The New World [HD]

Redefining Life And Death In A Totalitarian State--A Torchwood Reboot Hits American Soil
Note: To help avoid potential confusion, the reviews from the upcoming U.S. release have been mixed with the earlier reviews for the DVDs available from the international marketplace. The reviews describing compatability issues have NOTHING to do with the U.S. release which, naturally, will be fully compliant with the appropriate technology. The reviews should NOT have been mixed, but that sometimes happens here.

For the first time, the Torchwood team (or what's left of it) head to America for this ambitious ten part series for the Starz network. In Captain Jack Harkness, creator Russell T. Davies and actor John Barrowman created a truly unique warrior for the science fiction and paranormal set. The dashing bi-sexual hero was first introduced on Davies' "Dr. Who" reinvention and quickly became a fan favorite. So, it was with some amount of excitement that I followed Barrowman to his own show expecting some variation of the "Dr. Who" narrative. But no, the show was...

It had its moments, but..
Miracle Day had its moments (mostly when Jack, who was sorely underutilized, was on screen), but if you're a fan of the original series then you probably shouldn't waste your time or your money. It feels nothing at all like the first three seasons, which are what made me fall in love with Torchwood in the first place. The format of the show has changed, the new characters are highly unlikeable, and I found the episodes slow-moving and not very well-written (with few exceptions). And ten episodes was FAR too long for the plot they had.

It's like an AU (that's alternate universe, in case you aren't familiar with the term) version of Torchwood. And honestly, since Jack and Gwen were practically background characters, it shouldn't even be called Torchwood, because it just felt like any other bad American action show that just happened to have Gwen, Jack, and Rhys involved.

Torchwood should have ended after Children of Earth - which was a well-written, tight, dramatic...

Redefining Life And Death In A Totalitarian State--A Torchwood Reboot Hits American Soil
For the first time, the Torchwood team (or what's left of it) head to America for this ambitious ten part series for the Starz network. In Captain Jack Harkness, creator Russell T. Davies and actor John Barrowman created a truly unique warrior for the science fiction and paranormal set. The dashing bi-sexual hero was first introduced on Davies' "Dr. Who" reinvention and quickly became a fan favorite. So, it was with some amount of excitement that I followed Barrowman to his own show expecting some variation of the "Dr. Who" narrative. But no, the show was stylized in a very different way. The "Torchwood" spin-off played like a high octane and oftentimes quite amusing cousin to the "X-files." For two seasons, the show exceeded as adult escapism at every level. The controversial miniseries "Children of Earth" redefined everything in the Torchwood universe and is alternately loved and hated by the show's most fervent fans. For my money, though, it was a dark and unforgettable...

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