Torchwood 1.03, The Ghost Machine

[selenak]

I continue to like the show without loving it. Which happens a lot of the time; I needed about one and a half seasons to go from "like" to "love" with Alias, for example, and then there is Veronica Mars where I never got to the love stage at all. To use the inevitable Angel comparison yet again, I think it worked somewhat faster with AtS; around the time of Somnabulist in s1, I think. But certainly not yet by episode 3. This said, the episode in question was a mixed affair; mostly it worked for me, but one element didn't, and that could be a long term problem.




Which is to say: I do hope we're spared more scenes like the one where Jack teaches Gwen to use a gun. To me, it felt like the writing staff having the following conversation when mapping out the episode:

RTD: okay, so that's it for the main plot. Now, anything else?
Writer X: Well, most of the viewers probably are still tuning in because they want to see Captain Jack flirt and shag people. Which the show isn't about, but they won't have accepted that yet.
RTD: Right. Let's add an UST scene with Gwen where he gets to fondle her. Moving on...

That scene stuck out like a sore thumb. And no, it didn't come across as hot or sexy to me. In fact, at times I felt it was downright creepy, as when he touched her neck. If my boss did that, I'd see it as sexual molestation. I do hope that whatever relationship Gwen and Jack are going to have - and I think a romance would be a mistake - it will feel more natural.

Incidentally, the scenes with Gwen and her boyfriend Rhys, by contrast? Both the serious ones and the silly/fun ones? Now that's believable, endearing, and yes, sexy, too. Here's hoping against hope Rhys won't be ditched.

My other complaint, before I get to what I liked about the episode, is that the script had Gwen pressing that button at the beginning. Gwen isn't a teenage girl, and btw, a teenage girl would know better. She's an adult woman, and a trained police officer. She's seen several examples of Alien tech being dangerous by now. The only reason why she makes such a stupid mistake - which could have gotten her killed, if the device had been something lethal, and she would have had to count on that as no one yet knew what it was - is because the story needs her to so the plot can get going. It makes Gwen look incompetent and foolish, and I resent that.

Now, on to the praise. Firstly, the B7 fan in me was of course thrilled and delighted by the fact Gareth Thomas had a part in this episode. (I was thinking of watervole and how we watched him on stage in Dear Brutus and A Midsummer Night's Dream in Nottingham, too.) He was great as Old Ed Morgan, making it believable both what a wreck Morgan is now and that he was the killer/rapist who murdered Lizzie in his youth. I do hope RTD took notice and will employ him further.

The device as a MacGuffin, and for the most part a well-used one. Gwen saw first a little boy lost - part of how she probably still feels at times - and later happy memories of herself and Rhys. Owen, by contrast, saw a rape/murder about to happen, sharing the victim's feelings. I think that answers the question as to whether or not the writers are aware his use of the alien pheremones in Everything Changes wasn't just a laddish lark but date rape (either intended or carried out - I rewatched the scene in question by now and still can't make up my mind as to whether he calls the taxi to make a getaway or because he wants to get to his threesome). What I think Ghost Machine leaves ambiguous is whether Owen himself makes the connection. I could buy it either way - that he's still kidding himself, or that he does make the connection, and this contributes to his determination to track down Ed Morgan and to his need to punish Morgan. Speaking of that, he was both intense and vicious there, which made it possible for the scene to be not just about a rapist and killer confronted with his deed but about the problem of vigilantism. Good work, script and actors. The first confrontation scene was the acting highlight of the episode to me.

Can someone explain the Ianto thing to me, i.e. his popularity? I mean, sure, he's pretty, but so far, he's a completely blank slate, with his one or two lines per episode. If they give him more to do, I might get interested in him, but so far, nah.

Toshi needs more character depth as well, but as we're very early in the show, I'm expecting that to happen.

Lastly, on a tangent: it's becoming apparent that Team Leader! Jack is noticably different from Charming Rogue!Jack. Which makes sense to me, but it also reminds me why, as opposed to many a Highlander fan back in the day, I didn't want a Methos spin-off and was relieved when the spin-off we got was about Amanda instead. I also really, really, don't want a Spike spin-off or a Spike movie for similar reasons, though Spike is a slightly different type than the one I'm getting at. The thing is, certain characters work well and are much beloved by fandom because they are the sideckick/ additional character. They get to play off the hero, present alternate view points, etc; they get to be the ones to say "why should we save the universe/world/person again?" or "you know, I'd rather party" or "lighten up already". The main condition for this is that they're not the main character. As soon as you move them to the main position, they're the ones stuck with the responsibility main characters usually have. They're not the foil any more; they're the center. Goodbye, rogueness, hello, gravitas.

Mind you, another element that usually gets lost in the transition is mystery, and that one isn't true for Torchwood yet, as the show uses Jack sparingly and keeps him in the background a suprising amount of time, with so far just one revelation/hint about his past and present state per episode. But he does get main character scenes like the one calling the team on their slackerness re: Bernie early on. Q.E.D.

