Geeking Ain't Easy Part-1"Torchwood Found"
Geeking ain't easy and I say this because at it's essence (as it pertains to it's current parlance), geeking-out entails being as big a media sponge as one can be. There are comics, fantasy novels, graphic novels, and manga among other things to read. Animated shows. movies, T.V. shows, web series and You Tubers to watch. There are board games, collector card games, LARP, RPG's, and video games to play. Forget about it if you cosplay or have waded into the Steampunk waters at all; designing and constructing your costumes will take up any hours that were left in the day. As a result of all of this, and this is just a thumbnail of some of things open to geeks in the pop culture world, there will undoubtedly be things that fly under your radar. Recently I found something, that has a huge following, that went pretty much unbeknownst to myself. How the Torchwood series came and went without the slightest attention by me is a complete mystery to myself. In my defense, I was aware of the Captain Jack Harkness character from Dr. Who, I'm not a complete Philistine, but as for the existence of his very own series I'll have to plead the fifth.
Season 1 Trailer- "And who protects us!"
Needless to say being able to catch the series now on Netflix has been something of a revelation- I totally dig it. To the extent that I like it is something of a surprise to me since John Barrowman's performance on Arrow isn't making me an unabashed fan of his. Although, there is plenty of clunky acting to go around on that show. Perhaps he's just trying to fit in with the rest of the cast, but he sets it off on Torchwood. Additionally, the bonus to watching any BBC produced show for many is seeing all of these UK actors that you love from Game of Thrones, Sherlock, Harry Potter movies, etc do something different. Last night it was Owen Teale who plays Alliser Thorne, Master-at -Arms of Castle Black, making the rounds as a cannibalistic villager on the show. That episode, number six entitled, "Countrycide"for those keeping score at home, in particular is off the hook. It's called "Countrycide" for heaven's sake. how awesome is that! With the series having a total of 41 episodes on Netflix, and having only watched six so far, I'm pleased about the near term future of my television viewing experience. I wholeheartedly recommend to the other half dozen or so troglodytes that lived under the rock with me during Torchwood's original airing to log on to Netflix and check it out now. If for no other reason it will give you all the information that you'll need for the upcoming alien invasions that according to the show are right around the corner. Brexit and Tony Blair's view on Putin aside, when have the Brits ever been wrong?
Update #1 17 Sep 2016
We're summarily finished with season two and I'm happy to report that Torchwood still entertains. Without spoiling too much, there has been plenty of death (bad guys and good guys), resurrection, guys kissing each other, gals kissing each other, and time travel to satisfy even the hardest to please sonic screwdriver wielders. I'll even go so far as to say that with not too many more episodes to go, I'll miss Captain Jack and the Torchwood team when I get through the last episode. The highlight of season two was the introduction of James Marsters (Spike on Buffy) as Captain John Hart. We quickly learn that Capt. Jack and Capt. John were partners back at the old Time Agency, but perhaps some bad blood has developed over the years (or is it millennia?). I'll just say that there's is a complicated relationship. Between his appearances on episode one of season two and his return for the final two episodes of the season we do get closure on their arc of the Torchwood story. However, the aftermath of the season finale does open the door to a whole new set of questions to look forward to. Judging solely by the episode title for season three opener, I'm predicting a sort of Children of the Damned type of story. Whether or not that's the case will be revealed shortly as I head into season three. Wish me luck, like I said before- Geeking Ain't Easy.
Torchwood Season 2 available from Amazon (all regions)
Until I finish season three, I'll leave you with this sepia tones snap shot of Captain Jack's buddies from the original Torchwood team's days and for those of you (who like the team below) prefer the printed word to the visual medium, a link to the Torchwood Book Series...
