Sleeper review
Jan. 24th, 2008 12:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fairyd123Last week Kiss Kiss Bang Bang kicked off the new series of Torchwood with style. It was frenetic, funny and sexy and was a fantastic re-boot to the series. Since then I confess that I'd been worried that maybe Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was a one off - maybe by the next episode we'd be back to the muddled, confused story telling of old complete with plot holes, mammoth leaps in logic and wholly unlikeable characters.
It's therefore a relief that Sleeper more than matched last week's episode in terms of quality
Like last week Sleeper grabbed you from the very beginning and didn't let up, managing to pack mutilations, torture, aliens, angst over what it means to be human and suicide bombings into a scant 50 minutes. The production team have apparently taken They Keep Killing Suzie as their model for this years' episodes. TKKS was an episode with a great plot and a truly scary villain which showed Torchwood 3 working as a true integrated unit for the very first time.It was the episode which showed what Torchwood could be and I'm so thrilled that the production team finally seem to have relaised what the series should be.
Sleeper contained all the elements which made TKKS compelling - strong plot, great team work and a decent adversary.
Unfortunately like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang the episode did rather belong to the guest star. I thought Nikki Amuka-Bird did a phenomenal job. The episode was quite reliant on the audience staying with Beth and empathising with her plight and the actress had me with her every step of the way. She was convincingly terrified at the beginning of the episode - I mean the poor woman wakes up to burglars in her house, they attack her husband before dying strangely themselves and then she is kidnapped by an apparent mad man who thinks she's an alien. The sequence of Jack interrogating this shaking, petrified woman, insisting that she's a threat to humanity whilst she desperately pleads that she is not that type of person and the later mind probe sequence were very very difficult to watch.
And then just when we're feeling deeply sympathetic to this poor terrified girl that team Torchwood are effectively torturing she turns just like that and becomes an emotionless sleeper agent whose purpose is to wipe out the species that she's been living amongst. Nikki definitely ranks up there with the very best guest stars that Torchwood have had - her terror and horror when her alien side triggers and she accidentally stabs her husband was absolutely gut wrenching. You desperately wanted Torchwood to be able to "cure" her whilst knowing it was a completely lost cause.
Her death was an interesting parallel to the ending of Cyberwoman. Both featured the team brutally gunning down a young woman who is a potential threat to humanity only this time Ianto is stood shoulder to shoulder with his team mates aiding in the death and destruction.
I can't believe I'm about to type these words - but I actually really liked Gwen in this episode. To me this is the Gwen I saw in Everything Changes and who instantly vanished for the remainder of series 1. In Sleeper Gwen was resourceful, good at her job (she was hired to be the "human " face of Torchwood) and sympathetic to Beth without it being nauseating or shoving it down out throats that Gwen is the "heart of the team". She's still a bit more naive than the rest of the team clinging to the belief that Beth can be frozen and cured in the future long after everyone else (including Beth) has accepted the brutal reality of the situation. But she wasn't self-righteous, she didn't go into a moralising rant after Beth effectively committed suicide by cop - she wasn't happy with the outcome, but she accepted it without pouting or storming off in true Mary Sue fashion.
She still has a little bit of a school girl crush on Jack. There was a distinctive hint of "I wish" about her odd comment about Jack's manner in bed. It's a trait I don't much care for. I don't entirely understand why they introduced Rhys if he was to forever be the chump of the piece with his girl wistfully day dreaming about her handsome boss. It's all a bit stereotypical and you rather want Gwen to realise what she truly has.
I would love the rumours of the team bumping into old amoral Time Agent Jack to be true. Even though he left, even after everything she's seen I think the sheen is still very much on Jack as far as Gwen is concerned. And while he's still her dashingly handsome Captain, always there with a last minute rescue and a knee weakening smile, until she begins to see Jack as the very complex person that he truly is, capable of love and cruelty in equal measure I don't think she can really grow. Gwen's living in a fairy tale, a gothic dream world where death has no dominion but honey - its time to wake up.
Still the little hints of how Gwen has truly integrated into the team were lovely - I laughed at her interplay with skiving, super cheap Owen. It was nice to see them kidding around when last year their scenes were rather embarrassing and sordid. Also that tiny gesture of Ianto extending his arm (and his support) to Gwen after she had frozen Beth spoke volumes about how Ianto has accepted Gwen's place on the team and how she has accepted him as an equal when last year I doubt she even saw Ianto as anyone other than the person who provides her with caffeine.
Not entirely convinced about John's acting in this episode. He is by far at his best in the quieter character moments and at his worst when he has to go stomping around yelling "Tell me how to stop it." Implacable, big picture Jack is quite frightening in his own way - but that sort of characterisation doesn't give John much to work with. Still , his silly moment with Ianto where they were joking about Jack's hard man spiel was rather cute. But no more comedy accents. Ever.
And finally a potentially really good recurring villain. "They're already here" gave me chills. I'm not entirely sure I'm yet confidant in Torchwood's ability to have a recurring theme and have it build to a meaningful satisfactory conclusion but alien sleeper cells operating in England is too brilliant an idea to let rest there.
