Torchwood: Children of Earth
●In this new series, re-join Captain Jack, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones, who are still coming to terms with the death of two of their closest friends, Tosh and Owen. This time the Torchwood team are faced with their fiercest threat to date - one which throws the future of Torchwood and the entire human race spiraling into danger. They battle against the odds but do they stand a chance of saving mank
Product Description
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
★☆☆☆☆ Except superficially, this show had nothing to do with Torchwood.
Two fold review:
1. Children of Earth, as it stands, was simply not very good television. Remove the word "Torchwood" from the title and what you have is a small band of people who live and work in Cardiff, Wales and happen to occupy the same "office building". Within a short amount of time, the office building is blown up and the individuals are left struggling to find unity. The world is threatened by a common enemy and all of the Earth's governments turn out to be self-serving, vote mongering, duplicitous, uncaring monsters who are willing to "sacrifice the few for the needs of the many" even though no one can be bothered to even find out ~why~ this enemy is asking for its intolerable price--the eternal enslavement of 10% of humanity's children. In the course of this abominable behaviour (that is never so much as questioned) the plucky band of office workers manage to survive long enough to throw a spanner in the works. Not before, however, one of the heroes is dead and another has sacrificed his only grandson over the screaming wails of his daughter. The retribution we get at the end? The bad enemy is defeated without ever having had a real fighting chance to show us that it was ever a threat to begin with (really!) and one of the more likable "bad" gummint guys slaughters his wife and children before committing suicide.
So. You tell me.
Next:
2. Now add Torchwood to it. Except for the fact that the actors are the same and the costuming is consistent, the characters are all but unrecognizable. The dashing, clever, arrogant, funny Superhero repeats a horrible mistake that didn't go well in the past and has no indication of going well in the present. The Loyal Sidekick spends his time trying to figure out exactly where he fits in the Superhero's life (a valid pursuit) but in the process blunders directly into the line of fire with disastrous results. The faithful Second-in-Command finds herself turned into a Pregnant Ninja (no, really) who is ultimately the last "man" standing. All other accoutrements of the original series are completely gutted (and/or blown to bits.)
To recap: Aside from the Torchwood name, the series is predictable, stereotypical, unremittingly dark and depressing, pointless, sadistic and in many ways simply insulting. (The UBERVillain never even established it could follow through on a single threat except kill a few panicked souls in one building. Sad, yes, but that is hardly World Domination.) When considering it is part of the Torchwood franchise, the characters were barely recognizable, the Hub was destroyed (what would Star Trek have been if in series three, Roddenberry had blown up the Enterprise?) and, unlike previous episodes, this enemy was completely impotent.
Ugh. I'm tired of being negative. On the plus side--and why I'm glad I can't dip the rating into the negative--the acting was wonderful. Peter Capaldi is ~always~ so fantastic. He is a delight. The original ensemble cast did the best they could with what they were given. They were really excellent and I am keeping an eye out for their future endeavours. The family background stories were fascinating. The CGI, equipment, special effects and general financial outlay was impressive.
I'm still baffled as to why they called this Torchwood. Such a shame, really.
If you're looking for a problematic, entertaining but ultimately ideations-of-suicide-inducing science fiction miniseries this is fine. If you're looking for Torchwood, buy series 1 and 2 because that, at the end of the day, is all you'll find of the series.
1. Children of Earth, as it stands, was simply not very good television. Remove the word "Torchwood" from the title and what you have is a small band of people who live and work in Cardiff, Wales and happen to occupy the same "office building". Within a short amount of time, the office building is blown up and the individuals are left struggling to find unity. The world is threatened by a common enemy and all of the Earth's governments turn out to be self-serving, vote mongering, duplicitous, uncaring monsters who are willing to "sacrifice the few for the needs of the many" even though no one can be bothered to even find out ~why~ this enemy is asking for its intolerable price--the eternal enslavement of 10% of humanity's children. In the course of this abominable behaviour (that is never so much as questioned) the plucky band of office workers manage to survive long enough to throw a spanner in the works. Not before, however, one of the heroes is dead and another has sacrificed his only grandson over the screaming wails of his daughter. The retribution we get at the end? The bad enemy is defeated without ever having had a real fighting chance to show us that it was ever a threat to begin with (really!) and one of the more likable "bad" gummint guys slaughters his wife and children before committing suicide.
So. You tell me.
