4 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: Day Three (Series 3 Episode 3)
Written By: Russell T Davies and James Moran
Original Air Date: 8 July 2009
Sentence Sum-Up: The 456 arrive and demand 10% of the Earth's children.
Notable New Characters:
None
Favorite Quote:
Ianto: "So, one day you'll see me die... of old age... and just keep going?"
Jack: "Yeah..."
Ianto: "We'd better make the most of it then."
Jack: "Suppose..."
Ianto: "Like right now?"
Jack: "Ianto, the world could be ending."
Ianto: "World's always ending. And I have missed that coat."
Never Noticed:
During the famous "bloody beans" scene, there is a cup to Jack's right...with a yellow toothbrush in it. I guess i never thought about it but good for Ianto for thinking of hygiene when he brought the essentials. It's such a random little prop, I wonder how that came up in the production meeting. James Moran: "I think we need to show Jack's toothbrush to the side just before the propositioning scene, that way people know his kisses are still minty fresh." RTD: "Yes and it should be yellow, to express Jack's hidden fears." I think that's exactly how that went.
There are numbers on each pane of glass on the 456 tank. Looks to be the same numbers but I couldn't get a good enough look. Wonder what they were and if they meant anything. I've come to believe that nothing is without purpose in Film and Television. Unlikely that they just happened to have glass with numbers on it, it was a decision to place them so I have to assume there is a significance.
WTF Moments:
When Alice is trying to reach Jack she goes up to a girl in the street and asks to borrow her phone, knowing she can't use her own or she's be traced, or something to that effect. Why is Alice perfectly OK putting this girl in danger? Leading someone to her phone? That's a little shady, not cool Alice.
Random Rants:
When the 456 demand the children the government warns the public to mind their children, specifically they put into action "a temporary curfew for everyone under the age of 18.". This makes me wonder and then confuses me. It makes me wonder if that is the ages that the 456 distinguish as children. Without giving next episode away, their desire seems to be specific to children so does age matter? Are the younger one's better? It's hard to say. What confused me is why it was under the age of 18. Not living in the UK I was under the impression you are only considered a minor until 16. I looked it up just now an I guess it's not the case, there are less restrictions once you are 16 but you are still a minor until you are 18. I suppose I accept that, but I wonder if that was just the government guessing or the 456 where specific. I don't know, these are the things I think about.
MVC (Most Valuable Character):
It's fine if you'd like to call me biased, we know by now my two favorite character's in Torchwood are Jack and Ianto. But they are my favorite because they are awesome and so rightfully belong to constantly be in this category. Today I am giving to Ianto again, not just because of why you think. One of the big things I've noticed upon re-watch of Children of Earth so far is how big a rle Ianto plays in saving the day. Every episode he's exceptionally clever, keeping the team together and solving problems. The team didn't make an awful lot of progress this episode, but Ianto helped them along. He found them a new base of operations, he went out to get the essentials, including clothes in everyone's sizes and a new coat and outfit for Jack, which is close to miraculous. He also pulled out of nowhere his ability to read shorthand, which came in handy when Lois was feeding them information. Granted Gwen came up with how to get them money, but I think overall Ianto was a bigger help. Also, Ianto's discussions with Jack always get to me, he's always asking about Jack something not many people think to do. I don't know how to explain it, most people seem to treat Jack as a mystery and a leader more than a friend, Ianto more often considers his feelings. I love that about their relationship.
MVA (Most Valuable Actor):
John Barrowman I think gets this one. I feel like Jack didn't do an awful lot in this episode other than sit back and let his team work, except for that call he put into Frobisher. That being said, even sort of static which one or two moments, big moments, he really caught my attention. The call with Frobisher, concern for his family, realization of his connection to this whole mess...It was all quick moments but at the end of the day, in an entirely extraordinary episode, those moments stand out the most. John is very good and showing a lot of emotion even if Jack's not doing very much, he's very expressive and it reads. Love him.
Episode Grade:
C+
I seem to be having difficulty grading these episodes on their own. It seems that the episodes when separated are not as upsetting as the overall series and I think that is for the obvious reasons. Whether the episodes are particularly good or not is beside the point really, the major complaints come from specific moments in each episode and specifically two moments in the two. But as I've said before, the dread of what's to come seems to taint the episodes before, which are not without issues. This episode didn't have #CaptainAssHat and it had a couple of nice moments but really I was terribly bored for the most part. While the 456 are a great concept and scary in theory, all the mediation is soooooooo boring. All the talks within the government is sooooooo boring and I just got sleepy most of the episode. That's an issue even if their were good moments, like the thieving spree, the beans scene the clever but cruel way they foreshadow the events of the last two days. It's not enough to keep me interested. This was slow for me. I think it was more boring but less depressing than the prior one for some reason. I'm just going to give it the same grade I had a hard time with both for different reasons but to about the same extent.
Tomorrow's Episode: Day Four (Series 3, Episode 4). 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. Fair warning, it's Day Four, so I am cracking a bottle of wine and the tweets and emotional wreck I become might reflect that. Wish me luck!
