Torchwood

As I have mentioned before I am a big fan of Doctor Who. So I have been waiting for the start of the spin-off, Torchwood, for quite some time (particularly since Sunday - I had planned to watch it on BBC3 then but since our cheap as hell digibox wouldn't transmit BBC3 I have had to wait to see it last night on BBC2). I really couldn't be sure what it would be like - after all, the last Doctor Who spin-off was hardly a roaring success. But Russell T Davies did great work in resurrecting Doctor Who, so there was/is every chance that Torchwood could be very good as well. And is it? Well, yes and no. I mean, it is quite an entertaining and diverting programme. It reminds me a bit of Touching Evil, Millenium and Ultraviolet. After the initial massive success dies down it has all the hall marks of a cult classic. It may not be that long lasting, but it will be fondly remembered by fans.

But the big problem lies with the fact that this is a spin off from Doctor Who. The last time Captain Jack was in Cardiff, he was a small part of a larger crew who fought and defeated a Slitheen, at the same time as being involved in a debate on capital punishment and ultimately giving the monster a second chance at life. In the pilot of Torchwood Captain Jack gets shot by one of his colleagues (just as well he is immortal, eh?). The monsters in Doctor Who include an empty child who changes people into his own image with the words "are you my mummy?" He is spooky as fuck. Torchwood has the Weevils, who rip out people's throats. Violent and unpleasant they may be, spooky they are not. To date the new series of Doctor Who has been about love - especially between the Doctor and Rose. Episode Two of Torchwood is about an alien who shags people to death. The Doctor is an enigmatic, charismatic time travelling hero - Captain Jack is a bisexual James Bond wannabe.

Ultimately Torchwood is OK - it is fiercely generic cult TV. It is probably unfair to compare it to a TV programme that has been around for 43 years. But since it is a spinoff, comparisons are inevitable. Oh, and the hand in Episode 2 (Day One) is the Doctor's.