Two new shows (American) Torchwood & Falling Skies

[Gawen]

Has anyone seen these yet? IMO, don't bother. Take Torchwood for example. I feel as if I'm watching a retro show from the low 80's...something like The A Team, although the acting in The A Team was much much better! The premise of Torchwood is a good one and has potential, but the music sucks, the acting is awful, and the story line so far is pretty bad.  The characters: CIA agent is terribly unbelievable. The heroine from Ireland cries and scream for her baby in the pilot, but 4 shows later there's nary a word of the infant, so wrapped up in her mission. The gay WWII pilot character is entirely unbelievable and his acting is...is....well...lacking. I give the show a 1/2 star and won't be watching it anymore.

On to Falling Skies, executive producer Steven Spielberg's current TV venture is only slightly better. In stories such as these, one must make futuristic stories as believable as they can be for the audience to not suspend or stretch credulity too far. My major factor of this failed show is, from a military POV:

Let me digress. It's 6 months after an alien invasion. The remaining humans have a hodgepodge of weapons, including full automatic AK47's. And our group of humans we follow in the story are from Boston??!! There is no Army, no Marines, no nothing. No rocket launchers, no armour piercing ammunition, no heavy weapons and no real organizational properties from the only TWO ex-military characters that head the group of 300. A Squad leader (and main character of the series) is a professor of military history, no less...right. And only seven months after the invasion did humans figure out how to kill the aliens....by getting close. Really?

From a survivalist POV, there's no guard on the mobile pharmacy, no guard on the weapons or ammo, and so far I've seen no guard on food stocks or water. There's only one Doctor and no real nurse and there's no guard on the doctor. To me, the doc is the most important person in the entire group. I could go on and on about this show, but will leave it here.

These new shows just plain suck. Torchwood is just simply poorly done with bad actors. Falling Skies totally strains the credible.

[roy1967]

Really expected big things out of Falling Skies, and was really looking forward to it.  Two episodes in I gave it up.

It had some real potential, but it really was stupid.

I have pretty much given up on Television, other than Survivor.  Battlestar Galactica (new version) ruined me for TV.  It was edgy, well written, and kept you interested.  Everything before and since is garbage.

I prefer movies (not TV movies) by a long shot.

[Whitney]

I've only watched two episodes of Falling Skies but have a bunch of promotional crap from them because Klout keeps mailing it to me.  I checked today and there are two more episodes up online...I'm not that into it but will probably watch the rest of the season just because it's available online and I enjoy B movies.  I think the series would have worked better condensed down into one movie and with a little more thought put into the details...instead of so much thought put into marketing.

[Tank]

Has anyone seen these yet? IMO, don't bother. Take Torchwood for example. I feel as if I'm watching a retro show from the low 80's...something like The A Team, although the acting in The A Team was much much better! The premise of Torchwood is a good one and has potential, but the music sucks, the acting is awful, and the story line so far is pretty bad.  The characters: CIA agent is terribly unbelievable. The heroine from Ireland cries and scream for her baby in the pilot, but 4 shows later there's nary a word of the infant, so wrapped up in her mission. The gay WWII pilot character is entirely unbelievable and his acting is...is....well...lacking. I give the show a 1/2 star and won't be watching it anymore.

Love your review! Torchwood is a Dr Who spin-off that had two series in the UK. They couldn't get funding for the third series in the UK but a US channel decided to pick up the series, hence the odd transatlantic story line. Captain Jack first appeared as a bit-part in a Dr Who episode as a vanity character for Russel T Davies (who is as gay as a fluttering silk hanky). John Barrowman (who plays Cpt Jack) is not acting when he plays the part either lol. I'm not keen of this series the first two were episodic in nature so you got some good ones and not so good ones, as this is a serial and they've got a rather naff story line, I don't think we will see a fourth series unless it picks up towards the end.

[Gawen]

I've only watched two episodes of Falling Skies but have a bunch of promotional crap from them because Klout keeps mailing it to me.  I checked today and there are two more episodes up online...I'm not that into it but will probably watch the rest of the season just because it's available online and I enjoy B movies.  I think the series would have worked better condensed down into one movie and with a little more thought put into the details...instead of so much thought put into marketing.

Falling Skies has the best potential of the two, I think. It could have a decent run once it gets its steam up and the actors develop the characters...and the writers pull their fingers out. With shows like this, well, consider Battlestar Galactica 2003; where the humans run and fight the bad guys, FS humans run and fight the enemy. There's only so many seasons where BSG ran and fought and FS can run and fight until it turns into another A team. A few seasons of this is ok, but then you're left with the seemingly melodramatic character development story lines that ruined Star Trek's TNG final season or ruined Star Treks entire Voyager series.

