Rewatch 1-09 Random Shoes
Jan. 29th, 2007 02:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethThere isn't exactly a lot in this one that I felt the need to rewatch. Or, in fact, anything. Thus far the single most amusing part of it is the CBBC logo in the corner.
The value on first watch can come from lots of stuff, plot and shiny and all that, but on rewatch I'm looking to mine data on Team Torchwood, and it's really rather lacking. I mean, everyone seems a bit off, iirc. The whole episode seems a bit off.
Mostly it can be all Meaning Something if you reckon Eugene=Jack. Because he's kind of dead, only also not. He's trying to figure it out. He's spent years hanging around waiting, with an alien body part, on the theory that the original owner will come back for it. So the parallels are there.
Trouble is, that makes Jack look just a *tad* bit pathetic. You know, slightly.
Other trouble is... this one is just so blah!
... I shall watch. Quickly.
"And then I found you, Gwen Cooper"
because having someone treat her like the MarySue center of the universe makes her just that much more annoying.
... no, she had like police skills and stuff in this one. not so very bad.
Okay, nearly forgot, there is actual Ianto. Doing things, outside of Torchwood even.
And looking extra pretty.
Which is a neat trick, considering.
Eugene + own autopsy = fainting
pretty good trick for a ghost
... I do not like Gwen nearly doing the cutting part. That would be Wrong.
But, Torchwood.
It's funny watching Eugene be all "wow! torchwood! heaven!" and, er, seeing them screw up? And us audience knowing they're... less shiny.
Ianto voice = odd. Sort of TV show presenter.
But he's all tidy and well dressed and apparently not miserable.
Which is fun.
You know, it's possible I'm heartless, but all that bit with his mum crying... I get really rather bored in that bit.
There's no aliens. Or action. Or adventure. Or people we'll ever meet again.
... yeah, that could possibly be part of the point.
"the rest of us are human and amazingly we still manage to get on with our jobs"
yaaays! icons!
... because Gwen so does need telling.
... although, granted, the rest of the team could possibly care a bit, BUT that would be what 1-10 is about, problems with caring a bit much, so.
And now Owen voice sounds odd.
I don't know, everything's a bit odd. I'm being picky.
... okay, now I can't even watch it with the sound on. I'm just... *facepalm* to an extent that's not even amusing.
You know, if Eugene=Jack, Passmore Telesales = Torchwood.
This makes it Much More Funny.
"It's all about belief, see. If necessary, I am Kitchens for a Lifetime. Eugene was only ever himself."
Jack is... adaptable. "Who are you supposed to be" gets an answer, but...
The Telesales place is all about telling people about all this useless stuff.
Torchwood is more about untelling people about... well, quite a lot of it is useless stuff.
"Is he your boss? Are you an item?"
dating the boss = IANTO!
... I become ever more amused.
That "Black holes and the uncertainty principle" thing made me have angry theories on first watching about Torchwood being the black hole of sucking the truth out, leaving everyone uncertain. I mean, Eugene and whoever he talks to, they're the people Torchwood can't be bothered to actually mindwipe. Everyone that actually knows is inside the black hole. Which might be a gate to the void/hell or it might just go to another universe. You never know.
"He loved someone he said was unattainable. He was just trying to look after me."
... erm, in my = scheme Ianto is talking about Jack.
See, in my head this is now an AU fanfic a bit like those high school AUs.
... yeah, it's really very very dull on it's own merits.
"It's an alien body part. And I'm going to sell it on ebay."
I thought ebay banned body parts sales?
The whole bit with the important job... and being very wrong about how significant stuff is... if it maps to Jack? He's going to be so miserable.
... which, er, yaay? Sorry. Just... if it's all got a Very Important Explanation then it's kind of... I don't know, I'll have to think it over. I prefer the one where Stuff Just Happens, you know?
Gwen the Ghost Whisperer... so she's super special, everyone loves her (Rhys and Owen and Jack and Eugene is quite a lot more of an everyone than could be randomly predicted), she's all caring about everyone, and now she's psychic too!
... Gwen can really be a bit much sometimes.
And it doesn't exactly make sense. I mean, it might if someone bothered to make sense of it, but.
It made most sense to me when I decided the whole thing was a trip Eugene was having after swallowing alien eye.
Look at this - Jack is stripey! Is Jack ever stripey? Meh. Everyone looks odd.
Jack knowing exactly which eye is just... bloody terrible writing, if this is for reals. If it's a trip, then it's just convenient.
