Torchwood: Children of Earth

Genre : DVD ( DVD )
Release : 2009/07/28
Price : $19.99

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After two engagingly frothy seasons of action-packed science fiction TV, the Russell T. (Doctor Who) Davies-produced Torchwood takes a decidedly dark and thoughtful turn in its abbreviated third season miniseries, Children of Earth. Here, Captain Jack Harkness and the Torchwood Three team, still reeling from the deaths of two of its key members in the previous season, investigate a outbreak of hypnotic chanting by children across the globe. The phenomenon heralds the arrival of an invading alien force, the 456, who plan to destroy the human race if 10% of the Earth’s children are not given to them. Captain Jack and his cohorts must find a way to stop the 456’s plan, but encounter formidable obstacles along the way, including enemies in the British Home Office and Jack’s own past, which is intertwined with the 456. Penned in part by Davies, Children of Earth does an impressive job of bringing the Torchwood characters and mythology into a more complex and mature storyline (which borrows and elaborates pleasantly on John Wyndham’s novel The Midwich Cuckoos and its film adaptation, Village of the Damned). Dedicated fans of the series may decry some of Davies’ decisions regarding some of the show’s characters (and new ones are introduced here), but most should enjoy this attempt to bring weight and suspense to the Torchwood universe. The double-disc DVD contains all five episodes of Children of Earth (which were broadcast on consecutive nights on the BBC and its affiliated stations), as well as a 31-minute episode of its companion series, Torchwood Declassified, which addresses the season’s production (and under no circumstances should be viewed prior to watching the episodes). --Paul Gaita

The more that I looked at Series 2 of "Torchwood", the more I had a suspicion...that Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner weren't happy with the personnel mix that they had. This isn't a put-down to Nakano Mori, Burn Gorman, and especially Gareth Lloyd-Davies...but in rewatching Series 2, I just suspected that the two showrunners weren't happy with something the way the story flowed in the second series--which led to the deaths of Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato at the end of Series Two, and the controversial ending of the Ianto Jones storyline in "Children Of Earth".
Still, this is NOT a bad story; in many ways it is very consistent with the darker and more viseral tone--as I call it, "The Broken Reflection of the Whoniverse"--that the series had maintained since its beginning. It opens up a few surprises--with John Barrowman's Jack Harkness not just being a father, but a grandfather; but also a deal that Captain Jack brokered in the 1960s coming back to haunt him...and the planet. The explanation of the 456, and what they want with 10% of the Earth's children...is harrowing. Of course, the story gets complicated by Jack, Gwen Cooper and Ianto (As well as Rhys Williams, Gwen's husband) becoming outlaws to the British Home Office. Our three main leads--Barrowman, Eve Myles, and Lloyd-Davies--are in fine form as the team working to save the planet in a situation where some within the British government seem more determined to appease rather than combat. Which leaves an undermanned Torchwood to the fight...and certainly not an easy fight, given what the final victory over the 456 costs Harkness.
Barrowman, Eve Myles, Lloyd-Davies and Kai Owen are all in a good place, with Owen giving Rhys Williams a little more life and the ability to think on his feet. Lucy Cohu's Alice Carter--Harkness' daughter--and Bear McCausland--Jack's grandson--are interesting introductions...and given how the storyline played out--and the nature of the Whoniverse--we can't clearly say that the ending we saw WAS THE END...Liz May Brice's Agent Johnson was also an interesting introduction that might be recurring when "Torchwood" gets back on screen in 2011...
But overall, the whole of this story--while being very good--still has the feel of Davies and Gardner reworking the team toward possibly becoming the home for people who have had dealings with The Doctor. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing--Whovians are comfortable with Freema Agyeman's Martha Smith-Jones (If "Law And Order:UK" doesn't work out) and Noel Clarke's Mickey Smith...and Torchwood could use a secretarial-type...do I hear a vote for a certain loud and brassy redhead with some memory issues...like a Donna Noble?
Time will tell where Russell and Julie will take Torchwood at the beginning of next year. In the meantime, enjoy this rough and slightly dark ride.

I'm a fan of Torchwood; all three seasons thus far have met and exceeded my expectations (with the token fluke episodes, of course). Children of Earth is one of the best miniseries I've seen in a while, and much better than a lot of full-season shows.

While I dislike the clunky-plastic grip plug that keeps the dvds in pace inside their packaging (mine a least has a bit of a deathgrip on the dvd - good for holding it in place during shipping, bad when you actually want to watch your movie), I wouldn't go so far as to say that they ruined the experience.

I will probably be watching this in a few days with some friends before I move. Here's hoping they like it as much as I do.

Torchwood 1: Instantly captivated
Torchwood 2 [1st half of the season]: Absolutely in love with every single character. Glad to see the character growth in Toshiko and Own.
Torchwood 2 [2nd half]: Tired of seeing Gwen's husband, but still eagerly await every new episode.
Torchwood 2 Season Finale: Hurts. And feels a bit like a cop out ending.

Torchwood 3: Complete and utter rubbish. Where season 2 had many high points marred only by its ending... The so-called season 3 of Torchwood was so absolutely horrible... So completely different from everything you as a fan come to know about Torchwood that by the last frame you just want to turn off your tv and forget you ever heard the name Torchwood to begin with

Just as Torchwood is itself a branch of the Dr. Who series the third season of Torchwood, (which is in reality a five night miniseries), is itself a branch of Torchwood called collectively "Children of the Earth". The silliness is dropped and what you have is no less than what the fourth series installment of Quatermass,(1972), should've been.

Nigel Kneale, who adapted George Orwell's 1984 for the radio in the early 1950s went to BBC television and created the character of Bernard Quatermass for three television series each of six one-hour installments. You may not know it, but these not only invented science fiction for British TV and film, but they are the source for much science fiction to come. You probably have seen one of the Hammer films made from these three series. Most famous is "Quatermass and the Pit" released in the United States as "5 million years to Earth".

More pertinent here is the 1984 theme of his second TV series called "Quatermass II", called "Enemy From Space" in the US. Here we have the theme of the government being taken over by an agenda at odds with the freedom and prosperity of the people that live under it. This is why consider "Children of the Earth" to be the suitable successor to the political and ethical questions coming out of the book 1984 as being thought through by the Socialist critique of the Quatermass universe.

There are several plot conceits that don't really work at all in the action surrounding the central core of the movie in London. One escape scene seen something like you would see in Mission impossible but it passes quickly. The acting level and the script of what goes on in the inner circles of London politics is like the very best of the socially aware movies of the 1970s, ("All the President's Men") or British drama, (the John le Carré espionage adaptations like 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy").

This is a film ALL Neo-Liberal Governments would rather you don't see.

Well let me just start off by saying that i have all seasons of torchwood on dvd and i knew i really wanted to buy this dvd because i enjoyed watching it on bbc and i hope everyone would like to purchase this i also want torchwood to have another season i miss the show so this is a must buy if you like torchwood.