Torchwood - S01E06 - Countrycide - 11/19/06

[Pralix]

The title is a great play on words. I also love the music they played at the beginning. Very fitting.

The Torchwood theme music also sounds like it is a cross of the music from Pi and Requiem For A Dream.

[tirofiban]

Torchwood separate from the Government, outside the Police, beyond the SciFi Channel. :D

Ok, there's a lot I didn't see coming in this one:

1) Owen & Gwen :eek: (How long do you think it will last?)

2) Everyone listens to Jack (A new Torchwood record!)

3) The cause of all the countrycides. (When I think of English country, I think Yorkshire, All Creatures Great and Small. I would have never thought of this.)

4) Don't give Jack a hard time when he's interrogating you.

5) Jack can shoot!

Overall I liked this episode. The camping scenes were good, featuring light-hearted bonding among team members. But, this was a frightening episode. Not a good one to watch if you're eating dinner. And there was no alien tech on this one. But, the preview for next week looks really good. :up:

When the SUV got stolen, I was kind of expecting Jack to use his Torchwood wristban and recall the SUV.

So, what exactly did the villager whisper to Gwen? I couldn't make it out, something about "being fun"?

Don't forget only about a month until Season 3 of our favorite Doctor! :D

[Pralix]

[QUOTE=tirofiban]

So, what exactly did the villager whisper to Gwen? I couldn't make it out, something about "being fun"?

I heard him say:

"Because it makes me happy"

[Rob Helmerichs]

"Because it makes me happy"
I was kind of hoping she would put one between his eyes. "Huh. Doesn't make me happy, but it DOES make me feel a LITTLE better..."

[bustergonad]

Yep, that was a wierd episode.

Roy

[RoundBoy]

Ohh.... is that Janey from 'My Family' next week ?

[tirofiban]

Now that there are 6 episodes, I noticed some fan videos are popping up on YouTube.

This one isn't half bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgjvYMCiuGU

And it includes scenes from all the episodes to date, including Countrycide.

Plus, it was done by a 16-year-old! I'm getting old. I have trouble putting my home videos onto DVD. :)

[cheesesteak]

That was super creepy. They need a vacation after that.

Gwen and Owen? Bleeeeccccchhhh!!!! Patoooey!!!! Ewwwwwwww!!!!

Jack Bauer would have killed everybody. Capt. Jack was entirely too nice by just winging them.

[dswallow]

I really haven't seen any improvement since the 3rd episode; each has been getting progressively worse, with this latest one being the current rock bottom. I guess I was just expecting something better after the 2-part premiere and third episode.

I suppose I'll keep watching for now... probably only a testament to how good I thought the first 3 hours of the show were.

[Idearat]

I really haven't seen any improvement since the 3rd episode; each has been getting progressively worse, with this latest one being the current rock bottom. I guess I was just expecting something better after the 2-part premiere and third episode.

I suppose I'll keep watching for now... probably only a testament to how good I thought the first 3 hours of the show were.


I'm afraid I have to agree, the trend has definitely been in the wrong direction. In the world where Torchwood exists, I could see them getting led into something that wasn't exterrestrial in origin, but that shouldn't warrant a whole show. These were just garden variety whackos who could have been on Wire in the Blood or Murder Prevention Unit.
I'll keep tuned in, but I'm really hoping they get back to level of the first few episodes.

[Agatha Mystery]

I liked it. Keeps you guessing as to what the cause is. It's not like they can tell what is human and what is alien all the time. That's not realistic. Goes to reason that they'd screw up sometimes.

[Rob Helmerichs]

I liked it. Keeps you guessing as to what the cause is. It's not like they can tell what is human and what is alien all the time. That's not realistic. Goes to reason that they'd screw up sometimes.
And the point that we can screw each other over in much more disgusting ways than mere aliens and interdimensional travelers is a valid one, I'd say...

[Agatha Mystery]

What I don't understand is why Gwen can't share some of the stuff with her boyfriend. It's not like she's been told she can't. "It all changes" around that time, more evidence of alien activity keeps showing up. There shouldn't be an issue with him knowing they exist and that she investigates it.

That said, aside from Owen being creepy, I can understand her turning to him. However, Toshiko likes him. She's upset that Gwen was attracted to him. The fact that Toshiko hadn't kissed anyone since Christmas, and it was Owen that she kissed means something. The fact that she was annoyed that Gwen had kissed him almost immediately meant that her kiss meant nothing.

