Torchwood: Miracle Day "End Of The Road" 8/26/2011

1401 Views 17 Replies 10 Participants Last post by wprager, Aug 30, 2011

cheesesteak

Discussion Starter · Aug 27, 2011

Two good episodes in a row. I didn't think they had it in them.

That was a short lived ST:TNG reunion. I like John de Lancie character. I'm so glad Friedken is gone.

CIA woman is part of the Family? That can't be good.

What's with deporting Gwen? Yeah, she's a mouthy pain in the ass but she's useful. Does Eve Myles have a visa that only allows her to work in the US for a couple of weeks at a time or something?

Danes was Category 0 to me from the get go.

Jilly was like a wild animal when she attacked Danes. I guess she just got tired of his sh*t.

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

danterner

· #2 · Aug 27, 2011

Apart from a couple of minor production errors that took me out of the moment*, this was another good episode.

*1. When they were keeping the cell phone connection active, there was one point where Esther actually ended the call, complete with a beep sound effect to demonstrate the call ended. Meanwhile, Rex was still inside with his open and active phone.

2. Right after Jack explains that if you take away the Alpha plate the null field will be disabled, he pockets the plate disabling the field. But then he says "good luck" to Rex, who is just outside the field, and his lips move soundlessly as though the field were still active.

Anubys

· #3 · Aug 27, 2011

he just mouthed good luck...

Rob Helmerichs

· #4 · Aug 27, 2011

Anubys said:
he just mouthed good luck...

That was how I justified it, although they used the same sonic tricks they used to show the damping field earlier...

Maybe more a sound-editor mistake than a writer mistake.

wprager

· #5 · Aug 28, 2011

Can anyone explain what this episode was about? I fell asleep half way through, rewound it and re-watched again, but I'm still wondering what was going on (and why).

So Nerys and Newman get killed off just like that? They were just stunt casting?

What the hell was that thing under the bed -- a cone of silence or a transmitter? Why did it have to be both?

Did he really need to have that "moment" with Angelo, telling him about Ianto and how he would like him but be jealous?

How long were they on their hands and knees talking (in silence) without anyone noticing something peculiar? And then Jack just grabs the plate and hides it in his *FRONT POCKET*?

What kind of alien technology is it that Jack simply knows which plate to remove, or that it's even that simple to remove it?

This show runs for 1:10 but it could (should?) have been edited down to about 40 minutes without losing anything important.

In many ways this is worse than making it up as they go along.

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busyba

· #6 · Aug 28, 2011

danterner said:
2. Right after Jack explains that if you take away the Alpha plate the null field will be disabled, he pockets the plate disabling the field. But then he says "good luck" to Rex, who is just outside the field, and his lips move soundlessly as though the field were still active.

The field took time to dissipate. Like a capacitor discharging.[/fanwank]

Rob Helmerichs

· #7 · Aug 28, 2011

wprager said:
What the hell was that thing under the bed -- a cone of silence or a transmitter? Why did it have to be both?

It was a field generator that canceled out the "morphic field" that keeps people from dying.

Jack modified it to create the cone of silence so he could talk in secret to his companions. He could do that because he's, like, totally awesome and stuff.

Jeeters

· #8 · Aug 28, 2011

wprager said:
This show runs for 1:10 but it could (should?) have been edited down to about 40 minutes without losing anything important.

The episode I watched ran for 54 minutes.

tiassa

· #9 · Aug 28, 2011

Here's my problem with this ep -- there are 2 episodes left, and there are a LOT of threads that need to be wound up IMHO they are going to have to a King sized rabbit out of their hat to wind everything up at once, or leave some pretty major threads hanging. I know the latter leaves us open for "Torchwood on Stars, season 2" but I still think this isn't going to be a satisfying ending

Jeeters said:
The episode I watched ran for 54 minutes.

Mine too

cheesesteak said:
What's with deporting Gwen? Yeah, she's a mouthy pain in the ass but she's useful. Does Eve Myles have a visa that only allows her to work in the US for a couple of weeks at a time or something?

You do realize that the entire show (including the parts in "Wales") is shot in California, right? In fact I'd be willing to guess that the set for the concentration camp in California was the same one (shot at night and from different angles) as the one in Wales.

cheesesteak said:
Jilly was like a wild animal when she attacked Danes. I guess she just got tired of his sh*t.