Eye that lets you see where you've been = eye of hallucinating and putting past into perspective.
See the whole thing makes more sense that way.
Why would Jack want the thing anyway?
Gwen has a new car since last ep. Yesno?
The problem with the =Jack is that Eugene does not finally meet his alien, and in fact the website suggests said alien had long since been dissected. But Jack gets the smile and the noise and presumably meets his guy again.
So really there's not much of an = there at all.
Eugene's idea of love is kinda pathetic. Given that he's only known her as a detective person he keeps stalking. It's not cool.
The sleeping together bit is why there's the going to a place not Cardiff.
... but then it has to greatly resemble Cardiff, so I don't think that was so very wonderful the idea any which way.
It goes all wonky camera of doom when he finds his mates there. Comedy.
"Let him dream. Life's short. And really boring."
"Mr C Blackstaff is a collector of alien ephemera and nazi memorabilia. Also, beanie babies."
In my head this is now the guy who is Torchwood 2. Because then it's even funnier.
... I make my fun where I can.
The timing on the story is so very convenient it's icky.
... that's so pathetic. running in front of a car. That's what we tune in to Torchwood for, obviously.
"My mates had cheated on me and I didn't get to meet any aliens"
and then there's a funeral.
... I'm making comparisons to 1-13 and giggling.
... sorry.
So Gwen has to call his dad. When his mum and his brother know where he is. Isn't that a bit... I don't know, fucked up?
Everybody's miserable.
Torchwood funerals are even smaller than that, mostly on account of people not getting one. They get a drawer. And the rest of TW3 to see them off.
On the plus side, no singing.
... the other thing that pisses me off about this ep is it still makes me cry.
"We missed each other. Completely."
It's so bloody stupid, you know?
... dear gods, talk about stupid - wander out into the road why don't you!
... there are so *many* reasons I'd call this AU hallucinations.
So she kisses him for saving her life and then he ascends.
... that Jack thing is, er, still kind of worky.
If this *is* in continuity, then Gwen has an extra reason to be wow about Eugene being not quite dead - the bit where Suzie was saying there's nothing afterwards.
But... he gets to ascend??? WTF???
And okay, little speech at the end, all about how wow life is - do we need the speech?
feeling preached at, and not loving it.
So, to sum up: Ianto was pretty very very briefly
this episode was rather badly written
and I think twice is the most times I'll ever bother watching it
The value on first watch can come from lots of stuff, plot and shiny and all that, but on rewatch I'm looking to mine data on Team Torchwood, and it's really rather lacking. I mean, everyone seems a bit off, iirc. The whole episode seems a bit off.
Mostly it can be all Meaning Something if you reckon Eugene=Jack. Because he's kind of dead, only also not. He's trying to figure it out. He's spent years hanging around waiting, with an alien body part, on the theory that the original owner will come back for it. So the parallels are there.
Trouble is, that makes Jack look just a *tad* bit pathetic. You know, slightly.
Other trouble is... this one is just so blah!
... I shall watch. Quickly.
"And then I found you, Gwen Cooper"
because having someone treat her like the MarySue center of the universe makes her just that much more annoying.
... no, she had like police skills and stuff in this one. not so very bad.
Okay, nearly forgot, there is actual Ianto. Doing things, outside of Torchwood even.
And looking extra pretty.
Which is a neat trick, considering.
Eugene + own autopsy = fainting
pretty good trick for a ghost
... I do not like Gwen nearly doing the cutting part. That would be Wrong.
But, Torchwood.
It's funny watching Eugene be all "wow! torchwood! heaven!" and, er, seeing them screw up? And us audience knowing they're... less shiny.
Ianto voice = odd. Sort of TV show presenter.
But he's all tidy and well dressed and apparently not miserable.
Which is fun.
You know, it's possible I'm heartless, but all that bit with his mum crying... I get really rather bored in that bit.
There's no aliens. Or action. Or adventure. Or people we'll ever meet again.
... yeah, that could possibly be part of the point.
"the rest of us are human and amazingly we still manage to get on with our jobs"
yaaays! icons!
... because Gwen so does need telling.
... although, granted, the rest of the team could possibly care a bit, BUT that would be what 1-10 is about, problems with caring a bit much, so.
And now Owen voice sounds odd.
I don't know, everything's a bit odd. I'm being picky.
... okay, now I can't even watch it with the sound on. I'm just... *facepalm* to an extent that's not even amusing.
You know, if Eugene=Jack, Passmore Telesales = Torchwood.
