Review: Torchwood 4.1: The New World

Forenotes: 1.) The official publicity gives the official name of this series as "Torchwood: Miracle Day." For the purposes of simplicity, I will be reviewing it as "Torchwood 4". 2.) There are intense spoilers for a program that has, as of the time of writing, not yet aired in the UK. 

Gwen acts badass to protect Anwen.

So; after managing to watch the premier of this new, Americanised series of the cult hit, what can I say about it? Well, surprisingly little. The show tempted me in with a trailer that promised a high-action adventure with all of our favourite Torchwood stars; instead, we got a slow-moving investigative thriller with a few Welsh overtones. Despite the fact that there are less episodes here than in Series One and Two, it still feels more serialised. The question being, then: Can Torchwood 4 support its premise over the course of ten weeks?
    Our main focus for this particular episode was on our American brethern; CIA analyst Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins) investigates Torchwood, a message about them having appeared on their databases at the exact same moment that everyone in the world stopped dying. Agent Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer) initially dismisses her concerns, but decides to follow the lead when he, as par "Miracle Day," survives being impaled after a road accident. Flying over the Wales, Matheson comes into contact with Gwen Cooper (a tired Eve Myles), her husband Rhys (Kai Owen) and their baby, Anwen. Both Esther and Rex end up bumping to Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), culminating in an action scene in the finale where Jack, Gwen and Rhys escort Rex away from a mysterious helicopter gunman who was trying to kill Gwen.
    Along the sidelines we saw the effects of "Miracle Day," notably the spread of the phenomenon (in which no one has died, no matter what injury) and the failed execution of convicted peadophile rapist Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman), whose repellent personality paints him quickly as the villian of the piece. The episode expored the concept with some gusto, I thought; not only explaining the base aspects of Davies' premise but also its ramifications. Especially gruesome was the example of a terrorist who had blown himself up, leaving his charred corpse fully conscious afterwards. Like Children Of Earth before it, this series of Torchwood has so far earnt its "adult" rating with more adult themes about death, rather than the more childish examples seen prior.

Rex Matheson finds Gwen in Wales.

     The American involvement certainly has had an effect on the show past locale and character nationality. Its production values are much, much slicker and the escapade resembles more of a Hollywood blockbuster than usual Torchwood fare. Despite British director Bharat Nalluri's (of Life on Mars alumni) best efforts, the episode had much more of an American atmosphere that made even the Welsh hills more spectacular.
     The New World wasn't as fast paced or gripping as its publicity had suggested but it did run well on its central premise, one that is interesting enough to stay the course. I'm a little worried about some of the characters and how Davies will manage to balance their writing with his more familiar creations, but for now I think it's safe to say that Miracle Day is off to a good start.

Thanks.