The latest batch of BBC Vintage Beeb releases (the third), wherein BBC LPs/tapes of the 1970s are reissued on CD, in some cases for the first time, includes another outing for Genesis of the Daleks. This is its fourth release; following the original LP/cassette release in 1979, the BBC Radio Collection double cassette pairing with Slipback in 1988 and the expanded CD release of 2001 paired with Exploration Earth.

I have two problems with the Vintage Beeb range. The first concerns the very concept of a 'Vinyl replica'. Now to me, like a lot of people, this means a faithful replica of the original album sleeve in cardboard. This is something that the Japanese have been doing with albums for nearly twenty years; releasing faithful reproductions of many albums in exact detail with gatefold sleeves, embossed sleeves, cut outs, inserts etc. Even with some EMI albums of the early 1980s they have exactly replicated the paper inner bag complete with the "home taping is killing music" logo and slogan! (Apologies for those readers under forty for which this will mean nothing. But believe me it shows attention to detail!)

Unfortunately to BBC Audio/AudioGo, 'Vinyl replica' just means a reissue of a title onto CD in a standard jewel case but now with the original sleeve artwork/photo used on the booklet and a black CD. The latter is a nice gimmick, but it hardly makes the release a replica!

The second problem is that whilst we are seeing some long unavailable albums such as I’m Sorry I’ll read that Again released onto CD, this range still contains a number of titles previously released on CD as part of the BBC Radio Collection. Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Magic Roundabout and Genesis of the Daleksto name but three. The question on a lot of peoples’ lips is "When are we going to see a CD release for the themes albums that were a mainstay of the BBC Records and Tapes range of the 1970s?" I would dearly love a re-mastered copy of 1979’s BBC Space Themes as my original tape is showing its age... but then it is thirty years old! I suppose the problem here is that is easier to clear the rights for BBC shows, rather than music collections.

I remember buying the original release of Genesis of the Daleks back in 1979, when it was timed to coincide with the screening of Destiny of the Daleks. At the time it was hoped that it would be the start of a series, but despite being a consistent seller it was sometime before we got a range of Doctor Who audio releases!

Even now, Tom Baker’s opening line "I stepped from the TARDIS onto a bleak planet..." is as great a hook as ever, drawing the listener in to a breakneck version of the original TV story. Although the ensuing argument with the Time Lord about interrupting a transmat beam jars somewhat! The linking narration fits very well, filling in the gaps of story inherent in condensing a six-part TV story down to under an hour’s worth of LP. And Tom’s reading is superb, as we move from one memorable scene to the next. Only being an hour long, such a short version should not work; but it does and all credit to Derek Groom who produced it back in 1979.

There is one difference to the original audio release though. That annoying jump cut at the end of side two of the original LP, wherein the theme cuts in halfway through the Dalek’s closing line resulting in "we will take our rightful place as the supreme power of the univer", has been rectified in line with the previous CD release, so you now get "universe" in all its glory. Whether this is a good thing or bad, I leave to individual choice!

Despite problems with presentation, to quote Destiny of the Daleks, "Its what’s on the inside that matters." This is still a very valid release and heartily recommended for two reasons. Firstly, it does reproduce the original 1979 release complete with end of side one cliff-hanger. And secondly, it can be ordered online for not much over Ј4, making it very good value!

Since its return Doctor Who has gone to great pains to show us the money. Huge, sweeping alien vistas, strange new races and intergalactic space stations, but every so often we're reminded about the ordinary scariness of the everyday.

With Night Terrors Mark Gatiss takes the story of a seemingly ordinary little boy who is afraid of the monsters in his wardrobe and brings his characteristic flair for the macabre to the proceedings. The episode is wonderfully atmospheric, with lingering shots of cracks in doors and long, empty hallways ramping up the tension to almost unbearable levels. The decision to set the episode in what Amy wonderfully calls "Planet Eastenders" was a brilliant one, an air of urban menace pervades the show, the people on the estate live in their own little boxes, deep down as terrified of their own surroundings and the "monsters" as little George is.

As well as the atmospherics of the show, the other stand out must be the guest performance from Daniel Mays, most recently the best thing in the otherwise forgettable "Outcasts" he turns in another excellent showing as a Dad at the end of his tether with his son. He provides an excellent counterpoint to a typically mile-a-minute Doctor who was also on great form. In another nod to Who tradition Amy and Rory are largely separated from the main action, with an nice little acknowledgement to the audience as Rory wonders if hes dead yet again! 

