1.06: Countrycide

[Coolhand]

I'd imagine it would take weeks of fairly frequent practice, and she probably hasn't had that...

True. Though that does then raise the question of why she's allowed to run around with a lethal weapon that she doesn't know how to use properly.

Besides, if you look at my original point about the Mexican stand-off, it was more to do with basic common sense and strength of character than actual training. I know it's a stressful situation but aren't black-ops supposed to be a little better than the rest of us at thinking straight when the chips are down? Isn’t she supposed to be “elite?” At this point I wouldn’t trust her with a child-proof sponge.

Sorry, I know I'm being negative, and I actually get annoyed up by people who just hang around on threads bashing the book/film/writer under discussion. I think it's because I so WANT Torchwood to be good, I so WANT it to be better than it's turning out to be and I may just have to accept that it's just not for me and back out.

Have fun with it guys. I hope it brings you many happy hours of viewing.

 

[Dave]

Sorry, I know I'm being negative, and I actually get annoyed up by people who just hang around on threads bashing the book/film/writer under discussion. I think it's because I so WANT Torchwood to be good, I so WANT it to be better than it's turning out to be and I may just have to accept that it's just not for me and back out.

That is pretty much how I feel too.
It is very easy to be negative, and it is very rare to find something perfect. I thought that the people who gave Torchwood bad reviews after one or two episodes were simply wanting it to fail for some reason. My problem is that it has not raised it's bar, but has plateaued out at the same level. There is an obsession with sex - seemingly simply to meet an 'adult' tag. The stories are predictable and pedestrian. But I also did so WANT it to be better.

 

[PTeppic]

I agree. I'm trying to stick with it. Whilst its interesting and varied, and clearly has the adult tag (though mostly for the sake of it), the show isn't as good as I'd hoped.

But then again, it's no "Robin Hood", either.... eeek!

 

[Loner]

I have finally managed to watch this episode because my friend Ladygiggs bought it on DVD (Torchwood is not realeased in Australia yet).

So in order not to be a buzzkill I will focus on what I really liked about this episode :

The look on Ianto's face when he looks in the freezer full of body parts. Priceless!
At the start it really seemed like Ianto was the only one focussing on the job.

 

[Lenny]

After my first watch, I thought this was one of the best episodes I've seen. After my second watch, I'll go further and say that it rivals the best from Series 2.

And talking about Series 2...

*SPOLIERS FROM SERIES 1 & 2*

First of all - there's a scene in which the team of five are walking in a diagonal line up to the village. It also features in the opening sequence of Series 2, and I've been trying to work out where it's from ever since. And now that I know, well, "It made me happy".

And now, the parallels.

Tosh and Ianto are captured first, and wake up in a barn. In a comment to Ianto, Tosh says, "I haven't met a cell I couldn't get out of". [Welsh Accent] Oh really? At this point, as I was when I saw Jack on a troop train in 1909, I got to wondering when the creators of Torchwood wrote the backstories for the characters. In contrast to Jack's, though, this does make sense... to a degree. In 2.12: Fragments, we learn that Tosh was rescued from a UNIT cell by Jack to start work at Torchwood. So, we know that Tosh has been in prison before. And what's to stop her from going in again, particularly if she makes a habit of stealing government secrets and making horrible devices?

In the same scene, Ianto reveals that he's still feeling out of the loop. He accuses Tosh of being "used to this". Making referance to "that facial expression you all wear". Up until this point, Ianto has been behind the scenes, clearing up after Torchwood. Cyberwoman has to be the first episode in which he's had more than five minutes air-time. Countrycide is his first experience of being, as they say, "out in the field" (hehehe... ). We start to see it more in this Series 1, and particularly so in Series 2 (which is understandable - after Jack upped and left, Ianto would be needed to keep the team up to full strength. When Jack returns, he carries on in his role as part of the team). A good bit of character development, I thought. Then again, he did beg to join Torchwood 3...

Gwen's soft side hasn't yet turned to stone, and so we still see her caring about others - in this case the kid, Kieran, who the villagers are after (who, you might be interested to note, we see nothing of in the last five minutes - he's just forgotten about, as was Bernie Harris in Ghost Machine). Gwen still has the attitude of a newbie. Ghost Machine was the first time we saw her begin to harden, having to come to terms with Ed Morgan's suicide on the knife she held. And this episode sees her having to harden more. If I may quote her entire speech at the end of the episode:

I had a good job before this. I thought in a year or two perhaps a baby, I know Rhys would be a good Dad and I could try for desk sergeant an'... well, it was all slotting into place. And then I met you lot. All these things... all these things, they're changing me... changing how I see the world... and I can't share them with anyone.

She's getting there. No wonder PC Andy tells her she's changed in 2.11: Adrift.

EDIT: Interesting thing I've just remembered. This is a good episode for firsts:

First time a member of Torchwood has been injured in the filed (Gwen, shot by a shotgun).
First time Ianto is in the field.
First time we see Tosh's feelings for Owen.

Yep, you read right - Tosh's feelings for Owen. Not just something that popped up randomly in Series 2!

She asks Owen if he needs help putting up a tent, he says "No", and something about not her, anyway. Poor Tosh turns away looking sad.