Torchwood: Random Things
Dec. 4th, 2006 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Since I can't join in the squee about Torchwood eps 8 for another eight hours or so (wah!) I'll just dump a load of Torchwood meta here, instead.
As usual, spoilers are ahead.
So, the whole Jack doesn't sleep thing. Interesting - if unforeseen - side effect of having (nigh) immortality thrust upon one, or silly nubbin created by the writers' without much thought?
Here's how I feel about the Jack-is-immortal thing: it's a good idea that's been ruined by being rushed out, half-baked.
I like the idea, I really do. It makes a certain amount of sense. Rose as time-godess brings Jack back from the grave via nifty powerz borrowed from the TARDIS. Naturally there's going to be more than just your run-of-the-mill DC comics style resurrection going on. I can buy into the regeneration bit (see, "nifty powerz borrowed from the TARDIS") and I could even buy into the notion that Jack might need a lot less sleep than regular humans - another aspect of Time-Lord-ish existence conferred upon him by Rose/the TARDIS1.
But-and-however. No sleep? At all? Sorry, can't buy it. He'd go stark staring mad within about three days. Mind you, who's not to say that he didn't, but he's clearly functional now, and there's been nothing to address how that's possible. My own pet theory involves "Russian sleep", that device so beloved of SF writers in the 1960s, or else some serious meditation - something by which the unconscious mind does the necessary information dump every 24 hours or so.
And the does Jack need to eat? debate is another aspect of the immortal!Jack that's irritating me. Never mind the Why does he usually drink water? thing. I think that's just a matter of prefence and taste.
IIRC,
squeakydalek believes that Jack's body/metabolism has been 'frozen' at the point of resurrection, and every time he dies, it returns to that state. Following her theory, it could be believed that Jack doesn't need to eat, or drink, or sleep (or go to the bathroom, or anything of that sort) because he's not burning energy to keep going. Also, Tosh's observation of Jack's mind would fit that theory. Jack is, in many ways, dead. He just hasn't quit moving yet. I think that's a bit morbid, myself, and I'm not keen on morbid.
I dunno, I just feel like the undead/undying Jack plot was bodged together on the fly. Extra refinements to a simple idea ("Can't die. Yeah, that sounds good") were added in because of the dreaded kewlness factor - and devil take anyone who tried to apply even an ounce of logic to the setup.
Yeah, I know, more sleepless nights are caused by trying to apply logic to SF than by the national debt. Sigh.
And, unfortunately, I think the slapdash presentation of Jack's immortality is a microcosmic reputation of Torchwood's most significant weakness. The season seems to be careening from story to story with an off-the-cuff approach to storytelling, rather than an overall season arc in mind. I wouldn't mind that - not all shows can be B5, I know - if it wasn't for the fact that the show's promoters are trying so hard to sell it to us as a clever, sophisticated SF thriller. If you want me to believe that this show is a cut above the usual SF offering, can you at least try to look like you were planning more than one story ahead?
I'm worried that the season ender will be Bad Wolf all over again. Heavily foreshadowed and yet still not making a lick of sense and reading like RTD had to create a plot to fit the clues, rather than the other way around. All of a sudden, some Big Thing That's Been There All Along, Really will be revealed and leave us going "Huh?" As usual, I'd love to be wrong.
However, to offset the rather gloomy sentiments, above, here are the Five Things Fangrrl Loves About Torchwood.
1. The characters are all clearly brilliant, in their way, but prone to making colossal mistakes, too. Yay for geniuses who make bad decisions.
2. Myfanwy. Another manifestation of kewlness factor, but I love me the pterosaurs.
3. Minimal commentary about nookie, especially the same-gender moments.
4. Cardiff as the center of a (potentially) world-threatening space-time rift. Cardiff, for heaven's sake! But it's a lovely change from defaulting to London.
5. Gorgeous production design. Not always sensible, mind you, but gorgeous.
1 - I think the TARDIS had a bit of a thing for Jack, but I'll save that sort of thought for when I feel like stirring things up at
doctard or something. :-D
As usual, spoilers are ahead.
So, the whole Jack doesn't sleep thing. Interesting - if unforeseen - side effect of having (nigh) immortality thrust upon one, or silly nubbin created by the writers' without much thought?
Here's how I feel about the Jack-is-immortal thing: it's a good idea that's been ruined by being rushed out, half-baked.
I like the idea, I really do. It makes a certain amount of sense. Rose as time-godess brings Jack back from the grave via nifty powerz borrowed from the TARDIS. Naturally there's going to be more than just your run-of-the-mill DC comics style resurrection going on. I can buy into the regeneration bit (see, "nifty powerz borrowed from the TARDIS") and I could even buy into the notion that Jack might need a lot less sleep than regular humans - another aspect of Time-Lord-ish existence conferred upon him by Rose/the TARDIS1.
But-and-however. No sleep? At all? Sorry, can't buy it. He'd go stark staring mad within about three days. Mind you, who's not to say that he didn't, but he's clearly functional now, and there's been nothing to address how that's possible. My own pet theory involves "Russian sleep", that device so beloved of SF writers in the 1960s, or else some serious meditation - something by which the unconscious mind does the necessary information dump every 24 hours or so.
And the does Jack need to eat? debate is another aspect of the immortal!Jack that's irritating me. Never mind the Why does he usually drink water? thing. I think that's just a matter of prefence and taste.
