|
Post by Karen on Oct 29, 2006 19:01:47 GMT -5
Reason #642 that British TV is not American TV: I swear somebody just dropped the F-bomb. I'm at the 10-minute mark and already fascinated. The poor dead guy, realizing that he'd been dead and there was nothing beyond... Yup. Dark. Yep. Dark. Noir. And with the rain. Jack being able to taste the estrogen in it, telling us right off that he is not the biggest fan of humans with his sarcastic -"Love this planet ". Not like Dr. Who, who seems to be a bit of a fan.
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Oct 29, 2006 20:02:49 GMT -5
I liked the pteridactyl - a pet, maybe? And the possible nod to Joss and his vampire lore, with the vampire-like alien. Aliens, not demons. Torchwood is a bit like the initiative, but without the experimentation. Loved Jack's introduction of Yanto "He looks good in a suit." and Yanto's reply - "Careful. That's harassment, sir." Coolness that is the perception filter. So, this takes place after the Cyberman - that means it's in realtime with the current Dr. Who eps? Oh, and a nice twist on how the Human (I'm assuming) members of Torchwood just couldn't help taking alien technology home with them. Oh, an amnesia pill! How clever. Oh - and nice shot of Jack high up on that white building looking over the city. Cardiff - a bit like the LA of England? Oh. My. So, Jack can't die. Gwen joins up and Jack thinks maybe she's right that they can do more to help. (the helpless?) Awesome!
|
|
|
Post by Onjel on Nov 1, 2006 21:36:32 GMT -5
I LOVE LOVE LOVED this but kind of random, not in any particular order of importance, thoughts: .... I don't think it's all that dark. I don't know why, it just doesn't feel bleak and hopless or...whatever. There are a lot of things to look forward to, IMO, and the characters seem to present that. Jack is quite taken with Gwen. Perhaps for the same reason I am: she's intensely curious, intelligent, gutsy and connected. And Gwen herself is the antithesis of dark, gloomy, etc. She's thoughtful. Thoughtful is different from dark and doesn't necessarily lead to it. We have all the Jack backstory to look forward to. Gwen will start digging for it, this we know. .... As I watched the scene, I was surprised that Jack even thought to ask the re-vivified corpse about the "beyond". Then, getting the rapid-fire bits and pieces of the story of the glove, I actually became not only disappointed in him that he'd asked, but disappointed in him that he'd wasted time asking..... Erin, I get what you mean about the different approach to sexuality that UK television takes compared to the US (yes, I know Joss was packing up his desk and getting ready to leave over the Willow/Tara scene in "The Body" when the phone rang and the execs said they'd leave it in). My own personal take (separated from cultural references because most of the time I live under a rock) is....what...A couple of kissing scenes? What's the big deal? Het sex and the guy ends up a pile of ashes every time...kind of sends a message in itself... I was more disturbed by Jack taking a bullet to the forehead and then Susie committing suicide than anything to do with sex. .... Cardiff sure has changed in the past 20 years... I don't recognize ANYTHING. .............. Being interrupted repeatedly plays hell with trying to pay attention to what's going on. ......... Who ARE all you people? Whereas, for me, his character was elevated by this. Please try to contain your surprise. ;D Seriously, I imagine that he asked because he can't die himself. It's very hard to know what effect that would have on someone. He's generally such an action-based persona, and often avoids the serious stuff, that he may never have stopped for long enough to truly consider the issue of death. Now, however, that issue defines who he is, and so he's scrambling about and trying to understand what has happened. Because Jack did die. Did he see nothing? Did he see something, and can't fathom what it was? I thought back to that scene when he let Gwen know he couldn't die. After, of course, I picked myself back up from the ground where I lay sobbing at Captain Jack's death. ;D Seriously, perhaps his death experience was nothing and he's trying to confirm it or get something to indicate that his experience was unique and thus explains his inability to now die. I don't know. I just know that he seemed genuinely interested. He wasn't interested in having the dearly departed i.d. his killer.
