Fiction

Torchwood: First Born by James Goss
Pages 211-251 [the end]

I didn't start reading this until the second one arrived, but I've finished it as the third one lands on my doormat -- read it at about the right speed, then. Now I just need to completely self-motivate myself to read the next two. Oh dear...

Anyway, as for the end of this one... It turned out quite good, I think. The friendly-alien-explorers, humans-are-actually-the-nasty-ones stuff is hardly revelatory (I'm sure Torchwood has done it before, never mind science fiction in general), but it works well enough. A decent enough tie-in novel, then.

I think the next two could be more interesting in their role as Miracle Day prequels, though. Here we have the only surviving Torchwood member and her Torchwood-member-in-all-but-name hubby solving a Torchwood-y case -- very tie-in-novel-normal, and barely at all connected to Miracle Day. Book two, however, features some minor supporting character dealing with some Torchwood-y clean-up -- will that have anything to do with Miracle Day either? How much do we need to learn about the remains of the Hub, the remains of Suzie Costello (who I thought had been completely dealt with ages ago), and the activities of PC Andy (assuming he's in it all that much -- he's not mentioned in the plot outline)? Could be an odd'un.

And then the third book stars Rex... who'd never heard of Torchwood before Miracle Day episode one and was just a regular CIA agent (it seemed), not versed in extraterrestrial-type cases. And Jack apparently didn't know him in Miracle Day either, so it's not likely to turn out to be some Retcon-fuelled business. Most intriguing how they'll work round that, I think -- could be an odd'un also. Whether that's a good or bad thing for either book, I don't know...

Articles

Day 3875: Torchwood: Molecule Day: Frying Tonight! by Millennium Dome
(from The Very Fluffy Diary of Millennium Dome, Elephant)
A lengthy but very accurate assessment of Torchwood: Miracle Day at the halfway point (ish).

Fiction

Torchwood: Long Time Dead by Sarah Pinborough
Prologue
Chapters 1-4

This had to be the oddest choice of subject for the three Miracle Day prequel novels: it's conceivable that we might want to know how Gwen and Rhys got from the end of Children of Earth to their seclusion at the start of Miracle Day; it's conceivable we might like to learn more about Rex before we met him getting stabbed through the chest in a road accident; but do we really need a second revival of Suzie Costello and a peripheral connection to PC Andy? Well, we'll see -- great novels have been written for lesser reasons.

There's a slight potential problem/irritation for readers, though, in my opinion: by making the lead hero character a new one, DI Tom Cutler, we're ahead of him. A few chapters in and he has a weird fascination with the remains of the Hub and a figure he half remembers dressed in a Second World War greatcoat. If you're enough of a Torchwood fan to buy this novel, it's eminently obvious he's been Retconned and that figure is Jack even before the coat is mentioned. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there's some twist here, but if there isn't and this goes too long… well, you need a good idea to make it still work when the reader is five steps ahead of your characters.

TV

Doctor Who Confidential
6x08 River Runs Wild
Very nicely done "previously on Doctor Who" bit... but surely something like that would've made more sense on the episode itself?
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Epic Win
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
4x60 (26/8/11 edition) [season finale]
I say season finale -- tad arbitrary, as the next one started the day after.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x08 End of the Road
Are we really supposed to believe a mother who's had her children taken away because she's incapable of looking after them, and is being monitored in a special facility because of this, would be allowed access to the internet to sign herself and those already-taken-away kids up for, effectively, an assisted suicide programme? Even in Torchwood's pessimistic new world that's ridiculously implausible.
Still, only two more episodes to go. There better be a good finale.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Torchwood: the UK wait continues by Chuck Foster
(from Doctor Who News Page)

The BBC Press Office have now released details for 9-15 July... Torchwood: Miracle Day does not feature amongst the highlights listed for that week. ... it would currently seem that Torchwood won't begin on UK television until at least a week after its premiere in the United States [and Canada and Australia].

This is getting silly now. And showing it in the UK 10+ days after the US isn't going to do it any favours -- sure, the fanbase who download will be much smaller than the potential BBC One audience, but they're also the ones that really generate word of mouth, online discussion, etc -- ever so important in keeping a series high-profile and popular these days -- and it massively increases the chances of spoilers, both fan-to-fan and in the press. Plus it's generally annoying and sort of disrespectful -- "it's still a British show"? Yeah, right.

