And here we are again, we brave, happy few, for this the final part of our TorchBall extravaganza. This time, we’re peering into the glass to see what we can expect on our screens once the new season begins. Vanessa Williams once sang ‘sometimes you save the best for last’. Well, dear, that’s as may be. On this blog however, the best you’ll get is a mixed bag!

Oh, but we’re a cynical lot, for if there’s one over-riding ‘vibe’ to our prognoses it’s that we’re likely to get… more of the same?

“One episode per person again” muttered Jamas darkly. “Lots of focus on Torchwood dealing with small things, making us wonder how they are so powerful… Getting an alien device and screwing up how to use it to create the problem.”Oh dear. “The return of the pterodactyl.” Yes. “More about Jack’s past, making strange references to being in the past that everyone blitherly ignores.” I see, and what’s this?“Far too much about the characters having sex with each other.”

Well it is what the folks in modern telly call ‘drama’, I think. Or is it ‘characterisation’? Or were they the Weevils again? Hang on, here’s Jon:

“More of what we got last year!” Er, and…?“The final episode will fail to live up to what the previous 12 had built up to (as per series one). Yet more bickering between the characters. They are supposed to be a professional organisation, but instead they sometimes act like spoilt kids on a school outing! If they kill someone off, then the follow-on effects of this must be dealt with across the whole season.” Oh Jon – sit down!

So for the moment we’ve ventured back into what we’d LIKE to see or SHOULD see (our previous installments). Jon continues:

“We know Jack can’t die, so they really need to stop putting him in close-death situations. Stick someone else (Ianto or Tosh) in that position instead.”

Dear me. Jon really has it in for Ianto and Tosh, doesn’t he? Maybe it doesn’t have to be this way? Maybe Jack will get to say “tonight – nobody dies!” in one epsode? Or will he just slink off with Ianto and a stopwatch again, being all enigmatic? We can’t know. Well, we’re told that Jack will be more ‘fun’ next year, but will this mean that last year’s dark stuff will be papered over? And will the fans like THAT? We’re a fickle bunch.

And now, the welcome return of Dave:

“What I think is going to happen is probably more mundane.  Business as usual, peppered with the usual Gary Russell C19 type conspiracy theories and internal continuity fiests.  Ho hum”

So, ‘more of the same’ then? The Gary Russell aspect sounds intriguing though – perhaps C19 from the Virgin books will provide the foil that Dave and Al hinted at wanting to see set up against Cardiff’s least competent?

Truth be told folks, it’s grim in here. We could do with some optimism scattered among the doomsaying. How about it, Al, what are we in store for in 2008?

“1. The return of the Pterodactyl.
2. An opportunity for Jack to regain his ‘Mortality’ and the issues raised.
3. Owen’s ‘bestial nature’ hinted at in the Fight Club [Combat] episode examined.
4. Martha encouraging the Team to find the better sides of their nature and grow up.
5. Some hint of Jacks mysterious past and two year amnesia.”

Now that’s rather good – and do you see what Al did there? He mentioned Martha!
What does Alden say?

“I could be cynical and say ‘more of the same’, but I think they’ll take on board a lot of the criticisms aimed at season 1 and improve things.  Possibly even what I suggested before: less shagging, better scripts.” We can hope, Ald. The last thing we fanboys want to see is someone else having a good time! Did I just write that? Er, let’s move on to Foo, our last soothsayer:

“Improved character development, more of Captain Jack’s back story, Owen being a lech towards Martha, jealousy towards Martha, Series 2 being better then Series 1, some more cringe inducing moments.”

Well that’s pretty positive all-round. And from these two a genuine hunch that there is someone out there in the production team reading the show’s press (which also got pretty grim toward the end if memory serves). So 2008 then – it might not be all bad! Here’s hoping that the new stuff is interesting and entertaining, and all that’s traditional and familiar about Torchwood returns. Especially Bilis (had to say it!)

Cheerio everybody!

PA

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 10:09 pm and is filed under CRYSTAL BALL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.