Gwen Cooper is on her first day at Torchwood and, this being Torchwood, they’re on the trail of a sex gas monster…
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7 Likes
I want to give the early Torchwood a new chance with this club, but I really don’t like this episode. It has some okay stuff like Gwen’s introduction to the organisation but the bulk of the story is just bad. A gas that makes the carrier super horny and kills the ones she f**ks, really? Is this script written by a horny fifteen-year-old? When everyone just stands to watch Gwen and the alien make out is maybe the worst scene in all of modern Who. I actually did lower my rating from the last time I watched.
I have said it before and I will say it again. If you want to watch an interesting take on sex in Doctor Who, watch Zygon: when being you just isn’t enough
11 Likes
Quoted for truth 
I like the “world-building” of Torchwood and Gwen finding her place in the Hub. But the Sex Gas Alien is a rather juvenile take on “adult storytelling”.
12 Likes
This is such a random thing for us to agree on 
8 Likes
It really is
Series 5 and the Zygon Movie is on that list so far 
7 Likes
The love for multi-Doctor stories as well.
7 Likes
I understand why people don’t like this one, but I think it’s generally pretty fun. “Rat jam” always makes me giggle, and when Carys steals the hand and throws it there’s a moment where the Doctor’s leitmotif plays, which is absolutely fantastic. Also, there’s a blooper where Barrowman pretends to lick the hand. I’m far more likely to put this on to rewatch than Random Shoes or A Day in the Death, or, hell, even Ghost Machine. It’s just more fun.
Gore warning for an exploding rat at 34:39. General warning for non-con elements throughout the episode.
10 Likes
Yeah, it’s not as bad as it’s often made out to be.
Yes, the entire sex gas alien stuff is more silly than mature, but I like how Gwen has to find her place in the team and how the characters continue to develop.
Day One -> 6/10
Day One gives Torchwood its first mission, tackling a bizarre alien that feeds on orgasmic energy and leaves its victims as dust—a concept that borders on parody despite its attempt at mature themes.
The episode shines in showcasing Gwen’s evolution, as she begins to balance her empathy with her new role, while her dynamic with Jack and contrasts with Owen and Tosh add richness to the team dynamic, though Ianto remains underutilised.
The midsection delves into moral ambiguities and character depth, but its slower pace detracts from the episode’s energy.
While the alien’s unique motivation offers a refreshing twist, the humour-heavy execution often undermines the potential emotional impact of its tragic predicament.
Gwen’s guilt over releasing the alien adds emotional stakes, culminating in her heartfelt, compassionate plea to save the day, demonstrating her growth as a team member.
Despite its absurd premise, the episode regains focus in its finale, earning Gwen her moment of triumph.
9 Likes
Hated this episode other than for that one scene where they’re eating the Chinese together.
And idk if the foreshadowing is intentional but when Gwen asks why they’re eating a Chinese while a “girl is suffering downstairs” the camera immediately cuts to Ianto looking guilty and I can’t help but hope that’s some great foreshadowing.
Or completely accidental.
And Jack pointing at the Doctor’s hand and saying “that’s worthless to anyone but me!” lives in my head rent-free. And the way he jumps over the reception desk lol 
10 Likes
You know I wondered for a while what the Plot of that Episode was, so I looked it up yesterday in preparation for the TV Club and well…
it’s the infamous Sex Gas Episode. Hot take, but the Concept of the “Sex Gas” itself is not bad. Does it border on being a bit too edgy and just well… feeling like something slightly trying too hard? Yes, for sure, but on paper such a concept could work. Do I think it works here? No not really, with stuff such as that you have to balance it somewhat so it doesn’t come off as immature and well this Episode just kinda doesn’t do it, in my Opinion.
The Highlight here is easily Gwen, who kinda needs to find her place in Torchwood and I think it’s done rather well for the most. We also get some lovely Moments, but ehhh… I simply don’t like it, it feels a bit too much
10 Likes
I rather enjoy this episode. It’s “Edge-lord Mature” rather than actually Mature, but it’s campy, and silly fun.
Good performances accross the board, and great cinematography.
4/5.
12 Likes
Here’s my comments on the episode from my Trying Out Torchwood thread:
8 Likes
Going to rewatch to give my thoughts, from what I remember, yeah, this is one of the weakest Torchwood Stories, but I think there’s still a lot of elements to like here that often get overlooked because ‘ha ha sex gas’
8 Likes
Sorry Torchwood fans but blimey that was not great - alien sex gas. I think these last couple episodes have just reconfirmed my original thoughts on the show. Feels like a teenagers version of what an adult Doctor Who spin-off would be, ooh they’re talking about sex! Ooh they’re having sex!
It’s also the look of the show, it just feels so cheap, production wise at the level of a daytime soap. The lighting in general is bloody awful, everything is so flat. The Torchwood set is lit terribly, it just looks like a set. The whole thing is reminiscent of something from the 90s, like the show Bugs, but without the cheesy charm.
I did say sorry.
7 Likes
I need to properly rewatch, but I know what you mean about the production’s appearance. I did rewatch Countrycide earlier this year and was surprised at how, for want of a better word, cheap it looked. As you say, the lighting is flat and things look like sets.
12 Likes
At least it’s not a quarry 
12 Likes
This shouldn’t really be surprising. It was the first series of a spin-off for a TV show that didn’t have the biggest budget in the first place, and it was produced 20 years ago! I mean, look at Series 1 and 2 of Doctor Who, they haven’t aged well!
