Torchwood: Complete BBC Series 1 Box Set [2006] [DVD]

The greatest thing about the new-Who series is that it focused on an aspect of Doctor Who that had never really been addressed before, the worlds that the Doctor leaves behind him, the influence he has on the world and how he changes it for the better, or for the worse. Examples of this include the new series episodes: Bad Wolf, Love and Monsters, Blink, Army of Ghosts and (to a lesser extent) the Year Five Billion trilogy. It makes us look back on what might of become of some of the characters from the earlier stories in the franchise, like the humans in 'Dalek Invasion of the Earth'. In the case of Torchwood we get to see the things that lurked in the shadows of Kaldor city, or that were just out of site when Nerva mad a full orbit. Specifically we see the world that the Doctor created when he offended the wrong monarch and dropped off the right, brilliant toothed action hero.

The world of Torchwood is one when we get to see what the camera pans away from in the regular Doctor Who series, mixed with a terriffic cast of actors that have you believing every second of the programme. John Barrowman in particular is a firecracker in a great coat, with a flawless charm and a hilariously liberal attitude. You can't help but love him. That came out wrong...

The magnificent casting, coupled with a no-holds-barred sexual tangent make for great viewing and really treat the long-term Who fans with getting to see things that they'd always wished Leela would do when they were fifteen...

Despite these strong sexy and violent elements in the programme, it doesn't stop it from providing heartfelt storylines like Out of Time and Random Shoes. Nor do you lose out with psychological thrillers like Small Worlds, in which you feel the whole fabric of your world shaken just a bit...

All in all, Torchwood makes for excellent television viewing. The first series is a tribute the phenomenal effort of Russel T. Davies in the ongoing New-Who franchise. As always, can wait for more.

The 21st century is when it all happens and Captain Jack Harkness and his team are arming the human race for the future. At first I wasn't expecting much from Torchwood, as a life time Doctor Who fan, I felt that any spin off would be substandard. And as I expected I didn't really like the first two episodes of Torchwood but I stuck it out and before I knew what happened, I was hooked and left wanting to watch more. Torchwood has a certain quality about it, which I found addictive. Maybe because it essentially Doctor Who for adults (i.e. more scare, sex, and swears.) Despite some of the episodes being a bit disappointing (such as `Random Shoes') and slightly unbelievably (a dinosaur verses a cyberwoman?) the program generally delivers on a silver platter and each story is powerful and involving. The acting from the lead characters is nothing less than astounding. Especially from John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) and Gareth David Llyod (Ianto Jones). Also the special effects and props have been done to a high standard. Torchwood is full of emotion and everything considered I feel that it is a great program and a great sci-fi show fit for the 21st century. I eagerly await series 2.

I came late and backwards to Torchwood; I watched the first episode before I'd ever watched any of the relaunch Doctor Who episodes. I quite liked it but mainly I wanted to watch what they'd done to Doctor Who. The revamped Who was so great that it kept me busy until I saw all of it, then I went back to watch Torchwood.

It's a great idea for a series but unfortunately, the writing remains very inconsistent. To my mind, the show is at its weakest when there's a lot of running around after scaly-skinned beasties, and at its best when it stops to think a bit. The series finale, for example, is a disaster - overblown, humourless and silly, it's redeemed only by some subtle acting, mostly from John Barrowman and Eve Myles. However, only a few episodes earlier there was the wonderful 'Out of Time' episode, a quiet and rather sad tale which began at a point where most shows would have ended the story and which dared to be about people rather than about monsters. Elsewhere, the grim farce of 'Countrycide' is a witty homage to slasher movies, just as 'Combat' is an unimaginative and unconvincing rip-off of 'Fight Club'. But there's a refreshingly 21st century openness about sexuality. Captain Jack will flirt with anything that exhibits sentience, and when he finally gets to have a big old snog (with a WW2 airman as chiselled as himself) it's a moment of old-school romance. Elsewhere, both Eve Myles and Naoko Mori's characters find themselves curiously aroused at different times by persons of the same sex. It's a long way from the chaste (but increasingly lovelorn) world of the Doctor.

The acting is as mixed as the writing. John Barrowman is effortlessly charming, but perhaps because his Doctor Who episodes were better written and better script-edited, he's a more convincing hero in Doctor Who than he is in this. Here, the writing sometimes fails him, so that when he's supposed to come across as a leader of men, he seems more like a louche playboy who is a bit exasperated by the whole situation. It's hard to tell whether Burn Gorman is a bad actor, or Owen Harper is a badly-written character, but I suspect it's a bit of both; in any case, the actor relies way too much on narrowing his eyes and trying to look well 'ard. Gareth David-Lloyd is quietly efficient as the support guy Ianto until he has to carry a whole episode - then he goes way over the top. For my money, the best male actor in the show is actually Kai Owen as Gwen's long-suffering but basically chipper boyfriend Rhys. He manages to suggest both ordinariness and a basic sense of his own worth and dignity, a tricky thing to pull off.

The women are on the whole better than the men. Eve Myles is both gorgeous and a really fine actor; Naoko Mori squeezes every drop out of the sometimes exposition-heavy role of Toshiko; it's a bit of a shame that Indira Varma was only used in two episodes, as Suzie was in some ways the most interesting character in the show, just as Varma is in some ways the best actress. (Her performance as the resurrected Suzie is truly chilling.)

My wife and I watched Torchwood over the course of a summer holiday, and we could never be sure in advance if an episode was going to be completely brilliant and original or merely an efficient but generic bit of forgettable sci-fi nonsense. Buy the box set at your peril; it's not as good as Doctor Who, but Doctor Who is (mostly) so very, very good these days that Torchwood still manages to be remarkably fine for a spin-off. Still, the show is frustratingly inconsistent. I do think they could have come up with a better series finale than a CGI demon stomping around Cardiff zapping people.

One last thing - kudos to the creators for setting this thing in Cardiff at all, and making the place seem fascinating, haunted and sexy.