torchwood

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.