Torchwood: Miracle Day – Episode 3 – Dork Review

The third week of Torchwood is upon us, and I think we’ve got the basic point now. The Torchwood gang, all two of them, have arrived in America and recruited two discarded CIA operatives to make themselves feel less lonely. Now they must investigate why people are no longer dying.

So, with ten episodes to fill, can they make these middle ones count?

All Hail The Paedophile Messiah

By this time last week, I had grown a little weary of this show re-iterating the premise, so it’s good to see our heroes doing something. They rough people up, sleep with them for strategic advantage and deploy spy gadgets – it’s like Spooks with aliens, which isn’t the worst way to go with this show.

The plot continues to advance incrementally for every character, with the exception of Oswald Danes, whose storyline continues to defy belief. I jokingly suggested he become a paedophile butler last week, but it seems they’re plumping for paedophile messiah instead. If there isn’t mind control at play here, it’s a very odd twist.

Oh, and Esther is still in it, somehow even more sappy than the deceased Tosh. Perhaps Rex’s mortal injury is a red herring and she ends up dying at the end, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Did Anything Happen For You Too?

It seems lazy to discuss this episode without mentioning the sex scene between Captain Jack and a barman being censored in the BBC version. To be honest, I’ve seen the offending scene and it was so not-explicit that they needn’t have bothered, but I know the BBC are sensitive about content-based outrage. Unfortunately, the same-sex issue means they’ve attracted the opposite end of the outrage spectrum instead. Whoops.

On the other hand, the plot effect was minimal, so I’m not that bothered. For the most part, cutting needless adult content from Torchwood would improve the show. But I must admit, this episode seemed to have something missing. Normally, Torchwood amuses me with fast-paced silliness. This felt like, again, an episode of Spooks, only with weaker acting and even slower story movement.

After another so-so Torchwood, I’m beginning to worry that the excellence of Children Of Earth really was a fluke. Don’t get me wrong, this is nowhere near as awful as much of the first two years, but it’s not much better than “alright” either. Hopefully it picks up soon. Watch for yourself on BBC iPlayer, and let us know if you feel the same.

More Torchwood on Dork Adore | Torchwood: Miracle Day – Episode 1 – Dork Review

Nick Bryan

Nick learned to read and write at an early age. This has developed into an unhealthy need to either write stories or consume them for later dissection. He reviews film and TV on Dork Adore and The Digital Fix, lives in London and enjoys a nice white beer.

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