Who will kill Blake?

Episode three of “Torchwood”, “Ghost Machine” by Helen Raynor, was an improvement on the first couple of stories shown last week. It wasn’t perfect but held the attention more readily. The plot was reasonably involved, concerning an alien device which can initially enable its handler to relive past events but latterly to foresee the future. But just how complete a picture does it give of the shape of things to come? Will Jimmy White look-a-like Owen Harper (Burn Gorman) really avenge a past crime or will a certain leading lady, by the name of Eve Myles, be the one to accidentally twist the knife in?!

The direction seemed to move at a faster pace than previously (which isn’t necessarily a good thing), especially in the way the teaser was edited. Best of all, “Ghost Machine” featured a superb cameo from John (“The Caves of Androzani” and “The Happiness Patrol”) Normington and a star turn from a cigarette smoking, haggard looking, Gareth (“Blake’s 7”) Thomas as a guilt-ridden ex-teddy boy! The scene in which Owen exposes the terror of Gareth’s ways was terrific, a lot more fun than the chase through the back gardens of suburban Cardiff that was the focus of the following “Confidential”-like documentary “Torchwood Declassified”.

In “Ghost Machine”, John Normington played against expectations, a mild-mannered ageing evacuee, the complete opposite of the Trau Morgus character from his first “Doctor Who” - the embodiment of an ambitious, ruthless, corrupt politician best remembered for turning to camera and exclaiming, “The spineless cretins”. I also recall him in a play, made shortly after “Caves”, in which he co-starred with Patrick Troughton, about a jazz musician, played by the ex-Doctor, who loses his memory and goes missing only to end up at a pub called, appropriately enough, The Northern Star. It was on BBC2 but, unfortunately, brief research on both IMDb and Google has failed to reveal its title.

Gareth Thomas, on the other hand, as well as his most famous role, I remember in BBC dramas “The Citadel” and “Morgan’s Boy” as well as an ITV Sunday afternoon children’s serial, also co-starring Patrick Troughton (in his final role), entitled “Knights of God”. I still have a copy of the latter on a couple of Betamax tapes, which also featured Don Henderson, John Woodvine, Michael Sheard and Julian Fellowes, amongst others, and was directed by Michael (“Battlefield”) Kerrigan and Andrew (“Time and the Rani” and “Remembrance of the Daleks”) Morgan. Though it’s a long time since I watched it, I do remember it contained some plot inconsistencies but was nevertheless a fun, if undemanding, watch.

Returning to the present, it was good to see both Gareth Thomas and John Normington again, and on such fine form, and a bonus that it was in an SF drama. I didn’t notice any direct references to parent show “Doctor Who”, this week, but next week’s episode couldn’t be more connected if it tried, the eagerly awaited “Cyberwoman”. I’m ever-optimistic!

In need of Resurrection

I have to admit a success on the part of Russell T. Davies! He successfully fooled me, and no doubt countless others, into believing second-in-command Suzie Costello (Indira Varma) would be a regular of the “Torchwood” team. But she’s not, and that’s why she wasn’t at the press launch last week and thus absent from the subsequent photo (see post before last). She was simply a guest in the opening episode, “Everything Changes”, despite the misleading publicity, appearing with the other five on the cover of the Radio Times and with a profile inside, equal to that of the truly-regular members of the cast. I’m not usually so gullible. At least, I hope not. As soon as I saw Tom Cruise confiding in Max Von Sydow, for example, (the previous evening) early on in “Minority Report”, I guessed the outcome. For all its SF trappings, Spielberg’s film is a very traditional affair. And it isn’t as if “Torchwood” is the first series to bump off a “regular” so soon. I’m sure fans of “Spooks” haven’t forgotten the almost immediate demise of Lisa Faulkner. So I was taken in, tricked, not surprised exactly because I hadn’t really had a chance to get to know the character. Was this ploy meant to endear me to the new series or irritate me into dislike? Alienating the audience is becoming a habit with RTD shows. It happened in the last series of “Doctor Who”, at least twice, at the beginning of both “Rise of the Cybermen”, with the humiliation of Mickey, and on arrival in “The Impossible Planet”, whatever the merits might be of the remainder of those two stories.

