TV: Torchwood - Season 2, Episode 1

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang by Chris Chibnall

Captain Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Ianto are back, for another 13 stories of... well, you can never quite be sure what you'll get with Torchwood. Which has led to a lot of criticism, but is one of my favourite things about the show. There were some really good episodes in the first season, as well as some dreadful ones -- and, tellingly, most people disagree over which stories fall into which category. The writers dared to be a little experimental in what sorts of tales they chose to tell last year, which opened it up to easy criticism when something didn't quite work. But it has a lot more potential -- and, in fact, a much higher general quality level -- than many review scores would lead you to believe.

This new season doesn't necessarily feel greatly different to how it did first time round -- it's Torchwood 1.1 not Torchwood 2.0, if you will. Despite what some of those critics would have you believe, this is no bad thing: the show's first run was far from perfect, true, but it didn't need a total overhaul. It needed tweaking, not redesigning, and that's what they've done. It's funnier, faster paced, action-packed, the characters are more likable, they get on (finally), and there were fewer faintly embarrassing moments (though I still think the use of video instead of film is still poorly handled, making it look cheap and amateurish from time to time). Of course, this is just episode one, so some of the old problems may still be in store. But compare this to the overall impression of last year's opener and you can feel the subtle shifts. It's altogether more promising. Incidentally, there's no sign as yet that they'll lose that experimental side I praised above, so fingers crossed they don't -- while I didn't fully enjoy every episode of season one, I did always appreciate their attempts to provide something a bit different.

This episode is what might be deemed a 'standard one' (or 'normal one', or whatever), which seems wholly appropriate for a season opener. James Marsters turns up as Captain John Hart, a clear parallel of Captain Jack and reminiscent of how Jack was before the Doctor effected him. Relatively little is made of the "Jack used to behave like this" angle, which is perhaps something of a shame, but equally stops the episode from getting bogged down in anything so introspective. Instead they all race off an exciting quest to find three missing bombs, and Chibnall weaves his character scenes in around this rather effectively. The main emotional thread here is the return of Jack, who has been missing for several months. The reactions of the rest of the team are nicely played, coming across as more realistic and consistent than they ever seemed in season one. Hopefully they'll continue on this path.

As Captain John, Marsters was perhaps a little too much like Spike from Buffy and Angel (for those who might not know, that's the role Marsters is best known for), but then Spike was a damn good character and Captain John shows enough differences to still be enjoyable. It's not much of a spoiler to say this (as the trailer at the end revealed it!), but he'll be back, and I for one am very glad. The other performances were also aided by the improvements in the writing. Jack's much more fun again after his time with the Doctor, Owen is less irritating, Tosh is more active, and Ianto is still quietly effective. Which leaves Gwen: unduly hated by some, she is still the show's emotional heart and will clearly continue to be so. Considering the others can often be lacking in this department, it's a much needed role; but it's nice that she is now also fully one of the team, to the extent that she led it in Jack's absence, and is not just a filter for the viewer's understanding.

Some of Torchwood's critics could do with getting down off their high horses. They moan that the show's not genuinely adult or grown-up enough. Actually, Torchwood delivers exactly what it promises: "Doctor Who for adults". That means it is essentially a romp, with content that displays more violence, sex and adult characters & relationships than its parent show. It may not be 'deep' or 'complex' or 'intricate', and you may be able to follow the plot without the feeling you need a character map and a degree -- don't get me wrong, because I absolutely adore those sorts of dramas too -- but that doesn't mean that Torchwood is not a good quality programme for a grown-up audience.

Maybe some people just need to learn how to have a bit of fun?