While I wait for the return of Lost and Battlestar Galatica, two shows that thought so much of themselves that they could disappear for the better part of a terrestrial year, I have been enjoying Heroes and Torchwood. The former is a fine piece of work, about which I have blogged often. Good characters developed by fine actors, and a strong story arch. The story arch is something that TV has been experimenting with for a long time. A miniseries like Lonesome Dove is a good example. But it was incorporated into more conventional shows like Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel.
It has its drawbacks, for it makes it difficult for viewers to come in in the middle of a season. But I suspect that the money generated by sales of DVD boxes is making up for that. Heroes is based on the X-MEN, but it lends itself more to the dream that any one of us might wake up one day with extraordinary powers, and a quest. It also plays with time-loops, something that wakes up the religious self in me. I highly recommend it.
Torchwood has been a very pleasant surprise. It's a spin-off from the Dr. Who series, which my colleague Dr. Schaff calls the best show on TV. I concur. Captain Jack is not as compelling a character as the Time Lord in Dr. Who, but he is getting there. He leads Torchwood, a secret agency that deals with extraterrestrial intrusions into contemporary Britain. He first appeared as a character in the Dr. Who series. He cannot die, which sounds great if you are worried about your cholesterol numbers. But it's not all roses. His team encounters an old women who recognizes him. "You look just like your father," she tells him. In fact, she is looking into the face of her former lover. She has aged. He has not. That is good writing.
Both Torchwood and Heroes are approaching the end of their respective seasons. Catch 'em, if you must, on DVD.
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