Torchwood Magazine # 10

Torchwood Magazine makes it into double-digits, and these are the highlights:

* A feature on the (fictional) history of Torchwood, from its creation by Queen Victoria in 1879, through the events told via flashback in Fragments, the recent destruction of Torchwood One (London) in Doctor Who, and to the present day Torchwood Three. It's all information that's been available before, but it's quite helpful to see it arranged chronologically in one place.

* An interview with Sara Lloyd-Gregory, who played the "alien sex fiend" in Day One. I really liked her performance in that episode, but it's a little odd to read an interview with a single-episode guest star a couple of years (at the time the issue was published) after the episode aired--what interesting insight can you really hope to get?

* Part Seven of the interminable Rift War! strip. You've heard me complain about the artwork many times before, but this particular strip's was so bad I had to scan it for the whole world to condemn. The top left panel features "Jack by way of Elephant Man" and "Super Frowny Gwen". The bottom panel features "Lumpy Face Jack", "Eve Myles Horrified At The Caricature Of The Really Quite Small Gap In Her Front Teeth", and "A Character I'm Guessing Is Tosh, But Only Because Of The Familiar Hairstyle."

* A "From Out of the Vaults!" feature on television influences on Torchwood, including familiar stuff like Buffy and the X-Files and some obscure British shows I've never heard of but that sound interesting like Doomwatch and Department S.

* The third and final part of the "Harm's Way" short story, which is a little bit more original than the previous two parts. It turns out that the two giant-alien-bug things have actually been sent through the Rift to fight a grudge match to the death. Pretty well written, with nice moody artwork.

* A rather candid John Barrowman interview, especially his response to the question "What is your most embarassing memory?" The answer: "Crapping my pants on stage while I was dancing. I had diarrhea and it ran down my white trousers until I started kicking it over the front row of the audience. I was in a show called I Hear American Singing its Song and someone put a laxative in my water as a joke. When I was out on stage, I farted and immediately felt the warm sensation going all down my leg and start to seep through. If someone's got it on video, I want to see, because now I think it would be hysterical." Yes, I giggled like a madman while transcribing that quote.

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On an unrelated note, one of my dedicated readers has objected to "too much Torchwood" on this blog. All I can say in response are the words of the (literally) immortal Captain Jack Harkness: "The 21st Century is when everything changes, and we've got to be ready."