TORCHWOOD: NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: 'Torchwood' And 'Curb': Two Summer TV Treats
by David Bianculli
July 8, 2011
This month, while the broadcast networks are taking it easy, some competitors are serving up lots of excellent, unusual television. The action starts this weekend with a new version of the British sci-fi series Torchwood and the Larry David comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Torchwood is a show that may not even be on many people's radar. It's a British show, which ran for three seasons and was imported and shown here by BBC America. It's a sci-fi show about a sort of overseas X-Files unit, run by a cocky hero who is not only irreverent, and American, but immortal. And a time traveler. And bisexual...
... So if you're sneering at the idea of sci-fi and fantasy, you shouldn't — not if it's in the right hands. In the past, I've had to try to persuade people to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Lost, and Battlestar Galactica, and The Walking Dead, as genre shows that had something to say and said it cleverly. And the same goes for Torchwood, which begins its new incarnation Friday evening at 10:00 pm EST on the Starz cable network...
... The acting, as well as the writing, is really strong here. Barrowman, as Jack Harkness, is an old-school swashbuckler with new-school sass — kind of like a bisexual Bruce Willis. Bill Pullman, who usually plays the likable hero in films like Independence Day, portrays a creepy, odious, pedophile murderer here — yet one who, thanks to the media, finds both a voice and a mission. And Lauren Ambrose, who was so wonderful in Six Feet Under as teenager Claire Fisher, gets a meaty adult role here, as an opportunistic agent who offers to represent the executed, but not dead, killer.
I've previewed the first three episodes of Torchwood, and they left me hanging, and eager to see more. So give it a chance, please. And if you want to catch up, BBC Home Video is releasing the entire three-season British version of Torchwood on DVD and Blu-Ray July 19...
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