Got -wood?

I spent the vast majority of yesterday watching Deadwood on DVD, making it through the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2. Then in the evening, I watched the double episode debut of Torchwood. Hence the title of this entry.

Deadwood is absolutely incredible. Obviously extensively researched, it is also wonderfully written (if a little too reliant on the insult "cocksucker". If there was a drinking game based on that, you'd be shitfaced inside of five minutes) and has some of the most rounded and 3 D characterisation that I have seen on a TV show in a long time. The performances are uniformly excellent, there is genuinely not a weak one in the bunch. Stand outs are Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock, who I originally mistook for Michael Biehn. His chemistry with Molly Parker is just incredible. And, surprisingly, Ian McShane as Al Swearengen. I am very much not a fan of his and his performance in the stage musical version of Witches Of Eastwick was embarrassing to witness (unsurprisingly, he was fired from that show). So it's quite shocking to see him be so good here. Who would have thought it? Not I. Of course, HBO's insanity of how they haven't renewed this for its 4th season is well documented so I won't add anything there. I'm still smarting over their cancellations of Rome, Carnivale and The Comeback.

And then it was time for Torchwood. The much awaited spin off for John Barrowman for his character of Captain Jack Harkness from the first series of the new Doctor Who, this show is very much NOT for kids. Being transmitted after the 9pm watershed on a weeknight (as opposed to the Saturday teatime slot occupied by the good Doctor), this sets out its stall from the very beginning, throwing a "fuck" and a "bugger" into the first five minutes. I am not the biggest fan of sci-fi but I do love me some John Barrowman, so I gave it a whirl. It was actually great. Pleasingly twisted, it still made time for some light humour and it's not afraid to shy away from anything. In Doctor Who they never made any bones about Jack's bisexuality and so, with a later timeslot and less constraints, the first two episodes contained some boy on boy AND some girl on girl action. Good stuff. The first episode was all set up and exposition for anyone who didn't watch Who, the second dealt with an alien who took over humans and could only survive on orgasmic energy, cue some sex scenes and a smattering of nudity. Let's see if the strong opening can be maintained....