|
|
|
Post by Onjel on Nov 1, 2006 21:39:09 GMT -5
DLM had ALL of them up there. Okay, DLM could have been a shout-out to Angel as well, but...there are lots of above the city shots. I think they're about isolation, myself. Eetah. There's also that element of protection (even if it is a deluded idea of protection). Again with the agreement. The pose is that of a "superhero" viewing his or her charges. That's the protection element. Supe was frequently shown above Metropolis, standing on top of the highest building looking down at his charges and making sure they were all right.
|
|
|
Post by Onjel on Nov 1, 2006 21:41:17 GMT -5
*whispers* That was the second ep...Anyway, I can see that Jack's bisexuality "interests" you. ;D I like it that Jack is just...Jack. I don't see him as bi-sexual because that's not the main feature of either him OR the show. Which...kind of what Erin was getting at, I think, with liking the "no big deal" part of it. I love that it's no big deal, regardless of character. Of course, I love the whole mystery of Jack anyway. ;D Oh, and Erin? Gwen reminds me of a shorter version of you.
|
|
|
Post by Onjel on Nov 1, 2006 21:45:37 GMT -5
My thoughts: It's got a dark physical feel, what with the rain and clouds and rain, and a somewhat darker ambience. But, it doesn't strike me as bleak. I get more of feel of adventure and exploration from it than darkness.
Loved it and loved the arrogance and hotness of Captain Jack. #liplick# Now, to watch the next one!
|
|
|
Post by Queen E on Nov 2, 2006 6:10:59 GMT -5
Reason #642 that British TV is not American TV: I swear somebody just dropped the F-bomb. I'm at the 10-minute mark and already fascinated. The poor dead guy, realizing that he'd been dead and there was nothing beyond... Yup. Dark. Yep. Dark. Noir. And with the rain. Jack being able to taste the estrogen in it, telling us right off that he is not the biggest fan of humans with his sarcastic -"Love this planet ". Not like Dr. Who, who seems to be a bit of a fan. Catching up now. Yes, definitely; I think Jack, if not sees more clearly, at least sees less optimistically. A Time Lord would have seen the whole of human development, or, at least, a lot of it. And the Doctor tends to be in extreme situations which either bring out the best or worst in people, and then he's back in the Tardis. Jack, on the other hand, is forced to live day to day, with all that entails; the "slow path," if you will. I think it would definitely make for a more shaded perspective.
|
|
|
Post by Queen E on Nov 2, 2006 6:15:08 GMT -5
Whereas, for me, his character was elevated by this. Please try to contain your surprise. ;D Seriously, I imagine that he asked because he can't die himself. It's very hard to know what effect that would have on someone. He's generally such an action-based persona, and often avoids the serious stuff, that he may never have stopped for long enough to truly consider the issue of death. Now, however, that issue defines who he is, and so he's scrambling about and trying to understand what has happened. Because Jack did die. Did he see nothing? Did he see something, and can't fathom what it was? I thought back to that scene when he let Gwen know he couldn't die. After, of course, I picked myself back up from the ground where I lay sobbing at Captain Jack's death. ;D Seriously, perhaps his death experience was nothing and he's trying to confirm it or get something to indicate that his experience was unique and thus explains his inability to now die. I don't know. I just know that he seemed genuinely interested. He wasn't interested in having the dearly departed i.d. his killer. Yes, I think that he wants answers, and knows that he can't get them from the source. Is he really dying, or does he just have extraordinary healing powers. If I remember correctly, he says "I can't die" rather than "I can't stay dead." This may be a small point, but maybe he doesn't know what's happening either, and asking the dead would give him a point of comparison...
