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My God. I'm only five minutes into the second episode, but Torchwood kind of...sucks.

I'm giving it a chance, I really am. I'm not generally a sci-fi person, with a few exceptions, so maybe it's just taking me a little longer to come around. Or maybe it's the stiff acting and whack-ass script and feeling absolutely no connection with any of the characters. Eve Myles is adorable, so that's something--she reminds me a bit of a meat-on-her-bones Mia Kirshner with a much less annoying voice.

Also,

get_house_laid is open for posting and we've already got some fic up!

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There are 37 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

It's not just you not being a sci-fi person. It's that it really does suck at first. The sucktasticness was actually what originally attracted me because it was so amusingly bad. I was almost disappointed when it started improving and wound up awesome (though still totally campy).

That's comforting to know. I was wondering what the hell everyone else was obsessing over. Still Does John Barrowman learn to act eventually? Because all the man-snoggery in the world can't keep me from wincing every time he opens his mouth.

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Basically you just have to remember he's a stage actor and forgive him the frequent shitty screen acting. It's like with Robert Sean Leonard. He can be fanfuckingtastic in any medium but it's pretty hit-or-miss and stage is really what he's made for.

The fifth episode, Small Worlds, is the one that turned me into a Barrowman fangirl. I was never a big fan of him and I hated Jack as a character. But that episode broke my little heart and I fell hard for both of 'em.

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Dunno, plenty of stage actors transition well and even when RSL isn't up to par I can at least buy his portrayals. Maybe it's the way John's playing this particular character--Jack comes off as an asshole, but he's not a compelling asshole. I don't want to crack through the layers like I do with House, since it just doesn't seem like there'd be much there. However, I think I'll do another post once I'm five eps in and see if I've been swayed any.

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I totally getcha. Like I said, I hated Jack as a character until the fifth episode of Torchwood. (I'd seen him on Who and hated him from there. I really only started watching Torchwood for the trainwreck factor.) Because he was an asshole and not even a compelling one. But then at the end of Small Worlds I was like, "...Oh. There is a real person in there."

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First couple of episodes do indeed suck, FYI. I stuck it out for boy kissing and it turned around for me at about the 4th episode. But I've never even glanced at the first 3 again. I couldn't really tell you what they're about, except for the orgasm alien because that is just so bad it's hilarious.

ahahahaha I'm really tempted to delete my comment and just reply to this one with a huge "IAWTC."

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LOL, cause it's true!

I feel kind of bad because I ALWAYS laugh at End of Days with how cheesy looking that monster is...it's supposed to be all intense and I'm just in hysterics, barely able to LOOK at the screen.

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Candidness appreciated. =) I had no idea it took a bit to pick up. All I've heard about this show is that it's a Doctor Who spinoff, guys kiss, and John Barrowman is God. I've never seen Doctor Who and John B. is doing exactly nothing for me, but I can pull it together for boy-kissing.

AND YES. I just watched that episode and was appalled at how horrible it was.

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Honestly, John Barrowman doesn't do it for me, either. I absolutely adore Gareth David-Lloyd though, and his portrayal of Ianto is wonderful. He does a great job of turning a couple lines into a full fledged complex character. Especially come season 2, he's a huge part of why I watch the show. And he's gorgeous.

I really like the relationship between Jack and Ianto. They do a good job of putting it out there, but at the same time, you're in the dark about so much. Basically it makes it so you can interpret their relationship in a variety of different ways, and all of them are believable. That's why I'm into the fanfic so much...it's just so varied and it doesn't feel OOC to have stories in 2 completely different directions.

Keep it up though, at least through Cyberwoman. I by far prefer the 2nd season, but once you get past the bumps in the beginning, the 1st is enjoyable as well.

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I do like what I've seen of Ianto so far. I kind of gravitate towards male characters who are a little on the fussy side, which probably says something about my psychological makeup or something. Chances are, I'll poke into the fandom just to explore a bit once I've got a better understanding of the show.

