KW Taylor's blog

Torchwood, the first in several planned spin-offs of Doctor Who’s revival series, premiered on BBC Three last weekend with a pilot episode that can only be described as odd. Not good/quirky odd or bad/pretentious odd, but uneven odd, showing hints of both promise and mediocrity. The fault definitely does not lie in the lead actors: John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness is just as charming and rakish as he was when traveling with the ninth Doctor and Rose. Eve Myles is a worthy companion as wide-eyed police cadet Gwen Cooper. Given two fun characters, a venerable joy of a parent show, and the pithy writing of Russell T. Davies, it’s greatly disappointing that the aliens, special effects, and general spectacle of the thing seem so flat and uninteresting.

The first few minutes of a TV pilot are massively important. A show has to hook viewers in quickly, lest the entire series get written off as dull or lackluster. The writing must be sharp and distinctive, the acting deft and subtle, and the directing offbeat enough to set it apart from everything else on the air. Not unlike a job interview, watching a pilot puts the viewer in the employer’s seat. We want to know in five to fifteen minutes why we should hire this show for the privileged position of “series recording” on our DVRs. A viewer internally asks him or herself during these first crucial minutes, “What can I get from this show that I can’t already find in half a dozen other things on the air?”

The term “peer pressure” doesn’t always have to carry a negative connotation. I became a fan of quite a few good urban fantasy novels, obscure wines, and fabulous indie rock bands on the recommendation of friends and loved ones who possess tastes and preferences akin to my own. Believing your confidantes when they gush about a film or DVD is hard not to do. How many times have you added something to your Netflix queue because a pal expressed affinity for it?