Comments

[thesecondevil]

Re: Ianto. It's because he's Torchwood's version of Alfred and everybody loves Alfred.

[wychwood]

That scene stuck out like a sore thumb. And no, it didn't come across as hot or sexy to me.

I wasn't overly impressed with that scene, either - he moved in hard, and it bothered me that she didn't protest. She's not single, after all. And also, the emotional through-line was all wrong - five minutes earlier, he's yelling at them all because they suck, and suddenly he's rubbing himself all over her? No.

Speaking of that, he was both intense and vicious there, which made it possible for the scene to be not just about a rapist and killer confronted with his deed but about the problem of vigilantism.

I didn't like a lot of the Owen scenes, but I did like the way that it addressed his vigilante tendencies. If they show us that he's seriously broken, then the rape will become... not acceptable, but also less played for humour, which is what really bothered me about it.

Can someone explain the Ianto thing to me, i.e. his popularity? I mean, sure, he's pretty, but so far, he's a completely blank slate, with his one or two lines per episode. If they give him more to do, I might get interested in him, but so far, nah.

I like him, because from what we've seen so far, he's smart, he isn't messing around with the technology like the rest of them, and he's funny. Also, he hasn't done anything dumb *g*. He could still go anywhere, but so far I do like him.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I thought Gareth's performance was excellent, but I wish they'd cut down on the close-ups, which seemed to shriek "Look! He's acting with his fingers!" I think I'd have picked that up from a distance, anyway.

Speaking of that, he was both intense and vicious there, which made it possible for the scene to be not just about a rapist and killer confronted with his deed but about the problem of vigilantism.

Owen talked a lot about picking up the emotions of the victim, but possibly he also picked up the emotions of the killer. He would probably try to suppress those (which might tie in with his own guilt about the date rape), but they might have broken through a couple of times: when he told Bernie he was going to kill him, was it just a turn of phrase? And more obviously when he held the knife to Ed's throat.

Re Ianto: I don't think he's pretty. But every time he smiles I think "This man is not what he seems!" and I'm dying to find out what he is. Or possibly not, if it isn't as interesting as I'm imagining.

Re moving the foil to centre stage: I think that's a lot of what went wrong with Avon and Blake's 7. Avon was a great foil, and a rotten leader; it's possible to argue they did something with his rottenness as a leader, but if that was the intention I'm not sure it came off. And I'm finding Jack awfully dull so far.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

To use the inevitable Angel comparison yet again, I think it worked somewhat faster with AtS; around the time of Somnabulist in s1, I think.

With AtS, it took roughly 35 minutes for me to fall in love head over heels. :o) Star Trek, five minutes. I give a show, like, half a dozen eps, a season at the most... if there's no real spark by then, I don't bother watching it any more.

Owen, by contrast, saw a rape/murder about to happen, sharing the victim's feelings. I think that answers the question as to whether or not the writers are aware his use of the alien pheremones in Everything Changes wasn't just a laddish lark but date rape

That really causes me to place some trust in the writers. Also, because the way it was adressed was so unobtrusive... no flying anvils.

I had the impression that Owen made the connection as well. Like you said, it adds to his need to punish Ed. I think he's overcompensating, at least subconsciously.

Ianto is popular? I didn't even catch his name, until I read it on LJ today.

Goodbye, rogueness, hello, gravitas.

That's why Angel works so well for a spin-off series, he'd always been all gravitas.

[owl]

If Gwen's a cop is it not likely she'd have been trained to use a gun already?

[selenak.livejournal.com]

That's another thing I don't get, but didn't write about, because I was sure that as soon as I say "cops get trained in using a gun" someone will point out to me that there are subsections who don't. In any case, I have zero idea about actual police training in Great Britain - I only know what tv presents!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

You have a point. *shares the Alfred love* This makes more sense than the equivalent I came up with, which was that he's the Torchwood version of Boba Fett in classic Star Wars...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I think I'd have picked that up from a distance, anyway.

*g* Gareth Thomas: impressive at all distances.

Owen talked a lot about picking up the emotions of the victim, but possibly he also picked up the emotions of the killer.

Could be. I wondered when he described the event to Old Ed Morgan, as it sounded like the scene from Morgan's perspective. Unfortunately, the only comparison we have is to Gwen's two experiences, and the first time there was just one person whose emotions she could experience, and the other times, in her memories of happy times with Rhys, both of them were feeling the same thing, so, we don't know whether it's possible to share both emotions.

Avon was a great foil, and a rotten leader; it's possible to argue they did something with his rottenness as a leader, but if that was the intention I'm not sure it came off.

I'm not sure, either. I mean, the show never implies textually Avon is good at leading, and you could construct a coherent narrative about him first not bothering and only doing so after about a third of s3 because none of the others, including Tarrant, makes a serious effort. Or it could be that they simply needed a leading man and Avon was the most popular character.*g*

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Re: AtS: I knew I liked the show (very much so) the moment Angel jumped into the wrong car, in the pilot, but I didn't realize I loved it until Somnabulist.