This makes it Much More Funny.
"It's all about belief, see. If necessary, I am Kitchens for a Lifetime. Eugene was only ever himself."
Jack is... adaptable. "Who are you supposed to be" gets an answer, but...
The Telesales place is all about telling people about all this useless stuff.
Torchwood is more about untelling people about... well, quite a lot of it is useless stuff.
"Is he your boss? Are you an item?"
dating the boss = IANTO!
... I become ever more amused.
That "Black holes and the uncertainty principle" thing made me have angry theories on first watching about Torchwood being the black hole of sucking the truth out, leaving everyone uncertain. I mean, Eugene and whoever he talks to, they're the people Torchwood can't be bothered to actually mindwipe. Everyone that actually knows is inside the black hole. Which might be a gate to the void/hell or it might just go to another universe. You never know.
"He loved someone he said was unattainable. He was just trying to look after me."
... erm, in my = scheme Ianto is talking about Jack.
See, in my head this is now an AU fanfic a bit like those high school AUs.
... yeah, it's really very very dull on it's own merits.
"It's an alien body part. And I'm going to sell it on ebay."
I thought ebay banned body parts sales?
The whole bit with the important job... and being very wrong about how significant stuff is... if it maps to Jack? He's going to be so miserable.
... which, er, yaay? Sorry. Just... if it's all got a Very Important Explanation then it's kind of... I don't know, I'll have to think it over. I prefer the one where Stuff Just Happens, you know?
Gwen the Ghost Whisperer... so she's super special, everyone loves her (Rhys and Owen and Jack and Eugene is quite a lot more of an everyone than could be randomly predicted), she's all caring about everyone, and now she's psychic too!
... Gwen can really be a bit much sometimes.
And it doesn't exactly make sense. I mean, it might if someone bothered to make sense of it, but.
It made most sense to me when I decided the whole thing was a trip Eugene was having after swallowing alien eye.
Look at this - Jack is stripey! Is Jack ever stripey? Meh. Everyone looks odd.
Jack knowing exactly which eye is just... bloody terrible writing, if this is for reals. If it's a trip, then it's just convenient.
Eye that lets you see where you've been = eye of hallucinating and putting past into perspective.
See the whole thing makes more sense that way.
Why would Jack want the thing anyway?
Gwen has a new car since last ep. Yesno?
The problem with the =Jack is that Eugene does not finally meet his alien, and in fact the website suggests said alien had long since been dissected. But Jack gets the smile and the noise and presumably meets his guy again.
So really there's not much of an = there at all.
Eugene's idea of love is kinda pathetic. Given that he's only known her as a detective person he keeps stalking. It's not cool.
The sleeping together bit is why there's the going to a place not Cardiff.
... but then it has to greatly resemble Cardiff, so I don't think that was so very wonderful the idea any which way.
It goes all wonky camera of doom when he finds his mates there. Comedy.
"Let him dream. Life's short. And really boring."
"Mr C Blackstaff is a collector of alien ephemera and nazi memorabilia. Also, beanie babies."
In my head this is now the guy who is Torchwood 2. Because then it's even funnier.
... I make my fun where I can.
The timing on the story is so very convenient it's icky.
... that's so pathetic. running in front of a car. That's what we tune in to Torchwood for, obviously.
"My mates had cheated on me and I didn't get to meet any aliens"
and then there's a funeral.
... I'm making comparisons to 1-13 and giggling.
... sorry.
So Gwen has to call his dad. When his mum and his brother know where he is. Isn't that a bit... I don't know, fucked up?
Everybody's miserable.
Torchwood funerals are even smaller than that, mostly on account of people not getting one. They get a drawer. And the rest of TW3 to see them off.
On the plus side, no singing.
... the other thing that pisses me off about this ep is it still makes me cry.
"We missed each other. Completely."
It's so bloody stupid, you know?
... dear gods, talk about stupid - wander out into the road why don't you!
... there are so *many* reasons I'd call this AU hallucinations.
So she kisses him for saving her life and then he ascends.
... that Jack thing is, er, still kind of worky.
If this *is* in continuity, then Gwen has an extra reason to be wow about Eugene being not quite dead - the bit where Suzie was saying there's nothing afterwards.
But... he gets to ascend??? WTF???
And okay, little speech at the end, all about how wow life is - do we need the speech?
feeling preached at, and not loving it.
So, to sum up: Ianto was pretty very very briefly
this episode was rather badly written
and I think twice is the most times I'll ever bother watching it