# UK Dopers - Torchwood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2007, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608 "2007-08-23T06:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/1 "2007-08-23T06:00:23Z")
I read something about this show a few months ago, and was a bit surprised to see a commercial on BBC-A for this show beginning next month. It looks sort of interesting. However, so did **Hex** , and that never drew me in. If you’ve seen [Torchwood](http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/262/about.jsp), do you like it? And does it actually compare to Angel and The X-Files? Favorably? ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/2 "2007-08-23T07:15:11Z")
I hated it. It used gratuitous swearing and sex scenes (members of Torchwood either getting it on with each other or with aliens they encounter) in an attempt to be adult. It didn’t work. Also, there is no overriding story to the series, it’s just a random set of ‘meet alien, someone screws the alien, alien causing trouble, deus ex machina rescues mankind at the last minute’. It’s nothing like the X-Files, but I’m not familiar enough with Angel to compare it. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/3 "2007-08-23T07:48:26Z")
Save yourself the time and don’t. Go watch Dr. Who again instead. The first couple episodes were good enough to keep me watching. I got sick of the show about episode #4. Really, I only finished it because Captain Jack reminds me of a shiny version of Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/4 "2007-08-23T08:15:25Z")
I too was less than impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/5 "2007-08-23T10:36:17Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] . . . do you like it? [/quote] No. For the same reasons the previous posters gave. Wait for the new Dr Who series, there are some cracking episodes there. > [@](#): > > And does it actually compare to Angel and The X-Files? Favorably? Good lord no. Well, I haven’t actually seen Angel but if it’s anything like Buffy it has orders of magnitude more atmosphere. Torchwood is definitely not in the same class as The X-Files. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/6 "2007-08-23T10:45:28Z")
I didn’t like Torchwood’s excessive use of sex as a main plot point. It’s like watching a college skin flick comedy, with old people instead of sororities and jocks, but less entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/7 "2007-08-23T10:47:13Z")
[QUOTE=sandra\_nz] I hated it. It used gratuitous swearing and sex scenes (members of Torchwood either getting it on with each other or with aliens they encounter) in an attempt to be adult. It didn’t work. Also, there is no overriding story to the series, it’s just a random set of ‘meet alien, someone screws the alien, alien causing trouble, deus ex machina rescues mankind at the last minute’. It’s nothing like the X-Files, but I’m not familiar enough with Angel to compare it. YMMV. [/QUOTE] The sex scenes were of course English, so you didn’t see much flesh. 😃 I agree that most of Torchwoood’s employees need some training, preferably starting with ‘don’t secretly take alien artifacts home and play with them’. :rolleyes: There are sometimes story links between episodes, but you need to watch many episodes before this happens. (One episode was entirely based on previous events.) There are also references to Dr. Who. Angel was certainly better, although I thought that started to run out of steam eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/8 "2007-08-23T10:48:05Z")
There were one or two attempts to break into the “adult” market by UK soap operas that ran spin offs with lots of mild swearing and the odd bit of sexual innuendo. They weren’t successful and came across as rather juvenile. Torchwood is one such show, it fails to come across as adult and loses some of the Doctor Who charm in the attempt. Nor does it come with any of the atmosphere of the X-Files or the wit and kinetic energy of Buffy and Angel. In short avoid. Doctor Who has the same fantasy SF setting and manages to be funnier and more touching. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/9 "2007-08-23T10:58:56Z")
It’s OK - ish. I just find it… I dunno… naive in some way - it’s like SF written by someone who doesn’t really know the genre and thinks they’re being clever when they throw around a bit of technobabble. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2007, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/10 "2007-08-23T11:24:48Z")
I reckon they’ll definitely have to cut down on the laughable sex scenes and bad language next season, given the casting announcement that Martha is joining the team ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/11 "2007-08-23T11:32:03Z")
