Preview - Torchwood: Miracle Day – From the BBC to Starz!

Tonight, we'll see a few things that don't happen very often occur at the same time. With existing science-fiction TV series not pulling the ratings of crimes against nature like The Jersey Shore or Real Housewives of Orange County, many of them are becoming one season wonders, and we see fewer pilots getting greenlit each season. I'm just glad to see a new sci-fi show like Torchwood beginning, as it is more fun to celebrate a new show's birth than it is to mourn one's passing. To be fair, Torchwood isn't really “new,” though. The Doctor Who spinoff has already had three seasons and a built-in fanbase. The second thing you don't see very often is a BBC hit series come over to the states without getting a “remake,” as though we spoke different languages and couldn't understand British TV. The move from the BBC to over here in the States filled my heart with dread when I heard Torchwood was going to Fox. Thankfully, the deal with the butchers at Fox fell through, and Starz! is carrying the, erm... torch.

“Unexpected events,” and “things that don't happen very often” are central to the set-up for Miracle Day. I personally find the whole concept intriguing. One day, not a single person dies. And then the next day, and the next. That is to say, NO ONE DIES, not even those grievously injured, executed by the state, etc. Exploring the initial celebration concerning the sudden abolition of death itself, and then the problems a lack of death creates is a topic worthy of many a late-night conversation. I can see how the problems would mount quickly in a world where no one ever dies could turn it into a nightmare.

Apparently I'm not alone in this forward sort of thinking, because the Torchwood Organization is called up out of the ashes in order to investigate the event, disrupting a few lives in the process. Returning to the show are all three of the previous series regulars, Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman,) the immortal omnisexual con-man, Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and her husband Rhys Williams (Kai Owen.) Gwen and Rhys settled down in order to raise their child and enjoy a quiet life in the country and Jack has left Earth after seeing Torchwood and almost everyone he loved destroyed. The three of them called back together makes things complicated, as Jack still has unresolved feelings for Gwen, and despite her love for her husband and child, the feelings are somewhat mutual.

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The shift in focus from the UK to the USA also means different government agencies are involved in Torchwood's operations, and the CIA adds a man of their own to the team, Harvard-educated Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer.) Other supporting cast will include some recurring characters from the first three series, and a new stable of characters based in the US. Guest stars already planned for the current season include Wayne Knight, Dichen Lachman (of Dollhouse fame,) C. Thomas Howell and Ernie Hudson. Another notable name who will play a major role in the series is Bill Pullman, who will play a murderer turned celebrity as the first man executed by the state who didn't die.

The decision to not make the production of Miracle Day a “series reboot,” but rather a continuation of the previous show is a bold one, that I applaud. I fear that fans will turn their noses up at the show, and I can guarantee that whether reasonable or not, we'll hear the criticism “Too American,” whatever that means. I love science fiction, whatever country it is written and produced in, and so long as this series isn't done with mindless and meaningless explosions, I won't care that more of it was shot in Los Angeles than Wales. After all, there's a lot more to US studio productions outside of reality TV and Michael Bay Blockbusters. Russell T. Davies left creative direction of Doctor Who to devote his talents to Miracle Day, and he wisely wrote only the season premiere and finale. I've long felt that he is a better executive producer than writer of individual episodes.

I can only hope what they are looking at offscreen isn't Wayne Knight at
the beach, though in that case, the rocket launcher is appropriate.

What I expect from the new series is something a little more like a science-fiction thriller than what we're used to in the vein of Torchwood, further distinguishing it from Doctor Who. Instead of lots of rubber monsters and spaceships, if the trailers match the reality, I sort of think we'll see something like a higher-energy sort of X-Files. Maybe something like Men In Black, if it had been written by John Grisham. The focus on the emotional impact of weirdness that has affected the entire world, and how it affects individual characters and changes how they live, sort of the way the best episodes of Flash Forward worked (when they worked.) Maybe my expectations won't live up to the reality, but if the series is anything like the one I imagine, I think I'm going to like it.

Luckily, I happen to have Starz! as part of my cable package, so even if I don't watch it when it first premieres tonight, I'll likely be able to catch the series premiere within a day or so. When I've watched an episode or two and have a more informed opinion, I'll put up a review, either as part of an article here, or over at the Tumblr.

Would You Like a Jelly Baby? - Doctor Who Throughout the Years.

