Torchwood (TV Series) Children of Earth: Day One (2009) User Reviews

Shades of "Quatermass" in this modern classic

[DVD_Connoisseur · 9/10 · 10 July 2009]

Having grown up with Nigel Kneale's truly haunting "Quatermass" with Sir John Mills, this latest "Torchwood" series brought back many childhood memories as there are shades of the final '70s series in this production. With a most mysterious alien force at work and the earth in true peril, season three of the series has a true emotional resonance with the viewer.

This is a new, revised "Torchwood", aimed at a more mainstream audience but now equipped with a bigger budget and a prime time slot on BBC1. As a result, the series pulls no punches and delivers a more satisfactory experience than many of the recent "Doctor Who" tales.

The pace of this season is perfect and the production team acknowledge the age old adage that what you don't see is far more frightening than what is revealed. With excellent production values, "Children of Earth" is a true treat for dedicated "Torchwood" fans and the more casual viewer who is new to the adventures of Captain Jack and company.

Wow--what a start!

[Flytrap · 10/10 · 6 July 2009]

By far the most riveting episode of Torchwood yet.

Spoilers coming: Every child on the Earth stops, not once, but several times. The second time they scream. The next time they start chanting, "We are coming." And that's just part of what's going on. There are a number of hints as to parts of Jack's life. Ianto has a sister. Gwen is...never mind. A mysterious organization (well, maybe Unit?) is stalking our heroes, trying to take them out of the investigation. And in the meantime, something called The Four Five Six seems to be at the core of all of this, but we still don't know what they are. I've always been on the fence about Torchwood, but I'm jumping off now and on the cheering side. Hopefully, the rest of the series (showing this week) will be as tight.

A excellent start!

[Clemontine · 9/10 · 7 July 2009]

Day One: This started off great! It got right into things. So suspenseful I had goosebumps through most of it. The characters are brilliant as usual and light up every scene. I'll never get sick of the leads.

At first, it seemed that they were gonna have Dr. Rupesh Patanjali replace Owen, and I was really surprised when he turned out to be bad. Although I don't know how he knew he would meet Torchwood. Maybe the hitchhiker was a coincidence, and he was originally planning to use the missing bodies to draw them to him. They still might have Lois Habiba replace Tosh. The show really needs more than 3 main characters.

I'm not a huge Ianto fan, and felt that Jack was wasted on him, especially when there was Gwen. But, I'm really not a fan of breaking up marriages, especially now that Gwen is pregnant, so Jack is good with Ianto now. And I'm really glad they didn't have any Jack and Gwen longing scenes, maybe just a tinsy bit when she told him she was pregnant, because that's just really inappropriate when they are both with someone else. Even if its just silent moments and no real actions that could be considered unfaithful, I'm not a fan of that sort of storyline, especially not in a sci-fi series. They're still two awesome characters who have really great scenes together and I look forward to more.

There was also some great added storyline involving the government. Torchwood (the series) usually doesn't expand beyond Torchwood (the team) :P. I was very glad to see a lot more of what was going on and other people's knowledge of the situation. I guess that's to give it more of a mini-series or movie feel rather than TV series, and it's working. And I am sure there is much more to comes, as we saw in the preview for Day Two (the government working for the aliens?).

The whole ending scenes was awesome, when Jack put his hand on the scanner and found out there was a bomb in him. I love how neither Ianto or Gwen wanted to leave him, but he talked them into it. "I'll come back. I always do." It was extremely dramatic and exciting at the same time. I'm just sad we didn't see what happened to Ianto after the explosion. Its too bad it was the end of the episode. I could watch the whole thing as a 5 hr movie.

Intense, and serious as a heart attack

[skip-98756 · 9/10 · 13 April 2018]

I hadn't seen this is quite a while ,began watching again and felt like leaving a quick review.This is one serious,intense bit of drama! no silly scifi nonsense here...I love the world wide scenario, it affects the planet..the mysterious and horrible truth of what the aliens really want...good stuff here! lots of depth and content thats missing from the usual "aliens are coming to take over the world" shooter up type movies ,that have no elaboration on the alien agenda at all other than they acme and want to fight...silly.....this is a deep and thought provoking experience that will keep you on the edge of ur seat...its heavy, dark , intense, horrifying all in a good way that makes for for a great movie !

Haunting and brilliant

[jennigraham · 10/10 · 26 July 2012]

The 456 are coming...

It's no fun for the Torchwood crew, especially Captain Jack, when John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkneess) along with Eve Myles (Gwen), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto) and Kai Owen (Rhys, now given co-star billing) all return in this 5-part series.

In 1965 Scotland, a bus-load of children are driven to a remote location and disappear into a cloud of light, with a lone child escaping. Over the course of two days, all the children in the world stop in their tracks, and speak, in unison and in English, "We are coming."

On the third day, an ambassador for the 456 arrive in a column of fire over Thames House before appearing in an isolation tank built by a crony in the Home Office and his henchmen (who have tried in vain to kill Captain Jack and his team, a grisly business, especially for Captain Jack).

They locate the lone child (now an adult) from the 1965 event, and it turns out that he's afflicted with the same condition as the children.

The 456 demand that 10% of the world's population of children be handed over to them, or else they will destroy the human race. The governments of the world secretly agree to comply after further demonstrations of the 456's power.

A powerful drama, SF aspects aside, what follows is horrifying and ultimately depressing, and will haunt you for days after viewing.

intriguing plot opener

[didi-5 · 6/10 · 18 June 2009]

As a piece of sci-fi, 'Torchwood' is pitched at a slightly more adult audience than 'Doctor Who' although there have been crossovers of character and plot between the two.

'Children of Earth' is a new departure for the series - a five-part story developing on BBC1, the UK channel with the biggest ratings. Therefore the production values have gone up a notch and the plot feels tighter than in some of the earlier editions.

The plot is, on the face of it, simple. At 8.45 GMT, every child in the world stopped whatever they were doing, sat or stood still, and there was a deathly quiet - later, the same stopping happens again with the children chanting in unison 'we are coming'. But who is coming, why are the Home Office so interested, and who is the solitary man also affected by the same force that is affecting the children? Captain Jack and his team at Torchwood intend to find out. The plot opener deals with past secrets, family backgrounds, and - the weakest aspect of the episode IMO - the developing relationship between Jack and Ianto. There's also a weird angle involving the NHS, and some revelations which weren't flagged up in previous series.

In look and feel this new episode of Torchwood feels like a film (although seeing it on a big screen in high definition probably helps reinforce that impression) rather than a run of the mill TV production. Clearly made with bigger things in mind than prime time TV, it remains to be seen whether the story will develop and grip in the same way that this opener will to Torchwood fanatics and general followers of sci-fi alike.