Torchwood Miracle Day

[estepheia]

I just watched the final episode of Torchwood - Miracle Day. First impressions behind the cuts because they are spoilery...


- Rex has got to be one of the most annoying DW/TW-verse characters ever. Would have cheered to see him STAY dead.
- Esther has got to be the second most annoying DW/TW-verse character ever. Her death did not move me, and the appearance of her sister and the nieces at the funeral? Blah.
- Hannibal Lecter, oops, sorry, I meant Oswald Dane would have been much more interesting as the eternal resurrectee - even though his role in the whole plot was as bit on the dodgy side. Why was he along for the finale? The excuse was so flimsy, I forgot it seconds after they said it.
- I liked how his last words matched Miss Lipstick's flight - too bad she ran fast enough. (Is she the third most irritating DW/TW-verse character ever? Quite possibly.
- Luckily there was some good stuff, too. Like Rhys. And Rhys. And The Baby (really cute). And the scene where the policeman (whose name I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten) is holding the unknown girl's hand. And the "suprise" ending, when suddenly everybody is mortal again. Okay, maybe not so surprising.
- The death of the doctor was one of the better plot twists - even though I wanted to smack her, because you don't threaten people with exposure while you are still on their territory.
- More good stuff: John de Lancie, always a pleasure, but did they have to blow him up??? It's always nice to see Star Trek actors again, but Nana Visitor's tailor should get shot on the spot.
- There were more good scenes, more good lines, but they got bogged down by the trivial and the average. Oh well.
- The pacing of the entire season was craptastic. 6 or 7 epis would have worked better - for various reasons, e.g. it took the characters way too long to cotton on to the burning of the category ones. The final scene at the blessing draggen on, and that happened several times throughout the season.
- Maybe I'm too pragmatic here, but it wasn't the necessity to burn almost-dead people that shocked me, but the way it was conducted. So, the whole scenario wasn't as horrifying to me, as the showrunners intended.
- Children of the earth was creepy, and horrifying and also sad. Ianto's dead was touching - and the build-up was so intense, that I watched all episodes in a row, even though it took me till 5 a.m. - Miracle Day never played in the same league.
- Still, after watching a full season of Falling Skies, I will take more TW any day. What does that say about me?

Comments

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

You and I are of pretty much like mind over this then. Such a disappointment really. So many interesting ideas lost in poor pacing and meandering plot twists.

Here's my take.

http://sueworld2003.livejournal.com/1143603.html

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

We share a brain, yay!
I wanted to get my impressions out before seeing things through community eyes. Naturally, I found your post when I went looking what other people thought.
Interestingly enough, Kita has a completely different opinion (along the lines of: Rex is hot). Which is nice, because that's what LJ is all about: finding people who share your brain, and finding people who have entirely different views. :-)

I wanted TW to be good... *sigh*

[ana-grrl.livejournal.com]

I stopped watching this after I saw episode 8. I probably would have quit earlier if I hadn't watched a bunch of them all at once. This series was bad, it didn't appeal to me at all, and I totally agree with you that it was dragged on. I felt like a lot of it was 'filler' writing, and there wasn't enough of the original cast members (agreed that Esther and Rex were uninteresting).

I still don't know if there were any aliens in this series (since I stopped watching it), but it seems weird to me to have Torchwood without aliens.

I agree that Children of Earth was creepy, horrifying, and sad. Miracle Day was bland, poorly written, and ultimately without any depth.

re: Falling Skies - yes, terrible show, but I feel less disappointed with it because I didn't really expect much more...Torchwood, on the other hand, has typically given me much more, so to see it reduced to this makes me disappointed!

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Well, the finale was better than some of the middle epis, but still not grand. Sometimes I like Gwen, sometimes she gets on my wick. In this epi I liked her. But I am painfully aware of the fact that it would be easier to enjoy TW if I loved her like some of the other LJ posters do.

I'd watch the last two epis, if only for closure.

Falling Skies looked like it had been shot by an amateur in his back yard. *shudder* They never managed to convey a sense of horror at the near destruction of mankind. The abundant patriotism and the clunky characterisation didn't help, but there's not a lot of sci fi around these days. *sigh*

I haven't watched the new DW epis. Didn't like the new season much (too convoluted and River Song is too important these days). Will watch the rest eventually, but have no high hopes. *sigh*

[ana-grrl.livejournal.com]

Falling Skies was just boring - I too didn't feel horror. It was more grinding dullness. There was so much patriotism that I felt overwhelmed sometimes. Still, I thought the idea had potential (that wasn't even close to realised).

I stopped watching Doctor Who after season 4 and the various David Tennant specials. I wasn't really interested in the new doctor, and for me I just felt like I was happy to stop watching it after season 4!

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't think the new doctor is the problem. And his sidekicks are great. Especially Rory. But the stories have gotten too complicated. There was a creepy storyline with an enemy called The Silence, that reminded me of Blink, but other than that I'm not really invested in the new stories....

Still, there isn't exactly an overabundance of Sci fi and fantasy around, so I'll keep watching, but I'll also complain. ;-)

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

Although I admit that "Children of Earth" was well-made, I hated it with a fiery passion. So I didn't watch any of "Miracle Day," and from what you've written here, it sounds like I might have hated it even more. Guess I'm off "Torchwood" for good. Oh well.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

You hated CoE? Really? It certainly had its flaws, but I've rarely been as hooked by a show as with CoE. It was like a train crash, impossible to look away.
Not sure why they have to keep on finding excruciating deaths for Jack, but on the whole it was amazing television....

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

It was like a train crash, impossible to look away.

Yes, that's exactly why I hated it so much. As it became clearer and clearer that none of this was going to end well, I couldn't stop watching. I mean, I wasn't expecting a totally happy ending. But I don't watch scripted TV to endure that level of bleakness and cruelty. If I should ever happen to want that, I can always turn on the TV news.

[liliaeth]

It's odd, I seem to be one of the few people who really really loved Rex and Esther.

In fact, I would love to see more of Rex, and I cried when Esther died.

[hobbituk.livejournal.com]

I didn't like Rex or Esther. I hated the americanisation of it all, and missed the Hub in Cardiff. I missed the aliens and I missed Captain Jack, (no, you won't convince me he was actually in it) and the rest of the team. There wasn't even any Captain John to make it feel better.

No, it wasn't my cup of tea at all.