I didn’t really warm to “Torchwood”, regardless of being duped. The rain looked fake in the opening scenes and the blood spurting from the neck of a hospital porter, having been bitten by a rogue Weevil, the main creature in this new series, was over enthusiastic. Adult doesn’t have to mean copious amounts of gore, cartoon sex and what is euphemistically called strong language! For much of its original run, “Doctor Who” was, and still is, a far more mature affair than either new “Doctor Who” has so far proved to be or “Torchwood” looks like being. A secret subterranean base, the Hub, beneath the centre of Cardiff, reminds of “Batman” while the stone lift rising to street level, cloaked in invisibility until disembarkation, is reminiscent of “Thunderbirds”. Mix what is generally thought of as the province of children’s television with generous lashings of tonsil tennis and supposedly risqué ideas, in the second episode, Chris Chibnall’s “Day One”, lifted from “The Outer Limits” episode “Caught in the Act”, which starred “Charmed” actress Alyssa Milano, only goes to prove Mr. Davies doesn’t have a clue for whom his new series is intended. A person’s level of writing speaks volumes about their maturity. That’s why Claire Tomalin was able to successfully reveal on “The South Bank Show” (later the same evening), with great warmth, wit and enthusiasm, the true nature of Thomas Hardy, the poet, novelist and most-importantly the man, from his writing alone, given that he had destroyed all important documentation pertaining to his life. Unfortunately, there is too much on record for this to be the case with Russell T. (for “Torchy, the Battery Boy”) Davies!

Family Matters

The final instalment of the third season of “Who Do You Think You Are?”, the series in which celebrities trace their ancestry, follows actress Julia Sawalha on her voyage of genealogical discoveries. She comes from a multi-cultural family. Her mother is English but believes her side of the family is descended from French Huguenots. Julia begins a quest to find her family’s Huguenot heritage, and then embarks on a journey to Jordan, her actor-father Nadim’s homeland. His mother was a successful and well-known businesswoman who turned her back on the Bedouin tribal way of life, and Julia explores the context of her grandmother’s achievements. Unfortunately, the programme is on BBC1 on Wednesday 25th October at 9pm, the same time as the terrestrial repeat of “Torchwood” on BBC2, but is itself repeated on BBC2 on Thursday 9th November at 7pm and promises to be well worth watching.

Born in London on 9th September 1968, Julia made her television debut in 1989 in the role of Lynda Day, the editor of a school newspaper, in ITV children’s drama “Press Gang”. She played this no-nonsense character for five years but has since become better known as Saffy in anarchic sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous” alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. Regular work was found, with Lynda Bellingham, in ITV sitcoms “Second Thoughts” and spin-off “Faith in the Future”. Along the way, she appeared in costume classics “Martin Chuzzlewit”, in which, as Mercy Pecksniff, she ill-advisedly married pop singer Lily Allen’s dad Keith, the current Sheriff of Nottingham, and then ill-advisedly married again, as Lydia Bennet, a year later in BBC1’s extremely successful 1995 adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice”. Most recently, Julia has worked with Alan Davies on latter episodes of “Jonathan Creek” but is well-remembered by “Doctor Who” fans for her role as assistant Emma, to Rowan Atkinson’s Doctor, in the affectionate 1999 Comic Relief parody “The Curse of Fatal Death”.

Countdown 2 "Torchwood"

The press screening of episode one of “Torchwood”, “Everything Changes” by Russell T. Davies, took place in Cardiff earlier in the week. The above picture features five of the six regulars who we’ve been introduced to, with great rapidity, in the trailers. From left to right are Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Naoko Mori as Toshiko Sato, Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones and Burn Gorman as Owen Harper. David Tennant, Billie Piper and Noel Clarke, author of episode ten entitled “Combat”, all attended but Torchwood’s second-in-command Indira Varma as Suzie Costello doesn’t appear to have been present. There are no less than seven opportunities, all within the first week, to see the first two episodes of "Torchwood", six of them back-to-back; the first four and final two screenings on BBC3, beginning on Sunday 22nd at 9pm, with a terrestrial airing on BBC2 on Wednesday 25th, also at 9pm.

Since my two previous posts, episode four has changed its title from “The Trouble with Lisa” to the more obvious, and more revealing, “Cyberwoman”! No chance of keeping that little twist a surprise for the general viewing public now!! It reminds me of the “Doctor Who” story-title change, back in the mid-Eighties, from “The Androgum Inheritance” to “The Two Doctors”, the former being a much more inspired choice and the same is the case now. Anyway, “Cyberwoman” is directed by James Strong, who previously helmed “The Impossible Planet” two-parter, so the signs are good for this episode. Series regular Ianto is protective of the Cyberwoman because, before her part-conversion, Lisa and he were an item… This episode of “Torchwood” premieres on November 5th, the 40th anniversary, to the day, of Patrick Troughton’s debut as the Doctor. A fitting tribute, seeing as the Cybermen were this incarnation’s most frequent adversary!

