# Finally started watching Torchwood. It's really crap. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317 "2011-02-23T03:48:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/21 "2011-02-23T17:23:06Z")
I could not watch it at all. I hated Gwen so much, and none of the other characters had any flash. Gwen is the biggest Mary Sue ever. And I positively adore Doctor Who. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/22 "2011-02-23T17:34:12Z")
I watched the first and the last episodes. The first convinced me that at least two of the Torchwood members needed to leave before I could ever enjoy the show (Jack for being annoying and date-rapist for being a date-rapist). The last convinced me that even the supposed high points of the series were still nothing worth watching for. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/23 "2011-02-23T18:36:28Z")
My wife and I didn’t like it either, though I’m not sure that I’ve heard much good about it. Does it get a lot of praise on the Dope? Watch Supernatural instead, if you haven’t already. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/24 "2011-02-23T21:30:58Z")
Huh, odd to see so much Torchwood hate since most folks I know who’ve seen it at least sorta like it. I think it’s much weaker than the parent series, but fun in it’s own goofy way. Jack is an acquired taste; if you simply hate him, nothing’s going to redeem him. He’s meant to be a goofy, rogueish type who can take care of business when need be. He’s actually portrayed as hopelessly incompetent and terrible at hsi job, but, well, that’s the wink and nod of the series. I’ve always seen Torchwood as something like a British equivalent of Eureka with an extra splash of XFiles and less mustache-twirling. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/25 "2011-02-23T21:44:45Z")
I’ve watched a chunk of it. I can’t get over how slack the discipline is in this team of earth-savers. Keeping a killer alien babe in the basement should be a firing offense. Taking home every freaking piece of alien tech you can find in order to get laid would also seem a pretty solid no-no. Getting nearly-eaten by a bunch of random villagers should have gotten the whole team a letter home to mom. Jack doesn’t exactly run a tight ship. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/26 "2011-02-24T03:55:31Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > On the contrary, _do_ watch Children of Earth. Most of Torchwood was utter rubbish, but this mini-series is some of the best sci-fi I’ve seen on TV. > > Skip series 1-2; watch Children of Earth. What \*\*Candyman \*\*said. COE \*is \*worth watching. I’m re-recording it for the second time off of BBCA this week to watch again this weekend. For the record, I liked “Countrycide.” 🆒 “A Day in the Death,” “Adrift,” and “From Out of the Rain” are indeed standouts, and “Exit Wounds,” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” are a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/27 "2011-02-24T09:42:46Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I could not watch it at all. I hated Gwen so much, and none of the other characters had any flash. Gwen is the biggest Mary Sue ever. And I positively adore Doctor Who. I luuuurve Gwen. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/28 "2011-02-24T10:42:37Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I’ve watched a chunk of it. I can’t get over how slack the discipline is in this team of earth-savers. Keeping a killer alien babe in the basement should be a firing offense. Taking home every freaking piece of alien tech you can find in order to get laid would also seem a pretty solid no-no. Getting nearly-eaten by a bunch of random villagers should have gotten the whole team a letter home to mom. Jack doesn’t exactly run a tight ship. To be honest, Torchwood Cardiff is pretty much a branch office. The main Torchwood in London was wiped out by Cybermen in a Doctor Who episode. But I agree that Torchwood is, at best, a bit patchy. CofE is outstanding though. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/29 "2011-02-24T10:53:05Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > To be honest, Torchwood Cardiff is pretty much a branch office. The main Torchwood in London was wiped out by Cybermen in a Doctor Who episode. > > But I agree that Torchwood is, at best, a bit patchy. CofE is outstanding though. Jack has commented that he pretty much took over after the Cybermen invasion. I can’t find the cite yet. If I have to rewatch a lot of TW, I probably won’t. I think it was in a late Tennant DW episode. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/30 "2011-02-24T11:13:36Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Jack has commented that he pretty much took over after the Cybermen invasion. Yup, that’s what happened. Cardiff was the only Torchwood staff left, apart from “a strange man in Glasgow” who’s never been seen on-screen. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/31 "2011-02-24T12:19:55Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Yup, that’s what happened. Cardiff was the only Torchwood staff left, apart from “a strange man in Glasgow” who’s never been seen on-screen. \ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/32 "2011-02-24T13:00:34Z")
The thing about Jack is - he’s just his biding time, at first. So yeah, he’s not very good at being a leader. He’s a con-man, not a general. Me, I love Torchwood, all of it. Except the Jack/Ianto relationship, that doesn’t really work for me for some reason. Oh, I know - because Ianto’s a wet, that’s why. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/33 "2011-02-24T13:38:47Z")
