Criticism of Torchwood
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British science fiction, crime drama and Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood received much media attention and criticism in anticipation and following its initial launch, both positive and negative. As a spin-off of long-running British cultural artifact Doctor Who, Torchwood`s place in the public eye has attracted commentary and parody since its inception.
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[edit] Reviews
Press reactions to Torchwood have ranged from positive to puzzled. The Daily Record said, "the show is truly fabulous. John Barrowman is first-class as Jack, while the whole set up of characters should lend itself to some great adventures. A two thumbs up, five-star, 10 out of 10, gold-encrusted hit".[1] A reviewer for SFX "absolutely bloody loved it".[2] But The Guardian's "Organ Grinder" reviewer was more guarded, arguing that:
- "despite its pretensions to a more adult audience, Torchwood never threatens to stray into the sort of darker, seamier territory explored by, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or ... Ultraviolet, of which it is occasionally reminiscent."[3]
Similarly, Metro commented on its "endearingly slightly crap kiddie TV production values", but adding "there are hopeful flickers of more maturely 'adult' content".[4] Charlie Brooker, writing in The Guardian, also commented on the tensions between Torchwood's Doctor Who roots in family drama and its adult aspirations:
- "It contains swearing, blood and sex, yet still somehow feels like a children's programme. Thirteen-year-olds should love it; anyone else is likely to be more than a little confused. Which isn't to say Torchwood is bad. Just bewildering. And very, very silly."[5]
Subsequent episodes were treated more sympathetically in both The Guardian and its sister newspaper The Observer, and Torchwood episodes have been among the three terrestrial programmes singled out per day by The Guardian Guide in its Pick of the Day column and also among the five per day singled out as OTV Choice in the Observer Television supplement. [6][7] Jim Shelley, writing in the Daily Mirror was heavily critical, calling the show "irritatingly inconsistent" and concluding:
- "I can't help thinking there's something inappropriate about a Doctor Who spin-off where one character asks another, 'When was the last time you came so hard, you forgot where you were?' It's further proof that Davies just couldn't decide what sort of show Torchwood was meant to be. Funnily enough, when one of the team goes missing, the name they call out - 'Tosh! Tosh! Tosh!' - is exactly the word I would use to describe it... "[8]
Halfway through the first run the BBC's own listings magazine Radio Times said:
- "There's quality here: nice effects, pacy action and fluid photography. But somehow it doesn't gel. Does Torchwood want to be The X-Files or Hollyoaks:After Hours? Seven episodes in, it's still hard to tell."[9]
Charlie Brooker, again in The Guardian Guide, eventually made a sort of virtue of Torchwood's multifaceted nature, granting it his ironic "Year's Most Jarring Show Award" for the way in which it "somehow managed to feel like both a multi-coloured children's show and a heaving sex-and-gore bodice-ripper at the same time". "Interesting," he concluded, "but possibly aimed at madmen."[10] And, naming the final double-episode of Torchwood a Pick of the Day for New Year's Day, The Guardian Guide was full of praise:
- "Russell T Davies' gnarly Doctor Who spin-off, it was recently announced, will be back for another season. Good, because, for all that Torchwood dipped mid-season, its finale is terrific." [11]
[edit] Ratings
The first episodes of Torchwood on BBC Three gave the channel its highest ever ratings, and the highest ratings of any digital non-sports channel, at 2.519 million viewers. The audience share was 12.7%, increasing to 13.8% for the second episode (shown immediately after the first episode on the same day), despite viewership dropping to 2.498 million.[12]