The only aspect of the episode I wasn't too convinced about was the humour. Now anything that gives Gareth extra screen time is fine by me but I did think that the humour sat very uneasily with all the murder, torture, dead babies, people getting stabbed to death in front of their wife and children and suicide bombings. The tone was a little schizophrenic for me. I want to see more Ianto but having him suddenly be purely the comic relief was a bit of a sea change in his character. I mean he's doing electric chair impressions and every word out of his mouth is a brilliant one liner. On the one hand it was hilarious, on the other it was such an abrupt change that it made my head spin.
And on a slightly daft note who the hell does Torchwood's interior design? Large purple geodes and illumnious yellow glasses decorating the board room - how very 70's!
The only character so far who still isn't living up to her potential is Tosh. She's still being shown as being a bit useless (as funny as the phone bit was the fact that she hadn't thought of CB radio made her look like an idiot) but hopefully that will be rectified in next week's episode. And I definitely need to get a tailored pink blouse that shows off my rack as well as the one she was wearing - damn!
Favourite lines:
"I know everything. Plus it says so on the screen right there."
"No telephones. No mobiles.
Because the phones aren't working. No phones, phones not working.
holds hands in telephone gesture Is there anyone there?
No.
Because the phones aren't working."
It's therefore a relief that Sleeper more than matched last week's episode in terms of quality
Like last week Sleeper grabbed you from the very beginning and didn't let up, managing to pack mutilations, torture, aliens, angst over what it means to be human and suicide bombings into a scant 50 minutes. The production team have apparently taken They Keep Killing Suzie as their model for this years' episodes. TKKS was an episode with a great plot and a truly scary villain which showed Torchwood 3 working as a true integrated unit for the very first time.It was the episode which showed what Torchwood could be and I'm so thrilled that the production team finally seem to have relaised what the series should be.
Sleeper contained all the elements which made TKKS compelling - strong plot, great team work and a decent adversary.
Unfortunately like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang the episode did rather belong to the guest star. I thought Nikki Amuka-Bird did a phenomenal job. The episode was quite reliant on the audience staying with Beth and empathising with her plight and the actress had me with her every step of the way. She was convincingly terrified at the beginning of the episode - I mean the poor woman wakes up to burglars in her house, they attack her husband before dying strangely themselves and then she is kidnapped by an apparent mad man who thinks she's an alien. The sequence of Jack interrogating this shaking, petrified woman, insisting that she's a threat to humanity whilst she desperately pleads that she is not that type of person and the later mind probe sequence were very very difficult to watch.
And then just when we're feeling deeply sympathetic to this poor terrified girl that team Torchwood are effectively torturing she turns just like that and becomes an emotionless sleeper agent whose purpose is to wipe out the species that she's been living amongst. Nikki definitely ranks up there with the very best guest stars that Torchwood have had - her terror and horror when her alien side triggers and she accidentally stabs her husband was absolutely gut wrenching. You desperately wanted Torchwood to be able to "cure" her whilst knowing it was a completely lost cause.
Her death was an interesting parallel to the ending of Cyberwoman. Both featured the team brutally gunning down a young woman who is a potential threat to humanity only this time Ianto is stood shoulder to shoulder with his team mates aiding in the death and destruction.
I can't believe I'm about to type these words - but I actually really liked Gwen in this episode. To me this is the Gwen I saw in Everything Changes and who instantly vanished for the remainder of series 1. In Sleeper Gwen was resourceful, good at her job (she was hired to be the "human " face of Torchwood) and sympathetic to Beth without it being nauseating or shoving it down out throats that Gwen is the "heart of the team". She's still a bit more naive than the rest of the team clinging to the belief that Beth can be frozen and cured in the future long after everyone else (including Beth) has accepted the brutal reality of the situation. But she wasn't self-righteous, she didn't go into a moralising rant after Beth effectively committed suicide by cop - she wasn't happy with the outcome, but she accepted it without pouting or storming off in true Mary Sue fashion.
She still has a little bit of a school girl crush on Jack. There was a distinctive hint of "I wish" about her odd comment about Jack's manner in bed. It's a trait I don't much care for. I don't entirely understand why they introduced Rhys if he was to forever be the chump of the piece with his girl wistfully day dreaming about her handsome boss. It's all a bit stereotypical and you rather want Gwen to realise what she truly has.
I would love the rumours of the team bumping into old amoral Time Agent Jack to be true. Even though he left, even after everything she's seen I think the sheen is still very much on Jack as far as Gwen is concerned. And while he's still her dashingly handsome Captain, always there with a last minute rescue and a knee weakening smile, until she begins to see Jack as the very complex person that he truly is, capable of love and cruelty in equal measure I don't think she can really grow. Gwen's living in a fairy tale, a gothic dream world where death has no dominion but honey - its time to wake up.
Still the little hints of how Gwen has truly integrated into the team were lovely - I laughed at her interplay with skiving, super cheap Owen. It was nice to see them kidding around when last year their scenes were rather embarrassing and sordid. Also that tiny gesture of Ianto extending his arm (and his support) to Gwen after she had frozen Beth spoke volumes about how Ianto has accepted Gwen's place on the team and how she has accepted him as an equal when last year I doubt she even saw Ianto as anyone other than the person who provides her with caffeine.