That's it for today! Hope you enjoyed my run down of this episode. What did you all think of this episode? Did you notice anything new? What grade would you give it? xx
<3Dana
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Episode: Day Three (Series 3 Episode 3)
Written By: Russell T Davies and James Moran
Original Air Date: 8 July 2009
Sentence Sum-Up: The 456 arrive and demand 10% of the Earth's children.
Notable New Characters:
None
Favorite Quote:
Ianto: "So, one day you'll see me die... of old age... and just keep going?"
Jack: "Yeah..."
Ianto: "We'd better make the most of it then."
Jack: "Suppose..."
Ianto: "Like right now?"
Jack: "Ianto, the world could be ending."
Ianto: "World's always ending. And I have missed that coat."
Never Noticed:
During the famous "bloody beans" scene, there is a cup to Jack's right...with a yellow toothbrush in it. I guess i never thought about it but good for Ianto for thinking of hygiene when he brought the essentials. It's such a random little prop, I wonder how that came up in the production meeting. James Moran: "I think we need to show Jack's toothbrush to the side just before the propositioning scene, that way people know his kisses are still minty fresh." RTD: "Yes and it should be yellow, to express Jack's hidden fears." I think that's exactly how that went.
There are numbers on each pane of glass on the 456 tank. Looks to be the same numbers but I couldn't get a good enough look. Wonder what they were and if they meant anything. I've come to believe that nothing is without purpose in Film and Television. Unlikely that they just happened to have glass with numbers on it, it was a decision to place them so I have to assume there is a significance.
WTF Moments:
When Alice is trying to reach Jack she goes up to a girl in the street and asks to borrow her phone, knowing she can't use her own or she's be traced, or something to that effect. Why is Alice perfectly OK putting this girl in danger? Leading someone to her phone? That's a little shady, not cool Alice.
Random Rants:
When the 456 demand the children the government warns the public to mind their children, specifically they put into action "a temporary curfew for everyone under the age of 18.". This makes me wonder and then confuses me. It makes me wonder if that is the ages that the 456 distinguish as children. Without giving next episode away, their desire seems to be specific to children so does age matter? Are the younger one's better? It's hard to say. What confused me is why it was under the age of 18. Not living in the UK I was under the impression you are only considered a minor until 16. I looked it up just now an I guess it's not the case, there are less restrictions once you are 16 but you are still a minor until you are 18. I suppose I accept that, but I wonder if that was just the government guessing or the 456 where specific. I don't know, these are the things I think about.
MVC (Most Valuable Character):
It's fine if you'd like to call me biased, we know by now my two favorite character's in Torchwood are Jack and Ianto. But they are my favorite because they are awesome and so rightfully belong to constantly be in this category. Today I am giving to Ianto again, not just because of why you think. One of the big things I've noticed upon re-watch of Children of Earth so far is how big a rle Ianto plays in saving the day. Every episode he's exceptionally clever, keeping the team together and solving problems. The team didn't make an awful lot of progress this episode, but Ianto helped them along. He found them a new base of operations, he went out to get the essentials, including clothes in everyone's sizes and a new coat and outfit for Jack, which is close to miraculous. He also pulled out of nowhere his ability to read shorthand, which came in handy when Lois was feeding them information. Granted Gwen came up with how to get them money, but I think overall Ianto was a bigger help. Also, Ianto's discussions with Jack always get to me, he's always asking about Jack something not many people think to do. I don't know how to explain it, most people seem to treat Jack as a mystery and a leader more than a friend, Ianto more often considers his feelings. I love that about their relationship.
MVA (Most Valuable Actor):
John Barrowman I think gets this one. I feel like Jack didn't do an awful lot in this episode other than sit back and let his team work, except for that call he put into Frobisher. That being said, even sort of static which one or two moments, big moments, he really caught my attention. The call with Frobisher, concern for his family, realization of his connection to this whole mess...It was all quick moments but at the end of the day, in an entirely extraordinary episode, those moments stand out the most. John is very good and showing a lot of emotion even if Jack's not doing very much, he's very expressive and it reads. Love him.
Episode Grade:
C+
I seem to be having difficulty grading these episodes on their own. It seems that the episodes when separated are not as upsetting as the overall series and I think that is for the obvious reasons. Whether the episodes are particularly good or not is beside the point really, the major complaints come from specific moments in each episode and specifically two moments in the two. But as I've said before, the dread of what's to come seems to taint the episodes before, which are not without issues. This episode didn't have #CaptainAssHat and it had a couple of nice moments but really I was terribly bored for the most part. While the 456 are a great concept and scary in theory, all the mediation is soooooooo boring. All the talks within the government is sooooooo boring and I just got sleepy most of the episode. That's an issue even if their were good moments, like the thieving spree, the beans scene the clever but cruel way they foreshadow the events of the last two days. It's not enough to keep me interested. This was slow for me. I think it was more boring but less depressing than the prior one for some reason. I'm just going to give it the same grade I had a hard time with both for different reasons but to about the same extent.
Tomorrow's Episode: Day Four (Series 3, Episode 4). 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. Fair warning, it's Day Four, so I am cracking a bottle of wine and the tweets and emotional wreck I become might reflect that. Wish me luck!
That's it for today! Hope you enjoyed my run down of this episode. What did you all think of this episode? Did you notice anything new? What grade would you give it? xx
<3Dana
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