WRITER: Russell T. Davies DIRECTOR: Brian Kelly
CAST: John Barrowman (Capt Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Burn Gorman (Owen Harper), Naoka Mori (Toshiko Sato), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Indira Varma (Suzie Costello), Tom Price (PC Andy) & Paul Kasey (Weevil)
Cardiff police officer Gwen Cooper stumbles upon a secretive organisation called Torchwood, led by the dashing Captain Jack Harkness, who deal with alien threats to Earth...Following on from the astounding success of the BBC's revamped Doctor Who, Torchwood (an anagram of its sibling series) arrives as a slick, sexy, alternative for those who find the Who a bit too whimsical and childish. Doctor Who's executive producer and head writer, Russell T. Davies, opens the series with Everything Changes, essentially one huge set-up of the show's premise.
Eve Myles, exuding girl-next-door sexiness at all times, plays PC Gwen Cooper; a hard-working Cardiff police officer who witnesses the mysterious Torchwood team resurrect a murder victim using a strrange steel glove. Gwen starts her own investigation into this "special ops" team and discovers their underground "Hub". From here, under the leadership of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), a specialist team protects the Earth from alien threats whilst scavenging their technology...
John Barrowman is the show's main link to Doctor Who, where he played the same character during Christopher Ecclestone's tenure as The Doctor (last seen in a space-station fighting Daleks in the distant future). His re-appearance in 21st-Century Cardiff isn't explained for the moment, and neither is a strange new ability he possesses...
As the show's lead, Barrowman is pretty good. He has screen presence and charisma to burn, and while he's occassionally a little hollow in his delivery, he makes for an interesting character in an old-fashioned pulp sci-fi way.
Gwen Cooper is essentially Torchwood's version of Rose, with Eve Myles following a similar plot to Billie Piper's introduction to Doctor Who: an ordinary Brit is enticed by a dashing new man in her life (Jack), leading her away from her nice-but-dull lifestyle (here a boyfriend) and into extraordinary sci-fi adventures...
Eve Myles has more gravitas as Gwen than Billie ever mustered, although her doe-eyed pout became a little tiresome. At the moment, Torchwood is severely lacking the comedy element of Doctor Who, instead determined to make you sit up and notice its more adult themes.
Ah yes, the "adult themes". A lot has been made of Torchwood's post-watershed timeslot, but is it really so different to your average episode of Doctor Who? Well, yes. Torchwood has the same glossy aesthetic as Who, although it contains far more rainsoaked scenes and aerial shots of Cardiff. There's definitely a more mature sensibility in terms of style, performances, sexual themes (a homosexual snog) and a smattering of blood. It's hardly 18-certificate material, but it's certainly not early-evening Saturday night family viewing either. Thank God.
To discuss the plot would be generally pointless, as practically the entire episode is just one long introduction to the premise and characters via Gwen's investigation. There is a tacked on murder sub-plot, but it's hardly a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes.
Despite its faults, Everything Changes held my interest far more than Doctor Who's series premiere Rose. Russell T. Davies is a writer revered in mainstream circles for resurrecting Doctor Who (not to mention his credentials writing Queer As Folk, etc) but whose writing abilities are often questioned by discerning sci-fi fans. His episodes of Doctor Who are often mediocre and occassionally downright bad, so it's with great relief to find Everything Changes a cut above most of its output...
There are some genuinely interesting moments from Davies here, such as a murder victim being temporarily resurrected for a minute and realizing "there's nothing..." at the moment of death, a sequence with Gwen trying to prevent oncoming amnesia at her computer, and a surreal moment in a corridor with an alien.
However, there are also the usual moments of Davies excessiveness: a silly Batman-style scene with Jack standing on a building overlooking the city, a pointless moment that prompts a gay kiss (for no real storytelling reason other than crass humour and because Davies can get away with it now), and a few frustrating plot holes, not to mention the strain of making an organisation like Torchwood seem credible.
Overall, Everything Changes is a decent introduction to Torchwood, saved by some good performances (particularly from the two leads), a good sense of pace and some decent special-effects (the resident alien "Weevil" is impressive stuff). Time will tell if this X-Files/Men In Black hybrid will have the longevity of Doctor Who, but I'm atleast hoping its existence will mean the TARDIS can escape Earth now Captain Jack's got things covered...
