Forget Me Knots

Torchwood: Adam

Adam is a great episode of Torchwood.  Scratch that - it's the only great episode of Torchwood. For the very first time the show managed to convey confidence instead of cockiness, boldness instead of bravado and ingenuity instead of incessant innuendo. I felt as if I was watching a completely different programme, which, to a certain extent, I was. If only they'd kept it up! Just think: slutty Tosh on a weekly basis, lovable Owen performing hilarious Lee Evans impersonations, Gwen perpetually forgetting who she is, Jack back to his happy-go-lucky self, and a blood-splattered Ianto hiding bodies in the basement instead of the usual Doctor Who monsters. I'd watch it.

Ah yes, Ianto. That was the knockout punch as far as I was concerned. Even if the rest of the episode had turned out to be a resounding mess, the harrowing mental assault on poor Ianto really struck a chord with me. This was a truly horrific and macabre concept and Gareth David-Lloyd sold it perfectly. Is this really the same bloke who couldn't cry his way out of a paper bag last year? I was shocked and genuinely concerned that he would be forced to live with those memories for the rest of his life, whereas last week I wanted to punch him squarely in the jaw. That's quite a turnaround.

For the very first time the show conveyed confidence instead of cockiness.

Adam the "person" was a fascinating chracter who managed to swing between nonchalance and malevolence with disturbing ease. I'm also perversely pleased that we didn't get the full story when it came to his motives or goals. Was he drawn to Jack because of his longevity or was it due to his travels through time and space? Is Jack's "unique mind" a side-effect of that missing year that still hasn't been accounted for? Were Jack's memories of his father real or fake (or both)?  Did Jack forget his father because Adam messed with his mind when he arrived, or is that block tied into the missing year as well? Has Jack lost all memory of Gray and his father now, thanks to Adam? The opening of the sandbox certainly implies that this is indeed the case, which makes Jack's sacrifice even more meaningful and profound. And where did the sandbox come from anyway? Was Adam trapped in the box and that's how Torchwood found him/released him? Thankfully, all this ambiguity and open-endedness accentuates the episode's dreamlike qualities, and any nagging doubts I was left with felt strangely appropriate and entirely intentional.

Incredibly, I actually care about this bunch of cretins now

Having said all that, John Barrowman was all over the place. At times he was buttock-clenchingly bad, especially during the embarrassing (or brave, if you're feeling charitable) regressions into childhood. Unfortunately, I've had the 'pleasure' of seeing that infamous episode of Have I Been Here Before? where Barrowman "remembered" a past-life as a trapeze artist who's entire family were wiped out in a bizarre circus accident, and as a result it was practically impossible for me to take him seriously. But there were flashes of brilliance too. The final confrontation with Adam, where Jack sacrifices his precious memories for the sake of the team was undeniably powerful stuff, and very, very moving.

Sadly, Captain Jack's big, bad  secret was a little bit 'meh' for me. The whole Gray thing felt cheesy and predictable, not to mention entirely accidental, and while Boeshane Peninsula's depopulated future certainly looked impressive, I just couldn't get involved in this rather ho-hum turn of events.

And somebody please shoot me for admitting this, but I actually liked the group therapy session at the end. It was rather sweet. OK, so the alien screensaver was laughable, Owen's psychological backstory flirted with parody, and we should never be reminded of Cyberwoman, but there was a poignancy and a tenderness to that scene which broke my cynical old heart.

Incredibly, I actually care about this bunch of cretins now.