Next:
2. Now add Torchwood to it. Except for the fact that the actors are the same and the costuming is consistent, the characters are all but unrecognizable. The dashing, clever, arrogant, funny Superhero repeats a horrible mistake that didn't go well in the past and has no indication of going well in the present. The Loyal Sidekick spends his time trying to figure out exactly where he fits in the Superhero's life (a valid pursuit) but in the process blunders directly into the line of fire with disastrous results. The faithful Second-in-Command finds herself turned into a Pregnant Ninja (no, really) who is ultimately the last "man" standing. All other accoutrements of the original series are completely gutted (and/or blown to bits.)
To recap: Aside from the Torchwood name, the series is predictable, stereotypical, unremittingly dark and depressing, pointless, sadistic and in many ways simply insulting. (The UBERVillain never even established it could follow through on a single threat except kill a few panicked souls in one building. Sad, yes, but that is hardly World Domination.) When considering it is part of the Torchwood franchise, the characters were barely recognizable, the Hub was destroyed (what would Star Trek have been if in series three, Roddenberry had blown up the Enterprise?) and, unlike previous episodes, this enemy was completely impotent.
Ugh. I'm tired of being negative. On the plus side--and why I'm glad I can't dip the rating into the negative--the acting was wonderful. Peter Capaldi is ~always~ so fantastic. He is a delight. The original ensemble cast did the best they could with what they were given. They were really excellent and I am keeping an eye out for their future endeavours. The family background stories were fascinating. The CGI, equipment, special effects and general financial outlay was impressive.
I'm still baffled as to why they called this Torchwood. Such a shame, really.
If you're looking for a problematic, entertaining but ultimately ideations-of-suicide-inducing science fiction miniseries this is fine. If you're looking for Torchwood, buy series 1 and 2 because that, at the end of the day, is all you'll find of the series.
★★★★★ Transcends it's origins
I'm not really a fan of Torchwood. I absolutley love Doctor Who, and I loved Captain Jack's appearances on Doctor Who, but I always found Torchwood to be rather dumb and really silly with they way they tried to make it "dark" by having lots of sex & swearing. It all seemed to be just trying too hard to be different from Doctor Who.
So I was shocked by how good "Children of the Earth" really is, not just for Torchwood, but for sci-fi/espinoage thrillers in general. The first 3 episodes are classics of the paranoid action genre, with the stakes rising constantly and the ground falling out from under the characters over and over again. The fact that the government see's Torchwood secret organization and raises them by an even more secret organization brings a great sense of unpredictability to the storytelling.
The main characters are many times more interesting here than they ever were in the first two seasons, and the new characters introduced are fun and fully developed. Of particular note are a handful of mid-level government officials who find themselves with the fate of the world literally resting upon their shoulders because the elected officials don't want to take any responsibility. These poor and misguided people go about their business, doing their jobs and keeping their heads down because they are paid to maintain the status quo and not question directives. They are ordinary people doing terrible things because they are "just following orders." The story brings an unexpected level of empathy for these functionaries who labor in obscurity doing mostly good things for most of their careers but suddenly find themselves being forced to chose between the career they've worked for most of their lives and what is, in almost any sense, the "right" thing to do.
When things settle into a less spy and more sci-fi atmosphere in the final two episodes the series manages to maintain the momentum and build things to an almost unbearable level of tension entering the climactic moments. The final series of events is stunning, tragic and epic, putting "Children of the Earth" firmly into the realm of classic science fiction storytelling.
The only bad part is that I have no idea how they can manage to keep this level of quality going. The series feels dangerous and fresh because of the constantly rising stakes and the feeling that things will not end well for anyone involved.
So I was shocked by how good "Children of the Earth" really is, not just for Torchwood, but for sci-fi/espinoage thrillers in general. The first 3 episodes are classics of the paranoid action genre, with the stakes rising constantly and the ground falling out from under the characters over and over again. The fact that the government see's Torchwood secret organization and raises them by an even more secret organization brings a great sense of unpredictability to the storytelling.
The main characters are many times more interesting here than they ever were in the first two seasons, and the new characters introduced are fun and fully developed. Of particular note are a handful of mid-level government officials who find themselves with the fate of the world literally resting upon their shoulders because the elected officials don't want to take any responsibility. These poor and misguided people go about their business, doing their jobs and keeping their heads down because they are paid to maintain the status quo and not question directives. They are ordinary people doing terrible things because they are "just following orders." The story brings an unexpected level of empathy for these functionaries who labor in obscurity doing mostly good things for most of their careers but suddenly find themselves being forced to chose between the career they've worked for most of their lives and what is, in almost any sense, the "right" thing to do.
