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selenakDay of the Who spin-offs, clearly. Yesterday, I mean, though today for the non-Brits among us.
Captain Jack Harkness, by the same writer, if I'm not mistaken, who penned the excellent Out of Time, continued the trend of episodes wherein I care about Jack. Which, sorry to say, wasn't the case for the majority of the season; I had some benevolent feelings from Dr. Who, but until Out of Time, I didn't find Jack on Torchwood very interesting. I'm still trying to figure out whether JB's acting or the writing for the character improved, or both. In either case: considering he's the lead, the result was good to see.
Real!Jack cleared up the matter whether Our Jack pinched the name or not (of course he did), and, like John in "Out of Time", was a moving one-shot character, and I thought that Our Jack, aside from responding to the attraction, saw something of his past self during the "Parting of the Ways" era in him, going of to a heroic death, goodbye kiss and all. Good period detail in making Toshiko being Japanese getting the reactions it would in WWII. Billis (Bilgis?) made it obvious these people are Buffy fans: Joel Grey's Doc character revisited, down to the look. Jack's nome de plume - Harper - was interesting in the light of Owen. Who continued to go to self-and-others-destructive pieces in the Diane aftermath. All in all, Owen's the character who had the most clearly defined arc through the season and the most consistent writing, too. (Gwen, who got more screentime, was written far more inconsistently. Jack, see above. Ianto and Toshiko spent entire episodes doing not much more than reaction shots or one or two lines.) In retrospect, his reaction in The Ghost Machine prefigures his actions in the last third of the season pretty well.
Sidenote: I wonder whether Jack/Ianto 'shippers are crushed, despite getting an on screen kiss in "End of Days"? Because Ianto basically gets dumped twice. Once when Our Jack tells Real!Jack "there is no one" in "Captain Jack Harkness" (meaning Ianto = no one), and the other time when Jack tells Gwen the only thing which would have tempted him would have been "the right kind of Doctor", and upon hearing the TARDIS races off beaming, which at best makes Ianto Mickey in "Rose" to Jack's Rose, emotionally.
(BTW, I've got some third/twentyninth season Dr. Who speculation, but as it contains a casting spoiler, I'll put it below where people who don't want to know about castings can avoid it.)
End of Days was solid suspense, and the breakdown of the Torchwood team, picking up on all their various issues, losses etc., was very credible. And boy, is RTD ever an ex-Catholic. (JMS is too, and Babylon 5 shows it rather creatively and, imo of course a bit more layered.) Jack dies for humanity, rises after three days and forgives his doubting and/or betraying disciples, and then rises to the heavens. (Does that make Gwen Mary Magdalene - the first one to see him - and Ianto John or Peter, with Owen as Judas-who-gets-forgiven? Must resist urge to filk Jesus Christ Superstar with this in mind.) Um. Though considering Chip C. wrote the episode and he, not RTD, is the headwriter of the show, perhaps it's an unfair remark. Anyway, the one thing I hoped would not happen did - they went for the kiss-then-resurrection scene. Now, I know it's a powerful archetype. But after the Matrix films used it repeatedly, it should be banned from fantasy and sci fi for a while. Speaking of resurrections, why the hell is Rhys alive again? Not that I don't like Rhys (poor Rhys), but I'm trying to work out the logistics. Beast dies from life overdose by Jack, rift is closed, fine, but Rhys was killed by Billis/Bilgis, not by the rift. Other than that, I liked the finale, enough to tune in again next season.
Now, regarding Jack on Dr. Who and the last scene of Torchwood, season 1. Confirmed casting spoiler and one casting speculation follows, so if you want want to read, skip.
It's mostly
speculation
anyway,
but:
According the the preliminary episode list the BBC put up, Jack won't show up until the last three episodes of season 3/29, but he is confirmed for those. All we know about the timing of Torchwood's first season is that it has to take place after the season 2 finale; for all we know the start of these last three episodes of the next Who season could coincide with the end of Torchwood's first season. However, there is the persistant rumour - which RTD has denied once, but which keeps resurfacing - that the Rani might show up in s3/29. (For New Whovians: the Rani is an Old School villain, a timelady... with a TARDIS of her own.) And the Doctor at last mentioning Gallifrey by name in Runaway Bride might be a hint. If the Rani rumour isn't completely wrong, it might be that Jack just jumped into the wrong TARDIS, from which he he'll have to get away from and won't until those last three episodes.
