Torchwood: Ghost Machine
It's been weeks since Ghost Machine aired, but I figured I should try setting down a few opinions about it, before it fades from memory completely.
The most notable thing about Ghost Machine, I think, is that it develops the character of Owen a bit more. In the previous two episodes, he's essentially been a nasty little man, using alien technology to his own unpleasant ends and hassling Gwen. In this, he's essentially put in the position of a victim, and it's very clear that it makes a strong impression on him. Of course, his reaction isn't the most mature or considered thing ever, but it's becoming clear that when it comes to maturity and measured reactions, the Torchwood crew haven't much to work with.
The scene with Jack and Gwen in the shooting range was rather odd, I thought. It didn't really fit with the rest of the episode, and it felt like there was a list of things to achieve in the episode, one of which was "show increasing attraction between Jack and Gwen". It's as if the writer (Helen Raynor, in this case) couldn't see any other way to get it in. There was also the rather odd line about Jack not sleeping - we've since seen him asleep in Small Worlds.
Gwen's state of shock at the end of the episode is very well-handled. It's coming up again and again that this series is not Doctor Who; that events have consequences, and that people can be emotionally scarred by, well weird stuff happening to them, or to people near them. That doesn't happen in Who.
I liked the half-reference back to The Empty Child, though - Thomas Erasmus Flanagan wandering and looking for someone is very similar to Jamie, down to the World War II references.
An excellent episode, overall; I liked it a lot.
Posted by Drew Shiel at November 16, 2006 8:22 AM