When things settle into a less spy and more sci-fi atmosphere in the final two episodes the series manages to maintain the momentum and build things to an almost unbearable level of tension entering the climactic moments. The final series of events is stunning, tragic and epic, putting "Children of the Earth" firmly into the realm of classic science fiction storytelling.
The only bad part is that I have no idea how they can manage to keep this level of quality going. The series feels dangerous and fresh because of the constantly rising stakes and the feeling that things will not end well for anyone involved.
★★☆☆☆ Wow. And not a good wow.
Major Spoilers
I liked Torchwood season 1 and 2. Although I adore Doctor Who, I also really appreciate the edginess and darkness that often is Torchwood. Much in the same vein as Buffy, but with a more adult edge.
That having been said, this mini series was awful. The tone of Torchwood was severely skewed. The setting was completely changed. I'm sort of pissed about them killing off Ianto at the peak of his performance (after killing off Toshiko and Owen at the end of last season, mind you). I'm also a little skeeved about destroying the hub. But, I could live with all that. My main problem is this series crossed the line between dark science fiction and horror movie. It was severely disturbing, especially in the 3rd through 5th "day". And, in the end, it is about Jack saving everyone while destroying himself. Although he's a decent character, his character is primarily characterized by the dynamics of his team (which, I guess now, is not really a team anymore...)
Basically the plot revolves around a race of aliens who are interested in children so they can use them as mini drug labs (literally taking the chemicals the children produced and getting high off of them). Oh, and they live as perpetual children hooked up to O2 masks surrounded by lethal chemicals with a gazed look on their faces- eternal life. The world governments are willing to surrender as many children as will make the Aliens go away (really, do they think the Aliens aren't going to come back for more?). Apparently some under qualified team has been handling this, and trying to kill off everyone else who could possibly help as a strategy. I can take disturbing, in moderate doses. This was way above and beyond, a sort of nauseating disturbing that you want to turn away from but can't.
In parts Torchwood was working to save the world with all of the interpersonal stuff that makes Torchwood good. About midway through they split everyone up (or kill them). The final solution is a last minute idea, which *happens* to involve killing Jack's grandson. Dude- why completely change everything? It doesn't make sense- they took what made the series good and basically diced it up and mixed in some politics and horror. They made the series as improbable as possible, which works for Doctor Who because it's whacky, and worked for season 1 and 2 of Torchwood because, well, it never took itself too seriously. It did NOT work for this mini series.
Anyway, when Torchwood comes back, I hope they return to the old tone. Or else I'll have to stop watching.
I liked Torchwood season 1 and 2. Although I adore Doctor Who, I also really appreciate the edginess and darkness that often is Torchwood. Much in the same vein as Buffy, but with a more adult edge.
That having been said, this mini series was awful. The tone of Torchwood was severely skewed. The setting was completely changed. I'm sort of pissed about them killing off Ianto at the peak of his performance (after killing off Toshiko and Owen at the end of last season, mind you). I'm also a little skeeved about destroying the hub. But, I could live with all that. My main problem is this series crossed the line between dark science fiction and horror movie. It was severely disturbing, especially in the 3rd through 5th "day". And, in the end, it is about Jack saving everyone while destroying himself. Although he's a decent character, his character is primarily characterized by the dynamics of his team (which, I guess now, is not really a team anymore...)
Basically the plot revolves around a race of aliens who are interested in children so they can use them as mini drug labs (literally taking the chemicals the children produced and getting high off of them). Oh, and they live as perpetual children hooked up to O2 masks surrounded by lethal chemicals with a gazed look on their faces- eternal life. The world governments are willing to surrender as many children as will make the Aliens go away (really, do they think the Aliens aren't going to come back for more?). Apparently some under qualified team has been handling this, and trying to kill off everyone else who could possibly help as a strategy. I can take disturbing, in moderate doses. This was way above and beyond, a sort of nauseating disturbing that you want to turn away from but can't.
In parts Torchwood was working to save the world with all of the interpersonal stuff that makes Torchwood good. About midway through they split everyone up (or kill them). The final solution is a last minute idea, which *happens* to involve killing Jack's grandson. Dude- why completely change everything? It doesn't make sense- they took what made the series good and basically diced it up and mixed in some politics and horror. They made the series as improbable as possible, which works for Doctor Who because it's whacky, and worked for season 1 and 2 of Torchwood because, well, it never took itself too seriously. It did NOT work for this mini series.
