MORE THOUGHTS ON THE ULTIMATE MESSAGE OF DAYS ONE THROUGH FOUR

[tencrush]

We knew this was a retooling of sorts for the show, designed to attract a MASSIVE new and shiny audience, and it has. There are literally MILLIONS of people watching series three, who have NOT seen either series one or two of Torchwood.

And what have these shiny new viewers learned from Children of Earth? Well, see there's these three people in Torchwood, one's like from the future or someting, one's the married pregnant chick and let's just hammer the point home really quite bluntly with neon signs and anvils and such, that one over there? In the suit, see him? IANTO?? IANTO'S THE QUEER ONE.

Have you all got that? Yeah? Good. Right... let's kill the queer one.

Seriously. It's very tasteful, that, Russell. Nicely done.

Comments

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

This show reminds me an awful lot of BtVS, particularly in terms of how Buffy and Spike's relationship ended. Ianto (Spike) was devoted to Jack (Buffy), Jack's (Buffy's) feelings remained enigmatic, the dying declaration of love fell flat, and ultimately Ianto (Spike) was sacrificed (in a relatively passive rather than actively heroic way) to make some point about how it's lonely at the top for a hero.

I guess RTD at least avoided having Ianto killed like Tara, right after sex. Justifications about Janto sound a lot like what Joss said when Tara was killed to me as well.

[tencrush]

It's very, very reminiscent, I agree. With Gwen being Angel, of course. Here we a have character who becomes a surprising fan favourite, and eventually what seems like the creator's original OTP (Buffy/Angel, Jack/Gwen) is ditched in favour of a kind of fanservicey sexytiems relationship involving the Spike, which ultimately never quite satisfies, because we never really find out how The Hero feels about it, and in the end The Spike dies to prove a point about the hero, leaving the fans feeling like he deserved better somehow (the rape notwithstanding, of course.)

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

You said it much better than I did; thanks.

And yes, we can be thankful that Ianto wasn't turned into a rapist or a serial killer possessed by ultimate evil (oh, wait...but at least that wasn't real).

I think RTD actually wrote the story better than Joss but the story still sucks. Of course, I don't really care very much about Jack's manpain or only did insofar as I wanted Jack to emotionally satisfy Ianto and therefore was willing to be interested in his character while there was a chance he might do that.

[tencrush]

You know how Spike went and got a SOUL for her? Ianto got Jack a NEW FUCKING COAT WHILE THE WORLD WAS ENDING. That's fucking dedication.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

At least Spike got that pretty hero necklace that...oh wait...

I thought about that coat a bit too, and laughed cynically. I recall how the Scooby Gang stood around talking about the mall while Spike's crispy body lay in a smoldering hole in what was left of Sunnydale.

[queencheesecake.livejournal.com]

...does that mean, though, that we'll get a spin-off of a spin-off and Spike!Ianto will come back as a ghost?

[tencrush]

I would totally watch that.

[louisema.livejournal.com]

So would we all.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

I would watch that show.

However, in my crazy fangirl heart, I keep thinking the next series will re-establish Jack as a hero wandering through the cosmos and he'll eventually encounter a Ianto-like character played by GDL and then we can start the insanity all over again. After all, didn't one of the novels establish that Jack has a type? (the Idris Hopper character one??)