Keep Going, Going On, Call That Going, Call That On

You are in no-man's land. Which never moves, which never changes, which never grows older, but which remains forever, icy and silent. (Pinter)

Torchwood: A Day in the Death

It's no fun being the last to review A Day in the Death.  Not only have all the main positive and negative points been covered in the other reviews, but the comment sections have suddenly ballooned and thus hoovered up all the remaining minor aspects of the episode that I otherwise might have desperately spun into a fitful 500 words.  I haven't done the long haul of a whole series on this blog before, but Torchwood is certainly taking it out of me. There are good episodes and bad episodes, but the series is so repetitious, and I get an increasing feeling that I'm watching attempts by the writers to do different versions of a couple of basic storylines.  It's no huge surprise that I'm therefore experiencing deja vu when trying to write yet another blog entry.

Ianto and Tosh in the Himalayas sheltering under a yak

Still, keep going, going on.  There were some great bits in this episode, if you ignore the problems with the basic set up.  I'm still struggling with the resurrection of Owen, and since most of Dead Man Walking  was devoted to his existential crisis it was ludicrously wasteful to do the same again here.  I can sympathise with the effort involved in filling thirteen episodes of a series with a limited format, but why resort to such obvious padding at the precise moment when you've introduced another character from the franchise?  Poor old Freema Agyeman must be feeling robbed.  You can imagine the conversation: “Freema. Great news, we want you for three episodes of Torchwood and the storyline involves a major character arc!”  She was probably still sipping on the champagne and firing off party poppers up until the moment the scripts came through the letter-box with an ominous thud.  I look forward to Series 3 when both Billie Piper and John Simm are brought in for several episodes only to discover that all but two minutes of screen time features a lengthy series of flashbacks showing Ianto and Tosh in the Himalayas sheltering under a yak.

But despite this Joe Lidster and Andy Goddard provided some great moments. The extremes of angst portrayed in Owen's apartment were particularly good, and the framing rooftop scenes worked well because of nicely judged performances by (as usual) Burn Gorman and Christine Bottomley.  Certainly the oddest scene involved the dazed Maggie staggering around on a motorway that was clearly set in a depopulated world of the future.   I can't quite work out if the deserted road was there because of necessity and the lack of budget, or if it was an artistic decision to emphasise her isolation after her husband's death.  If the latter then it didn't really work but the effect was striking enough to be forgiven.

Why didn't Torchwood try ringing Parker up and asking him about the power surges?

So top marks for the existential angst, but the Henry Parker sub-plot left me a bit bemused.  It's always nice to hear Richard Briers say “lying in my own piss” (he first used the line in The Good Life I understand), and Owen's desire to help both Parker and himself by sharing their lonely existence was genuinely touching.  But the twist with the kiss of life only served to accentuate the inconsistencies about Owen's physical state and took me away from the drama.  And maybe I missed something, but why didn't Torchwood try ringing Parker up and asking him about the power surges?  Or drop him an e-mail?  I'm sure his PA would have responded in some way, and it gives a sense of Torchwood's hair-trigger nature that their response to a alien power surge is an armed break-in rather than a courtesy call to someone who already knows that aliens exist.  But I certainly chuckled when Parker begged Owen to tell him stories about Torchwood.  Fortunately, he conked out before Owen started his re-enactment of Cyberwoman. Alas Briers/Parker was dead, and no longer living The Bad Life.

The character stalks through his own show shedding redeeming features in the same way that weathermen shed dandruff

“We all assume life is going to be shit” commented Owen.  Well actually I always assume that Torchwood is going to be shit, but occasionally get a nice surprise.  Sadly A Day in the Death was undermined by its similarities and proximity to Dead Man Walking, and despite some good writing left me unsatisfied.  Even so, I would have been much happier to be spared the latest masterclass from Captain Twat. The character stalks through his own show shedding redeeming features in the same way that weathermen shed dandruff.  In this episode he took a back seat and let Gwen organise the inexplicable raid on Parker's house, while he busied himself with the important task of humiliating and bullying a distressed colleague.  I can't help but think that John Barrowman has found it impossible to leave his Any Dream Will Do persona behind.  At one point I half-expected him to criticise Owen's diction, and demand that he sing Close Every Door again from the top.  All of this while ignoring poor old Martha. Still, it was worth it for the bizarre noise he emitted when saying goodbye – he sounded like a demented cow.  It's certainly the most entertaining thing Jack has said for two series. I do hope Harry Hill picks it out for Steve McDonald's farm.

Ever onward.