I think she was long since tired of his s**t, and the request for a hooker was the last straw

tiassa

· #10 · Aug 28, 2011

wprager said:
So Nerys and Newman get killed off just like that? They were just stunt casting?

Maybe they are fans of the show (or Doctor Who), and did it for a lark. Maybe they needed the work, could be any number of reasons.

wprager said:
What the hell was that thing under the bed -- a cone of silence or a transmitter? Why did it have to be both?

I think it was a "Total field Dampener" and got turned on when Jack approached the bed, that showed us that the Miracle has some roots in technology, and that Angelo knew some parts of how it was created.

wprager said:
Did he really need to have that "moment" with Angelo, telling him about Ianto and how he would like him but be jealous?

People say stupid things at the deathbed of a loved one (especially one assumed to be dead long ago). Jack is no exception.

wprager

· #11 · Aug 28, 2011

Jeeters said:
The episode I watched ran for 54 minutes.

I mean elapsed time from start to finish (including commercials). I know a 1-hour show runs for 42 minutes but I have no idea about a 1:10 show, so I just said "1:10".

busyba

· #12 · Aug 28, 2011

I did groan a bit at yet another mole in the CIA. The TW:MD production team definitely must have some people with 24 pedigree involved in the plotting.

I did however also laugh at the mole herself having a huge mole. One would think they would have cast Fred Savage for that part.

wprager

· #13 · Aug 28, 2011

tiassa said:
People say stupid things at the deathbed of a loved one (especially one assumed to be dead long ago). Jack is no exception.

I realize that about real life, but I thought I was watching a sci fi show that has a limited run and needs to tell its story. If the whole thing with Angelo was meant to show how he really was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for Jack then they kinda didn't accomplish that. And if it *wasn't* that kind of thing, they really did not need to spend that amount of screen time on it (I'm also talking about the previous episode, the flashbacks to the previous episode in this one and, of course, the "Previously on..."

tiassa

· #14 · Aug 29, 2011

wprager said:
I mean elapsed time from start to finish (including commercials). I know a 1-hour show runs for 42 minutes but I have no idea about a 1:10 show, so I just said "1:10".

Commercials? Oh, you are Canadian, Never mind.

wprager

· #15 · Aug 29, 2011

tiassa said:
Commercials? Oh, you are Canadian, Never mind.

I was actually watching a downloaded file. My PVR failed to record for some reason and, besides, Space on Rogers Cable is not offered in HD. Since they run it Saturday nights I can usually d/l it and not have to wait an extra day.

Anyhow, my point was that this was not a 1 hour show (or a 42-minute show, without commercials). This is a show that runs longer than your typical one-hour show, yet it contained more filler.

robojerk

· #16 · Aug 29, 2011

The last 2 episodes have had more scifi content than the earlier ones, but I wouldn't say they were better.

This episode felt really long and drawn out me. Some disposable characters died. Gwen mouthed off at some high up in the CIA and we're supposed to be upset when he threw her ass on a plane back home? $5 says she'll be in a good strategic position in the next episode.
Rex's plan to sneak Jack out sucks. He tells the guard Shapiro asked for Jack, Jack supposedly knocks out the guard and escapes, but I'm sure Shapiro will ask how jack escaped and realize that he never asked for Jack, and wasn't waiting for him outside the house.

Category "0" could mean a lot of things, I thought she was just calling him a loser at first.

DavidTigerFan

· #17 · Aug 29, 2011

Oh and why did the CIA guard just shoot Jack? Yes Jack is escaping but Jack is "helping" them and for all the guard knows Jack is just getting into a car. All I saw was "Hey you! Stop!" <Jack holds up hands> <BLAMMO!>

wprager

· #18 · Aug 30, 2011

DavidTigerFan said:
Oh and why did the CIA guard just shoot Jack? Yes Jack is escaping but Jack is "helping" them and for all the guard knows Jack is just getting into a car. All I saw was "Hey you! Stop!" <Jack holds up hands> <BLAMMO!>

Reminds me of an old comedy bit where an over-eager cop talks about how he warned a jaywalker by firing a warning shot ... through his liver.

Did the guard know that Jack is not immortal?

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