This blog will be vastly different from the other two that have been
posted. I am sorry for that. I have spent a while debating on if I
should write this, myself. After much debate and wise counseling from another
BarrowmanGirl ,the choice was simple. Write it. There are times in
life when our opinions are not always butterflies and rainbows, but
sometimes just flat and realistic. For me, this one of those times.
Please read the following blog with a grain of salt and understand
that you may not agree or approve of my thoughts, they are my thoughts
just as you have your own on the series. I do not want this blog to
incite the same issue that faced Gillian on the Barrowman Boards.
Please keep your comments to the blog and the opinions stated in the blog.


I am not a prude, Ianto hater or a newbie to this fandom.I state this
only because the article in which you are about to read will make you
believe that one or all of these stereotypes are correct upon me.
Please take this article as what it is , a work of opinion. Something
we all have and I am sure express it.  I shall only do this once, so
gather round my lovelies:  I would like to apologize to anyone that
sees this as A)- A hit at the sexual revolution  B)- A I hate Ianto
campaign ( Which must mean I have an issue with two men being in a
relationship ) or C)- An attack at the fandom, to include but not
limited to : Cosplay,Comics,RP,FanFic ...etc.... Now that, that has
been said shall we continue down the road ?



The first  question on everyone's mind is: "Are you happy,excited,
thrilled, overjoyed  that Torchwood is returning?"  Of course I am
enthralled with joy that 'Torchwood' will be returning to our
screens.If you were a fan would you not be happy?  The second that
always follows that one is: "So, do you have any concerns?" Of course,
I have concerns but I can tell you that my concerns are not mainstream
concerns. This the part of the blog that the above mentioned statement
refers to. You may stop at anytime along this journey.


My first concern, the channel in which 'Torchwood' has found a home
and really not so much the channel as the fact that the channel is
based here in the states. Please let me say this before the comments
arrive, I am aware the lovely Russell T Davies will be on the staff as
the main producers and handler -just like before.  Now with that said
let me explain my fear or rather the reasoning behind the fear.
Americans see television in a different light or understanding than
the British and in my opinion it is not a better light. First let me
say this, I have no issue with sex nor do I have an issue with sex
being placed in cinema and series when the moment or situation is
correct.'Torchwood' was and always will be a show that has very strong
sexual undertones. That is fine, in fact great. John Barrowman as
Captain Jack Harkness  is lovely and cheeky and no one wants to change
him.  Now back to the sex statement, American producers seem to use it
as a filler. If a show lacks a story line or good character, or say
our ratings are down -they will not think twice about filling their
schedule block of time with mindless sex. There is currently a show on
the  'Starz' network that is an example of this. The first thing you
hear from so many when they find out that 'Torchwood' will be on
'Starz'  is that there is no censor, mainly this is from Americans but
I also assume it is said by those that wish to see a bit more of
Barrowman. However, ladies and gentlemen it is rarely the leading
gentleman that has the action, it is the supporting cast and add ons.
Basically my fear on the channel and sex issue , boils down to this
simple statement : I am afraid that 'Torchwood' will become another
watered down, sad sexed up excuse of American television. I don't want
'Torchwood' to be lost to the mainstream grouping of an American
network, simple as that. I want to see the series that has the same passion and heart that I fell in love on BBC.


Now that my biggest and worst fear of the new series is stated I can
share with you  some of the random thoughts I have in general to the
new show.  There are some in the fandom that believe without  'Ianto
Jones' 'Torchwood'  is a lost cause and refuse to watch the show .
This has been displayed by the hate mail that the BBC has received as
well as mass campaigns on social networking sites.  Before you knew
'Ianto' you loved the show, or maybe you loved John Barrowman and
followed him to the show. But there was a reason that you came to
'Torchwood'. Before  'Ianto' there was  'Captain Jack' and this is how
it will be now. No, I am not saying that I didn't love 'Ianto'  or I
am glad he is deceased. That is not the case. But I will say, I
understand why  the character was killed.  (Please post all hate
mail in the comment section with subject line - "Ianto Hater". Thank
you)  I shall explain, for those that are curious as to my feelings,
if you are not one of those followers you may fast forward to the next
section. 'Jack' has grown in each series. Within series one, we see him
struggle with who he is , his team as well as  finding his place in the world. He
is constantly searching for  'The Doctor' to fix him or to make him right. In the second
series, we see 'Jack' deal with personal relationships. It is here in the second series, that we see 'Jack' understand who he really is.He learns toopen up and trust. Then to even love.. Once we learn to trust and love,
what else is there to learn?  Simple - loss. To truly understand how
important something is we must understand great loss. Of course 'Jack'
has dealt with loss before, but not once he knew and understood who he
was. This is where series three enters, we see 'Jack' deal with loss
and grief.  What many people forget is that in addition to losing his
partner, he lost something greater. ( Once again,please note the
comment on hate mail. Thank you)  'Jack' was forced to make  a
decision that only he could make, to sacrifice something that he may
never have again. 'Jack' sacrificed his family, for the good of the
world as whole. Giving up his grandson, which in effect forced him to
lose his daughter. The loss of 'Ianto'  and his grandson allow  'Jack'
to grow and experience loss. This moment in 'Jack's ' life allows for
series four to show the true depth and growth of  his character. Will
it be darker and colder-maybe but then you might see a softer more
understanding of life 'Jack' one that see and accepts that sometimes you
only have this moment. With that being said, the fact that the show ,at
it's current stage of production only has the characters of 'Gwen
Cooper' and 'Jack Harkness' returning is not an issue for myself.
Seeing that those two carried the weight and were in fact the center
of the show. The character of 'Ianto Jones' was a way in which we
could see 'Jack' grow and become the captain that we all love and care
for. I am sorry for those that still mourn the 'death' of 'Ianto Jones', but it was a required action in the scope of the series.

