There are certain types of fans who are never satisfied. Some of the so-called diehard fans of a show will cry and complain when even the most minor detail is changed. I can see plenty of "Torchwood" fans whining about how different the show is and therefore how bad it is (primarily because fans have already been whining from the moment the new filming location was announced). This perspective never made much sense to me in terms of this show because "Torchwood" seems to pride itself on being able to evolve with the times and adapt to survive. Can't afford a whole season? We'll do a miniseries. That miniseries, "Children of Earth," ended up being an excellent sci-fi thriller with more focused story-telling while staying true to the show that spun off of the famous "Doctor Who." As far as I'm concerned, fans got extremely lucky that 1) "Torchwood" survived to see another season and 2) found a home on cable instead of a basic network that would water it down. Indeed, the show is different. But that doesn't always mean bad. Lots of people love tuning into a show that is the exact same every week. Hence the success of procedurals such as "NCIS" or "Law & Order." But "Torchwood" is not that kind of show and this next step in its evolution is welcome to this fan.Probably my favorite thing about the new setting is the bigger budget. "Torchwood" was the kind of show that dreamed big, and now it has the budget to follow through with the heavy action it does so well. "Torchwood," in my opinion, was always meant to be the darker, more kickass, older brother of "Doctor Who." So imagine my delight when we have the Torchwood team taking down a helicopter with a rocket launcher!
This first episode was a whole lot of setting up - setting up the characters that some viewers know well and some viewers don't, setting up the plot of nobody dying (a simple yet horrifying idea), setting up the tone of a show that isn't a reboot but isn't the same animal as the last season. I love the possibilities set up with this plot and I am dying to know what and who caused the switcheroo on mortality. Was reversing mortality the only way to target Jack Harkness once and for all? He has made some powerful enemies over time (and this is my prime theory at this point.) Is it all some cruel lesson from some self-righteous humans who got their hands on technology beyond their comprehension? Or is it just a fluke in the space/time continuum? As long as the answer stays strictly science fiction and doesn't veer into magical/spiritual mumbo-jumbo (see: "Lost"), then I'm a happy camper. Now that we've brought the Torchwood team back together, I hope we see plenty more of the characters we know and love. While it was a good premiere, it had too little Captain Jack and Gwen for my tastes. Really, too little Jack. I was thrilled, however, to see Andy. Like Rhys, he's always been on the periphery of the cast which equals the best chances for survival - not so insignificant that they're glorified extras, but not so central that they get killed off. Of course, it would be Russell T Davies' cruel little joke to kill of Gwen, the last remaining team member. Or worse yet, Captain Jack Harkness. You've damaged our poor little psyches with all the character killing. Are you determined to be the British Joss Whedon or something?
All in all, a solid premiere. No sign of Lauren Ambrose yet as the evil journalist. I'm not sure if we're supposed to like Mekhi Phifer or not (guessing not considering that intro he got), but he manages to play a prick very well. Perhaps as he's burned from the CIA he'll come to appreciate and work with Torchwood and become a tragic hero (I don't see the mortally wounded coming out of this deal in one piece. After all, that would be the great sacrifice - say goodbye to your loved ones so we can all accept the necessity of death).
There were some great moments in the premiere. One came early, with a CIA agent correcting another that the Institute's name wasn't "Touchwood," a great reference to the series' sexual history. My other favorite moment came near the end, in the very quick montage of traveling to Wales. Mekhi Phifer's character hilariously describes Wales as "the British equivalent of New Jersey." In all seriousness, I was happy that they shot at least something in Cardiff. It would be odd to completely abandon their old home, so I'm glad they paid their respects. Another thing that stood out to me was that Jack used Owen Harper's name when posing as an FBI agent. I'm sure there wasn't much deep meaning to that and rather just a shoutout to the fans.
I'm very interested to see the terms of this eternal death thing. It clearly isn't like Jack's immortality, because as we learned in "Children of Earth," his body parts reassemble when detached and his wounds heal. Rather, this is more like Owen's eternal death, where he couldn't heal. Except he didn't have a pulse. But the factor that plagues me the most is the fact that the mortally wounded aren't dying and coming back to life, a la Jack and Owen. They just aren't dying at all. This leads me to believe that it isn't caused by some great time/space rift like in Jack and Owen's cases, but rather something artificial but powerful that is interfering with human life. Also, what was the Torchwood glitch in the CIA's computers? Is someone calling out for help to the one group who can solve this? Or is someone trying to call attention to the only group who can solve this in order to eradicate them once and for all? And on those overly analytical notes, I hope you enjoyed the premiere. I certainly did, and I am very optimistic about the rest of this season.
I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of "Buffy." I find it to be one of the most overrated shows out there. One of the reasons I have a hard time watching it is because of the fact that I don't like any of the characters. Any except Giles, that is (and Spike). I've only gotten four seasons into the show so my love of Giles is based solely on them, but from what I've seen he's the only person on that show who can get anything done. Buffy can kick ass but she's not very bright, Xander's a useless dork, Willow's smart but weak, Anya is a bitchy third wheel, and Angel was a moody miserable stalker who didn't become interesting until he got his own show. Giles, on the other hand, is brilliant and can kick ass if he needs to. The introduction of Wesley improved his image, but I liked him from the beginning. If the world was in jeopardy from supernatural forces, Giles would figure out what was behind it and how to stop it.