Yup. After watching Ianto blubber all over himself because of the murderous “secret” he kept in the basement, I stopped caring much for him. I did come to appreciate Tosh & even Owen–when it was almost too late. Still, both seasons plus “Children of Earth” are on Netflix streaming. When the show is good, it’s really good. And I appreciate John Barrowman as a musical star, not an “actor.” [Here he is](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7Q3zBLgqsI) with the band from the episode in which he met The Real Captain Jack. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/34 "2011-02-24T17:45:30Z")
It’s not a bad show, but I don’t know if I’d bother tuning in if it didn’t have the _Doctor Who_ association. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/35 "2011-02-24T18:02:31Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > Huh, odd to see so much Torchwood hate since most folks I know who’ve seen it at least sorta like it. > > I think it’s much weaker than the parent series, but fun in it’s own goofy way. Jack is an acquired taste; if you simply hate him, nothing’s going to redeem him. He’s meant to be a goofy, rogueish type who can take care of business when need be. He’s actually portrayed as hopelessly incompetent and terrible at hsi job, but, well, that’s the wink and nod of the series. > > I’ve always seen Torchwood as something like a British equivalent of Eureka with an extra splash of XFiles and less mustache-twirling. I loved Jack in Doctor Who; I feel like they took away all of his fun in Torchwood. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/36 "2011-02-24T21:01:54Z")
Torchwood gets a lot of love for the canon gay. I’ve never seen it, but if I do, I suppose I’ll just put on the slash goggles and hang on for the ride. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/37 "2011-02-24T21:52:34Z")
> [@Scubaqueen](#): > > What \*\*Candyman \*\*said. COE \*is \*worth watching. I’m re-recording it for the second time off of BBCA this week to watch again this weekend. I know taste in TV is all subjective, but _Children of Earth_ really did leave a bad taste in my mouth. It wasted so much potential. The first two episodes were exceptional, but the wheels fell off as soon as the aliens showed up. They stayed in the terrarium the whole time and just talked, which is more than a bit anticlimactic. The damn things didn’t even have a ship and completely forgot the abilities that they displayed in the first two installments. They already showed that they can mind control the children, so why do they even need the adults to round up the kids? Just whistle and call them like a dog. Are they too stoned to remember that? …Oh wait. And their motive? Sheesh. It couldn’t have been more absurd if they were here to lmake moonshine out of the tears of a kindergaten class. We will drink the tears of your children so we can get our intergalactic drunk on! Stoooopid. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/38 "2011-02-24T22:25:46Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > I know taste in TV is all subjective, but _Children of Earth_ really did leave a bad taste in my mouth. It wasted so much potential. > > The first two episodes were exceptional, but the wheels fell off as soon as the aliens showed up. They stayed in the terrarium the whole time and just talked, which is more than a bit anticlimactic. The damn things didn’t even have a ship and completely forgot the abilities that they displayed in the first two installments. They already showed that they can mind control the children, so why do they even need the adults to round up the kids? Just whistle and call them like a dog. Are they too stoned to remember that? …Oh wait. And their motive? Sheesh. It couldn’t have been more absurd if they were here to lmake moonshine out of the tears of a kindergaten class. We will drink the tears of your children so we can get our intergalactic drunk on! > > Stoooopid. Fair enough. I completely and utterly disagree and stand by my recommendation. You don’t get hard hitting sci fi like that any more. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/39 "2011-02-24T22:39:10Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Fair enough. I completely and utterly disagree and stand by my recommendation. You don’t get hard hitting sci fi like that any more. Me too. That discussion around the government table - so cold and realistic - what happened to the civil servant, Jack’s actions, the scene on the council estate (I think I’ve been sufficiently vague to avoid spoilers) they were all horrifying and amazing. The aliens worked for me too. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317/40 "2011-02-25T00:37:17Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > They already showed that they can mind control the children, so why do they even need the adults to round up the kids? Just whistle and call them like a dog. Becausethey’d get the few adults who also respond to the mind control mixed in. > [@](#): > > And their motive? Sheesh. It couldn’t have been more absurd if they were here to lmake moonshine out of the tears of a kindergaten class. We will drink the tears of your children so we can get our intergalactic drunk on! There’s a bit more to it than that. It’s basically an intergalactic protection racket. The big question is how do they know to come 'round for their payment when the Doctor isn’t in the galaxy? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-started-watching-torchwood-its-really-crap/572317.md?page=1)