Basically, Torchwood is Doctor Who's unruly cousin. Which isn't too surprising considering it stars Captain Jack Harkness! The main premise of the show is Jack and his team (Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Ianto) fighting aliens who have come through the Rift in Time and Space that is located in Cardiff, Whales. It's kind of similar to DW in some ways, but Jack, despite being immortal (and if you don't know about that, go catch up on your Who!) is not as infallible as The Doctor usually is, which makes things quite interesting!
The cast of characters is really good. They have diverse personalities which makes interesting interactions and lots of great opportunities for subplots. The phrase "everything's gay and nothing hurts" is certainly appropriate here as well. One of my favorite things about the show and it's characters is how they deal with sexuality. There's a lot of things other than heterosexuality going on there and it's completely normal. Sexuality is acknowledged, certainly, but there is hardly a fuss made about it, which is quite admirable considering the fact that even in today's world there is still so much misunderstanding about it.
The visuals of Torchwood are pretty awesome. There are tons of arial views of Cardiff to feast on and the Hub is quite something as well. It kind of gives off a high-tech tree house feel; I'd love to hang out there! The alien makeup is fantastic too; really realistic looking. And the image of Jack in his navy blue military coat... nothing symbolizes Captain Jack Harkness better than that coat.
Despite being a quite unrealistic show 'cuz of, you know, the aliens and stuff, Torchwood is a program that is quite emotionally and mentally stimulating. It's a show that makes you think, not only about what would happen if aliens were to come to planet Earth, but also about other things, like love and friendship. It also makes you really feel for the characters as well. For example, Jack's past is a mystery that gets slowly revealed, each new clue oozing with emotion. Sympathy for the others is not hard to come by either, as each deal with their own unique struggles.
Torchwood gets an A+ for drama, but it is pretty violent and not quite as family friendly as Doctor Who (there's lots of cussing!). All the same though, it's really worth checking out for any Whovian or fan Sci-Fi or the paranormal!
P.S. According to IMDb, there's a new season set to start on July 8th! There were plenty of teasers for Who fans in seasons 1-3, maybe we'll get a visit from The Doctor himself this time around? One can only hope!
UPDATE: The date for the new season is still up in the air, but you can follow @BlogtorWho on Twitter or go to blogtorwho.blogspot.com for all the latest! Should still be sometime in July though :)
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