[Rob Helmerichs]

What I don't understand is why Gwen can't share some of the stuff with her boyfriend. It's not like she's been told she can't.
It's possible that she HAS been told that, and they just didn't bother telling us because that's always the way it is with secret government agencies (at least on television; in the absence of direct evidence, I take it on faith that members of real world secret government agencies also aren't allowed to talk about their work).

[cheesesteak]

How did Gwen explain her shotgun pellet wounds to her boyfriend? She may be sleeping with the icky, nasty Owen but she does live with Whatshisname.

The one thing that bugs me about this show is that the Torchwood employees are about as professional as the Ghostbusters. They continually do what Jack tells them not to do and now Tosh is all bent out of shape because Owen snogged Gwen. Pretty childish for people with as grave a responsibility as they have.

[Agatha Mystery]

I just keep cracking up whenever they rush into rooms with their guns. They are all so awkward with it. :D

[tirofiban]

I just keep cracking up whenever they rush into rooms with their guns. They are all so awkward with it. :D

Very true, but, it's part of the show's charm. You know it wasn't filmed and produced in L.A. I love it.

[prefect42]

Very true, but, it's part of the show's charm. You know it wasn't filmed and produced in L.A. I love it.

Plus I think it is a testament to the actors. None of these characters, aside from Jack and Gwen, are cops or soldiers. They are scientists, even Gwen was the stereotypical English cop who didn't carry a gun before. So really Jack is the only person that has true training and experience with guns, the others just have Jack's quick and dirty training course if that.

[doom1701]

I think this was one of the better episodes I've caught so far (haven't been able to get episode 5 to work yet; keeps blowing up 8 minutes in). Ironic how it was just humans after all.

I understood where they were going with Gwen (sad it had to go that way, but it makes sense)--but I think the transformation would have been much better had she blew that guy's brains across the floor after he told her "It makes me happy".

[sonnik]

I just keep cracking up whenever they rush into rooms with their guns. They are all so awkward with it. :D

You know, I've been wondering how the "gun" glamorization has been playing to the U.K. audience.

[NJChris]

Just watched it. I think the shows are pretty good. I liked this one and the homage to texas chainsaw with him chasing her in the woods. :)

[SnakeEyes]

You know, I've been wondering how the "gun" glamorization has been playing to the U.K. audience.

I wondered the same thing when watching episode three with Gwen being trained to shoot. I loved that scene.

[kmccbf]

The one thing that bugs me about this show is that the Torchwood employees are about as professional as the Ghostbusters. They continually do what Jack tells them not to do and now Tosh is all bent out of shape because Owen snogged Gwen. Pretty childish for people with as grave a responsibility as they have.

Personally, I think the Ghostbusters were a little more professional.

Still I like the series so far. I liked this one better than I've like the first first ones. It kept me guessing as to the nature of the killers and the cast is beginning to get a real feel for the nature of their parts. It's fair that they were involved. They were apparently aware of an alien that caused disappearance.

I'm looking forward to seeing the next one, it look like it has the potential to be really good.

[busyba]

I just keep cracking up whenever they rush into rooms with their guns. They are all so awkward with it. :D
What bugged me was that Gwen was walking around with her gun sticking in her back pocket. I'm no gun expert, but that strikes me as an extremely poor way to carry your sidearm. Am I right?

[Sherminator]

The problem for those who didn't like / didn't this episode, is that they most likely have never seen the BBC2 TV dark comedy series The League Of Gentlemen (http://www.tv.com/the-league-of-gentlemen/show/1873/summary.html?q=The%20League%20of%20Gentlemen&tag=search_results;title;0). Which Mark Gatiss starred in and wrote for.

Whilst Gatiss is not credited for anything in "Countrycide", this episode reeks of references to The League Of Gentlemen, whose 1st episode involves a nephew of a resident of the village of Royston Vasey (which incidently is the true name of Yorkshire bawdy comic Roy 'Chubby' Brown, who played the Mayor later on in the show's 3-year run), entering the local grocery store is murdered for not being 'Local'.

This episode is also similar to a short story from one the horror compilation movies which were popular during the late `70's / early `80's, where a couple breakdown on a british highway, and in search of help, walk through fog to a nearby village only to find it occupied by "ghouls" (people who need to eat human flesh & organs to survive), who escape through the fog, and flag down an approaching bus only to find themselves in that villages meat wagon.

Overall an exciting episode for those who got the references.