2.8 A Day in the Death

[NorthernStar]

Some bloke no-one's ever heard of said if you bring a character there has to be consequences. I didn't care for the ones he made when bringing back his deadie...

...and it has to be said I don't much like the ones put forward here, but I care very much for how it affects Owen.

Burn Gorman is fantastic, doing his level best to pitch David Tennant off the top of my "Best Who Actor" list.

I never entertained the thought that Torchwood could produce something that might be considered Hugo-worthy. And while Day in a Death doesn't quite get there, it's a whole lot closer than I'd ever believed possible!

"Clean sheets!"

[Lord President]

Copied this one last night, will be watching it tonight! Really looking forward to this one! I am a huge Burn Gorman fan!

[Alex]

I really enjoyed this one, the suicide issue was really well handled (as were the visuals too, especially when we saw the bride in her blood soaked dress on the motorway), and over the last three episodes they've done something I never thought would be possible by making Owen really likable now, infact he's slowly becoming one of my favourite characters and I'm intrigued as to how his character arc will develop.

I did struggle a bit as to why Jack was so harsh with Owen (he did bring him back from the dead after all), perhaps it was a case of 'tough love', but I thought he'd be a bit more compassionate towards him, but bar that the I've no complaints at all, and I loved the way the alien device turned out to be something positive rather than negative. And Richard Briers was superb in it too, it's a real shame we won't see more of him.

I've got to say that I really didn't hold out much hope for Torchwood this series after the first few episodes, but now I'm really enjoying it and look forward to each new episode. So yay!

[enzo1701]

Yeah - loved it here too.

If I have to be REALLY picky... someone that can't breath, can't talk but hey, all in all, it's been a fab three-parter. I'm glad to see Torchwood doing this now as it proves that they can do arc episodes.

[Jason Thompson]

Owen's abilities as a walking corpse are whatever the writer decides, since the man was brought back by some kind of weird alien thing. Being over-literal about it, someone with no breath, no internal body heat and no blood (it's not just that there is no flow, he cuts his hand and nothing so much as drips) can't have the oxygen and warmth he needs for his muscles or brain to even work, let alone talk.

But the episode was good. The only complaint about these three episodes is that bringing Martha in sidelined Gwen almost entirely. For all the contribution she made to these episodes she may as well have gone off on holiday for a few days.

[Lord President]

I thought this was a stunning episode, congrats to Joe Lidster for the writing and to Burn Gorman for an outstanding acting performance!

[Wayne]

I thought it was a good story n' all, but i'm not over keen Owen/Burn Gorman, so i'm a bit meh about the whole Owen-centric theme since the end of 'Reset'.

[Alex]

But the episode was good. The only complaint about these three episodes is that bringing Martha in sidelined Gwen almost entirely. For all the contribution she made to these episodes she may as well have gone off on holiday for a few days.

I do wonder if the fact that Gwen was sidelined is partially why I enjoyed the episodes so much. I do like her sometimes, but she spends so much of the time being over serious and whiney that it spoils the show sometimes...

[Paul Monk]

I've kind of given up on Torchwood but maybe I shouldn't have.

[duncan]

Well done Joe, that was a great episode.

[Dirk Gently]

That was a good episode. Being Owen centric means it'll never be brilliant but it did what it was meant to & as such gets good marks.

I'm not sure about re-watchability though. Only time will tell.

[Larry]

thought it was the weakest episode so far but still pretty enjoyable.

[SiHart]

Great episode this one. I like the way that Owen's character is being broadened and explored through the series, and the way that this one misdirected the viewer about his intentions with the girl on the carpark roof was really rather well done I think. Burn Gorman has been really excellent through the last couple of episodes, and Owen still isn't always a sympathetic character but he's getting more likeable all the time.

Oh and these last few episodes really make Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang seem really shallow and out of place.

Si xx

[cyberchris35]

I've not really liked the idea behind these last three episodes. The stories great,the acting is good and visual are stunning but the whole idea of the Owen comming back from the dead just doesn't sit right with me.
I think that the end of Reset was shocking and made you want to watch the next episode but then the whole shock value was wasted with Owen being brought back to life and staying around. What that means to me is that in future episodes if anyone else dies I will just be thinking what are they going to do to bring them back and still have the same old team. That will just spoil any suspence in future episodes and my last gripe about this is that the whole Owen saga took something away from Martha Jones being there. I think what they should have done was done the episode with him being brought back but at the end of it let him die so that the thought of one of the main characters can be killed is still intact.
That's my views these stories have taken something away from Torchwood for me let's hope that future episodes will bring the magic back.

[Nathan]

Yeah - loved it here too.

If I have to be REALLY picky... someone that can't breath, can't talk but hey, all in all, it's been a fab three-parter. I'm glad to see Torchwood doing this now as it proves that they can do arc episodes.

Not only could he talk, but he also exhaled several times out of exaperation (handing over his gun, trouble making coffee, not being able to give the kiss of life), which was a rather strange acting choice, considering.

He can't feel this week, either, but he was really getting off on feeling bricks and stuff the other week in that cell scene with Jack, when he made that big speech about how it means so much more to him now knowing he might be gone at any moment.

[WhiteCrow]

Just caught up on this - was very good, although for a dead man with no breath, Owen does a LOT of sighing!

[FlyingBeastie]

This was a fantastic episode! Well written and beautifully directed!

Congrats Liddy!

[WhiteCrow]

This was a fantastic episode! Well written and beautifully directed!

Congrats Liddy!

The last few episodes have given us the chance for us to see how good an actor Burn Gorman is, and by heck he can out-act the rest of the cast by a good league. I think he's in danger of stealing the show from John Barrowman ...

[Rob McCow]

At last! Burn Gorman in not-being-wasted-as-stupid-character SUPER SHOCKA!!!!

[Andrew Curnow]

A really neatly put together episode that kept us all enthralled here. I thought it was heading towards writing Owen out in a bleak old mire of gloom & doom, but it pulled the rug out from under my feet by being quite the opposite. The 'framing' device with the woman on the ledge was cleverly done, and was well-balanced, and the scenes with Richard Briers were great too - I loved his comments about Tosh. My memory's a bit shaky, but I think this was also the episode where Owen is reduced to teaboy (if not, it was the episode before) and that simple scene where the others are all around the conference table discussing and planning, while he's on the outskirts of the room dishing out the coffee mugs was actually very moving - even the hard-hearted Zel gave a little "aw" of sympathy!

[Philipnet]

I liked this one.
Torchwood does something deep, for once.
The meaning of life (and death) was superbly explored, I think, through Owen's 'life'.