I can see that some may take my views as a slap against the fandom. But it is important to realize that we all have different opinions and thoughts. It is these thoughts that make us a wonderful and diverse section of the human landscape. Yes, my views do not follow the mainstream idea of  saving "Ianto" but that is what makes it,my view. The thought that I want to see Jack, suffer and grow into a deeper ,stronger man for it- does go against  90% of the viewers. But in the back of all of your minds, I am sure you all would like to see Jack grow also.  Let's be honest, we all will never agree. Simple as that, but it is the fact that we won't agree that makes this fandom great. It allows for us all to have a creative and respective debates on the subject. At times there are some that lose sight of the bigger picture and it is those that create a less than flattering name for 'Torchwood' fans, but in the end it is our love for the characters and the story that unites us all. Let's try to focus our energy to promote a healthy and well rounded new chapter in the fandom with series four.
At the end of the day, yes I am happy that 'Torchwood' is returning.
But that doesn't mean I don't have fears and concerns that the series
we all fell in love with will be changed forever. However, these fears
 are not enough to stop me from opening my mind and embracing a show
that I care about. I hope that others, who for whatever 
reasons ( Ianto) were not going to watch the series, take a moment and think about what first brought them to the 'Torchwood'. That is the same reason you should embrace this series now.  Don't turn you back on something that you loved and followed for three years, just because a character is not returning. We all experience loss in our life at one point or another, but do we stop living? No, embrace who they were and more forward. 'Ianto' would not want 'Jack' to stop living and being himself because of his death, just as Garth David Lloyd doesn't want you the fans to stop watching 'Torchwood'. '. I will be returning to the series, even with my fears of the network because I love characters. I love what they represent  and who they are. I hope you will put aside your fears and hate, and allow yourself to at least give the series a shot with an open mind. Everyone was fearful when David Tennant left as "The Doctor" and Matt Smith arrived, but did everyone in the fandom stop watching? No! You embraced the change and moved forward. That is what we need to do with 'Torchwood'.  Let's have faith in John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Russell T Davies to give us what we loved before but in a new and dramatic way. 
Patou
6/20/2010 06:38:32 am

I am not sure we need a debate. It's just that a lot of strong reactions crystalized around the death of Ianto and that's what makes things complicated.

For example, for some this death is also the symbol of the loss of their hero captain Jack or the loss of the show they loved.
For other it is the symbol of the betrayal they felt because they never signed for a tragedy.

When you don't trust anymore the producers because you were devastated or felt betrayed you need some insurance to give it another try.
Asking for the return of Ianto is part of it.
Especially when the said producers never did anything to reinstall this trust.
The only offer made to upset or devastated people was either to go watch Supernatural or to just accept that people die young in Torchwood or that it was good for the story. It's not really what I would call a communication effort...
Your explanation was a much better way to communicate compared to the BBC and RTD....

I felt safe in season 1&2, at home. Suddenly in COE it was like I was dropped from the roof of a building. I never want to feel again like this and that's why I will not watch again if I don't get some guaranties.
The fact that I am a great fan of JB and of Torchwood is making things more difficult because I feel also upset being in a position where I cannot watch anymore because for me it's like being asked to put my feets in a pool full of sharks and surrounded by a lot of people telling me to get over it and just dive. No way!
But that's just me. If you ask other people you will find hundreds of other explanations. But the common factor will mainly be the fact that we were obviously not ready/prepared for COE or that we just didn't want to go there. Add to this a poor job done by the BBC regarding communication and you have the full picture.
And now it's messy! How to sort it? I have no clue. For the time being it pop up from time to time on BarrowmanTalk like a bad healed wound...Which is unpleasant for everyone...
We must either find a way to root out the evil or (don't kill me here) just bring back Ianto to his captain.

Anyway, time heals everything...
Cheers!

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Reki
6/20/2010 06:56:13 am

I think what you say is very good and as Patou has said, explains things far better than the BBC or RTD ever did.

To be honest, I was very sadened by the loss of Ianto as I felt he was good for Jack. But also I know and always knew, that people die young in Torchwood, even if, at times, the death seems pointless. Lets face it, most of the time death is pointless.

I can, to some extent, understand why people get upset by the loss of Ianto and also that Jack killed his own grandson. But when I think on, what was Jack meant to do. Let all these millions of children die, or sacrifice his family. If he hadn't, Steven would have died anyway. Better that it be by Jacks hand that that of the 456.

I do have some fears of what may happen in series 4. On how RTD, Julie and Starz will handle it. I am VERY cusious to see what Jack will be like upon his return and also how he will return. They said it's emotional and shocking...So it has already grabbed me by the thoat and wanting to see it.

As for bringing Ianto back. Why? What will it do for the story? Jack can't bring back his grandson. And in many ways Steven IS the greater loss. He was his grandson after all. To me it would just make the whole act of killing Ianto off completely pointless, where as what happened hardened Jack into making a VERY hard decision.

Well I need to eat food. Thank you for this long essay and it's very valid points.

Reki

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patou
6/21/2010 07:18:36 am

I forgot to tell you that this website is awesome.

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6/22/2010 04:02:18 am

Well. . . I say Amen to that sisters! Perfectly voiced by Classic_Dame and Reki really. Life holds no guarentees and change is what life is all about. Growth is what makes life interesting and this is reflected in Torchwood & Doctor Who and the following of Captain Jacks life.
Long Live Torchwood and Captain Jack (ok so we know Jack will be long lived Lol!) Even without Torchwood - I would follow Jacks adventures, because it has been and always will be about him.
xx

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