How many seasons are there, by the way?

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Just 2, so far.

If you ever feel like some guidance in your poking, I've got a massive list of Torchwood recs at my journal...they widely vary except for the fact that they're all smut.

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A reccer after my own heart. =) I just might look into that later on.

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What can I say, I'm a fanfic whore. Life is pleasant.

Of the list, my favorite one shot smut is Getting to Yes...RIDICULOUSLY hot.

Oh man, I hope you like Torchwood. Then you'll write hot Jack/Ianto fic. And I'll be one happy girl.

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I'm like, one of the only people I know who can't stand Torchwood. I ESPECIALLY CAN'T STAND JOHN BARROWMAN OH GOD SKHDL ADFLKADG D: D: D:

Yeeeeah, I just don't get the appeal. He's gay and sings and wears kilts sometimes, I hear, which honestly doesn't make me want to fall at his feet. I'd be easier on him if he could just act, but my inner theatre major is too busy sobbing. But since so many people have been having multiple orgasms over this show, I figure I might as well see if it's my thing.

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I don't get the Barrowman love, either. I prefer subtle when it comes to men like him. There's nothing subtle about Barrowman.

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Basically, I have to agree with everyone else's comments and recommendations re: Torchwood's sucky first season and how to deal with Barrowman. FWIW, here's my take, with a little background from Who, since you've mentioned you've never seen it:

I was a Who fan first. Watched the first season, with Chris Eccleston as the Doctor, and was totally hooked. John's performance in Who is perfect for the character - over the top, mostly shallow until you begin to see layers to him (my favorite Jack moment in S1 Who is probably his taking charge in "Bad Wolf" and his goodbye kisses to the Doctor and Rose in "Parting of the Ways"), and full of the pretty. Jack Harkness is a con man - he's not a nice guy, but he'll charm the hell out of you before he sticks the knife in. He doesn't expect much out of people. And then he meets the Doctor, this amazing, wonderful alien who gives Jack a second chance for no good reason other than he thinks there might be more to him.

Needless to say, that's why Jack's in love with the Doctor. Until the Doctor strands him on a space station in the 51st century. What he doesn't know (until "Utopia" in S3 of Who, at least) is that the Doctor's regenerated, and that Jack's immortality freaks the Doctor out. So Jack manages to time-travel (we don't know how) back to Earth - except it's the 1800s. Since Jack can't die, he's stuck living out life on Earth the slow way.

Torchwood doesn't really take off for me until "Countrycide", and it's really fantastic for the look it gives you into Owen, Tosh, and Ianto (oh, especially Ianto, though his big episode is "Cyberwoman"). You can really ignore the first season until "Cyberwoman", and then get back into it with "They Keep Killing Suzie", "Out of Time" (which is, so I hear, the ep where a lot of people not familiar with Who start liking Jack - and Owen, for that matter), and "End of Days".

The lure of Barrowman? I love him as Jack. I can overlook the overacting and his crappy takes on certain scenes because his character has so much backstory and continuity in both Who and TW. I adore the way he conveys different types of love for each person he works with (Jack loves Gwen, but it's different from the way he loves Ianto, which is different from the way he loves Owen, or Tosh, or Martha, or Rose, or the Doctor, or Random Soldier #4, or that potted plant over there . . .), and I love the way he's just a self-centered jerk a lot of the time. He's not a jerk the way House is a jerk - Jack is a jerk because he's not human and he forgets that people work differently in the 21st century than wherever else he's been.

I adore Barrowman as a person. He's hysterical and a fantastic singer and really rather attractive to look at. Plus, his honesty at being an out actor is so fantastic when we live in a society that still looks down on homosexuality. I know he's definitely not everyone's cup of tea, and there are varying degrees of Barrowmanlove, but I dig him.

Rambly enough for you? Bottom line - watch a little more, and if you hate it, you hate it. It happens - I'm one of the five people in the universe who can't stand any of the Stargate series.

