Torchwood: Children of Earth
Now that I got all my Comic-Con ramblings out of my system, it’s time to get back to some important things. Things like the best television event of the year. That’s right, I’m talking about the five-day mini series event Torchwood: Children of Earth. This is the way TV shows should be made. It was an awesome thrill ride that left me emotionally drained by the end. Spoiler and details below…
Children of Earth is a five parter that is technically considered season 3 of the series. They did it this way for a number of reasons: there was the whole Doctor Who transition with Russell T Davies leaving both shows, there was the shocker season 2 ending and a question of where the show was going, and there was the big move to BBC One. As Julie Gardner explained at Comic-Con, they want a fresh start when they begin on BBC One. They wanted new viewers to be able to jump right into the new season. It all made sense and they made sure to go out/come in with a bang.
The premise of the story is about a race of aliens returning to Earth and making demands. They communicate with the planet through all the children of the world. It was really creepy to see in the trailer and even more creepy in the actual episodes. All of a sudden, the kids would start chanting, “we are coming.” Then at the end of Day 1, they finished the chant, “we are coming…back.” Day 2 ended with, “we are coming…tomorrow.” Finally day 3 had the best line, “we are here.” It kept getting better and better.
During this time, Torchwood is comprised of only Captain Jack, Gwen, and Ianto. They are considering looking for a new doctor and think they’ve found one, only he turns out to be working for the government trying to infiltrate Torchwood. When the government realizes that these are aliens they’ve done bad business with before, they order the execution of Jack because he was witness to those events.
The end of Day 1 sets the tone for the remaining episodes. They kill Jack, plant a bomb in his stomach and the Torchwood Hub gets destroyed. Suddenly Gwen and Ianto are on the run, and worse, Gwen is pregnant. Jack, of course survives, but not without the pain and torture an explosion from your stomach would cause.
Day 2 was all about getting Jack back. Since he can’t die, the bad guys thought it best to bury him in a block of concrete. Fortunately, Ianto wasn’t going to let that stand in his way. You’d think making a quick getaway in a forklift with a giant concrete cube would be impossible, but not for Torchwood. They free Jack and continue the mission.
On Day 3, things really started picking up. The team starts working with Lois Habiba (played by Cush Jumbo), a great character that I hope joins the team in the new season. They find a location for the “Hub 2’ and Ianto even finds a new jacket for Jack at an army surplus store. The team gets back on their feet and ready for action. In the cliffhanger, they discover Jack was involved in giving 12 children to the aliens when they first visited years ago.
Day 4 starts off awesome. Lois announces she’s been working for Torchwood, Jack and Ianto march right in to meet with the 4,5,6, and it seems like a good thing. Then the worst thing possible happens: the 4,5,6 show the strength of their power. They lock the building and release a toxin that kills everyone. It was so unexpected to see Ianto die; I couldn’t believe it. And it was heartbreaking when Jack was revived and looked over to see him in the bodybag beside him. It was definitely Torchwood at their lowest. They’re down to just two now.
Day 5 opens like a scene out of 28 Days Later, and it pretty much is. The government discovers that the 4,5,6 are using the children as a type of drug and decides they have no choice but to give in to their demands. They start rounding up children all over the world. Gwen and Rhys go to Ianto’s sister and help them escape with all the children in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Jack’s daughter (yes, he has a daughter, which tied in nicely with an earlier Torchwood episode) releases him and he begins working on a way to stop the 4,5,6. Ultimately, he is left with one decision: millions of children or his grandson. He has no choice. It was such a sad moment, especially when his daughter Alice is let back into the room. Gwen and Rhys were on the verge of being caught when the aliens are defeated and go running.
It cuts to six months later and shows Rhys and a very pregnant Gwen walking up a hill. They meet with Jack, who has been traveling the world. He decides to continue running and hop aboard a passing spaceship. They put his character through hell and back through the five episodes. I don’t remember exactly where I saw it, but one forum member called this experience, “Captain Jack’s Time War” and I completely agree. We’re going to see a much darker Jack when Torchwood returns I think. A crying Gwen told him he can’t keep running forever, but he disagreed and left.
So that’s how Torchwood ended. No team, no Hub, no Jack. I’m really curious to see what’s going to happen in the new season. It was really cool to meet John Barrowman at Comic-Con the day after finishing the series. I told him I never cry during TV shows, but Children of Earth really hit me. Violet told him we dreamed about Torchwood (we did) and woke up feeling a little blue. He said, “dont worry because we are coming…back!” He said there’ll be plenty more Torchwood so I can’t wait.
Torchwood: Children of Earth was excellent television. I did a really lame, straightforward job of describing what happens over the five episodes. There’s a ton more and it’s all infinitely more entertaining than anything I could write about it. I even bought the blu-ray to check out the special features. The DVD came out already because it screened in Britain a few weeks earlier than here. Watch it if you haven’t already. You won’t be disappointed.