Comments on: Understanding Slash Through Torchwood

By: Liberal

Liberal — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:25:12 +0000

Even the name ‘Torchwood’ has an obvious hidden gay meaning as in: hot penis.

Davis indeed had undeniable gay agenda.

By: Sally

Sally — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:30:39 +0000

I must say that, as much as I’ve loved Doctor Who, I’ve been quite disapointed with Torchwood.

Sexuality aside, I simply think the actings terrible. Yes, Doctor Who can be cheesy at times, but generally I just look past that and watch David Tennant (Who is amazing!) And, when *he* is cheesy I just try to tune him out, it usually only last a couple minutes anyway, and then I continue watching.

By: Fan Comics: Torchwood Babies » Comics Worth Reading

Fan Comics: Torchwood Babies » Comics Worth Reading — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 20:17:22 +0000

[...] trying Torchwood again because of James Marsters‘ appearance in the first episode of the second season. [...]

By: Dawn

Dawn — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:41:02 +0000

You are right little Alex and I will reiterate that I DO NOT, in fact, have ANY kind of problem with homosexuality. It was only the ONE SCENE out of the whole series that didn’t sit quite right and that was only due to it being nitpickingly unrealistic rather than the content.

FWIW, I have seen all of it twice, received the series 1 dvd box set for Xmas and am quite dizzy with anticipation of series 2

By: little Alex

little Alex — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 08:46:27 +0000

Dawn: I think you’re just noticing same sex scenes more because there’s so little of it usually.

If we really get down to it, TW is about equal at showing hetero scenes and same-sex scenes. In fact, I’d say it showed more heterosexuality than homosexuality, as we have yet to see any same sex couple in bed together, iirc (despite the rather remarkable kisses), whereas we’ve seen quite a number of hetero bed/sex scenes.

By: Rose

Rose — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:06:14 +0000

Now, I am a TW fan, but I thought I’d add my opinion anyway.

How is a few gay kisses “cramming homosexuality down our throats?”

People seem to forget that both Owen and Gwen are straight. One same sex kiss each means very little. I’m straight, but I’ve snogged girls before.

I’ve noticed people who don’t like TW often seem to have an issue with the sexuality in it.

It irks me. If you have a dislike for any show, it shouldn’t be about something so petty.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:23:41 +0000

I have to laugh whenever I see comments from people who say that the showing of an gay kiss on TV is cramming homosexuality down their throats. What a joke. Every single day we have heterosexuality crammed down our throats with kissing, simulated sex, partial nudity, etc. on television every single day. One show comes along and portrays what I consider “normal” for a few seconds and people freak out like it’s happening all over the place. Grow up. There are other people of different persuasions and it’s time for the world to just get used to it.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 11:03:34 +0000

“And also, it’s hot!”

Opinion firmly seconded Petra

By: Petra

Petra — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:44:29 +0000

I’m not gonna get into the whole “is torchwood good or not” thing, since I’ve only watched one epi, but I thought I’d add my two cents to the slash/yaoi thing.
I read slash because frankly, in at least 80% of the cases the male characters in the shows I watch/or books I read both outnumbers and outclass the ladies. I think writers in general are better at (or just chose to) writing male heroes/leads than female.
And also, it’s hot! ;)

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:29:24 +0000

Jack/Ianto is a lovely pairing, such chemistry. I personally really like Gwen, but I can’t see her paired with Jack, that so doesn’t work.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:16:43 +0000

Personally I love Torchwood and I don’t care about the sex to me the sexual realationships between characters are really good (except for Jack and Gwen I don’t like her much at all!!!) so I think its great. I thought the Jack/Jack scene was amazing, emotional, sweet and Jack/Ianto was suprisingly great as well!

By: Dawn

Dawn — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:55:55 +0000

It WAS beautiful to watch and they put the emotion across so well. However, I still reckon one of Capt Jack’s own men shot him down.

By: Katherine

Katherine — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 17:48:06 +0000

To you Dawn I just thought I’d point out that they probably wouldn’t have been lynched; as Wiki put it “In truth, sharing a gay kiss in 1941 would have resulted in Captain Jack being stripped of his rank of captain and maybe even expulsion from the Royal Air Force.” And in the background during their dancing and kissing everyone was staring horrified (but the musicians kept playing which made me giggle). Personally tho, I had no real problems suspending my disbelief, it was just beautiful to watch.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:37:23 +0000

I confess that Countrycide still remains my favorite episode.
I quite liked Jack in Doctor Who and yes, the ‘what not to wear’ bit was a stroke of genius, but I much preferred him in Torchwood.
I also read quite a lot of slash fic. You are right, there is certainly a very sexy element to it. My reaction matched yours in episode 12, however, it was spoiled slightly for me by not being able to get away from the fact that they couldn’t possibly have got away with that in 1941, they would have been lynched and it was also still illegal.

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 23:32:10 +0000

I agree completely with Dawn’s opinion of Owen, although I felt a little guilty at finding him sexy in ‘Countrycide’. The first five or so minutes of that episode was wonderfull, then it deteriorated until it hit the ulimate low of slow-mo shot gun firing. I didn’t like Jack so much when he appeared in Doctor Who (must learn not to make snap judgements), although in retrospect the ‘What Not to Wear’ bit in Bad Wolf was pure genius on the part of the creators.
On another note, I read a LOT of slash fanfic, but have not yet come up with a reason better than ‘it is really, really sexy’ as to why I do. I can understand why people don’t like it, but in the case of Torchwood there is no problem with the distortion of canon as the characters are, or have been, in homosexual relationships.
Oh, and my reaction to episode 12; PHWOAR! I know that isn’t very articulate, so I apologise ;)

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:32:53 +0000

For about 90% of the series I considered Owen to be a slimy little creep (I usually like the ‘bad boy’ type, but I draw the line at him), but I will allow that he had a couple of damn good scenes in Countrycide. The bit where he had Gwen up against the tree was a total turn on (and BTW, does anyone else get the impression that Gwen likes it a bit rough?) and from there a change to calm, dispassionate doctor when the object of his former ardor got shot. This was the one episode where I actually appreciated him.

By: Jez

Jez — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:36:38 +0000

“given Owen’s basic character, does the female in question actually have to be breathing and would he notice either way?”

True, very true. He is a bit of a rat, isn’t he? Unfortunately as a closet owen fan I can totally see why the girls fall for it.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:31:13 +0000

Point taken. You could well be right about Jack and Rose, I hadn’t thought about that. However, given Owen’s basic character, does the female in question actually have to be breathing and would he notice either way?

By: Jez

Jez — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:45:19 +0000

“I miss the spunky, sassy Jack with a sense of life and humor” – clearly having not seen the whole series you’re missing out on the Jack/Ianto banter that picks up on this.

Yes, it had a few lame duck episodes but so did big shows like Buffy and Star Trek – I wouldn’t write off the entire series because of it, although the unfortunate trend in today’s culture, especially in the US is to cancel any TV show that doesn’t fit to the crime/medical genre or take a massive audience from ep 1 (Look at Firefly).

As for the lack of m/f action, clearly this is just Jack’s character and I think part of the subtext of that is that he is still enamoured (if not in love) with Rose and therefore not after another woman. It also balances out the m/f of Owen/Any Breathing Female on the show!

By: Sally

Sally — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 19:38:03 +0000

I have to disagree with the statements that “Torchwood is terrible” and that it “sucks”. While there have been some less than stellar episodes, there have also been some which are absolutely stand-out and on a par with the best that any other show has to offer. In particular, episode 12 “Captain Jack Harkness” is just superb. You’re missing a great deal if you decide to write this show off without even having watched it.