Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILERS

[Admiral_Young]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

Wow. Still not feeling disappointed yet and this seems to be paced exactly how it should be given it's ten episodes. Looks like things are going to continue to get worse before they get better (if they ever do) COE didn't exactly end on a happy note either.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

After Children of Earth and Miracle Day I've come to the conclusion that Torchwood's message is basically this:

Whenever humans are confronted with an unexpected crisis they turn into Nazis at the first instance.

Well, a similar thing was also implied in DW: Turn Left, so Russell T. Davies really seems to have an obsession with it.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

Dude, lord of the flies was soft.

They should have eaten Piggy.

 

[23skidoo]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

If the motivation turns out to be the company just doing this for money, or fame, or control, I will be extremely disappointed in this season.

Actually, I'd love to see that be the outcome, because if it's just another 456 scenario, that would be unoriginal. One of the best (IMO) first season episodes, Countrycide, was the first Doctor Who-franchise episode in history to have absolutely no science fiction elements at all. It was a very refreshing change. I've love for this to end up being just about money and power as opposed to some little green men wanting to steal all our water, or whatever.

After Children of Earth and Miracle Day I've come to the conclusion that Torchwood's message is basically this:

Whenever humans are confronted with an unexpected crisis they turn into Nazis at the first instance.

Well, a similar thing was also implied in DW: Turn Left, so Russell T. Davies really seems to have an obsession with it.

Well, I happen to agree, personally. At least in terms of major events like this. And the overflow camps thing is clearly based on the conspiracy theory - though I think some media have confirmed it - that FEMA has camps set up to hold people in the event of certain national emergencies. I doubt they have ovens, mind you! We saw things go nuts in many respects after 9/11, and that was at least a reaction to something we could get our heads around. Imagine if a Miracle Day scenerio were to occur, or suddenly every child on earth started chanting "We are coming". We'd be under martial law within the hour.

One thing I like about how RTD handles these scenarios - and a similar thing happens in Turn Left and COE - is that he doesn't just suggest what the UK and US do, he also takes time out to suggest what other countries are doing. And just as in the real world, they don't always fall in line with each other. In fact now I think about it I think both those earlier stories have scenes similar to the one in this episode in which someone says "meanwhile, China is doing XYZ, and other countries are doing ABC."

So far my only big complaint is we haven't seen Trinity Wells anywhere yet.

Alex

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

One of the best (IMO) first season episodes, Countrycide, was the first Doctor Who-franchise episode in history to have absolutely no science fiction elements at all.

Aren't you forgetting the Hartnell-era historicals?

 

[DWF]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

One of the best (IMO) first season episodes, Countrycide, was the first Doctor Who-franchise episode in history to have absolutely no science fiction elements at all.

Aren't you forgetting the Hartnell-era historicals?

Or Black Orchid and even The Highlanders.

 

[stj]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

In Children of Earth, the powerful used school leaving tables to consign some children to become parts of an inhuman machine, abused for their masters' pleasure and/or profit. Which is a deeply relevant dramatized metaphor for what happens in real life. In Miracle Day, everybody is supposedly immortal but they get consigned to die if they get sick enough. There's been a little palaver about health insurance, but no health insurance is going to keep anybody out of category one forever. And everyone is vulnerable to accident. There's not much unfair choice in victims, which lowers the tension. There is no villainy to fight, not without writing grotesque eeeeeevil men like Moloney.

The story is a lame variation on Children on Earth. Everybody supposedly being immortal but immediately they're in danger of being burnt up, which would kill anybody, if the breaks are bad, which makes the scifi metaphor a confused metaphor. There are very few interpersonal relationships in the ad hoc Torchwood team to care about, and Mekhi Phifer's reprise of Owen Harper is especially dull, despite wild mood swings.

Most of all, we are apparently building up to the moral of the story that death is righteous, that it keeps us in our place, relieves us of the burden of our drearu lives, punishes our sins, makes way for the young, terminates disease and all manner of goodness. Ten hours of the fox explaining the grapes are sour is witless and, if you stop to think about it, kind of insulting.