12 Likes
Day One Live Watch Thoughts Part 1
- I like that it starts on Gwen and Rhys, their bantering shows both how their relationship works and how it can very much not
- Generally just really like the cold open, also shows how Torchwood will just keep getting in the way of their lives
- Setting up all the kit torchwood have, the SUV, the police tracking network, it’s all done well, especially love the “Stop saying you and start saying we”, and Owen’s "looks like the amateurs got here first
- Torchwood’s response on site and how the people on site respond to her instantly shows how out of place Gwen is at the moment, as well as more of how kind of arrogant torchwood are, they’re the experts, but they very much know it and don’t really have time for anyone that’s not Torchwood anymore. They’re helping people but they’re detached
- “All the right curves in all the right places” and the first sign that the episode’s going to go downhill
- Owen is hateable but the episode recognises and acknowledges it with Gwen’s backchat and Jack laughing at her response
- The effects for the gas itself really work for me in that mid-2000s way, it’s not good CG, but it’s still got this otherworldliness, and I love how Torchwood are never dealing with your bog standard aliens
- The first scene with Carys does a surprisingly good job showing what she’s like and the emotional state she’s in before the sex gas appears for only being what, 3 lines of monologue
- And then the confidence she comes back to the front of the club with, you can instantly tell something’s off, we’ve seen next to nothing of this character but you can tell how much of an affect the gas is having on her
- But yeah the bouncer letting her back in after a kiss is the next sign that this episode isn’t going to be good because like, no bouncer would ever do that, this is a teenager’s idea of what a bouncer would be like
- The guy Carys goes for in the club is the most 00’s idea of a hot guy lmaooooo
- Also not sure how to say this without seeming crass but like… he doesn’t last long at all does he, it’s probably for pacing of the episode, but it’s also weirdly another thing that kinda takes you out of the story (as well as the fact this is again, a teenager’s idea of a sex scene)
- Gwen being apologetic, Owen being a prick, Tosh being kind to Gwen but more gentle, Ianto being forgotten until he speaks, this does another great job of setting up the team dynamic
- Oh neat, this is where the picture of Andy on the guide comes from!
- We love Andy!
- Also again, Gwen being a fish out of water from both her old life as a policeman and new life as Torchwood
- …the security cam guy… yeah, again, there’s some things in this episode I’m not even going to bother trying to defend and this is one of them. It’s torchwood feeling like an adult show for 15 year olds and it just sucks
- Also, granted I’m not exactly the clubbing type, but the ones I’ve been to I don’t think they had CCTV in the toilets. People on the toilet doors I’ve seen, but not CCTV
- Gwen asking the police-y questions to the security cam guy shows again her not fitting in, but also how she could slot in very easily
- And then we get the third version of Carys. We’ve seen her angry, we’ve seen her confidant, but this version of her where she’s just sort of broken… the actress is doing an incredible job
- Jack technobabbling and Tosh simplifying for Gwen, again it’s just showing him showing off and her being kind to the new person on the team, it’s some solid characterisation
- Also the idea that no-one else is in a relationship, it’s another thing that sets Gwen apart and makes the rest of the team feel disconnected from the rest of the world. It’s this sort of thing I really like about Torchwood, the characters and how their viewpoint separates them from everyone else.
- Plus the different answers from the team is interesting. Tosh is fairly chipper about not dating, it’s just something she’s never really had time to think about, Owen is defensive, sort of trying to give off a ‘I could if I wanted to, but why would I?’ sort of vibe, Jack doesn’t respond which I think could almost read as guilty, he knows they should have a chance to live life, but he brought them into this. And then Ianto isn’t in the scene which alone says enough, but I think it’s an interesting pseudo-misdirect, pseudo-foreshadowing for Cyberwoman.
- The ending of that scene as well “I torture people in happy relationships”, I think it’s a really interesting character beat for Owen, and I think the fact that’s what the scene is left on just works really well
- Again Torchwood completely violating civil rights, they’re the good guys, but they’re shown time and time again to not exactly be good guys. Owen is obviously the most clear example of this, but none of their hands are clean
- “At least I’m trying to do something” “No, you’re trying to do anything”, Owen’s being a twat, but it’s also interesting, she’s new so she doesn’t know how they do things, she’s trying to help in the ways she knows, ways that definitely could be useful to Torchwood, but she hasn’t yet figured out what parts of her training to keep and what to lose. Especially with her follow up, cross referencing the face’s addresses’ with the starting point of the journey (and Owen complementing her on it)
- The acting for Carys is again done really well
- I really like the establishing shots of Cardiff
- The interrogation is another great show of Gwen, she’s great at talking to Carys, she knows how people work, but when she gets the alien she has no idea how to respond, just going off assumptions and guesswork that’s completely wrong
- Orgasmic energy though is… something
- And yeah, there’s the scene where everyone stops to watch Carys and Gwen make out, Owen’s response is awful but expected, Jack’s is… not great, Tosh’s is, well, also not great, but foreshadowing her bisexuality is neat, and she’s the one that suggests getting her out at least. As for Gwen kissing Carys back and that… yeah, it’s also not great, could maybe say something about the sex gas made her do it, but it’s not like other people react like that so she’s basically just taking advantage of Carys here and Hmmmmmm, yeah, not defending this scene
- Her call with Rhys afterwards though, how quickly and easily she can lie to him, showing more of that relationship works well.
- And then the shot of her going from the weevil’s cage and seeing Carys in one as well. God, say what you will about the rest of the episode, but when I say there’s some good stuff in there, that’s what I’m talking about. It’s small, it’s a quick moment, but it’s so effective
Doing a thoughts on a livewatch like this is taking a while, so calling it at the halfway point for now, but will be back for the second half later
9 Likes
I’d kinda disagree, while yes those Series definitely have some dated elements to it. And you can tell they were done around the Mid-2000s Mark, I think the use of colors and certain lightning did a lot to save those Series to be in a similar board as Torchwood Series 1 for the most part at least, but that’s just me.
9 Likes
They have aged fantastic.
7 Likes