Attack of the Cyberwoman

Obviously, I don’t know (yet) whether or not it’s a good or a bad thing but, certainly, one of the most interesting developments of the “Doctor Who” universe, in its spin-off series “Torchwood”, is the introduction to television of the first Cyberwoman. The female of the species has already appeared in comic strip form, gracing the pages of “Doctor Who Magazine”, and, in a few weeks’ time, is set for even greater stardom in Chris Chibnall’s “The Trouble with Lisa”, the fourth episode in the show’s opening season. If you read the synopsis in my previous post, the storyline does sound a little like the “Doctor Who” episode “Dalek”, or even “Paradise Towers” from back in the late Eighties, with Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) fulfilling the role of billionaire collector Henry van Statten (Corey Johnson). As the face of the Cyberwoman has been left unmasked, the suggestion is that, as Christopher Eccleston’s sixth episode explored the feelings of the inhabitants of Skaro, “Lisa” will be an exploration of the emotional side of the Cyber race. Excellent! To begin with, she has a name. “I, Robot”, anyone? But, if you’re going to borrow, borrow from the best and “Dalek” is the finest single episode story of new “Doctor Who” to date.

Cast in the role of Cyberwoman Lisa is Caroline Chikezie. She is probably best known to television viewers for her role as Elaine Hardy in season three of “Footballers’ Wives” but, following a little research, I realise I’ve already seen her in Channel Four’s teen drama “As If” in which she played Sasha Williams. Caroline has also appeared in a two-part “Holby City” and an earlier episode of “Casualty”. She is not without SF credentials, however, having appeared on the big screen as Freya in last year’s “Aeon Flux” in which she does appear to be carrying something not dissimilar to a Cyber gun, circa “Earthshock”. I’m guessing RTD saw her in this role and thought of her for the part in “Torchwood”. The revealing nature of the Cyber costume also suggests that RTD is after something akin to Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) in “Star Trek: Voyager”. Maybe the production team should cast Caroline as a regular!

"Torchwood" Episode Guide

EPISODE 1: 'Everything Changes' by Russell T. Davies
When Torchwood arrives on the scene of a brutal murder, WPC Gwen Cooper's burning curiosity is challenged. Their attitude, their approach and their technology is at odds with everything she believes in. But investigating the investigators leads her into a dark, paranoid world she never imagined existed.

EPISODE 2: 'Day One' by Chris Chibnall
An alien addicted to sex is let loose on Cardiff's nightlife. Torchwood must track down the creature's new host and in doing so, confront a violent new form of love in the 21st century.

EPISODE 3: 'Ghost Machine' by Helen Raynor
Torchwood discovers a machine that allows them to view the ghosts that walk among us. Using it, prompts Owen to investigate an unsolved crime - one that could change all their futures.

EPISODE 4: 'The Trouble With Lisa' by Chris Chibnall
There's a dark secret in the basement of the Hub. Even Jack is unaware of it, but Ianto knows. And he'll go to any lengths, sacrifice anything and anyone, to protect what's down there.

EPISODE 5: 'Small Worlds' by Peter J. Hammond
Jasmine is a withdrawn but intelligent child whose new 'friends' exploit her suppressed anger, and while investigating this, Jack encounters elemental enemies from his past that are determined to harm those closest to him.

EPISODE 6: 'Countrycide' by Chris Chibnall
Upon entering an apparently deserted village in the Brecon Beacons, the Torchwood team is separated. Finding his people are the prey in a savage game of cat and mouse, Jack faces a team of ruthless hunters far more skilled in surviving outside the confines of the city than he.

EPISODE 7: 'Greeks Bearing Gifts' by Toby Whithouse
Tosh gains the ability to read the minds of those closest to her but as she becomes party to their darkest secrets, she realises not only is this a powerful curse, but one impossible to break.

EPISODE 8: 'They Keep Killing' by Paul Tomalin & Dan McCulloch
Using alien technology to interrogate the victims of a serial killer, Gwen learns that the common link is dangerously close to home. And the resurrection device has a deadly secret of its own.

