Torchwood: Day One (S1, E2)

"You might want to stop saying 'you' and start saying 'we.'"

Day One (Season One, Episode Two) ("Torchwood must stop a sex-addicted alien as it leaves a trail of gruesome deaths in its wake.")

What I Liked

* Carys, and the actress playing her (Sara Lloyd Gregory). There's a surprising poignancy and depth to a situation that could have been portrayed in a very cheesy way.

* As they approach the scene of the crashed meteorite, Jack says "Assume standard formation." Gwen asks, "What's standard?" The response: "It varies."

* Tosh, Jack, and Owen watching on the security cameras while Gwen makes out with the alien-possessed girl. They have trouble tearing themselves away to go and help her.

* Jack, watching a replay of how the alien-possessed girl disintegrated the guy she was having sex with, just as he reached orgasm: "He came. And went."

* When Carys escapes the Hub, she breaks the container that holds the Doctor's hand. Instead of going after her, Jack focusses all of his attention on getting the hand back into a safe place.

* Gwen does seem to bring a sense of compassion that looks to be lacking in the very jaded and cynical Torchwood crew.

What I Didn't Like

* Nothing--perfect Torchwood as far as I'm concerned.

What I'm Not Sure About

* According to ever-reliable Wikipedia, the actress who played Carys began dating the guy who played Ianto after this episode was shot. They've broken up since, however.

* The alien entity (never named) can only feed off male sexual energy--why?

Commentary

By: Richard Stokes (producer), Chris Chibnall (writer), Eve Myles (actress)

Tone: Relatively balanced, with a reasonable discussion of what the creators felt they could have improved on.

Interesting Bits:

* Chris Chibnall on how writing episode two of a new t.v. series is much harder and, in some ways, more important than writing episode one because episode two sets the basic format and tone that the viewer will expect subsequent episodes to follow for the rest of the series--including things like "Will the viewer figure things out at the same time as the Torchwood team, or will they know more?" and "How much time and backstory should be devoted to guest stars, especially if the cast isn't a part of those scenes?"

* This episode was actually filmed before the first episode.

* Eve Myles' anecdote that involves John Barrowman in a pair of Transformers pajamas. Also, in order to keep crew morale up, he likes to sing show tunes during the long night shoots--a very cool thing.

Deleted Scenes

* A very brief scene of Gwen walking into the fake tourism office to report for her first mission.

* Another example of Carys killing an old boyfriend.

Torchwood Declassified: "Bad Day at the Office"

* Interviews with Eve Myles and John Barrowman on the theme of Jack testing Gwen and Gwen's big mistake in allowing the alien entity to escape.

* Interviews with Davies and others on the thinking behind the "sex monster" plot.

* A tour of the Hub. An amazing set. I want to move in, but my sig-other says it's too dangerous.