[Torchwood] The End Of An Era

[eumelia]

For me, that is.

I hated it.

I suffered through ten episodes, the respite of episode 7 notwithstanding, in order to come to the conclusion that Torwchood ended for me with "Children of Earth" (which, yes, I'm one the ones who loved it).

The painful conclusion that Torchwood outside of Britain, outside of Wales, just isn't the Torchwood that comforted me, that made me friends in fandom, that got me view television with a critical lens that I just hadn't used before hand.

This show? It felt cheap.

It felt as though I was being bashed over the head with an extremely heavy hand.

I felt as though I was being subjected to a cornucopia of badly written, badly thought out B-Movie CGI crap.

What, oh snakrs, would be the difference between the above and the first three seasons of Torchwood?

How about, parody? Self-deprecation? The knowledge that Torchwood is part of a larger and distinct universe? That Torchwood had a queer sensibility and a queer dynamic and this show had gay sex scenes interwoven with straight sex scenes.

Not the same. At all.

This show felt like a pitch to American audiences, while the first three seasons were unapologetic is what it was, a camp sci-fi queer extravaganza.

What I watched, had "metaphors" and "allegories" so offensive I considered not watching until the end, but this was Torchwood, how could I abandon it.

Well, now Rusty did it. He produced a series so bad, that the love I had for it is not enough to carry me through should more canon be created (as the ending seems to suggest).

I just... it makes me sad. I'm sad. That my love for Torchwood is now nostalgic, a memory of an original show that I studied for an academic paper, with which I honed, as I mentioned, my critical thinking when it came to reading texts (television or not).

I'm going to start a rewatch of Torchwood this weekend, starting from Jack's first appearance on Doctor Who ("The Empty Child"), because in October I'm giving a lecture about Jack's immortality and his renewing body at the local Sci-Fi and Fantasy con. I'll be liveblogging my insights and ideas.

I hope you enjoy the nostalgia trip as much as I do.

P.S. I'm planning on showing short segments of important events on the show, but I have no idea how one creates clips. Any tutorials out there that you peeps recommend? Thanks in advance!