EPISODE 9: 'Invisible Eugene' by Jacquetta May
A hit-and-run victim, Eugene, was a bit of a nobody, and always convinced that aliens were coming to Earth, specifically to retrieve technology in his possession. Now Gwen finds herself drawn into his world and realises Eugene may still be helping her locate the 'aliens' - despite him being dead.

EPISODE 10: 'Combat' by Noel Clarke
The team discovers a ring who are kidnapping Weevils - wild alien creatures that have come through the Rift and are hiding on Earth - which leads Owen down a dark path to confront the future of his own existence.

EPISODE 11: 'Out of Time' by Cath Tregenna
A small passenger plane from the 1950s flies through the Rift and lands in Cardiff 2006. Torchwood is drawn into strong personal relationships as they help the three temporal immigrants adapt to contemporary life.

EPISODE 12: 'Captain Jack Harkness' by Cath Tregenna
Transported back to the Blitz, Jack and Tosh find themselves facing a dark secret from Jack's past, one he hoped and believed had been buried for good.

EPISODE 13: 'Apocalypse' by Chris Chibnall
The Rift is violently fracturing further, and Jack realises that Torchwood is destined to be drawn into one vast battle that will leave nothing and no one at Torchwood unchanged...

Cracked Actor

“Cracker” was back, for the first time in ten years, on Sunday evening for a one-off feature-length episode and written by its creator, the brilliant and extremely likeable Jimmy McGovern. Entitled “Nine Eleven”, it featured many of the trademarks of previous stories, revealing the killer early on, thus enabling the narrative to concentrate on the why rather than the who. Despite the title, the story centred on the aftermath of the Troubles of Northern Ireland for one particular ex-squaddie called Kenny, engagingly played by Anthony Flanagan, now working in the Manchester Police Force and with six years service behind him. Psychologist Fitz (Robbie Coltrane) returns to Manchester from Australia for the first time in seven years, for his daughter’s wedding, only to find the city redeveloped after the IRA bombing and becomes embroiled in the case, much to the annoyance of his long-suffering wife, played as ever by Barbara Flynn.

Richard Coyle, best known for sitcom “Coupling”, played Fitz’s new boss DI Walters and good though he was, especially when losing his temper, I did miss the sincerity and wisecracks of Ricky Tomlinson as DCI Charlie Wise, who joined the drama in its second series as the replacement for outgoing DCI David Bilborough played by Christopher Eccleston, together with the other original regulars DS Jane Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville) and DS Jimmy Beck (Lorcan Cranitch). The latter, of course, committed suicide in quite spectacular fashion, in third season opener “Brotherly Love”, unable to cope with both the guilt he felt over the nature of Eccleston’s demise and the subsequent descent of his own character compelling him to rape colleague “Panhandle”. In the latest story, Belfast serves the same function as Hillsborough in that most highly-regarded of “Cracker” serials “To Be A Somebody”, the 1989 football disaster being part of the trigger which ignites the never-bettered Robert Carlyle as Albie Kinsella on the road to ruin, but “Nine Eleven” is still cracking stuff. Kenny, the copper with problems, driving his first victim’s Mother, and intended next victim, back to her residence is reminiscent of a scene in “Men Should Weep” in which taxi-driver Floyd Malcolm (Graham Aggrey), wanted for rape, gives a ride to a witness who, during their journey, fleetingly recognises her cabbie’s turn of phrase.

I do think the “radical departure from the norm of police procedural dramas” element has been overstated somewhat in the promotion of “Cracker”. There are a number of Hitchcock thrillers, Joseph Cotten as the Merry Widow Murderer in “Shadow of a Doubt” and Barry Foster dubbed the Necktie Murderer in “Frenzy” for example, that tell you who the killer is long before the resolution. But hype hasn’t detracted from the quality of the product. McGovern’s creation remains one of the jewels of ITV’s output and its resurrection hasn’t undermined what went before, back in the early Nineties. The new episode is available on DVD from the 9th of this month together with the entire back catalogue of stories, from the 16th, either individually or as a box set. I have a sneaking admiration for two of the non-McGovern penned stories, “True Romance” by Paul Abbott, featuring Emily Joyce as an unhinged admirer of Fitz’s, but especially “The Big Crunch” by Ted Whitehead, featuring the always excellent Samantha Morton as schoolgirl victim of creepy Head Teacher and Minister Jim Carter ably supported by ex-“Doctor Who” companion Maureen O’Brien as his wife. But if you want the essence of “Cracker”, go for “To Be A Somebody” or “To Say I Love You”.