|
|
|
Post by Queen E on Nov 2, 2006 6:21:56 GMT -5
I like it that Jack is just...Jack. I don't see him as bi-sexual because that's not the main feature of either him OR the show. Which...kind of what Erin was getting at, I think, with liking the "no big deal" part of it. I love that it's no big deal, regardless of character. Of course, I love the whole mystery of Jack anyway. ;D Oh, and Erin? Gwen reminds me of a shorter version of you. Hee! It makes me want to write a whole paper on it. (That's how i express my admiration these days.) And really? That's awesome and flattering; I love Gwen. #bighug# I really like how she follows her instincts in this episode; she knows something is off, even through her amnesia. I'm wondering, too, if Jack told her about the amnesia pill as a sort of test. He knew, he had to know what she would do, because Yanto accesses her computer and turns it off. And yet she still has the sense to write "Remember" on the brochure for the bill wall thing with the Welsh writing on it...
|
|
|
Post by Onjel on Nov 2, 2006 7:16:54 GMT -5
I love that it's no big deal, regardless of character. Of course, I love the whole mystery of Jack anyway. ;D Oh, and Erin? Gwen reminds me of a shorter version of you. Hee! It makes me want to write a whole paper on it. (That's how i express my admiration these days.) And really? That's awesome and flattering; I love Gwen. I really like how she follows her instincts in this episode; she knows something is off, even through her amnesia. I'm wondering, too, if Jack told her about the amnesia pill as a sort of test. He knew, he had to know what she would do, because Yanto accesses her computer and turns it off. And yet she still has the sense to write "Remember" on the brochure for the bill wall thing with the Welsh writing on it... I'd read that paper. It's true. Gwen really does remind me of you. I love her. Smart, tenacious, sassy and blessed with courage. Perfect for the team. And, I think, grounded in a way that they need. She doesn't seem to be the type to let the whole power of alien technologies seduce her easily. Jack was hoping, I think, that she would do exactly as she did and find them. The memory pill thing could have been a test, because you're right, he knew exactly what she would do. Why not handwrite it down, I wonder? She did with the "remember" so it all worked. I guess if she could break the amnesia she was a good recruit? I wonder, for how long did Jack know about or suspect Sue's relationship to the murders?
|
|
|
Post by Onjel on Nov 2, 2006 7:20:08 GMT -5
Oh, and can we just take a moment to appreciate the hotness that is Captain Jack? #liplick# Ok. And, we're done.
|
|
|
Post by Onjel on Nov 2, 2006 7:22:06 GMT -5
Reason #642 that British TV is not American TV: I swear somebody just dropped the F-bomb. I'm at the 10-minute mark and already fascinated. The poor dead guy, realizing that he'd been dead and there was nothing beyond... Yup. Dark. Yep. Dark. Noir. And with the rain. Jack being able to taste the estrogen in it, telling us right off that he is not the biggest fan of humans with his sarcastic -"Love this planet ". Not like Dr. Who, who seems to be a bit of a fan. Overall, Barrowman is doing a good job at playing an American, but when he said eeestrogen rather than ehstrogen, it was a dead give-away. ;D
|
|
|
Post by beccaelizabeth on Nov 2, 2006 15:23:34 GMT -5
Yep. Dark. Noir. And with the rain. Jack being able to taste the estrogen in it, telling us right off that he is not the biggest fan of humans with his sarcastic -"Love this planet ". Not like Dr. Who, who seems to be a bit of a fan. Overall, Barrowman is doing a good job at playing an American, but when he said eeestrogen rather than ehstrogen, it was a dead give-away. ;D He lived in the USA since he was 8 until after college, and then again other times.
|
|
|
Post by Onjel on Nov 2, 2006 20:57:36 GMT -5
Overall, Barrowman is doing a good job at playing an American, but when he said eeestrogen rather than ehstrogen, it was a dead give-away. ;D He lived in the USA since he was 8 until after college, and then again other times. He may have, but we don't say eeestrogen, so he sounds not entirely American. ;D Apparently, he learned to speak differently between the ages of 3 and 8 and while in college. Well, that explains everything. His parents most likely had Scottish accents, so he picked up some pronunciations from them. And, he's a mere lad at 39.
|
|
|
Post by Queen E on Nov 2, 2006 21:25:51 GMT -5
Oh, and can we just take a moment to appreciate the hotness that is Captain Jack? Ok. And, we're done. Do we have to be done? And will respond to the other post soon; just need to get to bed...
|
|