IIRC,
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I dunno, I just feel like the undead/undying Jack plot was bodged together on the fly. Extra refinements to a simple idea ("Can't die. Yeah, that sounds good") were added in because of the dreaded kewlness factor - and devil take anyone who tried to apply even an ounce of logic to the setup.
Yeah, I know, more sleepless nights are caused by trying to apply logic to SF than by the national debt. Sigh.
And, unfortunately, I think the slapdash presentation of Jack's immortality is a microcosmic reputation of Torchwood's most significant weakness. The season seems to be careening from story to story with an off-the-cuff approach to storytelling, rather than an overall season arc in mind. I wouldn't mind that - not all shows can be B5, I know - if it wasn't for the fact that the show's promoters are trying so hard to sell it to us as a clever, sophisticated SF thriller. If you want me to believe that this show is a cut above the usual SF offering, can you at least try to look like you were planning more than one story ahead?
I'm worried that the season ender will be Bad Wolf all over again. Heavily foreshadowed and yet still not making a lick of sense and reading like RTD had to create a plot to fit the clues, rather than the other way around. All of a sudden, some Big Thing That's Been There All Along, Really will be revealed and leave us going "Huh?" As usual, I'd love to be wrong.
However, to offset the rather gloomy sentiments, above, here are the Five Things Fangrrl Loves About Torchwood.
1. The characters are all clearly brilliant, in their way, but prone to making colossal mistakes, too. Yay for geniuses who make bad decisions.
2. Myfanwy. Another manifestation of kewlness factor, but I love me the pterosaurs.
3. Minimal commentary about nookie, especially the same-gender moments.
4. Cardiff as the center of a (potentially) world-threatening space-time rift. Cardiff, for heaven's sake! But it's a lovely change from defaulting to London.
5. Gorgeous production design. Not always sensible, mind you, but gorgeous.
1 - I think the TARDIS had a bit of a thing for Jack, but I'll save that sort of thought for when I feel like stirring things up at
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 07:28 pm (UTC)Oh, yes! I agree absolutely!
I love me the pterosaurs.
I never had a thing for pterosaurs till this show came along. See how it's corrupted me? (I can hear the derisive pterodactyl laughter from here....)
it's a lovely change from defaulting to London.
Or New York or Los Angeles or any of the other overused cities.
I think the TARDIS had a bit of a thing for Jack
Who could doubt it?
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 07:36 pm (UTC)I'm sure it had something to do with Jack's technique for polishing the brass. ;)
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Date: 2006-12-04 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:09 pm (UTC). My own pet theory involves "Russian sleep", that device so beloved of SF writers in the 1960s, or else some serious meditation - something by which the unconscious mind does the necessary information dump every 24 hours or so.
LIKE A JEDI! They don't need sleep either but they have this meditation thing going on :O Whoa Jack is a Jedi :O
And the does Jack need to eat? debate is another aspect of the immortal!Jack that's irritating me. Never mind the Why does he usually drink water? thing. I think that's just a matter of prefence and taste.
Oh that's like the vampire question in the Buffy fandom. If he doesn't need to eat and his metabolism got frozen, does he need to breathe? Can he have sex?
But I never thought about that before *lol*
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:41 pm (UTC)Jack Harkness is a Jedi and James Bond is a Time Lord. Life just gets weirder and weirder around here. ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 09:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 09:37 pm (UTC)Obviously I meant perfect.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 11:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 12:58 am (UTC)Your theory is probably a lot saner and more plausible than whatever the producers have come up with.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:32 pm (UTC)Likewise, if he can 'get it up', which neccesitates hydraulic pressure, then he must have a heartbeat/pulse because blood that's just pooling in his veins and arteries ain't gonna do it. Since members of the team have observed him 'jumping anything gorgeous enough', it would seem likely that he can, in fact, perform in the standard fashion.
I haven't a clue about the water thing....
I would think that he would need to eat, maybe not to stay alive but to maintian a normal functional level. I remember reading somewhere that people who die of starvation don't actually die from starvation- they die from the effects of nutrient depletion on their organs and from opportunistic diseases that go wild in the vulnerable body. So, if Jack's organs can't fail and he can't get diseases, then he could go on for a very long, very painful time without food and be very unhappy about it. However, the occasional pastie or moo goo gai pan would probably make him much happier.
Just my rather random tuppence.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 09:53 pm (UTC)(and, btw, I'm right there with you re: inconsistency about the sleep thing - I just totally forgot to mention it in the initial post)
It's the inconsistency all over that's getting under my skin with this show. Like Doctor Who's been a bastion of internal continuity (*grumble*mutter* half-human, my foot!)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 09:34 pm (UTC)However, if one doesn't buy that theory then there is always the thought that Jack doesn't need much sleep anymore and that he tries to avoid what little he does need. Hence the telling Gwen he doesn't sleep. Or something. Whether or not he needs to eat/drink he clearly does it, which would mean he has to be producing at least some waste, though not necessarily in the same form as humans. *shrugs*
There are definate slapdash elements to the whole thing.
And the TARDIS so had a thing for Jack (says the girl who wrote Jack/TARDIS) because honestly who wouldn't?
no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 12:56 am (UTC)Share! Share! ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 01:11 am (UTC)Caresses in the Dark