I agree with what you've said!

A few additions:

So Jack manages to time-travel (we don't know how) back to Earth
We do know he used his wrist device to do the time travel, but it burned out (or broke) while he did the trip and that's why he's stuck on Earth.

Jack is a jerk because he's not human
Jack is human. He's not from earth, but he is of the human species. He's a jerk because - well, that's who he is (you might want to blame his crappy childhood and the Time Agency). But what I like about him is that he knows and admits that he's a jerk. And after he meets the Doctor he tries to become a better person. That's why he takes over TW. To try and help the human race. Which, I think, was a big step for him to take. And now that he's done it he does take it very seriously (underneath all the banter, sexing around, etc.).

I think it might be easier to like TW if you've come to it from Who. But then again, I could be wrong. *shrug*

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I actually went from TW to DW, which actually made it difficult for me to enjoy the first season of DW because I was introduced to the Doctor as David Tennant. I had a hard time going backwards to Christopher Eccelston, partly because I think David Tennant is brilliant as the Doctor.

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I can see where that'd be really strange. I can't imagine watching the 'verse in that order.

Out of curiosity, how did you watch it? Torchwood S1, then Doctor Who S3, or both shows concurrently, then going back to watch S1 and S2 of Who?

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All of Torchwood, then I watched the clips of Jack on Doctor Who, Season 1, then Season 3, then I started Doctor Who from the beginning.

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We do know he used his wrist device to do the time travel, but it burned out (or broke) while he did the trip and that's why he's stuck on Earth.

OH. I managed to completely miss that part of it. I remember in "Last of the Time Lords" and "Journey's End", the Doctor deactivates Jack's wrist device, but I thought it was just as a precaution and not that he'd used it to actually time-travel.

Jack is human. He's not from earth, but he is of the human species.

No, he's from the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st century, but we have no idea if they're entirely human. There could be genetic differences we don't know about. At least, that's my theory.

I think it might be easier to like TW if you've come to it from Who.

I've encountered people who adore Torchwood and didn't start watching Who until after "End of Days", or even "Exit Wounds". But yeah, I've noticed that you're right, it's much more common for people to be fans of Who, and then get into TW.

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No, he's from the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st century, but we have no idea if they're entirely human.
Okay, yes, I can agree with that. He might have a slightly different genetic make-up than 'we' have. But at some point the Doctor does say that he is essentially human. So, yeah, maybe a 'progressed' form. :-)
Especially since he seems to be able to get pregnant. *gg* Oh, my mpreg kink. LOL

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You're read on about Countrycide...that's when the team as a whole starts really clicking for me. And Out of Time is wonderful...I found that whole episode completely touching, for some reason. Strangely, Torchwood and Doctor Who are two shows where I can completely be into the episodes that aren't all focused on the main characters. In fact, one of my favorite Doctor Who eps is the one about that group of people trying to find the Doctor, and that guy seducing Jackie to get at the Doctor, but then really liking her. For some reason, they do that well.

I think Jack is objectively attractive, he's just a bit too conventional "hunk" like, I suppose. It's funny, when I first saw Torchwood clips, I did not get Ianto's appeal...and now, I think he's absolutely gorgeous.

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"Countrycide" hit me in the ouchy place mainly for what it does to Tosh and Ianto. I'd never really paid attention to Ianto - like a lot of people, including the TW team themselves - and the scene where Jack comes in gunning for the captors, and Ianto's strung up? OW. Of course, I fell for Ianto back in "Cyberwoman", where you really see how deeply and truly fucked up he is.

"Out of Time" is the episode which finally made me stop hating Owen. I thought he was a total waste of space most of the first season, but his relationship with Diane makes me feel badly for him. The second season is really where I developed my "Owen-is-kind-of-awesome" feelings, especially the "Dead Man Walking" arc.