This is a very simple tale, I feel a more than a few will find it too simple for them, the story itself is very reminiscent of Who episodes like Blink and Fear Her with the dolls immediately bringing to my mind the Clockwork Droids of The Girl In The Fireplace. The old standard explanation of "the perception filter" is wheeled out for another airing, the formally clever idea is now getting slightly worn out with over use. While it was nice to get away from the River Song story line for an episode, I found it a little irritating that they felt the need to shoe horn in a shot of the Doctor's death date, as if it would have slipped the viewers mind in the intervening week. That being said I feel that conversely some fans will find the lack of River Song action just as irritating.

Overall I personally found the change of pace refreshing, the direction of the episode really allowed the ideas to breathe and allowed the viewer to reflect on what was happening on screen. After the frenetic pace of Lets Kill Hitler a return to a good old slow burn horror story shows off the versatility and range of Doctor Who. At the end of the day The Doctor came to town, saved a family and was magnificent in doing so and rather brilliantly I think theres going to be more than a few kids refusing to go to bed on Saturday night.

As it should be.

A team dynamic has returned.

When Torchwood first hit television, it was described as Jack’s spinoff. But by the end of the first episode, the audience knew the show would focus on the Torchwood team, not just Jack. The previous two episodes ofMiracle Day were lacking because there was no team dynamic. We had Gwen and Jack, and Rex and Esther. These four are now finally working on the same side, along with Dr. Vera Juarez.

Though a team dynamic has returned, the team dynamic has not. Jack, Gwen, Toshiko, Owen, Ianto - these five worked together as friends and with trust. The new ‘team’ formed from necessity, and is rightfully on very shaky ground. We see Rex challenge Jack’s leadership, ultimately deferring to him but then walking away and later returning. Esther grapples with her lack of experience and self-confidence, echoing Gwen’s first episodes of uncertainty at her ability to do the job. Jack, though a leader to Rex and Esther, defers to Gwen. And Gwen takes the most leadership, at a level of self-confidence not before seen in the show. 

Jack and Gwen’s semi-role reversal finally gives insight into Jack. He’s mortal for the first time in thousands of years, and he wants to enjoy it, revelling in discomfort and hilariously even a hangover. But more than his mortality, he’s letting Gwen into his life. Instead of putting up a strong front as the sole leader of the group, he acknowledges (and she also interrupts and reminds him) that she’s competent and knows what she’s doing. In doing so, he also acknowledges that he’s not ‘okay’ from the events of Children of Earth. As he reveals the lasting effects of that finale, it leads to one of the best scenes in the show so far: Jack’s confrontation with Danes.

Danes is creepy and disturbing, and his description of how much he enjoyed raping and murdering the young girl left me feeling legitimately disgusted. He assumed Jack was like him, and just watching Jack’s expression change from one of anger to guilt and then to revulsion was disarming. Danes reveled in the murder of a child, and Jack listened with first-hand experience. Jack expected a monster and he found one. Of all the people affected by the Miracle, this man is the one becoming the next Jesus-like cult leader, deceiving foolish and desperate people looking for some kind of sense in the world. We now see his role in the show, and it’s one hell of a social commentary that I can’t wait to see progress.

But this conversation with Danes also revealed how fragile Jack has become. Not that he’s close to breaking or no longer being the Jack we all know and love - that would be a ridiculous cop-out. He has thousands of years of experience and is an impossibly strong person. Regardless of the horrible choices he’s had to make, he’s still the hero who will save the day. Yet all those years weigh on his shoulders and soul, and before that didn’t matter, because he had to keep going. But now things have changed - Jack is mortal. The writers are emphasizing his mortality not by just his actions - like ignoring the world for a night of sex - but also through his emotional exhaustion - his heartbreaking phone call to Gwen. I think they’re foreshadowing how he will deal with the Miracle at the end of the season. Because Jack saw himself in Danes; he saw a man with a deathwish.

As for the plot, it continues to unfold at a slow pace, throwing a bone or two to the audience each episode. PhiCorp either caused the Miracle or knew about it and chose not to tell anyone. And why? For profit. They’re pushing their agenda for a world with no drug prescriptions, pushing it via Danes and a terrified populace, with drugs stockpiled using Timelord technology.

