Diehard fans of Torchwood will undoubtedly miss the quaintness of Cardiff in this year’s Torchwood reboot: Miracle Day. The series takes surviving Torchwood members Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) to Los Angles, where they assist the CIA in discovering why the newly dead are undead. This problem, compounded with the sociopathic policies of scientists and politicians who build concentration camps and crematoriums to kill people who are by all measurements very much alive, creates rich tension and drama to fuel the story.
The new format, which has a very long story arc, may prove challenging for fans of the series accustomed to a faster paced series with stand alone episodes threaded by a central theme. But in episode four, the drama and action in Torchwood kick into high gear, with the death of a major player, Gwen’s family at risk, and the shocking revelation that the as yet unknown forces behind the miracle have been laying groundwork for decades. Here we begin to see the Torchwood writing team’s storytelling at its best.
Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer) and Esther Drummond (Alexa Havens) are welcome additions to the Torchwood team, challening Jack’s judgement and adding an element or coarseness to what was once a slick Torchwood team before most of the previous members got killed. Phifer kills as Rex Matheson, the well-meaning but bullheaded American who struggles taking orders from Jack. And Alexa is convincing as the foolish desk-clerk turned reluctant Torchwood agent. Still, fans will miss seeing a charismatic Jack in the role of the undisputed leader fubacked by a confident and capable, if not conflicted, team of workers.
Torchwood, a Doctor Who spin-off, is markedly grittier and less family oriented, with sexuality and morality issues confronted in bold fashion. It is the perfect show for a Friday night on Starz.