Would you give in to alien junkie demands? - Torchwood Children of Earth

[The Newswire]

This week BBC America ran the Torchwood miniseries Children of Earth one episode a night all week building to tonight's epic finale. Sunday, they will run the...

Read the full article

[Mindgames]

There is indeed a deep lack of love for the miniseries format, but it wasn't entirely a voluntary decision. Torchwood COTE was offered a move from BBC2 to BBC1 prime time, but with the schedulers calling the shots. Gift horse, yadda yadda.

It was the first time an extended script could be chanced (given there's no movie yet... ahem...), so it'll always end up being different and disliked by fans used to episodic framing, but risking cliche for a second, "ratings were very positive" - on BBC2 we had 3.1m averages, for the miniseries we had 5.9m. Given the way the BBC is funded, securing commission is not the same populist rat-race as for a commercial channel, but it's still very dependent on numbers, and it's far easier to sell a week-long miniseries than a 10-week regular slot, as if it bombs you don't need to pull it.

The problem with minor characters is that they work because they're minor - nobody ever cared who Mr Sulu's momma was, or if BA Baracas could cook. Run a 4-hour script with almost linear 3-parter dialog and you end up having to use people for stuff just because they're not picking concrete out their pubes. Personally I agree some of the changes in characterization were a bit offbeat, but some of that was a little enforced by circumstances (Gwen being pregnant IRL, some cast wanting to move on, etc).

As to the idea the reaction was a "British" thing, bear in mind who the medal-encrusted guy in charge was, and what the choice involved. It's fine to say we'll stand up to the occasional bomb, as you're mostly still there to stand up to it. In COTE the alternative was specifically chosen to be a null option - everyone on the planet being killed - kinda pointless to choose that as a moral position, don'tcha think?

[Amelia G]

There is indeed a deep lack of love for the miniseries format, but it wasn't entirely a voluntary decision. Torchwood COTE was offered a move from BBC2 to BBC1 prime time, but with the schedulers calling the shots. Gift horse, yadda yadda.

It was the first time an extended script could be chanced (given there's no movie yet... ahem...), so it'll always end up being different and disliked by fans used to episodic framing, but risking cliche for a second, "ratings were very positive" - on BBC2 we had 3.1m averages, for the miniseries we had 5.9m. Given the way the BBC is funded, securing commission is not the same populist rat-race as for a commercial channel, but it's still very dependent on numbers, and it's far easier to sell a week-long miniseries than a 10-week regular slot, as if it bombs you don't need to pull it.

The problem with minor characters is that they work because they're minor - nobody ever cared who Mr Sulu's momma was, or if BA Baracas could cook. Run a 4-hour script with almost linear 3-parter dialog and you end up having to use people for stuff just because they're not picking concrete out their pubes. Personally I agree some of the changes in characterization were a bit offbeat, but some of that was a little enforced by circumstances (Gwen being pregnant IRL, some cast wanting to move on, etc).

As to the idea the reaction was a "British" thing, bear in mind who the medal-encrusted guy in charge was, and what the choice involved. It's fine to say we'll stand up to the occasional bomb, as you're mostly still there to stand up to it. In COTE the alternative was specifically chosen to be a null option - everyone on the planet being killed - kinda pointless to choose that as a moral position, don'tcha think?

I think that, given the specific option, a lot of people not in government would not choose a rational response and England is one of the only countries in the world with a sufficiently disarmed citizenry to implement anything involving possible harm to people's children.

But, more than that, a fucking junkie threatens to destroy his own supply if the world doesn't give him the specific size fix he wants? And they believe him? The reason these types of moral dilemma values clarification exercises always strike me as flawed is that, in reality, you can never know for certain that, if you throw three people out of the lifeboat, the remaining seven will live. In the case of the alien, nobody ever asked him if there were more of him and, if so, how many? Not that diplomats don't often lie and misdirect in such circumstances, but it has been the purpose of every diplomatic negotiation ever to first determine what the opponent had. The alien proved he could kill someone standing near him? He couldn't even breathe Earth air. How formidable a foe was he really?

I'm not surprised the ratings were good. The DVD is selling like crazy. They will pretty much have to do another season I'd think. But it sure looked like Davies did not want to. Interesting that Eve Myles is pregnant. I didn't know that. She looked pissed at how the miniseries went, in the BTS, but certainly not over the being pregnant part.