rfduncan

Well this last episode "A Day in the Death" was actually not bad. I mean even Jack is over the whole mess - "Are you done yet?" after Owen climbs out of his failed drowning attempt.

So that was kind of a gyp in my opinion. They added Freema Agyeman to the title credits and then she just leaves? So lame. I was getting into her as the new staff member. Certainly didn't help Owen's case that he was all morose and dead and stuff, but I don't understand why she left.

I'm certain that the Owen plot development is leading up to something for the seasonal arc/finale... I hope they "cure" him because I'm already annoyed with the gaping chest wound, slit hand and broken finger.

Groucho

Yeah, it was really strange to bring her in for three episodes, and make the whole thing a story arc for Owen. Guess they don't want significant to happen to her character to avoid confusing Who viewers who don't watch this show (similar to how they treated Jack in season 1).

Superman07

I've been very impressed by some of the backend on this season (to date). Not only did I think "A Day in the Death" was one of the best of the series, but I think it's one of the better scifi episode I've seen on TV in a long time.

Also, I've been very impressed with their attention to detail and continuity - especially with regard to Owen.

I think I skipped ahead somewhat ( ) so I'll just say I'm on the fence about this weekend's upcoming episode (Adrift), but the one after may be my favorite episode of the entire series (Fragments).

Baron Of Hell

You serious. You didn't think they dropped the ball when Owen could do cpr because he had no breath? If he had no breath had can he talk.

Superman07

Oh come on. There is a certain level of disbelief you have to hold. If he's a key in the finale we're supposed to watch him walk around mute for half the season? I was really talking about the cut on the hand and broken fingers.

rfduncan

I'm also anxious for the season finale - not only because I'm expecting it to be good, but also because it means S4 of Doctor Who is upon us the following week!

Superman07

I'll throw this in the same thread:

In the US, what are the source for either TW or DW in HD?

Original Desmond

very good last 5 episodes, sad season finale but well done

lmwong1977

I think this was discussed in the S1 topic. But anyway, DW isn't in HD as RTD doesn't think it looks good with all the CGI they use, but he's said he knows it'll eventually convert when the BBC changes to HD ~2010ish. So for now it's aired in SD.

TW is also on HDNet in the States where you can get the HD quality along with uncut episodes.

So far the DVDs are SD format. TW S1 was supposed to be released on both HD and Blu-Ray but since I don't have either player I don't pay much attention to news about those formats so I don't know if they were/will be released.

lmwong1977

Yup good strong episodes at the end. I was spoiled for the ending but still felt the emotional impact of what happens. That should be vague enough for spoilerphobes yeah?

For BBCA epsiodes, I really liked Adift (and not just because of the naked hide and seek lol) as Gwen was more like what I pictured she would be like in the series and make sure you see Fragments - the back story for Owen especially is insightful and Ianto's fun - think "Bringing Up Baby."

DW/TW aren't very good if you insist on nitpicking on scientific facts. I'm sure other sci-fi series may doublecheck the facts but RTD doesn't, it's not his thing. A show that uses Retcon, reset buttons and timey wimey requires some suspension of belief as it's not just sci-fi but a bit of fantasy as well. As a science major I get the improbability of Owen, but I just roll with it. Owen probably got some alien enhancements to allow him to talk but not have breath from the alien glove.

Chris Chibnall has improved a great deal compared to S1. But he still has weak endings, good anti-climaxes but the last scenes are whimper endings for the most part. L&O is a pretty template/formula so maybe better for him while getting the series going, as one of the reason S1 was so uneven was the rushing the series to air. Some other DW/TW writers are also working on L&O:L including Moran who wrote Sleeper.

riley_dude

Loved Adrift. Now that is some great writing. Exciting and also sad. This writer should do more for the show.

rfduncan

It was a good episode, but I was a little annoyed with how Jack was scripted. The return of his devious/secretive initiative to conceal certain elements associated with the rift are not only disturbing but very much out of character with the Jack Harkness who hangs out with the Doctor. That they've flip flopped him back and forth and had Martha hop in for a bit doesn't work for me. Why he's supposedly "shielding" his staff from stuff like this new rift information is odd. The only thing I can make of it is that it will all be tied into the season finale/arc...

Next week's looks awesome!

adamblast

Got around to the finale last night. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that they should have cast Gray with a marquee name actor like they did Capt. John. If he was going to be so important as to permanently change the show (and he certainly did!)--in addition to being the leading man's brother--he shouldn't have seemed so generic. Then again, Barrowman is fairly generic to alot of people.

Pretty gut-wrenching what happened to key team-members, but it worked well and some fresh faces might be good. At this point I'll even follow the show if (as rumored) Barrowman shifts to occasional status next season. I suppose what matters most is 1) who the new showrunner will be and 2) what kind of new teammembers they come up with.

I wouldn't be pissed if Rhys and PC Andy get bigger parts next year. Though the accents can be almost indecipherable at moments.

riley_dude

Sad ending there. So I am guessing they just decided not to renew their contracts?
Story dictated?
They could very easily plug Gwen's Police friend in there or maybe Martha could come back.

cajun_junky

Excellent ending. Can't wait to see the replacements and what new stories they bring to next season!

riley_dude

I didn't think they ever explored their characters much anyway and I was never really a fan of Owen in the first place.

Superman07

I'll stick the news in here, since you all are probably the few that would care:

I received an e-mail from Apple stating that BBC America has been added to iTunes. Covers:

Torchwood
Robin Hood

Don't know if it's just S1 or S2 as well of each.

Superman07

Looks like the news is a little old, but Series 3 has been confirmed. It appears that Russell T. Davies is indeed out, and a new producer - Peter Bennett - is in place.

Groucho

I don't know if this has been "confirmed" but it's pretty obvious from the season finale of Doctor Who that:

matta

Wait, so we're like a year away from new Torchwood? That sucks. I hoped it would come back when Dr. Who's season ends next month.

rfduncan

Dude. Doctor Who just STARTED right after Torchwood S2 finished airing here (which was like only a few weeks after it finished airing in the UK). You really think they can make a whole new season in the span of 14 weeks?

The DVDs for S2 aren't even due out until September!

So this 5 episode mini-series thing doesn't sound like the BBC has too much faith in the series.

matta

I haven't been paying attention to how long it was delated from the UK. I assumed they'd have 13 episode seasons each for Who and Torchwood. That's 26 weeks of new shows, plus the Who specials. If they time it right, they can have new shows almost the whole year.

riley_dude

They are only filming something like 5 episodes for Torchwood next season not 13.

matta

Yes, now I know that. I also know that Torchwood isn't coming back until 2009. However my comments were about what I had hoped prior to learning both of those facts.

kvrdave

I didn't really like the first 2 eps, so does it get better? I will admit that I rarely like BBC stuff. I find the production values to be low, the acting to be average, etc. And I always think, "Damn, these guys are really overacting the British thing." Yeah, that's stupid, but that's my reaction.

What do you think?