Opinions on "Torchwood" Season 2?

[The Borgified Corpse]

I'm 3/4ths of the way through "Torchwood" Season 2 and I was wondering what the opinions were here. I really enjoy "Torchwood." I always have. The characterizations are so strong and the production values & cinematography so superb. I enjoyed Season 2 right out of the gate. But when I went back and watched a couple Season 1 episodes, I recognized something right away...

"Torchwood" Season 2-- Now with 80% less self-loathing. There was a certain unpleasantness to Season 1 that has been cleared out for Season 2. The worst parts, like the Gwen/Owen affair or Gwen retconning Rhys, have been completely forgotten. Rhys now knows about Gwen's job and their relationship is the stronger for it. (As well it should be. Rhys is a good man who deserves good things.) Owen is still an SOB but now he has some genuine problems to complain about. The only thing I don't like is the endless back & forth between Owen & Tosh. I just want to scream at the TV, "Run away, Tosh! That way lies only pain."

Martha Jones gets a 3 episode arc, although little comes of it.

"From Out of the Rain" teaches a valuable lesson. Beware of old film cans. Sure, you might find a long lost Hartnell or Troughton episode. But you just as easily might find some imprisoned carnival freaks that want to suck out your life force.

Unfortunately, so far, nothing quite as sexy as the Tosh/Mary scenes in Season 1's "Greeks Bearing Gifts" has shown up yet.

How is everyone else reacting to this 2nd season of "Torchwood"?

 

[Starkers]

S2 was infinitely better than S1, as you say the self loathing dropped off the scale a bit, but beyond this everyone felt more comfortable, and I think the show stopped trying to take itself so seriously. The scripts (especially chibnell's) seemed a lot more polished, and they thankfully stopped every character saying f**k every other word!

I hated S1, really rather enjoyed S2

And yeah, Martha's cameo appearance was essentially pretty hollow, she was pivotal in one, but just shoehorned into the other two.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

For the most part, I loved second season of Torchwood, particularly in regards to Owen. Unlike most, I enjoyed Owen's character in the first season, with a few exceptions, but I was thrilled with the writers did with his character in the second season. The only episode I didn't like was "Something Borrowed," which was a nice contrast to the first season where I only liked three episodes ("Random Shoes," "Out of Time," and "Captain Jack Harkness").

 

[captcalhoun]

much better than S1, though i'm one of the few who largely enjoyed S1...

 

[Worf2DS9]

"A Day in the Death" just aired here last night. I found that one dull for the most part, but then I've never really been a huge fan of Owen--though I liked the rooftop stuff with Maggie. I've liked the season so far ("Meat," "Adam" & "Reset" are stand-outs). I'll agree that Martha was used perfectly in "Reset," but seemed just there in her other two episodes. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

 

[Stevil2001]

I thought that it was worse than Season One. Season One had more crap episodes, but it also had more excellent episodes. Most of Season Two felt pretty humdrum to me, aside from the Dead Owen arc. And "From Out of the Rain" was the worst episode of the series yet.

 

[Lonemagpie]

It loosened up, the cast had more chemistry, and Spike came in for a fantastic guest shot! What's not to love?

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I finished Season 2 just now. It's quite a thing. "Adrift" and Owen's portion of "Fragments" nearly had me in tears.

"Exit Wounds" is kind of a crap ending though. I prefer bad guys with some sort of a plan. This guy just seemed disorganized and angry, which is strange because a lot of the stuff that he did would require careful planning. And the very end is a real downer. (Of course, now this answers the question I had when my friend showed me "The Stolen Planet." During the Torchwood portions, I was asking myself, "Where's Owen & Tosh?")

One of the things I've realized is that Gwen is a lot more likable this season than in Season 1. In Season 1, she seemed to switch between stupid & crazy. In Season 2, we finally really start seeing her be the thing that Jack originally hired her to be-- the most human member of the team.

 

[auntiehill]

^ I agree. I think Season 2 really pulled the show together. Season 1 was trying WAY too hard and it showed. It's not perfect---not by a long shot, and there are still things I'd like to see be more polished and sophisticated, but it shows steady improvement. I think Gwen became far more likable and far more believable. She's our connection to the show, so if we don't like her, then we're a bit lost.

Sure, there were some mis-fires that were a bit cringe-worthy, but I think those moments are far less in 2 than in one. The show has real promise now, and I will stick with it---whenever we get to see it again, that is.

 

[IcecreamLtDan]

I'm actually more worried about how the new shows are going to be after the results of season two. Not so much the fact that there's only a few episodes this coming season but, because of what happened in season two.

 

[marillion]

I too, loved season 2... Fantastic character development and some shocking twists...

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I'm actually more worried about how the new shows are going to be after the results of season two. Not so much the fact that there's only a few episodes this coming season but, because of what happened in season two.

If you're talking about... And even if their plans to bring over Martha as a regular had panned out, I can't see her being interesting enough. Right now, Torchwood is in something of the same position that Red Dwarf was when Rimmer left in Series VII. Had they not added Kochanski to add some new character conflict, the show would have been totally sunk.

 

[CommodoreKong]

I thought season 2 was a huge improvement over the first season. It isn't perfect or even as good as Doctor Who, but I'm far more excited for season 3 of Torchwood then I was for season 2.