FS as it is, is for me totally incredulous for a number of reasons. The resistance and partisan units during WWII are much more credible and Spielberg should have taken into account from history not so many years ago. But those with no military background may not see the terrible discrepancies and illogic I see and the show might be quite entertaining for them.

[Gawen]

/quote]
Love your review! Torchwood is a Dr Who spin-off that had two series in the UK. They couldn't get funding for the third series in the UK but a US channel decided to pick up the series, hence the odd transatlantic story line. Captain Jack first appeared as a bit-part in a Dr Who episode as a vanity character for Russel T Davies (who is as gay as a fluttering silk hanky). John Barrowman (who plays Cpt Jack) is not acting when he plays the part either lol. I'm not keen of this series the first two were episodic in nature so you got some good ones and not so good ones, as this is a serial and they've got a rather naff story line, I don't think we will see a fourth series unless it picks up towards the end.

I didn't know this was a Dr. Who spinoff...probably because I'm not a Who fan. But this show is so bad I honestly didn't know where to start picking at it. After 4 episodes to break us in, I can't be bothered to find out why people who are totally burnt or heads ripped off bodies don't die. One would think a TV show with Bill Pullman in it would have some promise, but no.

I dislike these shows for different reasons. But Torchwood is the worse of them. With the exception of Pullman, the acting is atrocious and the characters are totally ridiculous. Just one example: The Capt. Jack character constantly says the Torchwood members (there are four) must stay together, that they're on a mission. But the first time he see's a gay bar he thinks with his dick and leaves the group for a night of sex. While at the SAME time the CIA agent runs off to have a woman doctor rebandage him and also a night of sex AFTER he breaks into the doctors house. Really?

These two shows are of potential epic quality. The only thing epic in them is 'epic fail'.

[Gawen]

Thanks for the compliment too, Tank. I had forgotten my manners...*sheepish grin*

[Tank]

Thanks for the compliment too, Tank. I had forgotten my manners...*sheepish grin*

lol! 

[Sweetdeath]

I couldnt get into Falling skies myself.  My uncle watches it religiously, and I sat down last Sunday to check it out.

It's definitely unbelievable. I don't know why it got such rave reviews. I think it's all hype, jyst like Glee.  Man, I hate Glee...

Isn't Torchwood jusy a crappy American remake of the British ver?

[Tank]

Isn't Torchwood jusy a crappy American remake of the British ver?

Correct. It was quite good in its UK incarnation.

[Sweetdeath]

Isn't Torchwood jusy a crappy American remake of the British ver?

Correct. It was quite good in its UK incarnation.

Ah, I see.  I'm not usually a fan of remakes.

[Tank]

Isn't Torchwood jusy a crappy American remake of the British ver?

Correct. It was quite good in its UK incarnation.

Ah, I see.  I'm not usually a fan of remakes.

The one good one that springs to mind is Battlestar Galactica, absolute shite the first time around, absolutly brilliant in the remake.

[Crow]

Ah, I see.  I'm not usually a fan of remakes.

Totally agree I recently watched the US remake of Shameless and it was awful totally lost its charm of the original which was the only thing it had going for it. I do prefer the US version of The Office though.

[Ragnar]

I never bothered with Torchwood.  I was turned off by the fact that its a Dr Who spin off.  Dr Who is ok, but I wouldn't give it much more than that.

Recently watched Game of Thrones, the series started well, but by the end of it, and after looking at how many books are in the series, and how big they are, it appears to me that it will turn into an unending soap opera.

It looks like a good story that got out of hand for some reason, and the author has spent the rest of his life trying to tie up the loose ends. 

[Crow]

I never bothered with Torchwood.  I was turned off by the fact that its a Dr Who spin off.  Dr Who is ok, but I wouldn't give it much more than that.

Recently watched Game of Thrones, the series started well, but by the end of it, and after looking at how many books are in the series, and how big they are, it appears to me that it will turn into an unending soap opera.

It looks like a good story that got out of hand for some reason, and the author has spent the rest of his life trying to tie up the loose ends. 

I really enjoyed the series as well, made me purchase all the books so far, the story gets stronger in the books 'A Clash of Kings' and 'A Storm of Swords' (both parts) but the pacing changes into the 4th volume its not bad just different and as equally interesting and feels like a book in the series. The latest book really isn't as good and quite a chore to read through which left me not giving a rats ass about any of the characters by the end, if the next book gets similar reviews to 'A Dance with Dragons' I will give it a miss.