I'm basically writing this post for my friend Jess, who I know is curious about what I thought of this show but I didn't want to rant on her Facebook wall for 1200 words, so here we are on the blog. The short answer is I am very "meh" about it. So if you have better things to do, you can stop here. Otherwise, read on suckers!
Historically, I like the Torchwood world and Barrowman owns the role of Jack Harkness so completely, but honestly, after Children of Earth (aka S3), I lost most of my emotional connection to the show. For me, the first two seasons were Torchwood and now, they're just kind of treading water. I find Gwen a little inconsistent in her actions and have never thought of her as one of my favorites, so with only two team members left, I only like half of Torchwood anyway. They did add members this time, but it took me 5 or 6 episodes to get into what Mekhi Phifer was doing, and he's not exactly written as "likable." And Esther? I'll save her for my gripes. Which shall begin now...
My first gripe with Miracle Day is at 10 episodes, it is too long. I wasn't a huge fan of Children of Earth either, but its four episodes certainly did amp up the urgency of every moment. Miracle Day could've used some of that urgency and a lot more focus. A lot more focus. The whole flashback episode was a waste of time especially when there was no pay off to the relationship other than "this is how they got Jack's blood." Could've been a 10 minute flashback, not a whole episode. The story could've been leaner and brought in at 6 or 7 episodes and I would've liked MD a lot more. The same could be said for the cast. Which brings me to...
Gripe #2 is the excess of characters, or rather the misuse of characters. I love Bill Pullman, but his death row inmate pedophile turned Miracle Day poster boy arc did absolutely nothing for the story. Come the finale, he was what, a giant bomb? Anybody could've been the giant bomb (strap Gwen to some plastique), so why build up Oswald and give him all that screen time so he could be some mcguffin while Jack and Gwen discover and debate "the blessing?" (gripe on that coming shortly) I honestly thought that since Oswald's was the first non death we saw, that he'd hold the key to the mystery, but instead, he was a glorified suicide bomber. Pullman did a great job with the character, but the writer's didn't use him properly.
Enter Esther, the CIA analyst that goes from resourceful investigator down in the Indiana Jones "hide the ark of the covenant" sized file room to a complete wreck to a tactical moron back to smart analyst then to an "in the way" damsel in distress and then somehow earns the respect of her team by the time she gets shot. I cannot think of a character so hot and cold in recent television history. I mean, she works at the CIA as an analyst but can't figure out to call someone else, anyone else when Dr. Juarez won't answer her phone due to a "being burned alive" situation? (Juarez was a great character by the way because she served a purpose and then got the hell out of the story!) But Esther was there the whole time doing nothing except blindly following Rex around and blowing her cover to "Soul Man" C. Thomas Howell so she could visit her crazy sister who was another entire waste of screen time. Her dialog was a wreck, the performance was a wreck, there was no concrete motivation to anything Esther did, she was a complete waste of time. If you're gonna write in a girl to be Gwen when Gwen isn't there, at least treat her with the same respect in the writer's room. She's actually probably the first character in Torchwood history that I didn't care *spoiler alert* died. And I'm going back to Indira Varma as Suzie in the pilot for that one!! I was seriously bummed she went out so soon because her character had more development in 40 minutes that Esther did in a full season!! My apologies to Alexa Havins, but you know, that soap opera training didn't help you turn Esther into anything worth while.
The third character I hated, although loved, was Lauren Ambrose as Jilly. Loved her because, like a member of "the family" pointed out, she was a hugely over the top cartoon like character in her appearance and a red head to boot, but hated her because again, a really hot and cold character that in the end had very little to do with the outcome of the story. It seemed, especially with her little coda in the finale, that Miracle Day for Jilly was just a way to set her up for future seasons. It felt like they gave Jilly dialog they needed to cram in to highlight their themes and not dialog that Jilly needed to be a part of the story.
My third and final big gripe for Miracle Day was the finale. Russell T. Davies is given a lot of credit for his work, and while my overall impression of him is positive, I've always felt he resolves his conflicts too quickly for the amount of set up he gives them. (A trait that Stephen Moffat has gladly attempted to double in the 11th Doctor era!! Don't blink, the show's over!) He is a man with a delightful first act, a stretched out second, and then a third that hangs around just long enough to get the point across. It's his style, no biggie, especially when you consider the amount of quality character development he usually fits in to that second act. But in Miracle Day, all of a sudden Davies takes the elongated "villain explaining his diabolical scheme to James Bond scenario" and pulls it thinner than taffy on the boardwalk. When that dude shot Esther I was like "finally!" The Family has been letting Jack and Gwen and Rex blabber on for like 15 minutes, just throw some fucking blood into the blessing already!!
I mean, if they were confidant that Jack's blood was only in one spot and that it wouldn't matter if they killed him and his blood got in the China end, then just kill him. Then you could've had Rex handle his big "a-ha" moment in Buenos Aires with a big fuck you, I've got his blood dumbass and he could've sacrificed himself to save everyone, save the world. Instead, it was a snail's pace of dialog and an open radio channel the Family gave Torchwood to figure out how to defeat them? Yawn.
I also hated that Jack and Gwen didn't really know how to solve the problem until they were standing there, which really helped the stretched feeling of the resolution that annoyed me so. This is where Oswald could've lent some knowledge to the team (he did meet the Family after all) so they would know what to do before descending in the elevator. Remember how the A-Team loved it when a plan came together? Torchwood apparently loves it when a plan materializes out of thin air on the brink of destruction and although it shouldn't work, somehow always does! Not me, I would've loved to see a confidant Jack and Gwen going in to, excuse the pun, spill some blood! I take it back, don't excuse that pun, I liked it;) I wanted ass kicking, not "hey, we figured it out!" Torchwood was like the kid who got a participation ribbon, not the one holding the 1st place trophy.
Don't get me wrong, all gripes aside there were plenty of enjoyable moments in Miracle Day. Although, I do wonder about Barrowman's contract because he sure got laid a lot in this season!! Perks of the job I guess. Gwen had a couple great lines about being Welsh and there were some clever plot devices and nods to hard core Torchwood fans, so yes, it was overall a fun time. However, it could've been great. It could've been tightened up and trimmed turned into a lean, mean fighting machine but instead, it was just a little flabby around the waist and wasn't hitting its best lap times. And that is what is so frustrating about Miracle Day. It was too Americanized, too slavish to the idea of 10 episodes, too weighed down with the kind of excess story lines and character arcs (or non arcs in this instance) you'd see in a 24 episode drama season to be a great Torchwood tale. It's almost like it was stuck between a lean mini series and a big full season where you can wander and play on your way to the finale. They wandered a little, they rushed a little, but they never hit their stride with Miracle Day. If you love Torchwood, watch it, if you don't, go on a picnic or something.
Final Grade: C. "I'll let you pass this class, but you need to work harder."
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