Eating your words can be tasy

[clocketpatch]

I'm certain that I've said, "Torchwood is the worst show ever and cannot under any circumstances be good" at some point, maybe not in that exact form, but the general sentiment anyway. Now, I've known for awhile that this isn't strictly speaking true, because jjpor has spent the last several years writing fic which proves this wrong.

(If you haven't read his Edwardian Torchwood series, check them out. You won't be disappointed)

However, I maintained that the show itself couldn't under any circumstances be good, and yes, I did watch several episodes of the first and second series. They weren't good. A few were okay, but not okay enough that I actually remember what happened. Except there was definitely sex pollen at one point, and a really bad cyberwoman costume. I wish I could free up that bit of brain space for better memories.

...

But with Mr. Capaldi becoming Twelve soon, I thought I'd take a look at what he'd been in before, and joking informed me that he'd been in Children of Earth. She also expressed shock that I've managed to go (what? 4 years? 5? how the time goes) in Who fandom without watching Torchwood's third series. Now, admittedly, basically everyone I know in fandom who's seen it has been telling me all of this time to watch it before judging it; that CoE performed the improbable (but apparently not impossible) feat of being good AND being Torchwood.

I was unconvinced.

I hemmed and hawed.

I figured I'd get around to it eventually.

And didn't.

But since Mr. Capaldi has such a major role in it, I figured that if I ever was going to give it a chance I should do it quickly, because once he was Doctor that would make watching it... odd. So I watched, and it was compelling enough that when I couldn't find the next episode online I put money down on getting a dl.

My words are eaten. All flister who having been saying that CoE is an awesome mini series and have tried for years to convince me to watch it: you were right.

Even with the main plot twists well and truly spoiled, I still bawled when they came up. The story was good. The music was good. The cinematography was good. I am extremely impressed. It's too bad the show couldn't have continued with that quality (I haven't seen Miracle Day... but the review make me think I probably don't want to).

In short:

Enjoyed. Looking forward to seeing Mr. Capaldi's take on Twelve.

Comments

[ibishtar.livejournal.com]

Oh, excellent! Yeah, Children of Earth was quite an experience, I reckon it wasn't just one of the best things Whoniverse has produced, but also one of the best miniseries ever. I remember that the week the whole thing aired the Welsh accent rubbed off on me a bit, haha.
I only watched a few episodes of TW S1 just to see what Jack had been up to and decided it wasn't for me, but I checked out S2 for Martha Jones, and I thought it had really improved, I happily watched the whole series instead of just the 3 episodes she was in.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

TW definitely improved over it's first three seasons, then it became shite again - or so I heard. I refuse to watch the American travesty!

That said, though I remember Capaldi was in it, I scarcely remember his character!

[joking.livejournal.com]

And now I can swoop in and rec you more good Torchwood fanworks based on CoE!

First, three super sad fics about Alice and Jack, which I feel is the core emotional relationship of the miniseries:

Consanguinitas by Selena

The Time Traveler's Daughter by speedgeek

In Perpetuity by concertigrossi

Death, life, and humanity in the RTD era by solitary_summer, a meta relating Jack's and the Doctor's story arcs.

Narrative structure in Children of Earth, by solitary_summer, a meta that analyzes the way the story of the miniseries is told.

Above and Below by di_br, a fanvid relating Jack and Ten's story arcs. Probably my favorite fanvid ever.

[pitry.livejournal.com]

YAY! \0/

... Sometimes I feel like such a tiny minority as a person who actually thought CoE was the best Torchwood. I did like s1&2, but Children of Earth was something else entirely... and then the rest of fandom hated it. ;)

(So, of course, now I no longer have my Meet the Frobishers icon :|)