Death Takes a Holiday, but Not the Aliens

[Bosonic]

“Torchwood” without Cardiff Bay? It’s like rarebit without melted cheddar cheese.

Through three seasons that “Doctor Who” spinoff about an Avengers-like team of alien hunters was produced by BBC Wales and set in Cardiff, with the dramatic bronze dome of the Wales Millennium Center providing the show’s visual signature.

But for Season 4 American money has entered the picture: the show is now being partly financed by the premium cable channel Starz, where the new season begins on Friday night. Consequently the scene has shifted, with most of the action (through the five episodes sent to critics) taking place in bland American locations.

The season has an umbrella title, “Miracle Day,” but you can think of it as “Death Takes Another Holiday.” All over the world people stop dying, no matter how sick or gruesomely injured they are. This is sufficiently serious business to require the reinstitution of the disbanded Torchwood, and the dispatching of its two surviving agents, the immortal Captain Jack (John Barrowman) and his spunky sidekick, Gwen (Eve Myles), to America to investigate.

http://tv.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/arts/television/torchwood-returns-for-season-4-on-starz-review.html

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[Qanisqineq]

1. I was a little bored

by the first episode. It was just missing something that I couldn't put my finger on.

[Ilsa]

2. I agree. It moved too slowly, was tedious at times, and a little gruesome.

The BBC show was so good. I hope they can make it work, but it needs snap.