I think he's overcompensating, at least subconsciously.

Until canon tells us otherwise, that's going to be my assumption.

Ianto is popular?

I read at least five reviews both of Day One and Ghost Machine which contain the phrases "Ianto is awesome" and "more Ianto"....

That's why Angel works so well for a spin-off series, he'd always been all gravitas.

Indeed. With Angel, they went the other route - among the many things he got to display in his own show which he hadn't, or almost not, on BTVS, was his deadpan sense of humour. And occasional goofiness. *g*

[thesecondevil]

Nope, she's a beat cop. The only British police that routinely carry guns are those in Northern Ireland, airports, nuclear facilities, and on some protection duties. Only seven per cent of officers in London are trained in the use of firearms and it's likely to be less in Cardiff.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I don't know how many are trained to use guns, but you don't expect to see armed police on the streets. I'm not sure what rank Gwen was, but my impression was something fairly lowly (what Gene Hunt & co would call a Plonk), so maybe she wouldn't have done that course.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Or it could be that they simply needed a leading man and Avon was the most popular character.

I'm afraid that was it. They could have made more of a story out of it, because Avon used to pretend he'd take over from Blake (though he was generally focusing on the ship not the crew), and you can see he wouldn't fancy the new whippersnapper telling him what to do, but it really just seemed to be taken for granted. And even Paul Darrow realised there was something wrong when almost the first thing Avon got to do as lead was tell Dayna not to kill the Sarran.

[thesecondevil]

Ah but you see, Boba Fett can't make a decent cup of tea to save his life. That's the difference. ;)

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

possibly he also picked up the emotions of the killer

See, I read that as more that Owen is naturally a vicious little bastard, put in so that we don't see the victim's-feelings download as a magical redemption.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

which could have gotten her killed, if the device had been something lethal

Not only that, but she was surrounded by innocent bystanders! I really didn't like that either, and I also thought that even if she'd never had any formal training with guns (which she probably wouldn't in a UK police force, unless she was specially selected) she should have had the brains not to playfully point a loaded gun at Jack's face.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

Oh, and true about the problem of the roguish secondary character elevated to lead. I think Jack also shares what would have been the big problem for a Faith spin-off from BtVS/AtS, that most show creators and channels still aren't willing to have a protagonist who sleeps around without being punished or made to seem appallingly shallow.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Precisely. I hate it when shows make a character who's supposed to be intelligent act like that.

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

I just have to leave a shallow comment. I liked the Jack teaching Gwen how to shoot scene, because I thought it was incredibly hot. But I am probably the biggest John Barrowman fanboy ever (Honestly, I have the CD of him playing Danny in Grease! ;-) ). I also really liked how the sequence was edited.

Onto less shallow things, I thought it was a great episode. The initensity in most of the Owen scenes was palpable, and when Gwen told Rhys he was gorgeous, that was one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time.

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

See, what I thought the episode had established, and this may just have been my interpretation, was that there was something about the device (from the emotions emanating from it, perhaps) that compelled people to touch the button whether or not they would normally deem such an action wise.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

And to my mind, someone with military experience like Jack should have absolutely verbally flayed her for a trick like that, instead of just grabbing her wrist and forcing it down.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

That's how I read it too; in the later scene with Owen as well.

[owl]

I'm from Northern Ireland; I knew that police on the mainland don't carry guns on patrol, but I thought there'd be more than that trained.

[kathyh]

If my boss did that, I'd see it as sexual molestation.

That was my immediate first thought too. I suppose it was their way of having Jack still be the flirt that he was in Dr Who, but it felt a little off here.

Here's hoping against hope Rhys won't be ditched.

I doubt that's going to happen. RTD makes good use of his main characters significant others and family members. Think of how he let Mickey and Jackie Tyler grow. I'd be very surprised if they write Rhys out though it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up very changed by what Gwen is doing.

Can someone explain the Ianto thing to me, i.e. his popularity?

He makes the tea. Obviously he's the most important guy on the show *g*.

[thesecondevil]

Ah right, well I did get that number from Wikipedia so make of that what you will. However I'm fairly certain that the use of firearms is restricted to Armed Response Units and Detectives, but in their case only if the circumstances warrant.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Hm, that's just not how it works for me. I mean, I can find an actor hot, and I do think John Barrowman is very attractive, and still be put off a scene which is supposed to come across as sexy when it reads so bizarre/wrong (and not in a good way) as this one did to me.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I should have remembered the tea factor!

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Thinking about it... we may not like the sexualised style of the scene, but for plot purposes it may have been necessary to establish that she's been taught if they want Gwen to be able to fire a gun in a later episode. Because at that point the Brits would raise doubts about whether she'd have been trained to do it by the police.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Point taken. I still wish they'd done it another way. But then, I didn't like the Angel-teaches-Cordelia-swordfighting scene in s3, either, so maybe it's me.