This spot would go to River Tam, but she got to be awesome in basically only one episode in "Firefly." "Serenity" is where she shined and if this was a movie heroes list she'd definitely place. But Mal is the hero of "Firefly" that I would want around when the shit hits the fan or any scary monsters are around going "grrr, argh." Okay, he wasn't exactly a hero in the strictest sense of the word, but he was a damn good leader of his little outfit and he did the right thing when making tough decisions.
Some of my heroes aren't action stars, but they still fit my definition of hero. Anytime someone has screwed you over, Veronica is able to get to the bottom of it - and look great doing it. But more than just super sexy eye candy, she's clever and she knows how to work her appearance to her advantage. While someone like Giles could solve problems with his book smarts, Veronica would fill out the team with her street smarts. She's the kind of girl who could get a criminal to confess without him even realizing it. She's kind of ninja-like in that way.
He's sort of the male version of Veronica, but with much more experience in the professional world of espionage. He's also got that whole MacGyver thing going on which would totally help in my hypothetical doomsday scenario. He also has an ability unlike anyone else on this list to assume false identities for his jobs and that earns him a spot on this list.
He's a human lie detector. What more is there to say? Lightman keeps a strong commitment to finding the truth and looking at a situation rationally. Sure, Dr. House can declare that "everybody lies," but Lightman can tell you who specifically is doing the lying and what about. He backs up his natural skill with years of scientific experience and study, so you can trust him to save the day when your ass is on the line. His expertise with interrogation would stop us from needing a Jack Bauer character to come along and torture an answer out of someone.
I've raved about Olivia for some time now, so of course she earns a top spot on this list. She's another take-charge lady with nerves of steel who can travel through universes just to help someone she cares about. She can face the strangest of the strange with a level head and still serve justice. I absolutely love her and would have to enlist her in my team of fictional superheroes. (Super referring to their awesomeness, not their comic book based powers.)
This might seem strange to put her so high on the list, as she wasn't my personal female hero like Olivia, but she had a lot more to deal with than Olivia did. In a world full of deadly machines, she was truly the unstoppable force to be reckoned with. She combined top-notch combat skills with fierce maternal instincts and I'm sure even the FOX execs who cancelled her show would agree that she would be ideal to have by your side when the world is in peril.
This is the start of "my list, my rules" because I am counting the next two as package deals. Sam and Dean Winchester with the help of Castiel are quite the team. Sure, they started the apocalypse, but they also managed to stop it, sort of. The self-sacrificing goes beyond what they do for each other and extends to what they sacrifice to help other people. When Dean lives a Twilight Zone version of his life if he wasn't a hunter, he cannot accept a life where others died because he wasn't around to rescue them. Sam agrees that their lifestyle "is unfair, and it hurts like hell, but it's worth it." Castiel rebels against the corrupt establishment in Heaven to try and save the Earth and gives up everything he had to do it. It's a shame the Heaven in the "Supernatural" universe is in such disarray because if anyone deserves it, it's these three heroes.
Talk about more self-sacrifice in the line of duty. Three out of the original five team members died and Captain Jack Harkness had to sacrifice his grandson to stop a horrifying alien threat. Jack is a dashing hero who can't even die which makes him an incomparable hero. He's smarter and much more responsible than he seems and he picks loyal team members. An immortal ex-Time Agent, a cop, a doctor, a computer genius, and the tea boy who was so much more made one powerful group of heroes. Which is why it's that much more painful that the show insists on killing them off! (Oh, and you're pretty much ensured crisis sex with this horny bunch).
This is no shocker. The Doctor saves the universe every season and does it without firing a gun or throwing a punch. He'll take care of those damn Daleks every time they come back, he'll stop the Cybermen whenever they reappear, and he'll even burn his own planet out of existence to stop a threatening race bent on genocide. River Song put it best, when she commented that "now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days when the wind stands fair and the Doctor comes to call, everybody lives." 
The Emmys are this Sunday and I'm actually happy with the nominations. Well, happier than I've been in past years. Since lists of nominees are posted all over the Internet, I'm just going to list the categories I'm going to comment on.
So, for my first segment, I decided to profile Alan Dale, who recently wrapped up a stint on "Lost" as the mysterious Charles Widmore. I was surprised to find out that he's actually from New Zealand originally, as he's an actor that ably juggles different accents. He first came to major fame for an Australian show called "Neighbours," that apparently became quite popular. Like most people, he eventually guested on "ER." Nowadays on American TV, he normally plays the role of "powerful douchebag," as seen in such roles as Charles Widmore on "Lost," Dr. Aaron Copley on "Torchwood," and Bradford Meade on "Ugly Betty." I particularly remember him from "Torchwood" as he was the powerful douchebag who shot and killed Owen Harper. He's played many roles in procedurals as well including "NCIS," "Law & Order: SVU," "Crossing Jordan," "CSI: Miami," "JAG," "The West Wing," and "The Practice." I'm ashamed to admit I don't remember him as Vice President Jim Prescott on "24," but then I remember how long ago I actually watched "24." I never watched a single episode of "The O.C.," but he was a regular on that show for a while as Caleb Nichol. He's primarily in television, although he did have a part in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." However, I think it's best if we just forget that movie ever existed.
