TV Club: Torchwood Children of Earth: Day Four

Television TV Club
,
1

Torchwood finally learns of the events of 1965. Britain is in danger of becoming a rogue state and everything pivots around John Frobisher as the ambassador of the 456 destroys its old allegiances.

Rate and review below:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
0 voters
4 Likes
TV Club Backlog
2

Another 5 star favorite from Children of Earth. Just such a perfectly paced and executed series.

I watched this for the first time a little while ago so don’t remember exactly whats in each story. But I know we’re approaching why the 456 want the children (I wondered how theyld make it worth the buildup but wow, just wow did they do it), and the cabnet meeting.

Might be next episode, but both are hilgihts of the series

4 Likes
3

Easily the most memorable episode. Negotiations with the 456, the government being just as monstrous and an ending that if you don’t get emotional you have a heart stonier than a Weeping Angel caught in a stern glare.

5 Likes
4

the best episode of torchwood hands down. masterfully paced and the height of all tensions with a devastating ending for a beloved character!

4 Likes
5

This is just an amazing hour of television.

5 Likes
6

I know I’ve given RTD a lot of grief about about a lot of things, but I have no complaints about this series. This and Day Five are some of the hardest watches in the Whoniverse for all the right reasons

5 Likes
7

10/10. No notes.

2 Likes
8

I’ve been watching these as the tv club have been coming out, and while I have heard about one part of this episode in advance the rest of it as a surprise. The plot of this episode and the various reveals was impactful and the ending was sad too. The government decisions were horrifying too. That whole meeting about who is more valuable vs less valuable was rather horrifying. One character I was particularly impressed with was Rhys to be honest. This whole season I have been, because he’s handling all of this shockingly well and is trying to understand things without making snap judgments.

3 Likes
9

Ok this one genuinely made me cry. I was just so out of sorts after it that I haven’t finished CoE yet. This was like 6 months ago when I first watched it. I’m not over Ianto’s death or the way the government was discussing who was more and less valuable and who deserved to live. This is just stunning television honestly. 10/10.

2 Likes
10

Oh good grief, here goes nothing…

  • ‘It sounds like a good deal’. OOF.
  • I do like that Jack was chosen because he ‘doesn’t care’. It’s brutal but a very effective way of showing us how far he’s come.
  • Kai Owen’s subtle reactions to everything are just stunning. He barely has a single line in the long opening scene AND YET.
  • Bit of a tease sending a camera into the tank so we think we’ll get to see what they look like. Cheeky RTD.
  • ‘Three distinct heartbeats’. So, one could say, three four five six?
  • The child in the tank is utterly horrifying. Excellent scene.
  • Ianto’s heartbreak is also immaculate. The dialogue when he confronts Jack is superbly written.
  • Oh Nick Briggs. Your finest hour.
  • Absolutely horrendous how quickly they come to the figure of 6700. Abhorrent. This show is a lot.
  • Unfortunate that Frobisher literally says the words ‘six seven’. Not the time or the place, PCap!
  • The chanting of the 10% figures is a really nice progression from all the ‘we are coming’ stuff. Makes it all feel a bit more purposeful as the 456 force the shady dealings into the public view. More than just a creepy gimmick after all.
  • As others have said, it’s horrific that the cabinet discuss how to choose which children. But it’s equally, if not more harrowing, that they agree to the 10% so quickly. One ‘offer’ is made so fast and then rejected and then they agree they can go ahead with the 10% as long as their own children are unaffected. Absolutely vile and yet, entirely believable.
  • Ianto’s phone call is something excellent too. What a master of his craft.
  • Gosh it’s tense. You have no idea what Torchwood’s plan is as a viewer and yet you’re terrified it’s all going to go wrong. Largely down to the music I guess, which is brilliant.
  • Man, Lois is an absolute hero. I adore her.
  • I’d completely forgotten what they do to Clem. Painful to watch and a pretty genius way of making a threat.
  • I can’t believe they killed shauny! In all seriousness though, another stroke of genius to do this in episode four. We learnt nothing from Everything Changes and still don’t see it coming this early. And you just know it’s going to turn Jack into something truly unstoppable. Also, Ianto’s final line is absolutely soul-destroying.

Verdict - I mean. Wow. If I’m completely honest, there were one or two tiniest nitpicks that bothered me, which I hadn’t picked up on before on account of being so engrossed, but I’m more familiar with the episodes now so you start to notice the imperfections. But quite honestly, I choose to ignore them in an attempt to preserve the perfection that I ignorantly claim this episode is. It’s something else, really. Ain’t nowt like it.

3 Likes
11

9/10
Children of Earth continues to be good, my review below.

2 Likes