Torchwood – The Complete First Season (2006/BBC Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B- Episodes: B-
Though
there had been attempted spin-offs of Dr.
Who before, it took the recent, successful 2005 revival of the character to
create the circumstances for a branched success. That spin-off, Torchwood, featuring the adventures of Captain Jack Harkness (John
Barrowman) who traveled with the Doctor at one time (and is among a long line
of U.K. Government insiders who were his allies over the decades) and now runs
the quasi-governmental title organization who tracks aliens and their
technology. We first covered the show
when the BBC released their wildly successful DVD set:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6699/Torchwood+–+The+Complete+First
Of
course, if this sounds familiar, it has a precedent in the organization
S.H.A.D.O. in the classic British TV series U.F.O., which had a great two season run starting in 1972 from the
makers of Thunderbirds and Space:1999. You can read more about that show at this
link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/360/UFO+MegaSet+(British+TV+series)
Needless
to say I like U.F.O. more, but at
the same time, I feel Torchwood has
been at least as much in the spirit of the original Dr. Who series as the current revival and maybe more so. The show consists of hour-long shows and the
cast has some good chemistry, though I have yet to be totally won over by the
show. Still, I can see the appeal and am
curious to see where the show will go.
The second season is now on DVD and we’ll be covering that next.
The 1.78
X 1 digital High Definition image is generally credited as being 1080i, but the
show was shot in both 720p and then 1080p HD formats and the result can be more
motion blur than expected. It is one of
the better overall HD shoots of any TV show produced from any country to date
with better form and editing than most and the Dr. Who revival has yet to go HD.
Maybe a change of actor will bring that on. The DTS 5.1 mix is far better than the DVD’s Dolby
Digital 5.1 sound and though the sound mixes are not aggressive or demo quality,
they tend to have more character than most TV being produced today. The extras are also the same.
- Nicholas Sheffo