Poor.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

Well, all in all, Miracle Day is still way better than some of the crap we had to put up with during Series 1 of Torchwood.

Needless to day, the show is probably never going to reach the level of Children of Earth again, even if there are further serieses/seasons.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

^ Russell stated in interviews prior to coming up with Miracle Day that it was never his intention to "top" Children of Earth but to tell a compelling story. Much like Christopher Nolan's statements prior to "The Dark Knight Rises". The point is not to top COE but tell a good, compelling story and in my opinion Miracle Day so far has been that.

 

[Worf2DS9]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

So far my only big complaint is we haven't seen Trinity Wells anywhere yet.

Yeah, everytime they do those newscast bits, I keep wondering why they didn't bring her back for this.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

^ It seems strange not to have Trinity around, but perhaps she's a DW only character? LOL.

 

[Worf2DS9]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

^ She was in Torchwood COE...

 

[Admiral_Young]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

It's been a while since I watched COE, forgot that. Maybe it's kind of a joke that they didn't use Trinity? Kind of like she was their key American broadcaster on the show and now they're in America they are not using her?

 

[DWF]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

^ It seems strange not to have Trinity around, but perhaps she's a DW only character? LOL.

Trinity has been on all three series Dr. Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

 

[Brent]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

^ Russell stated in interviews prior to coming up with Miracle Day that it was never his intention to "top" Children of Earth but to tell a compelling story. Much like Christopher Nolan's statements prior to "The Dark Knight Rises". The point is not to top COE but tell a good, compelling story and in my opinion Miracle Day so far has been that.

That's just another way of admitting they'll never be able to top CoE.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

Obviously, she tried to tell the truth and the families silenced her.

Like in that episode of Babylon 5 where the news presenter tells everyone on a live vidcast that the Vice President murdered the President and that he's in the pocket of assholes and aliens just before the storm troopers cracked his skull.

I liked it on a confidential, I don't remember who, but the actor/actress said that when Lachele Carl shows up on set that "they are right in it".

 

[Kelthaz]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

After Children of Earth and Miracle Day I've come to the conclusion that Torchwood's message is basically this:

Whenever humans are confronted with an unexpected crisis they turn into Nazis at the first instance.

Well, a similar thing was also implied in DW: Turn Left, so Russell T. Davies really seems to have an obsession with it.

It's no Friendship is Magic, that's for sure.

The theme of Torchwood is that humans generally want to do the right thing and help others, but when push comes to shove they will do horrendous, unspeakable acts to protect their own interests. Maloney was a dick, sure, but he sure as hell didn't get any pleasure out of killing Juarez. The same is true with the council deciding to send the less intelligent kids off to the 456 for practical reasons.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

I wonder if that made kids study harder? It was leaked right?

In a few cases, I think that some of the problem children would be burning down the so called "better schools" in retaliation for being too toffee nosed to be made into alien crack, since it's much easier to make others into idiots than improve yourself.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

@Brent it might be just another way of saying that they can't top COE but it doesn't mak it any less of a true statement. As long as you as an audience member are being entertained and the stories are good then it shouldn't really matter if this is "better" than a previous season or not. That can be argued afterwards.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Re: Torchwood: MD 4x05 - The Categories Of Life (Grade/Discuss) SPOILE

I voted excellent for the episode.

The show seems to work like this:
Explore premise
Follow characters
Action moments at the end to set up another piece of the puzzle

Actually, this episode didn't seem to set up a piece. It's a continuation of the premise. The fact that they took Dr. Juarez's idea, but put it on a different scale is an interesting little point that gets lost. I'm not even sure the module is connected to whatever is behind it, it's just their reaction to everything.

The ending was shocking. No way around that. As for everyone who wanted Rex to die, that's just to the point. They didn't want us happy with the death, it's supposed to shock and sadden. I just hope that when you're cloud vapor, you can't feel pain. There's no other way around it. Hopefully there's something that can be done for Gwen's dad before he meets the same fate.