Torchwood: Miracle Day, Episode 1 – Review

The quickest review I can manage, just enough to keep you interested… IT WAS AWESOME!

Torchwood: Miracle Day, Episode 1 premiered on Starz on Friday night, to at least one eagerly awaiting audience member. I was prepped with my popcorn and drink, and fantastically didn’t need to pause or get up even a single time. The episode starts off a little confusingly, and unfortunately they never overcome what might be so back-story confusion. We open with convicted rapist and murder  Oswald Danes laying upon the bed of execution, awaiting his lethal injection. But when the pumps fire the deadly concoction into his veins, he doesn’t die. Meanwhile, a CIA agent  Rex Matheson is investigating a hack attempt on the CIA computer systems, based off of just a single word… Torchwood. The agent is severely injured in a car wreck. He doesn’t die. No one dies. And as a very inquisitive CIA agent starts to investigate Torchwood, all traces of the British paranormal investigation group, suddenly vanish. Computer records, paper records. Everything. One man steps forth, to help. Jack Harkness, former Torchwood Agent.

The episode starts off just as strongly as I could have hoped. However, the series has already suffered from a fatal faux pas. They didn’t do a very good job of explaining the back-story of Torchwood. Essentially leaving the entire legacy of the group to a mumbled phrase, and just moving forward. I am concerned that the un-initiated American audience might not get it. Perhaps it will help to take people back to the original series, but honestly I don’t think it will. That said, the episode was awesome. In one key scene, we watch as a burned to a crisp, but not dead, man’s head is surgically detached from his body; sounds nasty, but it was just cutting one remaining tendril. Some extremely strong graphic imagery which is very relevant considering the nature of the show.

Overall, an excellent start to the series. I can’t wait for the next episode.

by James Helsby

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