Light the blue touchpaper and stand well back
26 October 2006Well Torchwood has finally hit our screens. After a year of build-up, with mentions throughout the last series of Doctor Who, they hype really started about a month ago. There were teasers and then proper trailers, posters everywhere and decorated buses. It was very reminiscent of the return of Doctor Who last year.
But did the show live up to the hype? In a word, no. The premier on BBC3 of the first two episodes back to back (repeated on BBC2 the following Wednesday) meant nearly two hours of viewing and I have to say I was loosing interest towards the end of the second episode. Maybe I was just getting tired? The idea of the story is good and there seemed to be a good mix of serious plot and humour we’ve come to expect from Russell T Davies’s Who. I was impressed enough to continue watching, especially for all the gorgeous Welsh accents! I’m hoping it’s a grower.
The big gripe with the programme seems to be that it is an adult programme, with adult content. As far as I’m concerned I don’t see what the problem is (possibly because I don’t have children). It was always going to be an adult spin-off and everything I’ve read has emphasised this point. Yes it was heavily advertised, and trailers might have gone out at times that children would have seen them, but this happens with a lot of post watershed programmes, Spooks being an example that springs to mind. I think the major problems seems to be the programme’s association with Doctor Who. There seem to be a lot of parents saying their kids wanted to watch it because it was a Doctor Who spin-off and that such an adult programme shouldn’t be associated with a kids’ programme. Since when has Doctor Who been a kids’ programme? As far as I know it is, and always has been, a programme for all the family. Now there’s a branch just for the adults, and next year there’ll be a branch for the kids (Sarah Jane Adventures) which probably won’t suit my taste in television viewing, but it’s not aimed at me, so I won’t worry. I think the big point is that television after 9pm isn’t aimed at children, so parents shouldn’t complain that it’s not suitable.
Rant over!
I also agree that its premise is a bit wobbly, also it remains to be seen in doing it in Cardiff reduces the options available to it.
But you don’t see pub fights, or people crying on doctor which it vaguely had a go at this sort of thing in ‘love and monsters’ with David Tennant. The bbc are probably trying to sell this to the americans who have on occasion find real events (think saving private ryan film) hard to deal with on tv.
So ‘adult’ is an relative concept here
I like the Cardiff setting, but then I like anything not set in London! Too much telly is London-centric. I don’t think it’ll reduce any options. It might even gain some.
“Love and Monsters” for me was the most un-Who like episode of the last series, so is perhaps not a bad comparison. It showed what could be done pushing the limits of the Who format.
I do hope it’s not being made to sell to Americans. I’d like to think it’s made for a British audience first and foremost (with the option of selling abroad)