It wasn't that it was bad per se, but nothing really happened in the episode, and the first half was very very slow. Also didn't help that the best bits had already been broadcast beforehand with the BBC trailers and preview.

The question is: am I watching this because it is Torchwood? Otherwise would I have given up on this by now had it not had that connection?


The problem a television programme has to overcome is how to distinguish itself from all the other programmes around. For example looking at current series running on UK now, "Falling Skies" I found myself categorising as a "Children of Earth/Battlestar Galactica" hash, and "Body of Proof" as a "House/Bones" hash. I gave up on Camelot as being too bland, and Game of Thrones didn't really grab me either. Ie. these shows feel like generic "American" plot-by-numbers mashups.

Torchwood at the moment isn't distinguishing itself from the rest. After all, we've had The Event, Flash Forward, etc. recently, and if you're a newcomer to the show what makes Miracle Day any different? I know that, if it wasn't Jack and Gwen I wouldn't see much difference, and the "people live forever" plot isn't that engaging at present. It's only two out of ten episodes so far - but then it took Outcasts four episodes to start getting somewhere and that was too late for much of the audience.

Children of Earth was tightly plotted, witty, and when you hit the latter half of episode four utterly compelling and convincing. That's a lot to live up to, and so far Miracle Day hasn't provided the same quality blend of humour and drama. Also, if you can't empathise with a character then you just feel indifference towards them: Frobisher was compelling in CoE, Rex just isn't cutting it with me as yet. Esther is the better of the bunch this week for sure, but Lyn was just 'plastic'. And I expected a lot more from Bill Pullman's Danes, but the accent is just jarring and not always understandable.

(Unfortunately if you don't have Samuel L Jackson or Leslie Neilson on a plane for that length of time it doesn't really work! Orange wires notwithstanding)


Hopefully episode three will pick up now they're on the ground again, though of course the "cuts" are already causing controversy!

I'll watch next week, but at the moment that's purely because of wanting to see what happens to Jack and Gwen next - not bothered about anybody else at the moment, sadly :(