I’m still waiting for the shocks and twists bound to appear that will make this quintessentially Torchwood, and find myself impatient at the tantalizing speed of the storytelling. This story is much slower than the other seasons, and it allows for more analysis of the affects of the plot - like Danes’ being noticed and attacked by two people and then picked up and beaten by the police, the cult with the masks, and a night full of sex for some and work and uncertainty for others. The slower storytelling creates more attachment to the plot through the characters, and hopefully wont cause the episodes to become boring as the story progresses.

But what of the growing team dynamic? Rex and Vera are ‘not strictly professional’ while Esther pines after him. Jack is trying to become closer to Gwen while she’s more focused on the Miracle and her family. Esther will hopefully come into her own as she faces new challenges, perhaps with the guidance of the obviously-impatient and frustrated Gwen. Rex continues to deal with his constant pain, and grapples with essentially being a solo agent, no longer tied to the CIA, an organization he’s dedicated his life to. And Vera attempts to find solutions for this entire mess, getting roped into Torchwood through her role as a surgeon and her access to PhiCorp. Jack and Gwen’s partnership carries the direction and expertise of the group, but the other three contribute, trying to make sense of the new world with their own respective skills. The five have the potential to recreate Torchwood, but as of yet have not succeeded. There are essentially two members of Torchwood, and three trainees. 

They’re not a team yet, but they’re becoming one.

s episode was also strong, but moreso in characters than in plot. Plot-wise, the mystery continues to be revealed tantalizingly a piece at a time, and this episode didn’t reveal enough to satisfy my curiosity. Very little was explained about the plot - only that PhiCorp is being run by some invisible force and creating overflow camps for the undead who wont heal. Because the plot of the episode mostly focused around a mission that ended with a cop-out shot-just-before-he-could-say-the-name-of-the-bad-guys moment, the episode felt like filler.

Thankfully Danes’ storyline saved the day and continued its progression from disturbing to extremely disturbing. The entire ‘Dead Is Dead’ campaign was a fascinating example of the perspective people could take to the Miracle. Danes’ choice to go into the hospital and set himself up as a messiah-like figure for the despondent injured and ill was a perfect counter to Ellis Monroe’s campaign and values. Watching him inspire hope in people was downright creepy. I can’t wait to see his role as the messiah of the Miracle unfold.

Jilly’s sheer joy at his actions was fun comic relief - she knows PR, and true to her profession, she loves it when someone pull a good PR play. Her scene where she tells Danes how much she can’t stand him, especially to even look at his hands, was a great piece of character development for her. Up until now she’s just been this agent with no soul or personal opinion and completely focused on the job. That moment reminded the audience that though she’s working for PhiCorp and on the ground level of the Miracle, she’s still just a puppet and not at the top of the foodchain, a very human puppet who knows exactly what she’s doing. Though she might be the ‘devil walking the earth’, she still has some morals, just ones she sets aside for her job.

As an American, I’d like to make note that mayor Monroe was part of the Tea Party. Oh Russell T. Davies. That man loves to knock on America’s right side of politics and glorify its left. Cases in point: the stupidity of President Winters in the season 3 finale of Doctor Who (granted, everyone mocks him) and President Obama’s plan that would have saved the world from financial crisis in the final David Tennant Doctor Who specials. Though it makes a lot of sense for someone of the Tea Party to come up with a campaign like ‘Dead Is Dead’ since it relies on a fairly religious fundamentalist view of the world, I just find it funny to see Davies’ ongoing biases in his TV writing. I’m completely fine with his bias - he’s not a journalist, and since I love his writing that means I want to see his biases since those are quintessentially a part of his writing. I just find them funny since they’re so blatant and don’t actually need to be in Doctor Who and Torchwood at all for the sake of the stories.

Going back to the episode, I also loved the character development we gained with Rex and Esther, especially because the focus was on family. Rex visited his father because he’s scared, though he wont show the rest of Torchwood. He should have died and he knows it, and he wanted to hear, “I love you son and everything is going to be okay.” Instead his father was still just angry, refusing the olive branch and hammering another nail into the coffin of his relationship with Rex. Rex tells his father that he died, and his father doesn’t care - Rex’s expression after that moment was just so sad. And Esther’s decision to report her sister, Sarah, to child services was equally heart wrenching, especially when it led to her sister’s children being taken away. It was a hard choice with unexpected repercussions, and the actress and the writers portrayed this very well. 

