~~*~~ CONTAINS SPOILERS~~*~~
So with less than 2 days to go until the start of a NEW! season of Torchwood we have been spoilt by Aunty Beeb with trailers and previews a plenty (5 trailers and no fewer than 4 previews) and it seems as though that long and painful wait is almost over (at least for UK residents. US residents have to wait util the 26th of this month and God only knows for the rest of the world.)
But the wait has been anything but easy for us Woodies.
It's been a year since season one finished (one year and 13 days if you want to be precise about it) and since then the fandom has been sitting on a quiet buzz awaiting the new season. Spoiler threads have been gagging for information, Torchwood spotters have been out with their cameras and fans from overseas have been watering at the mouth pleading for any snippets of info they could get their hands on. It's really only been fan discussion, speculation and bucketloads of fanfiction - oh and Gareth David-Lloyd and his lovely attendances at conventions - that has kept us sane throughout this last year. Many of us were starting to think the day would never come, but now it's almost here and the fandom is buzzing again, high on the anticipation for episode one (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, penned by head writer Chris Chibnall) which seems to be promising us all those things that we have so dearly missed and/or craved for so long.
Of course nothing can be guaranteed, but they do seem to be dangling some pretty spiffy writing, brilliant direction and solid plots in front of our noses, as well as some great performances from the cast if reviews of the episode are to believed. The upcoming season places a mouth-watering platter of guest stars, with legends like Alan Dale, James Marsters, Nerys Hughes and Richard Briars on the menu to tickle our taste buds. Of course nothing can be more pleasing than the return of our favourite alien hunters; Captain Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato and Gwen Cooper are back on our screens (this time on BBC2) with even more aliens to hunt, mysteries to solve and colleagues to shag. You gotta love the promises the come with a Torchwood tag.
We've already seen plenty of action in the trailers, with promises of huge explosions, aliens with spike-like arms, hot man-on-man action and one huge alien eye, as well as a whole lot o shooting. We've seen fish-like creatures, strange mosquito type things and the ever-appealing James Marsters cleverly disguised as Adam Ant-meets highlander, complete with a huuuuge *ahem* sword, two scary looking firearms and a psychopathic personalty to match.
I won't lie.
The promise of such things almost made Mistress Torch sexually excited; quick flashes of a dominant-looking Ianto kissing Jack, and the very pretty PC Andy delivering another knockout line about "spooky do's", along with all those guns and explosions gave her everything she has asked Santa for. But she held back, they were just trailers after all; the lines weren't in context and you really couldn't tell how the dialogue was going to feel. But then they delivered the previews. No fewer than four preview clips!
The one thing that came across clearly in the preview clips was the improved team dynamic; a scene in the first preview shows Owen, Gwen, Tosh and Ianto chasing a Blowfish through the streets of Cardiff at Midnight (no, seriously, this is Torchwood. It's normal.) They all seem to be relaxed with each other and closer, sparring it up a storm and one hilarious moment where Gwen shouts "BLOWFISH!" is surely legendary! When the chase is over and the team sprint into action we see the team doing what they all do best: Owen is actually being a Doctor for a change, Tosh has her gadget, Gwen is protecting a terrified woman and Ianto - as usual - is left with the clearing up to do, which in this case involves shooting a Blowfish before it can shoot someone else. At this point Jack comes into the picture - and yes, he shot the Blowfish, not Ianto - and the team dynamic was so good i was almost dissapointed that it was interrupted. But no, with an introduction of "hey kids, did you miss me?" Jack is back and the team is reunited. (And I said almost dissapointed)
The second clip to come out of Aunty Beeb was a fight scene (featuring Jack, and his ex-lover captain John Hart), beautifully sandwiched between two adorable team scenes. The best thing about this preview was probably the genius of the music! I'm sorry, but anyone who can't see the genius of Blur's Song 2 during a fight scene is truly insane (in the bad, this-person-really-needs-to-be-institutionalised kind of way) because its perfect! The scene is loaded with erotic overtones as Jack clearly adores being thrown around by his ex-lover, and my favourite moment, without a doubt, is the moment Captain John sweeps the bar with Jack's face. Oh! and there's a kiss too. Personally it was more the smouldering look before hand and the knock-me-down punch after it that I found hot, but hey it's two hot guys kissing so I'm not going to complain too much. The two team scenes I mentioned earlier are completely owned by the presence of Ianto (In a very attractive pink shirt) in the first half of the scene he's in fix-it mode, calling "TAXI" and finding the simplest solution to a problem that Owen, Tosh and Gwen would have found the most complex resolution to. In the second team scene it's Ianto who provides the team with the voice of reason, reminding them that it's a lot more fun when Jack's around. Also worth a mention mind you is Eve Myles' perfect comic timing and phrasing of the word 'top secret' that for some reason almost made me fall out of my seat.
The third Preview was the introduction of the Team to Captain John. It was short and sweet. A quick introduction of 'Torchwood' which prompted John to be very much unimpressed by the team name. (Also worth mentioning: Geek alert at the suggestion of Excalibur as a team name which if you know your TW trivia will make you feel like you got one over on all those who don't, but will also make you feel like a complete idiot when you try to explain it and they call you a geek.) The most interesting thing about this scene by far though is the dynamic between Captain John and Ianto Jones; it seems as though John has sussed our Ianto out from the word go by the way he told him that he and Jack were 'partners'. And f he didn't guess it before, the low jealous tone when Ianto asks "in what way?" would have made it glaringly obvious. After this he knows for sure and gives Ianto a taunting look and proclaims "in every way and then some." It's enough to let us know that the dynamic between the two of them is going to be interesting and something to be very eagerly awaited.
The last preview - so far - was a very interesting scene in Jack's office with the whole team, John hart and a very gorgeous hologram. Turns out John wants a diamond, and the hologram (of an ex-lover he murdered) promised it was on earth. However, much to his surprise it's actually just an excuse for her to get her revenge on him by giving him a ten-minute death sentence; an explosive device grips onto his chest and she vows to see him in hell. It's at this moment that the truly sadistic, slightly twisted and very satisfying side of Ianto comes out as he digs out the stopwatch and counts the minutes to John's impending doom. He sounds so excited, he's like a child at Christmas and you almost expect him to start skipping around his love-rival like a happy elf on pixie dust with pure smug glee written all over his face. Only it's at this moment that John Grabs Gwen and handcuffs himself to her; with three guns trained on him he tells Jack that he had better find a way to stop it.
It's all very exciting, and although we've probably seen 1/5 of the episode through preview alone it's still something to look forward to.
The dialogue is brilliant, the dynamics seem tight, the acting performances seem spot on and the cinematography makes the scenes feel fresh and fast-paced. All the characters - yes, even Gwen - come across likable and if i wasn't a fan the previews alone would make me want to watch.
There's only two days to go now until the full episode is shown (in the UK) and my gut feeling is that it's going to be sharper, wittier, faster and darker than season 1.
