I have very mixed feelings about Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood. Its intentions seemed sound, but it was ultimately a big mess last year -- enlivened by a few enjoyable performances, the expected Doctor Who injokes, and decent special effects. But, man -- that uneasy combination of of sex and swearing in knockoff Who scripts killed the show dead for me. I think there were only about 3 or 4 genuinely good episodes...
But I'm hopeful lessons will have been learned now season 2 looms. The concept might not be very original, but there are still lots of possibilities to explore. The new series will apparently have special re-edited versions for kids (repeating before the 9 pm watershed), which is a clear sign the producers now realize Torchwood was never "adult science fiction". It was just a less-expansive Doctor Who with rude bits...
It'll be easy to cut out the odd nude scene or f-word for a kid's repeat, but I guess this means an end to Torchwood's original remit of science fiction with adult grit? After all, a CBBC version of last year's Countrycide or Combat just wouldn't be possible! So will we just get Earth-based Who-style stories with a team sensibility?
I guess we'll find out in January when Torchwood returns for a second season. New and improved, I hope. I must admit that I'm interested to see Buffy's James Marsters, Ugly Betty's Alan Dale and Who's own Freema Agyeman on the show, and some of the story premises sound interesting on the BBC Press Release.
I just hope it'll be far more than a dozen episodes of reheated sci-fi that thinks same-sex kissing is the pinnacle of edginess...