Ratings for later episodes dropped to around 1.2-1.3 million viewers during the first showing on BBC Three, and 2.2-2.3 million on during the repeat showing on BBC Two (dropping to under 1.1 and 1.8 respectively for the week ending 10/12/06), but nevertheless, the show remained the most viewed programme on BBC Three by a wide margin.[13]
[edit] Parodies
Although fewer in number than Doctor Who spoofs, there have been a number of parodies of Torchwood in various media. Verity Stob, a technology columnist for online newspaper The Register, wrote a parody of Torchwood called Under Torch Wood. The piece is in the style of Under Milk Wood, a Dylan Thomas radio play. The piece comments on the level of swearing present in Torchwood and the role of Rhys Williams, who the piece describes as "Barry Backstory".[14]
Satirical impressionist television series Dead Ringers also parodied Torchwood, with Jon Culshaw playing Captain Jack and Jan Ravens as Gwen Cooper. The sketches parodied the level of sex in Torchwood, claiming "we never deal with an alien unless at least one [of the team] has shagged it", and describing the lack of motivations of the characters. Each character wore a badge with their respective personality type written on it. Owen is described as "Annoying" whilst Ianto is "Dull and Annoying", Captain Jack is "Camp and Annoying", and Gwen is simply "Welsh." It also parodies the bisexuality of the characters with Captain Jack arbitrarily kissing a policeman on the lips and the melodramatic personality of Jack, who in the sketch walks extremely dramatically, swinging his coat about himself. Barrowman is described as a "pound shop Tom Cruise", and the perceived low-budget of the show is referenced, with Owen describing the Torchwood equipment as "an Apple Mac with stickers on the case".[15][16] Later spoofs in the final episode of the 2007 series of Dead Ringers featured Jack Harkness in a threesome with two Revenge of the Cybermen era Cybermen and an elderly version called Driftwood, who claim to be "separate from the Post Office, beyond the bingo hall and outside the Oxfam", a parody of Torchwood's pledge. It also featured Albert Steptoe of Steptoe and Son as the leader of the team, claiming "a terrible event in my past means that I can't die. It's called UKTV Gold".
In an interview with John Barrowman on Al Murray's Happy Hour, Murray jokingly suggested a spin-off with a similar anagram title - "Your Rum Slappy Ha Ha".
[edit] References
- ^ McIver, Brian. "SEXY SPIN-OFF SERIES IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED", Daily Record, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on October 27, 2006.
- ^ Berriman, Ian. "First reactions to Torchwood", SFX, 2006-10-17. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.
- ^ Plunkett, John. "Farewell Doctor Who, hello Captain Jack", The Guardian, 2006-10-19. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.
- ^ Ivan-Zadeh, Larushka. "It's Dr Woo-who!", Metro, 2006-10-23.
- ^ Brooker, Charlie. "Charlie Brooker's screen burn" (free registration required), The Guardian, 2006-10-28. Retrieved on October 29, 2006.
- ^ ""Pick of the Day"", The Guardian Guide, 2006-11-18.
- ^ ""OTV Choice"", The Observer Television, 2006-11-26, p. 15.
- ^ Shelley, Jim. "YOU JUST WOOD NOT BELIEVE IT", Daily Mirror, 2006-11-21. Retrieved on November 23, 2006.
- ^ Braxton, Mark. "Today's Choices", Radio Times, 2006-11-25 - 2006-12-01, p. 76.
- ^ Brooker, Charlie. "Charlie Brooker's screen burn", The Guardian Guide, 2006-12-16, p. 52.
- ^ ""Pick of the Day"", The Guardian Guide, 2006-12-30, p. 71.
- ^ "Torchwood scores record audience", BBC News, 2006-10-23. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
- ^ Weekly Multichannel Top 10 progammes, BARB. Accessed 7 December 2006
- ^ Stob, Verity (2006-11-06). Under Torch Wood. The Register. Retrieved on November 7, 2006.
- ^ Garnon, Anthony (2007-03-09). Dead Ringers. Torchwood.TV - Blogspot. Retrieved on February 11, 2007.
- ^ "Dead Ringers". Principal writers Nev Fountain and Tom Jamieson, Director Ben Fuller, Producer Richard Webb. Dead Ringers. BBC. BBC Two, London. 2007-03-08. No. 3, season 7.
