Owen responds "I'm wrong.". That's necessarily a nod to the Doctor calling Jack wrong in Utopia. I love the parallel between Jack and Owen and the way their relationship has changed since Owen's return. I'm really glad it was Owen too. When they first planned to kill a team member and bring them back with the glove it was supposed to be Ianto. I think having it be Owen is a lot better because the dynamic between Jack and Owen is phenomenal. Owen is angry and cold as usual, but to the extreme. Everything that made Owen Owen with the added drama of his situation. Ianto similarly would have gone on being Ianto, numb and sad and distancing himself. I think the story arch is better suited for Owen. And I like the way it forced Jack and Owen closer. Ianto and Jack are already close. this was the right choice.
WTF Moments:
None. This was a fully unobjectionable episode. I really didn't have a strong reaction to this episode overall. It's just sort of depressing.
Random Rants:
A while ago someone asked me about this episode. There's a part where Jack throws Owen a Tintin shirt and it's obvious there is significance in the gesture. This person said they've watched the episode a few times and couldn't figure it out. I said I didn't know and honestly it wasn't an episode I watched a lot but I'd look into it. First attempt was to google. That did absolutely nothing but I did read the entirely of the Wikipedia entry on Tintin. There is an awful lot to that character! I read through it a few times trying to figure out a connection between Tintin and Owen. If I squint really hard there's one and it gave me a headache. My next plan of action was to re-watch the scene in question. That proved useless.
What I never did until today was watch the episode in it's entirely. You'd think it would be the obvious answer. Watch the episode see if that scene was referring to something that happen earlier. Well I've watched it now and I think I've got it sussed. Maybe. It starts earlier in the episode when discussing Henry. Owen says, "We've been monitoring Parker for ages. There's nothing to be scared of is
there?" and Ianto responds, "Unlike, say, Tintin?". So I thought about it, this discussion that got it started. Then I went back and read the Wikipedia entry again. This is what jumped out at me: "Despite his generally delicate and unassuming appearance, Tintin is athletic and possesses great physical strength, being able to knock out enemies much larger than him in combat with a single blow.". So I got to thinking about why Jack would toss Owen the shirt which to me, was likening him to Tintin. I think he was saying he believed in Owen's ability even though he was being treated as someone "delicate and unassuming" since his death. I think it was Jack trying to be supportive without being too mushy. OR I am reading way too much into this and Jack is just being an ass. Owen mentioned he hated Tintin, so Jack get's him a Tintin T-Shirt. Who knows. Either way it is an interesting point of the episode.
MVC (Most Valuable Character):
Owen I suppose. I mean really this is all about him. His life, his death, his reflection on the after-afterlife. He's the focus to be sure and it's a really interesting look into the twisted mind of a thoroughly messed up character. Burn does a bang up job and we get more of the Owen and Jack relationship I am so intrigued by.
MVA (Most Valuable Actor):
I'm going to say John. He might not have had as big a part as Burn did but he was just as important to me. The point of fascination in this episode as well as the last, for me at least, was the change in relationship between Owen and Jack. For Dead Man Walking I gave it to Burn but just barely. This episode I think John sort of won the match up between two brilliant actors. This side of Jack, so conflicted and unsure is difficult to watch. It's hard to watch and I think it should be. We should be uncomfortable seeing Jack like this and we should feel helpless as he does. There's some brilliant writing that aids in that but I think it's mostly John's performance and he deserves to be singled out.
Episode Grade:
B
It wasn't bad and it wasn't phenomenal. I can see a lot of good points and no particularly bad points. But inoffensive hardly amounts to perfection. It's not an episode I watch a lot. Not because it's bad but because it's sort of forgettable and because it's so depressing. It's hard to say much about it. You just sit, watching, devastated. It's fine. It's a B. But not a B I need to revisit often.
Tomorrow's Episode: Something Borrowed (Series 2, Episode 9). Remember, I'll be live tweeting my re-watch on the @BarrowmanDay twitter at 12:00am PST (US - West coast) and 8:00am GMT (UK). Hope you all can watch with me and chat.
That's it for today! Hope you enjoyed my run down. What did you all think of this episode? Did you notice anything new? What grade would you give it? xx
<3Dana
Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs
Episode: A Day in the Death (Series 2 Episode 8)
Written By: Joseph Lidster
Original Air Date: 27 February 2008
Sentence Sum-Up: Owen finds a woman on a roof and they reflect on his life since his death.
Notable New Characters:
Maggie Hopley (Christine Bottomley): The woman on the roof. Considering killing herself. Sad story but really she's just a plot devise.
