TW #10 : Out of Time

John: Good God!

Ianto: Welcome to the wonderful world of scantily-clad celebrities.

John: There are children around!

Ianto: She's a children's TV presenter.

Episode 10:    Out of Time.
Companions:  Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper and Ianto Jones.
Air Date:        17th December 2006.

When a plane from the 1950s lands in modern Cardiff, courtesy of the Rift, the passengers are reoriented by the Torchwood team, who becomes drawn closely to their lives.

Out of Time is a wonderful drama piece. You couldn't do this sort of tale in Doctor Who without adding something monstrous or science fiction to it, which would ruin it in my opinion. Torchwood handles it fantastically. The story deals with a trio who have travelled through time accidentally via air plane through the rift from the 1950's and how they adapt to living in the 21st century. For one the shock ends quickly and she makes a life for herself but things do not go well for the others.

The episode is a truly excellent piece of television before I even consider it part of the whoniverse. The episode is well written and the acting from everyone involved in spot on. The love story for Owen really adds something to his character that has been previously missing and when it doesn't turn out well for him the rest of the series takes the events of Out of Time into consideration. It isn't quietly forgotten. The reactions from the others and how times have changed for them in 60 years is wonderfully done.

Emma, the one  traveller for whom things turn out reasonably well leaves to go to London on the same day as the events of The Christmas Invasion take place. Strangely the events of that Doctor Who episode are never mentioned in Torchwood despite it being a major event.

Although there are no scary monsters or weird science fiction technobabble in this one I do feel it is one of the best Torchwood episodes we've had. If only the show had continued with this quality after the first season.

TW #9 : Random Shoes

"The speed of light is 299,792,458 metres per second. Pain travels through the body at 350 feet per second. Even a sneeze can reach a hundred miles per hour. And as for life? Well... that just bloody whizzes by."

Episode 9:     Random Shoes.
Companions: Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper and Ianto Jones.
Air Date:       10th December 2006.

A hit-and-run victim, obsessed with alien life, realises only one person can solve the mystery of his death: Gwen Cooper.

Random Shoes is the unfortunate Torchwood equivalent of Love & Monsters. It just blatantly doesn't fit in at all and has such a weak premise. The episode revolves around the "ghost" of one Eugene Jones who is killed in a car accident and now follows around Gwen while she investigates his death. It is played out as a series of flashbacks with narration from Eugene. The story barely features the rest of the Torchwood team other than Gwen. Ultimately it is revealed to be an alien artifact that Eugene swallowed that has kept his spirit around. At the end he materialises briefly to save Gwen before vanishing into the light.

Much like the previous story it hints at something beyond death which is generally against what we know from the rest of Doctor Who. While that in itself doesn't bug me so much it is just the way the whole story is handled when I am sure the writers could have found something more interesting to design an episode around. I recommend avoiding this one completely.

Episode #77 : The Sontaran Experiment

"Foresight. You never know when these bits and pieces will come in handy. Never throw anything away, Harry. Now, where's my five hundred year diary. I remember jotting some notes on the Sontarans... It's a mistake to clutter one's pockets, Harry."

Episode 77:     The Sontaran Experiment.
Companions:   4th Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan.
Air Date:         Two episodes. 22nd February to 1st March 1975.

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive on a desolate and apparently deserted Earth to discover that a group of shipwrecked astronauts from a human colony, GalSec, have been lured there by a fake distress call. One of their number, Roth, tells Sarah of an alien conducting gruesome experiments on him and his crewmates. The alien turns out to be a Sontaran, Field-Major Styre, who is compiling a report on human physical and mental capabilities as a prelude to an invasion of Earth.

The Sontaran Experiment is another excellent adventure story despite having some major plot holes if you were to really think about it. We know that the Sontarans have been in this corner of space before so why are they only know seeking to invade an empty planet? Why are they unaware of human capabilities when they must have encountered us in the past? Why do the Sontarans send a ranking member of their military to do this when he should be leading battle somewhere? These and many more questions filter through the mind when watching this story.

There is a lot of good character interaction in this one and you feel that they are bonding well together after the prior adventure. You get the same vibe that they must be bonding well as actors too. The only element here that I find lacking comes from Sarah Jane who seems to be sliding from the strong feminist reporter to a mere screaming, easily captured female companion.

The make up for the Sontaran has certainly improved since we last saw one though the costume budget seems to have taken a hit. It is good to see the return of the Sontarans even though they don't make many appearances in the classic show.

Being a two part story and coming in at just under an hour this feels like a modern episode and thus it is easy to watch. Where as a child and teenager I would enjoy the lengthy multi-part serials these days I find that a one or two part story (50 to 90 minutes total) is about right.

Just as The Ark in Space led us directly into this story, so too does this story lead us into one of the most famous stories in classic Who... Genesis of the Daleks!

Episode #76 : The Ark in Space

"Homo sapiens. What an inventive, invincible species. It's only a few million years since they crawled up out of the mud and learnt to walk. Puny, defenceless bipeds. They've survived flood, famine and plague. They've survived cosmic wars and holocausts. And now, here they are, out among the stars, waiting to begin a new life. Ready to outsit eternity. They're indomitable."

Episode 76:   The Ark in Space.
Companions: 4th Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan.
Air Date:       Four episodes. 25th January to 15th February 1975.

The TARDIS lands on a space station orbiting Earth in the distant future. It's seemingly deserted, but the Doctor, Sarah and Harry soon discover that they are not alone. Thousands of humans are in cryogenic sleep, and while they've slept their Ark has been invaded. A parasitic insect race - the Wirrn - have taken control and threaten the very future of mankind.

The Ark in Space plus the next four stories are, to me, the pinnacle of the classic series. Nothing before or after - until the new series, is as good as this run of connected stories. Everything just fits so well together from the 1970's view of science fiction set dressing, to the characterisation of the time travellers, and for a change we have stories that are perfectly paced and written. The Ark in Space is perfect in these regards.

In this story, which is Harry Sullivan's first rip out into time and space, Harry does come across as a bit of simpleton. But when you finally realise that it is part and parcel of culture shock for him it makes sense and he becomes the companion that we as the audience can most associate with. Sarah has done a fair bit of travel with the Doctor and it's just day to day for her now.t

I have said before and I am sure to repeat that, despite being great science fiction television, Doctor Who seems at it's best when trying to do the horror thing. Ark in Space, with a little bit of a tweak could have been the forerunner to Alien. The story opens with a seemingly empty space station, only for the companions to find hundreds of humans in suspended animation and the presence of an alien insectoid life form that seeks to implant and breed from them. With a modern budget this could have been something truly scary, but it still works fantastically as is.

The Ark in Space is a must watch story for anyone seriously looking into the classic series.