One Brick at a Time

So, after becoming the most successful programme ever to air on BBC3, Torchwood gets bumped up to BBC2, and after trouncing the competition in the ratings, it gets a further bump to BBC1, but gets reduced from a 13 episode series to a 5-episode “event”.

Despite John Barrowman publically describing this drop in episode numbers as a “kick in the teeth”, the move to a 5-nighter appears to have been the best move Torchwood could have made, and both critics and fans agree on that. The fans agree because it made for greater tension, and the single storyline made for more meat on the bones of the plot. The critics agree because it was 8 fewer episodes clogging up the airwaves.

Set over 5 consecutive days, Torchwood: Children of Earth dealt with the threat of an alien race, come to steal our children. The race (known only as the 456, after the frequency on which they communicate) first appeared to us in 1965, when they demanded just 12 children in return for an antidote to a plague that would have devasted the planet. This time around they want more. Considerably more. No, not 14 – even more than that. What’s that? Sorry, I can’t hear you – speak up a bit. No, not 18, either. Look, if you haven’t watched it yet, don’t read this – it’s going to be full of spoilers. Ok, has he gone? Good.

Where was I? Oh, yes – this time around they want 10% of the children on the planet.

The story is centred largely around the British government and their complete and utter ballsing up of the situation. Honestly, if you think the expenses scandal was bad, you ain’t seen nothin’, yet!

Episode One was slow – not a great deal happened, but things rarely do in the first 20% of a programme. It was all set-up, and character introductions. Oh, except for the fact that at the end of the episode the Hub had been blown up, as a bomb had been implanted in Jack’s stomach Ouch. One respected television screenwriter (for the sake of anonymity, let’s call him Julian) described episode one as “the worst science fiction I have ever seen, and that includes the two Matrix sequels”. Episode one wasn’t marvellous, but it certainly wasn’t worse than The Matrix Rehashed (which had… *shudder* Keanu Reeves in it!). It wasn’t a great episode, but it wasn’t as bad as anything in Keanuvision.

Episode Two was much better, though even less happened – it was one long chase scene, but handled pretty well. The science was pretty uneven, though – we know that Jack can’t stay dead, but the scene in which part of his head and torso grew back into a fully-grown Jack inside a body bag was ludicrous. The rest of his body grew from nothing – matter must have simply come into existence for this to happen. Also, of course, if this happened to just part of his head and torso, there must be other bits of Jack blown up from the bomb – why did none of those grow into another Captain Harkness, like a Scottish-American starfish? Mind you, to complain about the accuracy of the science in a programme like this is a bit like complaining about the unfeasible amount of sex that happens in porn films. It happens because it happens, though sometimes the writers should give us something on which to suspend our disbelief.

Episodes Three and Four upped the ante, somewhat, and provided some truly memorable TV (the fans will say it was memorable for mainly good reasons, the critics… less so). Episode Four was noteworthy for a few reasons. It was the episode in which Torchwood’s Grand Plan is discovered to be Jack and Ianto telling the aliens to go away or else. Evidently it’s something Jack learned from the Doctor, but the Doctor has been around a lot longer than Jack, and is a lot better at improvising solutions when things go awry. It’s also the episode in which Ianto dies a pointless death. The character of Ianto has developed significantly since season one, in which most viewers wondered if Gareth David-Lloyd was actually an actor at all, and not just someone who happened to wander onto the set while the show was being filmed. Season Two saw his character grow balls (while Jack systematically emptied them) and the actor appeared to grow a degree of talent. In reality,of course, the writers recognised the popularity of the character, and simply gave David-Lloyd more to do. In Children of Earth, Ianto is a key player, and his death resonates – certainly more than those of Tosh (who was well-named) and wide-mouthed-frog Owen.

Episode Five, however, is the episode that divides. And mainly for that scene – the scene during which Jack Harkness sacrifices his grandson in order to save millions of people across the world. The main complaint is that this action was out of character. I disagree. Jack was and is a soldier. Unlike the Doctor he is comfortable killing others for the greater good. He doesn’t like it, but he recognises that sometimes it is a necessary evil.

He was willing to sacrifice the children of Earth at the end of the previous episode to save his beloved Ianto. Why, then, does he agree (albeit reluctantly) to sacrifice his own grandson at the end of Day Five? Well, Ianto was his life, his love, his reason for living, his grounding, and his soulmate. His grandson was none of these things. Oh, Jack undoubtedly loved him after a fashion, but in a remote sense. His love for his grandson was almost certainly bourne of duty – the thought that you have to love your family, and the love bourne of responsibility. We know that Jack’s daughter ran from him, and keeps out of Jack’s life, as Jack is dangerous to be around. Ironically, it was her running from her father that probably sealed the fate of her son – had Jack and his grandson shared a fraction of the time and the love that Jack and Ianto shared, he might not have been killed.

So, who is right, and who is wrong?

Well, I’m wearing strong trousers, and splinters hold no fear for me, so I’m going to sit on the fence and say : everyone.

How so?

Were Jack’s actions out of character? I’d say no, as we know of Jack’s background as a soldier, and we know that he has had to do things of which he is ashamed. Unfortunately, we have not been shown ebough evidence of this in previous series; we’ve not experienced first-hand Jack’s dark side, so when we see it for the first time, it feels like a betrayal. This is the fault of the writers, of course. Partly of the writers (and series producers) of series 1 and 2, but largely for the writing team on Children of Earth for relying on evidence that was only barely referred to in the past. So, the writers were wrong.

The audience who complain are also wrong for expecting Jack to act in anything but a conventionally heroic way. His background has been hinted at, but if we expect him to act in the interests of himself (by saving his grandson, and therefore his relationship with his daughter) instead of the interests of the world (although, let’s be honest – it would be nice if there were fewer chavs on the street – not that I’m advocating mass alien-abduction, of course… just throwing it out there…) then we’re not only fooling ourselves, but denying ourselves the possibility of enjoying one of the few less-than-perfect heroes on television.

The audience who don’t complain are also wrong, because we should have been given more, and to accept it with the flimsiest of historical references is weak, and shows a willingness to watch just about anything. Including Big Brother.

So, if everyone is wrong, then who is right? Well, everyone, of course. For exactly the same (or diametrically opposite) reasons.

What is clear is that Torchwood: Children of Earth has got people talking, and arguing about television, and that can only be a good thing. It had strong viewing figures, and (unusually for a five-nighter) it retained them. It was certainly better than anything series 1 or 2 had to offer, and it treated the genre seriously. It was adult television which felt comfortable to eschew the need for sex and swearing. In short, it was everything Torchwood always wanted to be, but never was.

Badly written? Badly acted? Badly directed? Opinions differ wildly on this, but what is clear is that it was a television event that made people sit up and listen (and write – my god, did people write about it!*)

It also made people think, and that’s got to be good. Hasn’t it?

*the irony does not escape me.