Henry Parker (Richard Briers): Old man who collects alien artifacts. Another plot devise in the telling of Owens life after his death.
Favorite Quote:
Owen: We all assume life's going to be shit, don't we? That it's all just darkness.
But you know what? Sometimes, it's not.
Never Noticed:
When Owen is sneaking into Henry's house and he's stopped by the guard they exchange words. The guard asks, "what are you" Owen responds "I'm wrong.". That's necessarily a nod to the Doctor calling Jack wrong in Utopia. I love the parallel between Jack and Owen and the way their relationship has changed since Owen's return. I'm really glad it was Owen too. When they first planned to kill a team member and bring them back with the glove it was supposed to be Ianto. I think having it be Owen is a lot better because the dynamic between Jack and Owen is phenomenal. Owen is angry and cold as usual, but to the extreme. Everything that made Owen Owen with the added drama of his situation. Ianto similarly would have gone on being Ianto, numb and sad and distancing himself. I think the story arch is better suited for Owen. And I like the way it forced Jack and Owen closer. Ianto and Jack are already close. this was the right choice.
WTF Moments:
None. This was a fully unobjectionable episode. I really didn't have a strong reaction to this episode overall. It's just sort of depressing.
Random Rants:
A while ago someone asked me about this episode. There's a part where Jack throws Owen a Tintin shirt and it's obvious there is significance in the gesture. This person said they've watched the episode a few times and couldn't figure it out. I said I didn't know and honestly it wasn't an episode I watched a lot but I'd look into it. First attempt was to google. That did absolutely nothing but I did read the entirely of the Wikipedia entry on Tintin. There is an awful lot to that character! I read through it a few times trying to figure out a connection between Tintin and Owen. If I squint really hard there's one and it gave me a headache. My next plan of action was to re-watch the scene in question. That proved useless.
What I never did until today was watch the episode in it's entirely. You'd think it would be the obvious answer. Watch the episode see if that scene was referring to something that happen earlier. Well I've watched it now and I think I've got it sussed. Maybe. It starts earlier in the episode when discussing Henry. Owen says, "We've been monitoring Parker for ages. There's nothing to be scared of is
there?" and Ianto responds, "Unlike, say, Tintin?". So I thought about it, this discussion that got it started. Then I went back and read the Wikipedia entry again. This is what jumped out at me: "Despite his generally delicate and unassuming appearance, Tintin is athletic and possesses great physical strength, being able to knock out enemies much larger than him in combat with a single blow.". So I got to thinking about why Jack would toss Owen the shirt which to me, was likening him to Tintin. I think he was saying he believed in Owen's ability even though he was being treated as someone "delicate and unassuming" since his death. I think it was Jack trying to be supportive without being too mushy. OR I am reading way too much into this and Jack is just being an ass. Owen mentioned he hated Tintin, so Jack get's him a Tintin T-Shirt. Who knows. Either way it is an interesting point of the episode.
MVC (Most Valuable Character):
Owen I suppose. I mean really this is all about him. His life, his death, his reflection on the after-afterlife. He's the focus to be sure and it's a really interesting look into the twisted mind of a thoroughly messed up character. Burn does a bang up job and we get more of the Owen and Jack relationship I am so intrigued by.
MVA (Most Valuable Actor):
I'm going to say John. He might not have had as big a part as Burn did but he was just as important to me. The point of fascination in this episode as well as the last, for me at least, was the change in relationship between Owen and Jack. For Dead Man Walking I gave it to Burn but just barely. This episode I think John sort of won the match up between two brilliant actors. This side of Jack, so conflicted and unsure is difficult to watch. It's hard to watch and I think it should be. We should be uncomfortable seeing Jack like this and we should feel helpless as he does. There's some brilliant writing that aids in that but I think it's mostly John's performance and he deserves to be singled out.
Episode Grade:
B
It wasn't bad and it wasn't phenomenal. I can see a lot of good points and no particularly bad points. But inoffensive hardly amounts to perfection. It's not an episode I watch a lot. Not because it's bad but because it's sort of forgettable and because it's so depressing. It's hard to say much about it. You just sit, watching, devastated. It's fine. It's a B. But not a B I need to revisit often.
Tomorrow's Episode: Something Borrowed (Series 2, Episode 9). Remember, I'll be live tweeting my re-watch on the @BarrowmanDay twitter at 12:00am PST (US - West coast) and 8:00am GMT (UK). Hope you all can watch with me and chat.
That's it for today! Hope you enjoyed my run down. What did you all think of this episode? Did you notice anything new? What grade would you give it? xx
<3Dana
Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs
RSS Feed