Author Archives: James Willetts

About James Willetts

James left Cardiff to go back home to Birmingham. He likes comic books, movies and comic book movies. He got into Doctor Who with the relaunch and is still painfully ignorant of any incarnation before 9. His favourite film is Jurassic Park and his favourite X-Man is Colossus. His Grand Unified Theory of Die Hard proved that Die Hard With A Vengeance was actually rubbish. In his spare time he paints pictures of Godzilla. Jonathan Ross follows him on Twitter.

Torchwood Review – Miracle Day 5, ‘The Categories of Life’

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James Willetts is back to pick over the bones of the latest episode of Miracle Day. Warning: may contain traces of Buffy.

So that was it. Torchwood’s big twist was that there was no twist. The concentration camps are just concentration camps and Oswald Danes really isn’t a nice man after all. Yes. It’s not exactly The Sixth Sense. Hell, it’s not even The Village, but Torchwood should really be applauded for its enthusiastic willingness to play it straight.

The only problem is, no one seems to have told the show runners, who breathlessly announced that this was the point at which PhiCorp’s true intentions would be revealed. Except, as it turned out, they were the same intentions that were revealed last week.

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Torchwood Review – Miracle Day 4, ‘Escape to L.A.’

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James Willetts continues his weekly analysis of the Marvel Universe Miracle Day. Don’t forget this week’s podcast commentary, available immediately after the UK broadcast, tomorrow evening!

When I was a student I discovered a series that I instantly fell in love with. It was a genre bending mash up of Raymond Chandler-esque gumshoe investigation and teen drama, in a fresh and vibrant school setting. The first two seasons involved an ongoing plot arc but the third, faced with cancellation and troubled budgeting, featured two shorter mini-arcs – an elegant mix between episode-of-the-week shenanigans and a more involved season arc which meant the producers had a chance to tell two final stories rather than one.

The reason I bring this up is because we’re now four episodes into Torchwood: Miracle Day and nothing has happened since the first ten minutes. Now, this may be the most meta of stories: a plot that shambles on long after it should have died may be a novel way to demonstrate the problems of a world in which death is no more, but somehow, I don’t think so.

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Torchwood Review – Miracle Day 3, ‘Dead of Night’

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James Willetts shares his thoughts on last week’s episode of Torchwood. It seems he’s a glutton for punishment. Don’t forget to download our commentary for Episode 4: ‘Escape to LA’, available immediately after the UK broadcast tonight!

Torchwood, Torchwood, Torchwood. What the heck is going on here then?

Whilst the last few episodes have been all over the place in terms of realism, characterisation, plotting and holding an audience’s attention I’m still happy to watch this. No matter how bad it is, the innate draw of sci-fi, or just a neat ‘what if’ are enough to keep me going. Something has to be really bad to lose me entirely. I’m not one of these people who think life’s too short to waste on bad TV, or low budget B-Movies, or spending an evening of my life trying to find some Superhero themed music*.

Some people might see it as a character flaw. Personally, I think it’s more of a triumph. Anyone who’s read anything I’ve ever written, knows that I frequently dislike the shows I watch. Just because I have a tolerance for nonsense, doesn’t mean I can’t recognise it when I see it.

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Torchwood Review – Miracle Day 2, ‘Rendition’

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James Willetts wonders why the latest episode of Torchwood wasn’t as much fun as Iron Man or dinosaurs.
If you missed our commentary for ‘Rendition‘, find it here! 

There are two huge problems with the second episode of Miracle Day which derail an engaging and enjoyable story.

Unfortunately there are two parts of the episode which ring so false that all sense of logic, excitement and larger storyline are utterly lost. The first is the softening of the public’s attitude towards Oswald Danes, and the second is the creation of an anti-toxin to cure arsenic poisoning from the everyday contents of an aeroplane.

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Torchwood Review – Miracle Day 1, ‘The New World’

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James Willetts aims his bazooka of truth at the low flying helicopter that is Torchwood: Miracle Day. 

Ever since RTD launched Torchwood as a spin off for Captain Jack in an attempt to make a more adult science fiction show, the programme has struggled to find a format that works. ‘Miracle Day’ is the latest attempt to keep Torchwood relevant, coming after two largely ignored seasons of varying quality, and a miniseries that was a critical success.

Following the idea of ‘Children of Earth’, a single storyline over a shorter amount of time, T:MD is a chance to prove that the achievements of the previous itineration have not been lost. More crucially, it’s a chance to prove that serious science fiction (or at least adult science fiction) can work. Since the last Torchwood there have been few attempts to launch big budget science fiction series other than the execrable Outcasts, and there seems to be no sign that the success of the last miniseries has sparked a surge in the desire for further science fiction output. Even as Doctor Who continues to hold strong (or lose ground, or plummet towards inevitable disaster, depending on who you listen to) other franchises have found it difficult to gain a foothold.

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Doctor Who Commentary – 6.04 ‘The Doctor’s Wife’

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The Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory answer a Time Lord distress signal from a junk-yard beyond the universe, and meet the mysterious and beautiful Idris, in a story penned by top fantasy writer Neil Gaiman. But does it live up to the hype?

Join us as we discuss kisses to the past, exploring the TARDIS, the identity of Idris and much more!

This edition’s commentators:Caleb, Peter and James.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:34 — 30.4MB)

What did you think – was this the best new series episode yet? Will this story change the way you see the show forever? What other parts of the TARDIS would you like to see on screen? Let us know your thoughts, in the comments below, or on Twitter, Facebook or by email.