Reactions to Torchwood 2x05 -- "Adam"
Feb. 14th, 2008 01:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snorkackcatcherSummary: Now THAT'S more like it.
Maybe it's just that memory-changing storylines are inherently especially creepy and so start at an advantage, but this one seemed to hit the sweet spot from the off. Having Gwen come back to work and finding Adam just there as part of the team with none of the others thinking this was odd was a very effective way to begin, as it meant that her "WTF?" reaction paralleled that of the viewers. Her memory-loss scenes with Rhys (poor sod) were especially effective and rang true again. The supermarket checkout scene in particular was a classic.
I rather liked the way that we never got an exact explanation of what Adam was (other than some mysterious Void Creature, presumably from the interface between realities as per DW Doomsday -- for a void, it's getting mighty crowded out there). Also effective was the fact that Adam actually made mistakes due to not realising the side-effects of implanting memories, not being able to affect everyone at once, and forgetting to wipe the CCTV coverage; this gave the team a way to figure out what was going on that didn't require something coming out of the blue from left field.
The resolution ... hmm, OK, I suppose if the implanted memories simply overlaid the old ones rather than replacing them, then the amnesia pill would work as a way to erase them and return to normal. I'm not entirely sure why or how the files got wiped, mind you -- even if Jack cleared the CCTV records and suchlike to spare everyone's blushes, you'd have thought that he'd at least have left himself a note to explain what had taken place. You know, just so they didn't go off and start a new investigation as to what happened the last two days that they didn't remember ...
The characterisation and acting was good here, considering that Tosh and Owen in particular had to a large extent turned into each other's characters -- Mori and Gorman did an excellent job of making them different from their usual selves. (This really was the Duane Dibley version of Owen, wasn't it?) OK, I winced a bit at Tosh being yet again a Fool For Love (even if she was being manipulated by Adam -- that was another rather creepy element), but the little bit with the flowers at the end confirmed the general Owen-scared-of-getting-involved impression of the first few episodes and set things up nicely for Reset. As for Jack and Ianto ... aww, Jack didn't believe in him as a serial killer, and Ianto confesses his feelings. Sweet. :) Myles and Jones were good too, and I thought Bryan Dick as Adam was terrific. Pretty good all round.
And then ... OK, we finally discovered that 'Gray' was Jack's kid brother and a little of Jack's history, although not yet why he lost the memories in the first place. I'll pass lightly over John Barrowman's acting of the emo stuff here (again melodramatic and a weak point) -- actually, there isn't much to say about this stuff at all, really, even if it did take up a fair bit of screentime. We got some routine backstory and material that was evidently additional setup for later revelations and plotlines. (Hmm, Gray disappeared without trace -- he might have been kidnapped by aliens, but since Captain John has a working Vortex Manipulator, he could have found out what happened and got Gray out, which is why he knows what happened?) Not that I'm complaining -- it's always pleasant when shows have arcs that stretch across seasons. But Jack, Jack ... letting Adam bring forth additional memories? Not smart. Just take the damn pill already!
Finally, I thought it was a pleasant emotional scene near the end when Jack is hypnotising the team to recover their memories, and they bring out a little backstory. Not much that we didn't already suspect for Gwen, Tosh, and Ianto, but we did finally get a hint of why Owen is basically such a bastard, and in this scene Barrowman's acting seemed pitched at the right level.
Separate post on Reset to follow -- hey, it's late. :)
Maybe it's just that memory-changing storylines are inherently especially creepy and so start at an advantage, but this one seemed to hit the sweet spot from the off. Having Gwen come back to work and finding Adam just there as part of the team with none of the others thinking this was odd was a very effective way to begin, as it meant that her "WTF?" reaction paralleled that of the viewers. Her memory-loss scenes with Rhys (poor sod) were especially effective and rang true again. The supermarket checkout scene in particular was a classic.