Of all characters in modern science fiction, there is not a single one that compares to the longevity of The Doctor, of the British Sci-fi program Doctor Who. Through television programs, movies, radio shows, spin-off novels and comic books, Doctor Who has existed in one form or another since it first aired in 1963. The show's continuity as a single entity distinguishes it from other classic science fiction movies and television programs that experience a “reboot” or other retelling. Series elements such as The TARDIS (The Doctor's time traveling device), villainous aliens including the Daleks, and the character of The Doctor himself have persisted throughout the decades of the show.

The TARDIS, bigger on the inside than on the outside.

From the beginning, The Doctor was a mysterious figure, a time-traveling alien with a human appearance who adventured throughout time and space. He was first played by William Hartnell from 1963-1966 until the actor's failing health required his departure from the series, but he provided one of the key concepts behind The Doctor before he stopped playing the character. As an alien, Hartnell reasoned, why could The Doctor not “regenerate” himself into another body when near death? The Second Doctor first appeared in the fourth episode of the Tenth Planet serial, and several important aspects of the character were immediately established, most notably that in each incarnation, The Doctor not only looks, but behaves slightly differently.

As the show continued to release additional series on television over the years, The Doctor's face changed many more times and Doctor Who became more popular worldwide, in spite of parent criticism that it was too violent and frightening for children. The Doctor continued to adventure with one or more companions throughout time and space in the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) device, which unlike the doctor retained its external appearance as a 1950's era British Police Box. Throughout the series' middle age, the actor who played The Doctor the longest was Tom Baker, portraying the Fourth Doctor, whose trademark long scarf and unusual demeanor made him one of the most immediately distinct characters in the show's long history. For many people, the Fourth Doctor was the definitive incarnation of the character, a status he would hold for over 25 years.

For many, he is the only Doctor that mattered.

The backstory of The Doctor and his alien enemies the Cybermen and the Daleks, was fleshed out and filled in a bit at a time over the years. The metal Cybermen are a race that replaced organic material bit by bit with cybernetic parts, and frequently come into conflict with The Doctor. The Daleks are an alien race of mutants bent on conquest who house themselves in a tank-like shell and have eliminated all emotions save those useful for conquest and the extermination of all other races. The insane metallic cry of “EXTERMINATE!” has persisted throughout the history of appearances by the Daleks. The Doctor himself was revealed to be a member of a race known as Time Lords, from the planet Gallifrey, though The Doctor himself seemed to be something of an outsider even to his own kind. This relationship with his people set the stage for another series recurring villain, a renegade Time Lord called The Master.

A classic joke was that the easiest way to defeat Daleks was stairs. This was later resolved, as they can fly.

The program went off of the BBC in 1989 as the network attempted to organize funding for future series featuring the characters, unsuccessfully attempting a revival with the lone appearance of the Eighth Doctor in a Television Movie in 1996. Throughout this period it was also discovered that in the 1970s over 100 episodes of early Doctor Who programs were forever lost as the original archives from the first six years of broadcast were destroyed to save space. Nearly 17 years of bad news for Doctor Who fans came to an end in 2005, when a revival starring Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor came to television screens.

The 2005 revival was tremendously popular, despite Eccleston only playing The Doctor for thirteen episodes, in no small part due to the overwhelming popularity of the Tenth Doctor. David Tennant was cast as the Tenth Doctor before the first episode of the 2005 series aired when it was made clear that Eccleston would play the character for only a single series. His regeneration was a major part of the first series' finale, and his portrayal of the character for the next five years proved so popular that he was the only actor to beat Tom Baker more than once in fan polls of “Greatest Doctor of All Time.” Aside from an episode here and there in the 1980s, it was Tennant's role as The Doctor that hooked me into the show personally and got me to track down the episodes I'd missed from 2005 on. Tennant continued to plat the character until 2008 when Matt Smith, the youngest actor to ever portray the character took over as the Eleventh, and current incarnation of the character.

My personal favorite Doctor, just barely edging out Tom Baker.

Personally, the episodes revisiting classic who villains are some of my favorites, but my all time favorite episode was “Blink” from 2007, featuring the Weeping Angels and barely featuring The Doctor at all. Throughout the years, historical adventure, sci-fi action and horror scenarios have made the show unique and consistently interesting, and several successful spin-offs have had runs of their own. Most notable among these is Torchwood, a show about an organization in Britain made aware of time travel and alien threats to Earth by the appearance of The Doctor, and their determination to defend against these threats at all costs. I'm still a few seasons behind, so I don't have much of an opinion about Matt Smith yet. I'm going to try to catch up this summer however, as I want to watch all of Torchwood in preparation for the Torchwood series “Miracle Day.” I'm sure when that premieres, I'll be right here to review it.