These back stories are continuing a running theme in this season of Torchwood - family. Along with Rex’s father and Esther’s sister, Gwen is willing for Rhys to put himself and Anwen in danger to protect her father, and then her father becomes tied into the plot as he’s sent to one of the overflow camps. This family life even extends into the mission, with Esther placing the whole Torchwood team in danger by visiting her sister’s house in person and then becoming an emotional wreck due to her phone call to child services, and Gwen actually talking to Rhys on the phone in the middle of the mission. All this presence of family brings the Miracle and the nature of Torchwood home - though all this is a ‘big picture’ issue ultimately it affects people, and though the Torchwood team might have to act like spies and super heroes, they’re still people who at the end of the day have families.

But this presence of family also highlights Jack’s lack thereof, made even more jarring in the hilarious but also bittersweet scene where Jack and Gwen pretend to be an obnoxious couple to gain the biometrics of Nicolas Frumkin, the PhiCorp engineer. Watching them hold hands was a sad moment of what might have been. Jack has no personal stake left in this world, except Gwen. This focus on family is again showing Jack’s isolation. It’s setting up whether or not he wants to die.

Torchwood is taking advantage of its longer time-frame.

With 10 episodes, 50 minutes each, instead of the usual 45 minutes for a ‘monster of the week’ or the miniseries of Children of Earth, we finally get to see not only the action of the plot but also its greater ramifications for both the Earth and the characters.

Rendition continued exploring the Miracle into the extent of its world-impact. This isn’t just the Torchwood team trying to save the Earth from a threat only they know about. This isn't Doctor Who where only the Doctor and maybe his companions can save the day. The Miracle is affecting the whole world, and that means the world’s best minds are going at the issue because everyone has a stake in what has happened.

That’s why I loved Dr. Juarez’s scene where she reverses triage. She understands how few resources her hospital has when nobody can die, and she realizes that a doctor’s most lacking commodity - time - is no longer an issue. This extends into her attendance at the panel, where we realize that illnesses will soon become resistant to drugs, and the most in-demand drugs will be painkillers. Logical steps like these turn Torchwood into good science fiction, which discusses how people deal with new issues and what ramifications those issues have on culture and resources.

The cultural aspect is prominent through Danes. The use of social media, ranging from the Twitter hashtag #forgive to memes about Danes’ failed execution like the Youtube video ‘what did you do?’, show why Danes is a character at all. As Esther says, “It’s the miracle made visible.” But she also comments on another interesting development: reconciliation between India and Pakistan, going completely against how she thought those cultures would react. It’s details like these that I hope the show continues to include, because they are what set it apart from a fun and dark ‘scifi’ action show into something that really analyzes human behavior and comments on society.

Gwen and Jack’s interactions continue to be a highlight of the show I love Gwen’s conflicting feelings of anger at Jack for leaving and for then returning, her fear for her family, and her relief and joy at having Jack and all the action of Torchwood back in her life. The entire scene where Jack is poisoned and Gwen, Rex, Juarez, and the flight staff work to save his life was just, simply put, well done. Her concern for Jack and her utter refusal to let him die are characteristic of how much stronger Gwen has become as a person since she first joined Torchwood.

Jack is still as cocky and in-control as always, which make his interactions with Rex a welcome comic relief. He is also finally being open with Gwen, as shown in one of my favorite dialogue exchanges in the episode:

Jack: A long way away.

Jack just looks away, and doesn’t try to lie to Gwen and say that he’s fine. He’s no longer portraying himself to be the unshakable leader when he’s with Gwen, which shows how much their relationship has grown.

Also, point of interest: Jack’s guess about morphic fields causing the Miracle (confirmed by the CIA’s response of attempted assassination) is actually from the conjectures of the real scientist Rupert Sheldrake: http://www.sheldrake.org/Articles&Papers/papers/morphic/morphic_intro.html

I’m very excited to see how the writers take Sheldrake’s ideas and make them real for the show.

