Torchwood: Everything Changes (S1,E1)

"The twenty-first century is when everything changes--and you've got to be ready."

Everything Changes (Season One, Episode One) ("A brutal murder leads WPC Gwen Cooper to Torchwood, a journey that will change her life forever")

What I Liked

* The scene where Jack talks about how no alien tech leaves the Hub, and then we see every member of Torchwood has stolen something for their own use.

* The pizza delivery gag, where the members of Torchwood pretend to be nonchalant as Gwen pretends to be a pizza delivery woman--Owen busts out laughing and spoils the set-up, and it's a perfect example of the mean-spirited humor that has to permeate a place like Torchwood.

* Suzie's speech at the very end, about how dismal and disheartening it is to see what comes through the Rift--it really does seem to be the dregs of the universe.

* John Barrowman's performance--witty, charming, funny. There's some moments in later episodes where I think he's not so great at some things (grief, in particular), but here he really makes the show.

* Rhys. Already, in just this first episode, he seems like a much better boyfriend than Gwen gives him credit for. He's making her dinner, bringing her tea, not complaining when she's out all night, etc.

What I Didn't Like

* The Weevils. We see more of them than any other alien throughout the series, and they're just kinda boring. I think the idea was supposed to be that they would be like vampires in Buffy, a generic kinda "background" menace to provide occasional action scenes when an episode's main plot doesn't. If Weevils were portrayed as cruel, clever, dangerous aliens with some plan in mind for Cardiff that nobody understands yet, I think they would be more interesting than as pure animalistic predators.

What I'm Not Sure About

* When Owen uses the alien pheromones to cause the chick at the bar (and her boyfriend!) to sleep with him, should this be considered rape on Owen's part? Unrelated, Owen's delight at the threesome is (if I remember correctly), the only hint we get that he may be bi like pretty much every other member of the cast.

* The police station. Officer Andy was great, as was the female constable that Gwen asks to run a background check on Captain Jack. It might've been interesting to have Gwen's association with Torchwood be a more gradual thing and show a bit more of Gwen's life as a constable.

Commentary

By: Executive Producer Julie Gardner, Showrunner Russell T. Davies, and Director Brian Kelly

Tone: Very self-congratulatory--every actor is "brilliant", every set is "amazing", etc. Fortunately, they acknowledge they're not the most objective of viewers.

Interesting Tidbits:

*Davies was heavily influenced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer

* Davies comments that Season Two is supposed to be more "fun" and less "dark", which is definitely something I noticed

* Filming in HD was quite a challenge

* Someone criticizes the Weevil's outfit in the first episode as a "Disco Boilersuit" (it's true--have a look!)

Deleted Scenes

* The original version of the episode opened with Gwen giving a speech on a rooftop about how her life used to be before meeting Jack, which ties in the end of the episode

* Two scenes that only last a few seconds each: a guy getting stabbed and a doctor examining Gwen after the bar fight

* Owen joking around briefly in the Hub

* A slightly different version of the big talk between Jack and Gwen (where he gives her the ret-con), set at a pub instead of a bar--it's basically the same dialogue, though there's a little bit more talk of Rhys.

Torchwood Declassified: "Welcome to Torchwood"

* Short introduction to the show, with brief comments from the main cast about their characters

* Suzie mentioned as "Second in Command, specializing in weaponry and hardware"