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Doctor Who, Movies & TV

Torchwood Take 2

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So tonight we had the first episode of series two of Torchwood. I have to say, on first watching, it still didn’t exactly blow me away, although it was certainly better than it was in series one.

James Marsters as Captain John Hart was good in the guest star role, but to be honest it felt a bit light on plot – once Marsters had appeared and his relationship to Jack had been established, it was basically a run around Cardiff looking for the mysterious canisters that Captain John was looking for.

Captain John double-crossed the Torchwood team, and then discovers he’s been double-crossed as well and the canisters only contain a trap – a trap into which he also sucks Gwen.

Having said that, perhaps the plot wasn’t really the point of this episode. As Captain John disappears he tells Jack that he’s found somebody. Jack dismisses it, but based on the trailer before the credits for the rest of the series, which again includes Marsters I’m thinking the purpose of this one was to re-establish the characters, set the slightly changed team dynamics (there is a definite feeling that they’ve been doing very well without Jack), and introduce Captain John as part of an ongoing plot arc across the series, something that has been hinted at in some of the pre-publicity.

One final little comment to consider if you watch the repeat showing of the episode though, in this months SFX James Marsters claims that John Barrowman is a better kisser than Sarah Michelle Gellar…

Movies & TV

Pick Up the Best Sci-Fi Movie of All Time for a Fiver

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Serenity [2005]

The recent SFX best Sci-Fi movie has produced a bit of surprise result. Usually the results of such surveys are predictable, with Star Wars and Blade Runner heading the list, but this time, number one spot went to Serenity, the movie version of the cancelled Joss Whedon Sci-Fi/Western Firefly. It didn’t just sneak by either, it achieved 61% of the vote, with the second placed Star Wars only managing 28%. Of course it’s not the first time the film, which was decidedly poorly publicised over here has pulled off a win like this, it scooped the film of the year award from Film 2005 too. The win has even made it to the national news, although it’s interesting to note that when put to a more general audience, the on page vote currently puts Star Wars about 8% ahead of Serenity.

The win has also given sales of the Serenity DVD a boost – within 24 hours of the news breaking, sales on Amazon had increased by 860% – not surprising since the DVD is available for a couple on pence under £5 and has over 250 reviews and an average rating of 4.5/5 stars. It is definitely worth picking up, if only to see what all the fuss is about. More than that, do yourself a favour and watch the series before seeing the film, believe me it will make things easier to follow, and flesh out the back-story a lot more.

So is it the best Sci-Fi movie of all time? Opinion is sharply divided, there is a definite love it or loathe it aspect to some of the comments. I also think that for fans of the series it’s as much a vote for the whole series as for the movie itself – coming to the movie cold without having seen the series, you probably won’t get what the fans love about it. Elements such as the weird mix of Chinese and Western elements will just seem bizarre I’m sure. I have to say that I like all three of the top movies – Star Wars, Blade Runner and Serenity all have elements that make them stand out, but to choose between them? I really don’t know.