So far, Torchwood continues to be a strong show with a good mix of plot, characters, and action. The chase scene when Esther escaped from the CIA, the moments where Rex stared at himself in the bathroom mirror on the plane and questions again why he was still alive, and Danes’ disturbing breakdown of ‘I’m sorry’ on national television are all examples of continuing strong scenes in the show. I also love the bones the writers keep throwing at the new audience to hint at information only previous Torchwood fans would really know, especially in regards to Jack’s immortality, like when he says he had a boyfriend in the 1800s who used arsenic. The plot is progressing by revealing a bit each episode, and it’s fun to keep the mystery going. The new information in this episode - the morphic field, the oscillating level of life, and the fact that people are still aging - is all intriguing and I can't wait to see what is revealed next.

But of the two new characters, I only like PR rep Jilly Kitzinger. She is sly, developing the plot, and downright creepy with her smile and business cards. She’s interesting. On the other hand, Rex’s old love interest, CIA agent Lyn Peterfield, is too stereotypical to keep my interest. She’s exactly what you’d expect from a high-security-clearance CIA agent. And her ‘death’ was too camp - I felt like I was watching a zombie horror film when she walked toward the car with her head twisted around. Although she gets points for another really disturbing Torchwood moment.

Another issue I had with the episode was the gay flight attendant, Danny. I felt like every joke centered around him fell short. The jokes themselves felt juvenile, and at the least should have involved Jack flirting with Danny. Humor, usually very dark, is part of Torchwood, and it would be wrong not to have comic relief throughout an episode. But a character like Danny highlights an issue with longer stories. With a short length and time limit, writing has to be tight. Every word must count. But when a story becomes longer, and without the pressing need to make every moment necessary, quality can be lost. I felt like that’s what happened with Danny.

It’s wonderful for the story to not feel rushed. Scenes are longer, letting us see more nuances in the characters facial expressions and mannerisms, like Danes’ slight and sly smiles, and the beats between Jack and Gwen that are always filled with either silent communication or unspoken emotions. The full story gets to unfold in the style of a very long movie, allowing for a slower and more comfortable evolution of the plot as well as more character development. Hopefully this freedom in length wont diminish the quality of the show.

ally, an episode that 100% felt like Torchwood - a strong story and strong characters, along with a horrifying plot development.

Now we see another part of PhiCorp’s plan. It’s taking a chapter from the book of World War II: people receiving categories to define their life and furnaces to deal with the most unwanted. But knowing what little we know of PhiCorp, controlling the healthcare of practically all humans through the overflow camps might not be for the simple reasons of money and power. With the cryptic mentions of who controls the company, along with the Time Lord technology stockpiling the pain medication, this points to something more than just typical human greed. But whether it’s an alien influence, or humans with access to alien technology, has yet to be seen. The more interesting aspect is that the rest of the world, in a time of crisis, is willing to go along with PhiCorp’s plan, stick their heads in the sand, and not ask questions. It’s a classic Russell T Davies social commentary on the evils any person can perform. 

The final reveal of the horrors of the overflow camps centered around Vera’s murder, which was about as horrifying as Torchwood gets. Since people don’t die, presumably ever, she would have been aware and conscious up until the point her brain was ash, if not longer. And Rex could only stand outside and watch, and film. Her death was also wonderfully gutsy, and well done. Her arrogance at assuming she would be allowed to walk out of the overflow camp after threatening to prosecute, and then disbelief at getting shot, was good writing and good acting. 

I didn’t think Torchwood would kill anyone off this early in Miracle Day, but the writers went ahead and took the plunge. It’s not bad or good - Torchwood has a habit of doing this and as long as they don’t actually kill off anyone from the first three seasons I’m past the point of caring. It will be interesting to see how Vera’s murder warps Rex, especially if he blames Esther and Jack for letting Vera join the mission, and what he does with the video footage. If viewers had any hope for Vera still being alive, Jane Espenson comments via her Twitter account: "burning means you really really are dead".

As for the rest of the episode, no complaints. Jack anticipated Danes’ true wish of wanting to die, and got it wrong. Danes’ speech and the crowd’s disturbingly supportive response was an expected continuation of his plotline. I really like how they’re tying Jack and Danes together, and it will be interesting to see how Jack ultimately deals with Danes, or possibly vice versa. Gwen’s slapdash run-in-and-rescue approach with her father hurt rather than saved him, and for all of Gwen’s self-confidence and experience, she still has to learn to look further ahead at the consequences of her actions.

This was a good episode, and I look forward to the next.