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Children of Earth: conclusions
I'm impressed. This week's Torchwood series was really rather good. Far better than the previous series; it really seemed to benefit from being scheduled on consecutive evenings.
The 456 were a particularly inspired choice of villainous alien. All that creepy Wyndhamesque stuff with the world's children all speaking in unison was particularly effective; especially the way that, once the children had finished making their sinister group announcements, they instantly and immediately snapped back to their normal activities as if nothing had happened.
I also thought that the physical portrayal of the aliens was particularly good. The decision to keep them largely unseen really added to their creepiness and gave the impression that they might be capable of anything. The long pauses in their dialogue and their uncertain responses also worked particularly well and really cranked up the tension — you could never be entirely confident that they weren't about to flip out until their reply came through the translator.
The guest cast, too, particularly good. Peter Capaldi was great as John Frobisher, the reluctant and, when the occasion demanded it, ruthless civil servant given the task of managing first contact with aliens — I loved the way the character transformed, from being self-doubting and slightly vulnerable with his human colleagues, into a strong, certain negotiator when dealing with the alien emissary. Susan Brown, who played Frobisher's deputy, Bridget Spiers, was wonderful, especially in her scenes with Frobisher's new PA.
I also thought that the politicians were rather good. Brian Green, the PM, with his Pilate-like refusal to dirty his hands in the sordid business of the aliens and his determination to focus on the political bottom line was very nicely played by Nicholas Farrell. There were a couple of excellent moments towards the end where he sits, apparently ignored by all around him, only to pick himself up a few minutes later and come out with some breathtaking piece of political cynicism that really seemed to hit the mark. And the way that his authority was undercut by his Home Secretary, played by Deborah Findlay, who chose to step into the space left by her vacillating Prime Minister, was very nicely handled — the moment when Findlay's character finally says the unsayable, that the UK could well do without 300,000 underachieving children, was brilliantly callous.
The 456 were a particularly inspired choice of villainous alien. All that creepy Wyndhamesque stuff with the world's children all speaking in unison was particularly effective; especially the way that, once the children had finished making their sinister group announcements, they instantly and immediately snapped back to their normal activities as if nothing had happened.
I also thought that the physical portrayal of the aliens was particularly good. The decision to keep them largely unseen really added to their creepiness and gave the impression that they might be capable of anything. The long pauses in their dialogue and their uncertain responses also worked particularly well and really cranked up the tension — you could never be entirely confident that they weren't about to flip out until their reply came through the translator.
The guest cast, too, particularly good. Peter Capaldi was great as John Frobisher, the reluctant and, when the occasion demanded it, ruthless civil servant given the task of managing first contact with aliens — I loved the way the character transformed, from being self-doubting and slightly vulnerable with his human colleagues, into a strong, certain negotiator when dealing with the alien emissary. Susan Brown, who played Frobisher's deputy, Bridget Spiers, was wonderful, especially in her scenes with Frobisher's new PA.
I also thought that the politicians were rather good. Brian Green, the PM, with his Pilate-like refusal to dirty his hands in the sordid business of the aliens and his determination to focus on the political bottom line was very nicely played by Nicholas Farrell. There were a couple of excellent moments towards the end where he sits, apparently ignored by all around him, only to pick himself up a few minutes later and come out with some breathtaking piece of political cynicism that really seemed to hit the mark. And the way that his authority was undercut by his Home Secretary, played by Deborah Findlay, who chose to step into the space left by her vacillating Prime Minister, was very nicely handled — the moment when Findlay's character finally says the unsayable, that the UK could well do without 300,000 underachieving children, was brilliantly callous.