Torchwood limps back.

Torchwood 2.1 - finally! And with James Marsters in tow! It's almost too good to be true!

As it turns out, that's exactly what it is. There's a nice beginning with the team acting all efficient and professional sans Capt Jack, and then James Marsters arrives and it gets steadily sillier. There's too much 'in the know' humour, there's too many 'relationship' jokes, and the charcater has absoluelty no depth whatsoever. It's the flipside of the Captain Jack character, power and the knowledge but absolutely no moral compass. Cue the 'suprising yet inevitable betrayal' from one of Jack's exes, partners, compadres, fellow time agents and well it's all just too pat. He looks like Spike, he talks a bit like him, he certainly acts like him and then at the end of it all - there's the enigmatic clue to what is obviously a future storyline and with a Dallas-Shower-Scene moment, it's all come to a close.

What else is there? Suddenly Ianto becomes interesting and not cardboard in every scene. Gwen, despite being the new girl seems to have overwhelmed all others and taken control. Tosh and Owen are looking suspiciously comfy together and the whole thing feels like a pastiche of season 1 more than a new beginning. There's too much sex or inuendo, the whole interpersonal intimacy element (gay, straight or alien) is just overdone and I just get annoyed when action or progress is halted by unecessary and unsubtle 'shipping'.

Not quite a poor start, but certainly not a good one. From the minute or so of preview for up and coming stories, it looks like it gets better soon (well by the time I wrote this I've seen two more and know it gets better) and there looks to be an upgrade to effects, pacing and overall tone.