I actually don't usually like the Doctor-lite/TW-lite episodes. "Blink" was decent, but it wasn't the amazing, brilliant piece of work everyone else in fandom thinks it was. "Love and Monsters" was quirky and funny, but it's my least favorite ep that season. Besides the season finales of Doctor Who, I gravitate most toward the character/mythology eps that reference old-school Who: "Dalek", "School Reunion", "Human Nature/Family of Blood", and "Planet of the Ood".

God, Gareth David-Lloyd is gorgeous, isn't he? I have a Thing for snarky men in suits, so you can tell why I've always liked Ianto.

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I actually got a crash course in the DW verse yesterday, so I'm slowly getting a better understanding of where these people come from and what shapes them. And I can understand that it's easy to be more forgiving of a given character if you're already wrapped up in the world they inhabit, which, as of now, I'm really not. At the point, I'm just hoping the world gives me reason to care what or who Jack does, because currently I just don't feel drawn to him at all.

Again, however, for all I know this is just due to my not being aware of his backstory off the bat. Maybe he'll grow on me despite the bad acting. I understand that JB is out and proud and sings like a nightingale, but his "I have two facial expressions and two tones of voice ONLY" style is kind of grating.

What I do like is the fact that pretty much everyone seems to be sexually malleable, which is very interesting in that TW is billed as a sci-fi show instead of a GLBT show, doesn't make a huge deal about trying to explain which way everyone swings, and still has an impressive following.

I'm actually going to watch another ep in just a bit--I'm not giving up on this yet.

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My biggest problem with that show is that I can't stand the main character... ^-^'
But it has men kissing, so... XD

Apparently this is reason enough to tune in, hm? =)

I do like Ianto, though he hasn't had a very big part so far. I actually think he and Owen would be amusing together, though obviously that's not what happens. Maybe I'll just end up watching the show so I can understand the fic, and then hunt down the good stuff.

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You mean I'm not alone? Oh thank goodness. ;;_;;

Considering I thought I was the only one less than wowed, this pleases me.

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I'm not really a sci-fi person either, and I have less than no interest in Dr. Who, but everyone has been talking up Torchwood to me so much that I thought I'd try it.

I dunno. The production values drive me crazy and the acting is just so ~~terrible~~ less that stellar. But half my flist is totally nuts for it. Whatever floats your weird boat, I guess? Frankly I'm tired of it. It's nice to hear another voice of dissent.

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If you're not a scifi geek it can take a bit of getting used to, I guess. But the show does improve. So, if you're not totally annoyed by it, try to stick it out.

Eve Myles is very cute. *nods*

Yes, the acting is quite bad. JB is a singer, not an actor. I do still like him, though, because a) I like Jack as a character (immortality always does it for me *gg*) and b) there's something about JB that I like. I can't even explain what it is.
But you're not alone in not being very fond of him. I think he's one of those love-him-or-hate-him people.

I'm about to watch the fourth episode, which I hear is a pivotal one, so we'll see! I don't see JB growing on me, though, which is sort of a shame. I'm sure he's a lovely singer, but he just doesn't seem right for this particular role. No matter how pretty he may be.

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I'm sure he's a lovely singer, but he just doesn't seem right for this particular role. No matter how pretty he may be.
I think that's a problem a lot of people have that start watching TW before having seen Captain Jack in DW. Because he is quite different when we first meet him (in DW), and JB was perfect for that Captain Jack. He does have his problems portraying the changed Jack.
Not liking JB is totally okay. I mean, no one has to like everyone.

I just hope that you can find a way to enjoy TW, because it's an interesting show. :-)

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Yeah it doesn't really get good until episode 7 or 8 and if you don't like Jack or find a character to latch onto it can be kind of hard. Worse comes to worse, skip to 112/113 and then watch the second season which is much better.

Still working on it, though I haven't had the time to watch much further yet. Even if I don't end up enjoying it, I can see myself getting behind it for the camp factor.

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October