Torchwood: Children of Earth "Day One" – Recap

When last we left the Torchwood team, they were still reeling from the deaths of two of their own and the return of their leader’s now-vengeful younger brother. The four radio plays in between have helped us whet our appetite but if you’re like me, you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the new season of BBC America’s top-rated import. Wait no more, as tonight begins a controversial five-night mini-season that will change the franchise forever.

If you’ve been watching BBC America for five minutes over the last two months, you know the general premise: all the children on the planet Earth stop at random intervals, announcing as one the arrival of a fearsome alien entity known only (and oh how creatively) as the 456. Meanwhile, the members of Torchwood are being hunted down by the British government as their past catches up with them. Anyone want to guess whose?

We start our tale in 1965, when a bunch of kids are on a school bus in the middle of nowhere at the middle of the night. They get out and are herded toward a big, bright light, and subsequently disappear while a lone unidentified man looks on. Worst. Field trip. Ever.

This leads directly into a big white title card and the familiar few notes of the former Torchwood theme. Gone are the opening explanatory narration by John Barrowman and the opening montage…I suppose they figure if you’re watching the show, you probably know all of that by now. It was clunky, but I liked it! (Okay, I just sort of liked listening to Barrowman talk. I admit it.) The credits now roll over the first few minutes of the show, echoing an emerging trend in television: saving a little time by scrapping the opening credit sequence. Sports Night didn’t have one, Eli Stone didn’t really have one, and now Torchwood doesn’t either. Personally, I think it’s a smart creative decision. We can now watch the credits roll while Russell T. Davies’ favorite character, ex-cop Gwen Cooper, is wondering what the heck is up with the kids of Cardiff. She’s not the only one to notice: in the kitchen of top Home Office aide John Frobisher, his kids aren’t moving either. Neither is Steven Carter, the son of Alice Carter. And if you think she looks like someone, you’re right… The only person other than the children to experience this two-minute freeze is Clem MacDonald, an elderly gentleman committed to an asylum. What does he have to do with it? Well, he was a child in 1965, of course! You didn’t think that flashback was there for nothing?

While Gwen is wondering what’s going on with the children, Jack and Ianto are at a local hospital removing an alien from a dead guy. They lie through their teeth, saying they were the deceased gentleman’s neighbors; they particularly enjoy highlighting that yes, they’re a couple. This is possibly just to confuse the crap out of attending doctor Rupesh Patanjali, who stumbles upon them removing the alien and figures out they’re Torchwood. He later approaches Jack and Ianto with a sob story about disappearing bodies, which Jack at first brushes off but begins to reconsider. I remain convinced John Barrowman preens without even trying. He may be overacting just a little, but come on, it’s Barrowman. It’s part of the fun. And I have to say, “smart alec” looks good on Gareth David-Lloyd. (Even if their relationship in this episode seems more frosty than romantic, or maybe that’s just me. As if adding some violins to the moment where Jack makes the deadpan remark that he hates the word “couple” is supposed to make us fawn over it. I’m not even an ardent fan of the pairing, and I think that’s messed up.)