ext_1997: (Boy Smoke)
Boji ([identity profile] boji.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] tencrush 2008-07-18 03:11 am (UTC)

You've forgotten one thing: they don't have a bible. Now apparently Bible's are no longer en vogue in Hollywood but in the land of palm trees and 22 episode series there are writers rooms. In Cardiff? Not so much because the BBC can't afford it. So all writers are freelance. They write independantly. And never the twain do meet. Which is where I think the problem really arises.

Secondly, no one has a clear vision on Torchwood's mission or what the 21st change is - aside from what we learn in 'Who' which is that aliens are out there and they planet-nap. So... the shows can't be separate in anyway shape or form.

To my mind Torchwood isn't really about specific relationships as opposed to the team and the aliens of the week, (and really it does seem to me as if the episodes are structured in much the same way as generic crime drama) - it's not about the relationships in terms of the scripts focus. That's the scant B plot or the subtext (unless Jack's history/background story involves the villain of the week)

In terms of Jack's characterisation as he was conceived by Moffatt they'd have to write someone who was openly polyamorous and omnisexual. Someone who cared about Ianto was in a relationship with Ianto but for whom exclusive wasn't a frame of reference. And that's a huge thing to do dramatically when you're actually writing something else - villain of the week.

Couple that with the fact that this show has no character continuity (it's barely inconceivable that the Owen we meet in series one has the backstory we learn about in Fragments) and a tiny example would be the fact that Gwen and Owen have an affair but they never have a conversation about that affair in the days after she gets engaged. There's nothing.

It's as if episodes exist in pocket universes. And I do think this is because: No bible & no writer's room.

Slightly tangential to this is I think the way viewers and fans react to telly. Viewers will watch Torchwood but probably won't have much of an on-line interaction with the show. And among fans there are layers there too. I don't think blogs and episodic commentary are as much staunch cannon as say webisodes are in other series. I think they're designed as an optional extra. But you can take it or leave it. And I think that's intentional.

Why? I don't think Torchwood was designed or approached as a soap. Character elements yes, but the focus is action-horror-comedy... I think.



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