Criticism of Torchwood

British science fiction, crime drama and "Doctor Who" spin-off series "Torchwood" received much media attention and criticism in anticipation to 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.

Reviews of the first series

Press reactions to "Torchwood" have been positive and negative. 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". [cite news
first = Brian
last = McIver
title = SEXY SPIN-OFF SERIES IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED
url = http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_headline=sexy-spin-off-series-is-just-what-the-doctor-ordered-&method=full&objectid=17992243&siteid=66633-name_page.html
work = Daily Record
date = 2006-10-26
accessdate = 2006-10-27] A reviewer for "SFX" "absolutely bloody loved it". [cite news
first = Ian
last = Berriman
title = First reactions to Torchwood
url = http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=first_reactions_to_torchwood
work = SFX
date = 2006-10-17
accessdate = 2006-10-20] 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." [cite news
first = John
last = Plunkett
title = Farewell Doctor Who, hello Captain Jack
url = http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2006/10/farewell_doctor_who_hello_capt.html
work = The Guardian
date = 2006-10-19
accessdate = 2006-10-20] Similarly, "Metro" commented on its "endearingly slightly crap kiddie TV production values", but adding "there are hopeful flickers of more maturely 'adult' content". [cite news
first = Larushka
last = Ivan-Zadeh
title = It's Dr Woo-who!
work = Metro
date = 2006-10-23] 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." [cite news
first = Charlie
last = Brooker
authorlink = Charlie Brooker
title = Charlie Brooker's screen burn
url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/columnists/story/0,,1932445,00.html
format = free registration required
work = The Guardian
date = 2006-10-28
accessdate = 2006-10-29 ]

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. [cite news
title= "Pick of the Day"
work = The Guardian Guide
date = 2006-11-18] [cite news
title= "OTV Choice"
work = The Observer Television
page = 15
date = 2006-11-26]
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... " [cite news |first=Jim |last=Shelley |authorlink=Jim Shelley (TV critic) |title=YOU JUST WOOD NOT BELIEVE IT |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/tvandfilm/shelleyvision/tm_method=full%26objectid=18129062%26siteid=94762-name_page.html |work=Daily Mirror |date=2006-11-21 |accessdate=2006-11-23 ]

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." [cite news
first = Mark
last = Braxton
title = Today's Choices
work = Radio Times
date = 2006-11-25 - 2006-12-01
page = 76]

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." [cite news
work = The Guardian Guide
date = 2006-12-16
page = 52
first = Charlie
last = Brooker
authorlink = Charlie Brooker
title = Charlie Brooker's screen burn ] And, naming the final double-episode of Torchwood a "Pick of the Day" for New Year's Day, "The Guardian Guide" offered some 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." [cite news
title= "Pick of the Day"
work = The Guardian Guide
page = 71
date = 2006-12-30]

Awards

In April 2007, "Torchwood" beat its parent series to win the Best Drama Series category at the BAFTA Cymru Awards. The awards, given by the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, celebrate the achievements of film and television productions made in Wales. Eve Myles won the Best Actress category at the same awards, ahead of "Doctor Who"'s Billie Piper.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6604115.stm|title=Dr Who sweeps Bafta Cymru board|publisher=BBC News Online|date=2007-04-29|accessdate=2007-04-29]

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 the time with 2.519 million viewers (this has since been surpassed by the premiere of Bionic Woman on ITV2 which gained 2.553 million in March 2008 [ [http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?report=weeklytop30&requesttimeout=500&
] ] ). 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. [cite news|title=Torchwood scores record audience|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6077078.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=2006-10-23|accessdate = 2006-10-23]

Ratings for later episodes dropped to around 1.1-1.2 million viewers during the first showing on BBC Three (the lowest being 0.8 million for week ending 24/12/06), 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 weeks ending 03/12 and 10/12/06), but nevertheless, the show remained the most viewed programme on BBC Three by a wide margin. [ [http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?RequestTimeout=500&report=weeklytop30 Weekly Multichannel Top 10 progammes] , "BARB". Accessed 7 December, 2006]

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, whom the piece describes as "Barry Backstory". [cite web
url = http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2006/11/06/torchwood/
title = Under Torch Wood
accessdate = 2006-11-07
last = Stob
first = Verity
authorlink =Verity Stob
date = 2006-11-06
work = The Register] In its third series, the "Doctor Who" parody "Nebulous" also began to parody "Torchwood", with references to "baby dinosaurs falling through a hole in time" and "the sheer amount of paranormal activity in the Cardiff area alone ... starting to threaten the Earth's plausibility shield".

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. It also parodies the bisexuality of the characters 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". [cite episode
title = Dead Ringers
series = Dead Ringers
serieslink = Dead Ringers
credits = Principal writers Nev Fountain and Tom Jamieson, Director Ben Fuller, Producer Richard Webb
network = BBC
station = BBC Two
city = London
airdate = 2007-03-08
season = 7
number = 3] Later spoofs in the final episode of the 2007 series of "Dead Ringers" featured Jack Harkness in a threesome with two "Attack 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" opening narration. 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", and parodied its use of amnesia pills (unnecessary for this team due to the onset of senile amnesia).

Barrowman himself showed he was aware of the Dead Ringers sketches in one of the behind the scenes featurettes for the second series of the show, proclaiming 'We're Torchwood! And these are my shiny teeth!' before walking away dramatically, causing his greatcoat to swish behind him.

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 Har Har".

References