Anyway, when Torchwood comes back, I hope they return to the old tone. Or else I'll have to stop watching.
★★★★☆ Relentless Epic
Children of Earth is not meant for Torchwood newbies. It has an immensely convoluted narrative which contains too many references back to prior events in the series. Unless you've watched the first two seasons, Children of Earth will be too cool for the room, and it will probably leave you more confused than enlightened.
But if you've been keeping up, this five-episode single arc pushes the characters beyond their previous limits. They face a much bigger, better-organized, and more powerful foe than ever before, and this time, they do it without their alien tech or even a central base of operations. On the run like fugitives, Torchwood has to face down a menace more awful than any they've confronted yet: children.
The five hour format allows more scope than the usual one-hour episodes, with braided narrative lines converging on a final confrontation. This permits the story to have the magnitude of an epic novel while losing none of TV's pulse-pounding action. Unfortunately, it also means ramrodding in four false climaxes, always the risk with serial narrative. But the scope makes up for this shortcoming.
Rather than conventional sci-fi horror, this novel for TV sets up a lingering Lovecraftian dread in which what we don't know is scarier than what we do. And what we don't know turns out, in part, to be Captain Jack, whose limitless life carries the cost of accruing infinite guilt. Every victory comes for Jack at great cost, and he can't gain ground without hurting those he most cares about.
Not that the production is flawless. Russel T. Davies' characteristic dry wit is in short supply. Jack's epilogue feels forced on, the work of a creative team that doesn't know if they will get the nod for another run at the series. This whole show has the fatalistic feel of a last hurrah, and even in the happy moments, the actors perform like they're waiting for the axe to fall.
That said, Torchwood fans will find plenty they will like in this relentlessly epic narrative. If this does turn out to be the last gasp of an ending show, they went out in one awesome blaze of glory. This is a worthy addition to the Torchwood canon, and its cataclysmic impact is one that will stick in viewers' minds for a long time to come.
But if you've been keeping up, this five-episode single arc pushes the characters beyond their previous limits. They face a much bigger, better-organized, and more powerful foe than ever before, and this time, they do it without their alien tech or even a central base of operations. On the run like fugitives, Torchwood has to face down a menace more awful than any they've confronted yet: children.
The five hour format allows more scope than the usual one-hour episodes, with braided narrative lines converging on a final confrontation. This permits the story to have the magnitude of an epic novel while losing none of TV's pulse-pounding action. Unfortunately, it also means ramrodding in four false climaxes, always the risk with serial narrative. But the scope makes up for this shortcoming.
Rather than conventional sci-fi horror, this novel for TV sets up a lingering Lovecraftian dread in which what we don't know is scarier than what we do. And what we don't know turns out, in part, to be Captain Jack, whose limitless life carries the cost of accruing infinite guilt. Every victory comes for Jack at great cost, and he can't gain ground without hurting those he most cares about.
Not that the production is flawless. Russel T. Davies' characteristic dry wit is in short supply. Jack's epilogue feels forced on, the work of a creative team that doesn't know if they will get the nod for another run at the series. This whole show has the fatalistic feel of a last hurrah, and even in the happy moments, the actors perform like they're waiting for the axe to fall.
That said, Torchwood fans will find plenty they will like in this relentlessly epic narrative. If this does turn out to be the last gasp of an ending show, they went out in one awesome blaze of glory. This is a worthy addition to the Torchwood canon, and its cataclysmic impact is one that will stick in viewers' minds for a long time to come.
★★★★☆ best science-fiction I've seen in awhile
My favorite science-fiction uses the form to posit alternative realities the better to reflect on our real world. CHILDREN OF EARTH, besides offering conventional thrills galore, starts as a good, creepy tale and then moves to unflinching political commentary on the priorities of the powerful. The plot twist is both entirely logical and comes as a surprise, and what started as entertainment becomes something more powerful. Peter Capaldi is terrific, but then so is the rest of the cast.
Similar Items
●Torchwood: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray]
●Torchwood - The Complete Second Season
●Torchwood: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]
●Torchwood - The Complete First Season
●Doctor Who: The Complete Specials (The Next Doctor / Planet of the Dead / The Waters of Mars / The End of Time Parts 1 and 2)