The Sarah Jane Adventures started with a fun pilot. Wherein we learn thatcoke bubbly drink with unknown components are evil, and so are overly cheerful advertisements, but mobile phones are good.*g* Also, Sarah Jane clearly has observed Three, Three being the most gadget-happy of Doctors, very closely, and RTD wants to make up for the Ambiguous-turning-Evil Alien from Greeks Bearing Gifts on Torchwood by presenting us with a peaceful member of the same species being charming with Sarah. Samantha Bond as Mrs. Wormwood clearly had a great time being an Evil Overlady, Elisabeth Sladen is wonderful as ever as SJS, and the two (three, depending on how much Kelsie will be present) teenage actors sell their characters. Surprisingly ambiguous take on motherhood which prevents it from being presented as the solution to everything (or conversely as only evil): it's shown both all consuming (our villainess), absent (Maria's mother) and caring (Sarah Jane), with Sarah adopting the mother/aunt role after the kid(s) adopted her.
My favourite detail: Sarah Jane, looking for male names, goes through "Harry" and "Alistair" first before settling on Luke. Aw, Harry. Awwww, Brigadier. You're not forgotten, chaps!
Captain Jack Harkness, by the same writer, if I'm not mistaken, who penned the excellent Out of Time, continued the trend of episodes wherein I care about Jack. Which, sorry to say, wasn't the case for the majority of the season; I had some benevolent feelings from Dr. Who, but until Out of Time, I didn't find Jack on Torchwood very interesting. I'm still trying to figure out whether JB's acting or the writing for the character improved, or both. In either case: considering he's the lead, the result was good to see.
Real!Jack cleared up the matter whether Our Jack pinched the name or not (of course he did), and, like John in "Out of Time", was a moving one-shot character, and I thought that Our Jack, aside from responding to the attraction, saw something of his past self during the "Parting of the Ways" era in him, going of to a heroic death, goodbye kiss and all. Good period detail in making Toshiko being Japanese getting the reactions it would in WWII. Billis (Bilgis?) made it obvious these people are Buffy fans: Joel Grey's Doc character revisited, down to the look. Jack's nome de plume - Harper - was interesting in the light of Owen. Who continued to go to self-and-others-destructive pieces in the Diane aftermath. All in all, Owen's the character who had the most clearly defined arc through the season and the most consistent writing, too. (Gwen, who got more screentime, was written far more inconsistently. Jack, see above. Ianto and Toshiko spent entire episodes doing not much more than reaction shots or one or two lines.) In retrospect, his reaction in The Ghost Machine prefigures his actions in the last third of the season pretty well.
Sidenote: I wonder whether Jack/Ianto 'shippers are crushed, despite getting an on screen kiss in "End of Days"? Because Ianto basically gets dumped twice. Once when Our Jack tells Real!Jack "there is no one" in "Captain Jack Harkness" (meaning Ianto = no one), and the other time when Jack tells Gwen the only thing which would have tempted him would have been "the right kind of Doctor", and upon hearing the TARDIS races off beaming, which at best makes Ianto Mickey in "Rose" to Jack's Rose, emotionally.
(BTW, I've got some third/twentyninth season Dr. Who speculation, but as it contains a casting spoiler, I'll put it below where people who don't want to know about castings can avoid it.)
End of Days was solid suspense, and the breakdown of the Torchwood team, picking up on all their various issues, losses etc., was very credible. And boy, is RTD ever an ex-Catholic. (JMS is too, and Babylon 5 shows it rather creatively and, imo of course a bit more layered.) Jack dies for humanity, rises after three days and forgives his doubting and/or betraying disciples, and then rises to the heavens. (Does that make Gwen Mary Magdalene - the first one to see him - and Ianto John or Peter, with Owen as Judas-who-gets-forgiven? Must resist urge to filk Jesus Christ Superstar with this in mind.) Um. Though considering Chip C. wrote the episode and he, not RTD, is the headwriter of the show, perhaps it's an unfair remark. Anyway, the one thing I hoped would not happen did - they went for the kiss-then-resurrection scene. Now, I know it's a powerful archetype. But after the Matrix films used it repeatedly, it should be banned from fantasy and sci fi for a while. Speaking of resurrections, why the hell is Rhys alive again? Not that I don't like Rhys (poor Rhys), but I'm trying to work out the logistics. Beast dies from life overdose by Jack, rift is closed, fine, but Rhys was killed by Billis/Bilgis, not by the rift. Other than that, I liked the finale, enough to tune in again next season.
