# Anyone excited about the Torchwood Debut? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 9, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363 "2011-07-09T00:15:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/161 "2011-08-28T14:50:44Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Jack doesn’t have the whole device - I think the part he grabbed was basically the battery. > > I’m wondering if there is some sort of DNA component to the cancelling also. Angelo was in the null field the whole time, and was in no condition to trigger it. He died when Jack kissed him - so that seems to be the trigger? I thought it was some sort of control device, without it the rest of the thing wouldn’t work. Watching it again: Jack said “This is the Alpha plate. Without it this is just a bunch of metal.” So he wasn’t really specific about what it does. You might be right about Jack’s DNA turning on the field. The line went by so fast I didn’t even notice it. Esther - “So what did he do, trigger it with your DNA or something?” Jack - “Maybe it was revenge, or maybe he was giving me a clue.” ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/162 "2011-08-28T22:46:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Gwen gets sent back to Wales. Not surprising. A bit contrived this time. I know they want to keep the European feel to the show. It seems like they could do it better than to deport her. So… frequent flier Myles 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/163 "2011-08-29T02:12:38Z")
Am I misremembering, or didn’t “Newman” (I’ll always think of him as Newman from Seinfeld) get shot in the head by Rex several episodes back? If so, he made quite a recovery (until he blew himself up). I would have assumed he’d have been in category 1 already. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/164 "2011-08-29T16:46:55Z")
> [@LaurenIpsum](#): > > Am I misremembering, or didn’t “Newman” (I’ll always think of him as Newman from Seinfeld) get shot in the head by Rex several episodes back? If so, he made quite a recovery (until he blew himself up). I would have assumed he’d have been in category 1 already. Nah, he fired a gun right next to his ear to pop his eardrum. Which actually makes me think that RTD is a fan of Archer. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/165 "2011-09-04T22:19:26Z")
So…was I the only one who watched it, or something? And I still don’t know what The Blessing is…I mean, it’s, what, Earth’s Vagina? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/166 "2011-09-04T22:46:15Z")
They haven’t made that clear yet, and there’s only one more episode to go. Overall, I’ve been disappointed with this series. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/167 "2011-09-04T23:15:46Z")
Why couldn’t they have done that two month jump two or three episodes ago? I loved the whole dystopian future aspect where everyone’s just kind of accepted the fact that the Miracle may never end. Considering how slow a lot of this season has been, I would much rather have four or five episodes of this then everything crammed in at the last minute. And more riffing between Rex and Q. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/168 "2011-09-04T23:22:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > They haven’t made that clear yet, and there’s only one more episode to go. Overall, I’ve been disappointed with this series. I was thinking that myself. When the episode started, I said to Mr. Ipsum, “They’d better start wrapping this up now or the last episode is going to be totally rushed.” Then we watched the episode, and learned pretty much nothing. And I thought: they’re going to have to answer a lot of questions in one single episode. Such as, how did the families create the miracle, what are they getting out of it, what is their connection to Phicorp, and why do they want Jack dead? Then a horrible thought occurred to me. Maybe they aren’t planning to wrap things up this season. Maybe they are going to have a cliffhanger and resolve it next season, if there is one. Noooooooooooooooooooooo! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/169 "2011-09-04T23:34:43Z")
Along with all of the other questions, I’m wondering where the aliens are. Assuming, of course, that there are aliens. But every previous episode of the show has featured aliens and I can’t imagine how the three families managed the miracle on their own. Also, it’s weird that no one seems to be aware of the events of Children of Earth. That was traumatic enough that it should have affected the public in a very real way. Certainly it should have made people much less likely to trust their govenrnments. And yet in this series, people seem to be going along with the plans for Category One people, including the searches of people’s homes and the ovens. No one ever makes the Nazi connection? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/170 "2011-09-05T01:16:54Z")
The Blessing may turn out to be the alien life form you’re looking for. Not sure how it made the Miracle happen, but it’s a pretty big alien. It seems to want/need Jack’s blood too. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/171 "2011-09-05T09:26:02Z")
The whole “Buenos Aires and Shanghai are antipodes” thing set off my geek alarm and I had to pause the video and Google it. [Turns out they’re not.](http://www.antipodemap.com) ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/172 "2011-09-05T12:53:49Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The whole “Buenos Aires and Shanghai are antipodes” thing set off my geek alarm and I had to pause the video and Google it. > > [Turns out they’re not.](http://www.antipodemap.com) Seems pretty damn close. These are major cities. They cover a lot more area than their “representative dot”. If one of the antipodes was in Queens and they said “we’re going to NYC” I wouldn’t be picking nits. ---
**Author:** ![Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/173 "2011-09-05T15:04:49Z")
I’m not pleased with this series at all. Jack seems to have become more a standard “gay” character, rather than being attracted to just about anything, and his 'get-up-and-go" seems to have got up and gone. :rolleyes: Some (most) of the other characters are just irritating. The story is either moving very slowly, or jumping too quickly, it does not have a good pace thru an episode. God knows what they are going to do to end it neatly. They had better end it next week…:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/174 "2011-09-05T15:31:45Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > The Blessing may turn out to be the alien life form you’re looking for. Not sure how it made the Miracle happen, but it’s a pretty big alien. It seems to want/need Jack’s blood too. That had not occurred to me but it’s a good idea. Perhaps the families are feeding it with the cremains of the Category One people? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/175 "2011-09-05T19:03:21Z")
I’m kind of thinking that it might be some sort of (corrupted) Time Vortex. But I could see them avoiding that as it might be too much of a tie-in with Doctor Who. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/176 "2011-09-05T19:12:12Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > I’m kind of thinking that it might be some sort of (corrupted) Time Vortex. But I could see them avoiding that as it might be too much of a tie-in with Doctor Who. > > -Joe It makes sense it’s time related, since Jack’s immortality is time related, and not a physical difference in his cells or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/177 "2011-09-05T19:17:31Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > It makes sense it’s time related, since Jack’s immortality is time related, and not a physical difference in his cells or anything. Well, that, and the people who are exposed to The Blessing are a bunch of weird creepy fuckers. If you think back to The Master, and the effect that it had on him back on Gallifrey…? But like I said, it really ties it too closely to DW in my opinion. I thought I had picked something up where they all seemed to have blue eyes, except the guy that Jilly met in Shanghai (I wonder which clan Irving Neusbaum was supposed to be from?) killed that theory. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/178 "2011-09-05T22:53:03Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That had not occurred to me but it’s a good idea. Perhaps the families are feeding it with the cremains of the Category One people? Soylent Blessing is made of people! And the last thing this show needed was a two month jump ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/179 "2011-09-06T16:16:17Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Seems pretty damn close. These are major cities. They cover a lot more area than their “representative dot”. If one of the antipodes was in Queens and they said “we’re going to NYC” I wouldn’t be picking nits. Well, taking Concordia, Argentina as the closest town, it’s about 270 miles from the antipode. So, more like saying “Iowa” when you mean Wisconsin. 🙂 On the other hand, since most of the world’s dry land has water as an antipode (and so does most of the ocean), that they could come that close to two cities people would have a concept of where they are is pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363/180 "2011-09-08T17:11:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That had not occurred to me but it’s a good idea. Perhaps the families are feeding it with the cremains of the Category One people? When a body is incinerated, most of it goes up in smoke. So perhaps The Blessing simply inhales the remains. As for the idea that The Blessing is some type of Time Vortex, that seems at odds with the constant references to morphic fields. I got the impression the Morphic Field is a biological thing, not a space-time continuum phenomenon. There’s also the fact that it’s only humans who stopped dying. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-excited-about-the-torchwood-debut/588363.md?page=10)