I rather liked the way that we never got an exact explanation of what Adam was (other than some mysterious Void Creature, presumably from the interface between realities as per DW Doomsday -- for a void, it's getting mighty crowded out there). Also effective was the fact that Adam actually made mistakes due to not realising the side-effects of implanting memories, not being able to affect everyone at once, and forgetting to wipe the CCTV coverage; this gave the team a way to figure out what was going on that didn't require something coming out of the blue from left field.
The resolution ... hmm, OK, I suppose if the implanted memories simply overlaid the old ones rather than replacing them, then the amnesia pill would work as a way to erase them and return to normal. I'm not entirely sure why or how the files got wiped, mind you -- even if Jack cleared the CCTV records and suchlike to spare everyone's blushes, you'd have thought that he'd at least have left himself a note to explain what had taken place. You know, just so they didn't go off and start a new investigation as to what happened the last two days that they didn't remember ...
The characterisation and acting was good here, considering that Tosh and Owen in particular had to a large extent turned into each other's characters -- Mori and Gorman did an excellent job of making them different from their usual selves. (This really was the Duane Dibley version of Owen, wasn't it?) OK, I winced a bit at Tosh being yet again a Fool For Love (even if she was being manipulated by Adam -- that was another rather creepy element), but the little bit with the flowers at the end confirmed the general Owen-scared-of-getting-involved impression of the first few episodes and set things up nicely for Reset. As for Jack and Ianto ... aww, Jack didn't believe in him as a serial killer, and Ianto confesses his feelings. Sweet. :) Myles and Jones were good too, and I thought Bryan Dick as Adam was terrific. Pretty good all round.
And then ... OK, we finally discovered that 'Gray' was Jack's kid brother and a little of Jack's history, although not yet why he lost the memories in the first place. I'll pass lightly over John Barrowman's acting of the emo stuff here (again melodramatic and a weak point) -- actually, there isn't much to say about this stuff at all, really, even if it did take up a fair bit of screentime. We got some routine backstory and material that was evidently additional setup for later revelations and plotlines. (Hmm, Gray disappeared without trace -- he might have been kidnapped by aliens, but since Captain John has a working Vortex Manipulator, he could have found out what happened and got Gray out, which is why he knows what happened?) Not that I'm complaining -- it's always pleasant when shows have arcs that stretch across seasons. But Jack, Jack ... letting Adam bring forth additional memories? Not smart. Just take the damn pill already!
Finally, I thought it was a pleasant emotional scene near the end when Jack is hypnotising the team to recover their memories, and they bring out a little backstory. Not much that we didn't already suspect for Gwen, Tosh, and Ianto, but we did finally get a hint of why Owen is basically such a bastard, and in this scene Barrowman's acting seemed pitched at the right level.
Separate post on Reset to follow -- hey, it's late. :)
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-14 09:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-14 11:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 01:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 12:05 am (UTC)it's hard to act 'stuttering' without seeming as though you're trying; i think he aced it. the right mix of tongue-tied and almost-stuttering was perfect.
he still looks too much like Michael Jackson and the one son on Nip!Tuck's bastard child for my taste, but i have a bit more respect for his range, now.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 01:47 am (UTC)like Michael Jackson and the one son on Nip!Tuck's bastard child
That is a scary concept. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-02-19 07:37 pm (UTC)I dunno. I'd have done what Jack did. If you're not going to remember what you've lost in a minute, anyway, you may as well have a look. I thought that bit was designed to up the emotional stakes, but it fell flat for just that reason. A nice 'temptation' scene, though, for a 'monster' with very few weapons at that point in time.
A really good episode. Proper speculative fiction. And the guy who played Adam was generally spot on. I didn't have much time for the one-to-ones with Jack round the table when they were taking the pills, though - I liked their backstory, as you say, but not his responses, which over-egged a perfectly good cake. And I ended up liking Owen a little more and Tosh quite a bit less, which I put down to professional bias - I teach an awful lot of unique and special snowflakes. A shame, because I adore Tosh.
Anyway, moaning apart, one of the best pieces of TV SF I've ever seen.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-19 11:04 pm (UTC)