I liked some episodes more than others, the finale was ridiculous. It’s weird that it’s meant to be an adult show set in the Dr. Who universe, it seems kind of juvenile (albeit with swearing, shagging etc.) whereas the darkness and maturity of some of the Dr. Who shows makes it seem quite adult. I believe both shows are written by the same guy. It’s been taken up for another season I think so it must have been popular with some people. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/12 "2007-08-23T11:56:55Z")
[QUOTE=An Gadaí] It’s been taken up for another season I think so it must have been popular with some people. [/QUOTE] It did pretty well on BBC 3, and it’s been promoted to BBC 2, so somebody is obviously happy. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/13 "2007-08-23T12:26:54Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] I reckon they’ll definitely have to cut down on the laughable sex scenes and bad language next season, given the casting announcement that Martha is joining the team [/QUOTE] Could you please explain why your spoiler means a reduction in the sex and swearing? I don’t understand your reasoning. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2007, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/14 "2007-08-23T12:33:44Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] Could you please explain why your spoiler means a reduction in the sex and swearing? I don’t understand your reasoning. [/QUOTE] It’s just a WAG with no basis in fact, but I reckon that having a companion from the main show turn up in Torchwood will lead to an increase in the numbers of youngsters viewing, and the BBC will be keen to tone it back a bit. Of course, this applies to a lesser extent to Captain Jack himself. Or I guess the ratings draw of some hot Martha/Toshiko action will prove too good an opportunity to pass up. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/15 "2007-08-23T12:40:08Z")
It was okay. Not brilliant, but worth watching. Nowhere near as good as Angel. Not quite as good as Life On Mars. Better than The X-Files. ---
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/16 "2007-08-23T14:10:07Z")
I’ll agree with those that said it was okay. It’s definitely not something I would go out of my way to watch though. The ‘adult’ parts feel incredibly tacked on, as if someone has gone through the finished script and forced them in just for the sake of it. Hopefully series two will be better. I’m still willing to give it a chance. I just wished we had some more ‘smart’ sci-fi. I’m getting very tired of the deus ex machina endings. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/17 "2007-08-23T14:28:01Z")
I’ve got a 14 year old boy who watches things like Buffy and Angel and Firefly and Farscape and Painkiller Jane and Supernatural and, of course, Doctor Who with us. He handles fantasy/sci fi violence and sexuality just fine. I draw the line at some of the other things his parents watch, like Rescue Me and Medium where the sex/violence is just a bit too “real” for me to be comfortable with him seeing. Which category would y’all put Torchwood in? Granted that it’s not very good, would it be utterly embarrassing for a 14 year old boy to watch with his mom? Given that he’s already watched Spuffy sex\* with his mom? \*The Spuffy sex did bother me a bit as it combined sex and violence, and we did do some judicious editing of those at air time when he was considerably younger, but he has them on DVD now and they’re not off limits. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/18 "2007-08-23T14:51:42Z")
We quit watching it. Too much sex, not enough story. Everyone was annoying, even the people I wanted to like. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/19 "2007-08-23T15:25:14Z")
It was Doctor Who slash fan fiction. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608/20 "2007-08-23T15:29:56Z")
I had no problem with the sex or language or violence (in fact, I’d expected a lot more) - it was the painfully bad writing and acting that got to me. Laughably bad. Still, it was a lark, and I’ve read in interviews that the makers of the show feel they learned a lot during the first season about things they need to change/improve, so I’m hoping it will get better. [Temporal disruptures in the timeline and fissures in space create enormous plotholes that we just have to deal with! 🙂](http://youtube.com/watch?v=OlboOGbM94c) In regards to **Struan** ’s casting spoiler above and what effect that might have on the show’s content: I read somewhere that it is confirmed that Martha will not be swearing/shagging other Torchwood employees or aliens, so maybe the entire show will be toned down somewhat. Then again, I think she’s only coming on for 1/2 the season. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-torchwood/416608.md?page=2)