Now, regarding Jack on Dr. Who and the last scene of Torchwood, season 1. Confirmed casting spoiler and one casting speculation follows, so if you want want to read, skip.
It's mostly
speculation
anyway,
but:
According the the preliminary episode list the BBC put up, Jack won't show up until the last three episodes of season 3/29, but he is confirmed for those. All we know about the timing of Torchwood's first season is that it has to take place after the season 2 finale; for all we know the start of these last three episodes of the next Who season could coincide with the end of Torchwood's first season. However, there is the persistant rumour - which RTD has denied once, but which keeps resurfacing - that the Rani might show up in s3/29. (For New Whovians: the Rani is an Old School villain, a timelady... with a TARDIS of her own.) And the Doctor at last mentioning Gallifrey by name in Runaway Bride might be a hint. If the Rani rumour isn't completely wrong, it might be that Jack just jumped into the wrong TARDIS, from which he he'll have to get away from and won't until those last three episodes.
The Sarah Jane Adventures started with a fun pilot. Wherein we learn that
My favourite detail: Sarah Jane, looking for male names, goes through "Harry" and "Alistair" first before settling on Luke. Aw, Harry. Awwww, Brigadier. You're not forgotten, chaps!
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 01:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 07:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-03 03:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 07:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 03:25 pm (UTC)Not at all. I can't speak for all the Jack/Ianto 'shippers, but as a gay man, I can say that rules as far as monogamousness are a bit more fluid, for most gay men at least, not to mention the fact that Jack isn't the type of person to be monagmous, anyway. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 03:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 04:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 05:35 pm (UTC)On a slightly separate issue, although I like Jack and Ianto as a couple, I'm a little curious as to how Ianto went from detesting him and what he made him do to his girlfriend in Cyberwoman to having a sexual relationship with him. I like Ianto as a character, and sometimes I find it frustrating that the writers make it hard to figure out what's going on in his head. I could say that about Gwen and Tosh, too, though. I don't have any qualms about Jack's character development anymore after the last bunch of eps. I am curious to rewatch the season, though, to see if there are any more subtle things I might be missing, particularly about Ianto's arc.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 05:49 pm (UTC)Stuart Alan Jones!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 06:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 08:16 pm (UTC)P.S.
Date: 2007-01-02 08:20 pm (UTC)Re: P.S.
Date: 2007-01-02 08:21 pm (UTC)As the original Jack left, that is, not have a premonition, which he didn't. *g*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 07:56 pm (UTC)Re Invasion of the Bane: the Bubble Pop thing is based quite transparently on a UK scandal a few years ago over a drink called Sunny Delight which was promoted and packaged in such a way as to make unwary people think that it was budget orange juice while actually being artificial crud. The row reached its high-point when a young girl allegedly turned orange from drinking too much of it due to the colouring ingredient.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-03 03:22 am (UTC)the Bubble Pop thing is based quite transparently on a UK scandal
...Good lord, as Giles would say. *cleans glasses*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 09:28 pm (UTC)Did you not notice that Sarah clearly has Orac in her attic, now going by the pseudonym of "Mr Smith". One can only assume that he created a time tunnel and fled down it after Servalan insisted on flirting with him once too often.
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Date: 2007-01-03 03:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-03 06:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-03 07:35 am (UTC)So that's what became of Agent Krycheck, hm?
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Date: 2007-01-03 06:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-03 07:34 am (UTC)*is frivolous enough to still like "Billie's Manager" as well *g**
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Date: 2007-01-03 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 05:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 06:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 06:00 am (UTC)