Torchwood Series Review

Torchwood (2006-2011)

Season 1 - 13 episodes (2006-07)
Season 2 - 13 episodes (2008)
Season 3 - 5 episodes (2009)
Season 4 - 10 episodes (2011)
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Created by: Russell T. Davies
Starring: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Kai Owen, Gareth David-Lloyd, Naoko Mori, Mekhi Phifer, Alexa Havins, Bill Pullman, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Capaldi
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
The members of the Torchwood Institute, a secret organization founded by the British Crown, fight to protect the Earth from extraterrestrial and supernatural threats.

Verdict
The first couple of seasons feel like a copy of Doctor Who as this has the same creator. It's an episodic sci-fi mystery that explores more adult topics. The third season eschews the episodic format for a serialized season, and that season is the peak of the show. The core question of that and the fourth season is gripping as there's no good answer.
It depends.

Review
This is a spin off from the 2005 Doctor Who revival. Torchwood investigates the paranormal with a host of sci-fi tools. Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) is the invincible leader of the group, his super natural abilities derived from the Doctor. Like Doctor Who, this invites someone more normal, Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) to act as an audience surrogate. It's the sensibilities of Doctor Who with a similar tone, but this explores relationships and sexuality to a greater degree.

John Barrowman plays Captain Jack Harkness

In season two the show finds its stride. The episodes are often emotional and sometimes wild. This season leans into Jack's past and his immortality. The back half of the season was really good, and season three is even better.

Season three drops the episodic format and goes serialized with a much shorter season. It works quite well. Aliens are invading and demand a sacrifice. It's a great question. Would you doom a fraction of the population to save the rest or protect the few at the cost of everyone? In the short season, there's still plenty of time to delve into the characters and plots. The government looks into Jack's immortality, testing the limits.

Eve Myles plays Gwen Cooper

Season four maintains the serialized style. It's a great premise where all of a sudden people can't die and Jack can. Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman) is the first case, becoming a spokesman for people that can't die despite his criminal past. This season pulls pharmaceutical companies into the mix, but the question remains. Why aren't people dying? It's causing a strain on the infrastructure. The season explores how the cities are becoming overcrowded and disease is increasing. Hospitals now work to clear beds as there's no rush to treat the critically injured. Time isn't an issue. This season also delves into Jack's backstory. While it deepens the character and ties into the plot, it felt like a way to pad the episode count as we abandon the main plot. This season gets just a bit long despite the fun premise.

Season three is easily my favorite season due to the focus and story line. That's followed by the second season as the second half has a lot of really strong episodes. The fourth season has a great premise, but is just a bit too long. The first season struggles to find it's stride.