Not entirely convinced about John's acting in this episode. He is by far at his best in the quieter character moments and at his worst when he has to go stomping around yelling "Tell me how to stop it." Implacable, big picture Jack is quite frightening in his own way - but that sort of characterisation doesn't give John much to work with. Still , his silly moment with Ianto where they were joking about Jack's hard man spiel was rather cute. But no more comedy accents. Ever.
And finally a potentially really good recurring villain. "They're already here" gave me chills. I'm not entirely sure I'm yet confidant in Torchwood's ability to have a recurring theme and have it build to a meaningful satisfactory conclusion but alien sleeper cells operating in England is too brilliant an idea to let rest there.
The only aspect of the episode I wasn't too convinced about was the humour. Now anything that gives Gareth extra screen time is fine by me but I did think that the humour sat very uneasily with all the murder, torture, dead babies, people getting stabbed to death in front of their wife and children and suicide bombings. The tone was a little schizophrenic for me. I want to see more Ianto but having him suddenly be purely the comic relief was a bit of a sea change in his character. I mean he's doing electric chair impressions and every word out of his mouth is a brilliant one liner. On the one hand it was hilarious, on the other it was such an abrupt change that it made my head spin.
And on a slightly daft note who the hell does Torchwood's interior design? Large purple geodes and illumnious yellow glasses decorating the board room - how very 70's!
The only character so far who still isn't living up to her potential is Tosh. She's still being shown as being a bit useless (as funny as the phone bit was the fact that she hadn't thought of CB radio made her look like an idiot) but hopefully that will be rectified in next week's episode. And I definitely need to get a tailored pink blouse that shows off my rack as well as the one she was wearing - damn!
Favourite lines:
"I know everything. Plus it says so on the screen right there."
"No telephones. No mobiles.
Because the phones aren't working. No phones, phones not working.
holds hands in telephone gesture Is there anyone there?
No.
Because the phones aren't working."
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 01:09 am (UTC)I loved the scene between her and Ianto. I get the feeling that these two are friends now, that they managed to find some common ground while Jack was away. (actually the idea is eating my brain - so maybe some fic about it soon)
Ianto humour - was great, and GDL was wonderful. But did it seem a bit sudden? Understandably depressed last season, and wonderfully off-balance last ep, now this? Possibly comes from the fact that he's in the hub for the whole episode? His own turf, so to speak.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 01:19 am (UTC)I thought John was great :) I love his little moments with Ianto and the fact that he has to be the bad guy sometimes.
I actually think Gwen comes across as a little incompetent! She's always wrong. I know she's the 'heart,' but she comes across as a bit too naive at times; it's a wonder she was ever allowed to be a police officer.
Loved Ianto's jokes, although there were a few too many. One or two would have been enough. I also loved his subtle moments/flirting with Jack; it's obvious there is lots going on between the scenes we see. Does Gwen know, I wonder?
no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 01:45 am (UTC)Ianto's jokes were fun but having every single one of his lines be a one liner seemed a bit much.
Oh I think the entire Torchwood team knows about Jack and Ianto and they don't care - thats what I love about the show.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 01:52 am (UTC)And I like Gwen. She's alright when she's not being self-righteous
no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 04:34 am (UTC)I was a bit surprised by all the wisecracking Ianto was doing. I think the writer went a little overboard here, making the character feel a little off. Isn't Ianto usually more of a silent/serious type in most things? He just seemed more in-your-face with the comedy today.
I just felt that Ianto could have been used more productively in this episode.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 06:35 am (UTC)Still, so far Torchwood is a lot better than last year, so I won't complain.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 09:48 am (UTC)Agree about the humour. Loved the lines individually, and they were all delivered perfectly. It was just a little too much, it felt like there should have been one or two serious words when things got tough. Though I did like Tosh's smug little smile at Owen when Ianto backed her up in spelling out that there was no. telephone. network.
Fingers crossed that next week Tosh will get to shine properly like the others have. So far we've had Gwen bonding with Ianto, and Owen misting the office plant, Tosh needs some little classic moment of her own too :)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 07:00 pm (UTC)My theory is that Ianto is a bit giddy over Jack - he clearly had the upper hand after that office scene in KKBB, and maybe he feels their 'thing' is finally going his way. Hence the (occasionally inappropriate) one-liners. He's just a bit silly and in love... ;-)
I was very moved by Beth's plight. The end was inevitable, but I was praying for a miracle all the same.
Gwen was better this week. ITA though - the more she realises Jack's true nature, the better for her character.
Rhys is getting at least two good eps, according to Kai Owen. (Some friends & I met Kai after his panto in Cardiff on Sunday. And damn, he's so cute!!) Anyway, they are eps four and five, IIRC what he said. One can hope that they include Gwen realising the good thing she has in Rhys....
no subject
Date: 2008-01-24 08:37 pm (UTC)