TV

Pointless
4x52 (16/8/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Single-Handed
2x05 A Cold Heaven Part 1
Things aren't looking good for our Jack... but there's still a whole episode to go. Considering the relatively low ratings this has apparently been getting (scheduled against both Torchwood and The American Killing, I'm not massively surprised), I hope there's some comeuppances to be had in the final episode.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x06 The Middle Men
On the one hand I feel this season is still improving; on the other it's still kind of... clumsy. It's lacking the right kind of subtlety that made Children of Earth so good, or makes other US imports (which is what this really is now) so popular. It's also lacking the regular utter barminess that made Torchwood so Torchwoody, actually -- I can see why so many still see it as a failure.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Pointless
4x46 (8/8/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x05 The Categories of Life
Torchwood's probably at its best when it gets dark, as here. I rather guessed where it was headed with that ending mind. We're only halfway through now so it's a good time for it to be really kicking off... but can it sustain it for the second half of the series?
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The Great British Bake Off
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x10 The Blood Line [season finale]
Much to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed that. Except for Jilly Kitzinger surviving -- what a missed opportunity for a reference to Danes' infamous "she should've run faster" -- and the mention of the families having a Plan B. Who wants them back, really? If Torchwood does get a fifth series (and, based on reaction to this one, it would be fairly lucky if it did), the less said about this one the better. We certainly don't want a sequel.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Lee Mack's All Star Cast
1x05 (16/7/11 edition)
I think this is getting worse. Though not having Katie Price this week is a big bonus.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Penn & Teller: Fool Us
1x05 Episode 5
Most of the Metro reviews of this series (which I've generally linked to as the only thing close to an episode-specific online presence I can find) have been half-decent, but this one's just stupid. Witness them prattling on about "amateur magicians" -- it's been clear since the first special that these are almost all working, award-winning magicians, not "some bloke that dabbles" types. At least, I thought it was clear. But I suppose this reviewer does write for the Metro...
At least, unlike 99% of articles on the Internet, the comments on this one are vaguely worth a read (for more of the same eye-rolling annoyance I'm expressing.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Pointless
4x33 (20/7/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
17x04 (17/7/11 edition)
A train made from caravans that turned into a fireball?! Awesome!
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x02 Rendition
That was much, much better, I thought. Obviously Jack was never in any real danger -- they're not going to kill him off, and certainly not in the second episode -- but there was good Torchwoody fun as they raced around finding everything for the cure. The subplots -- both Oswald Danes and the medical emergency -- are interesting, providing they play them right from now on. Danes has a long way to go, that's clear, but if overdone the medical sob story is going to get dull.
Perhaps best of all, though, was Agent Lyn stumbling along with her head on backwards. Proper Torchwood silliness -- much missed from the first two episodes up to that point, I feel.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The Great British Bake Off
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x09 The Gathering
A little increase in quality this week, I thought. Which is good, because next it's The End. Be nice if it somehow included some revenge on that ratty little government man too. Though, as this A.V. Club review reminds us, it's still not all that good.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

No Ordinary Family
1x15 No Ordinary Powell
The Jim vs 'Jim' fight was good, and perhaps a couple of other bits were too, but otherwise this was an episode stuffed with stupidity. If you know there's a shapeshifter about, would you really trust anyone so readily? And would you except they're the real person off a few current-life details? And would you happily discuss your one and only weakness out in the open? Daftness. Which I suppose I should expect by now.

Pointless
4x40 (29/7/11 edition)
Or, Episode #150.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x04 Escape to L.A.
This season is improving with every episode, I think. Which is good, because I didn't think it started as well as people would've liked. It would be really nice if they sorted out the technical issues though -- every other US series looks fine on British TV, so what's with all the smearing/ghosting/etc? It bugs me.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x07 Immortal Sins
A change of pace is always good, as is learning more about what Jack got up to in the past. But did my ears deceive me, or did Jack mention "the tracer brigade" in a context that seemed like it should have been a reference to the Trickster's Brigade from Sarah Jane? Maybe I misheard...
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Wilfred
1x01 Happiness
1x02 Trust
BBC Three's latest acquisition: a US remake of an Australian sitcom in which a man sees his neighbour's dog as an Aussie bloke in a dog suit. It's at least as barmy as it sounds, and very adult-orientated. Which means vulgarity. But despite that, it's also often very funny.

Articles

History Channel Pulls The Kennedys; Says Controversial Miniseries 'Not a Fit’ by Matthew Belloni
(from The Hollywood Reporter)
They do bizarre things in Americaland -- like commission and produce a whole expensive eight-hour miniseries, and then decide not to show it.

Torchwood: Miracle Day revealed by Chuck Foster
(from Doctor Who News Page)
Love the plot; hate the new subtitle.

TV

Grand Designs Australia
1x03 Southport Heritage House
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

No Ordinary Family
1x13 No Ordinary Detention
Or No Ordinary Bottle Episode, as this is essentially three contrived-single-location stories smudged into one episode. Still, by NOF standards it was quite good. Shame they let British Villain Lady escape though.
(Technically it's not really a bottle episode -- plenty of guest actors and a couple of non-standard sets -- but, y'know, near enough.)

Single-Handed
2x02 The Lost Boys Part 2
Even better second half. Glad to see having to do three stories at once (the previous three were produced over several years) hasn't diminished the quality (yet, anyway).
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x03 Dead of Night
"It's fizzy in the UK and flat in the US." "Just about sums it up." A metaphor for the series itself, one wonders?
Ironically, those lines come in what I felt was the best episode of the season so far. Not close to Children of Earth level, true, but it's steadily improving.
The much-discussed sex scene cuts were unnoticeable, of course, but even more importantly, having seen the uncut version I can say we weren't missing anything; we still get everything that was going on -- the very definition of a pointless/gratuitous scene.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Tudors
4x09 Secrets of the Heart
What the hell just happened -- suddenly everyone looks about 20 years older! Well, most people -- they haven't bothered with some. Clearly time has jumped forward -- there's no mention of Henry's collapse last time, they've all decamped somewhere else -- but not by that much. And most of the aged make-up isn't that good anyway. I can only assume they ran out of money by this point.
Or maybe they were just too busy rushing through the story. After wasting so much time treading water or seen-it-before storylines in the first half of this final season, it's a shame they've had to speed through some decent plots as it draws to a close. Ah well, almost the whole thing's been a missed opportunity anyway.

TV

Pointless
4x28 (13/7/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x01 The New World
Nearly a week behind the US, Canada and Australia, then, but at least our version is several minutes longer. Maybe that was why it felt surprisingly slow? And I miss the theme music. And what technical bod messed up and caused that nasty visual 'echo'?
A raft of other niggles niggled, too, so I can't be certain what I actually think of it yet. It got "Americanised" trending on twitter though, so I guess it didn't go down too well generally.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Tudors
4x05 Bottom of the Pot
I don't know if it's just the fault of history, but this was awfully like the demise of Anne Boleyn. Even if essentially the same stuff happened, couldn't they have found a different angle on it for the sake of drama? Maybe that's why it was rattled through in a single episode.