Goodbye Miracles

Watched the final episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day on Thursday. 


Overall it was a pretty up and down series. I know I've spoken about it's pros and cons in the past, but I really did think it got better as it went along. With the exception of the diabolical plane episode, it was a pretty interesting story, especially the moral darkness of the "burn centres".


It was definitely pitched at a transatlantic audience, with a couple of scenes feeling too "American". Not that there's anything wrong with American drama, which I'm a massive fan of, but it just felt out of place on such a thoroughly British show. 


There was also the fact that they rolled out a "who's who" of guest stars from American sci-fi. From Q off of Star Trek: The Next Generation to Officer Don from Third Rock from the Sun, Major Kira from Deep Space Nine to Sierra from Dollhouse; it was clear that the endless conveyor belt of guest appearances was aimed squarely at American sci-fi geeks.


But all in all, it was quite good. 


They kept some of the knowing humour from the early British versions, including Gwen and Jack admitting that they're willing to kill each other before "hugging it out" and becoming best friends again, or Gwen scoffing back laughter in the face of the CIA director when he made a joke that would normally have been ignored on an American show. The concept of "nobody dying" was definitely the most interesting of all the Torchwood storylines, and the ten episodes gave them time to explore it thoroughly.


It was also good to see writing/production credits from Buffy and Angel alumni such as Jane Espenson, Kelly A. Manners and Skip Schoolnik, which might have helped give an edge to a lot of the shows writing. It was also both entertaining and disconcerting to keep jumping from the grandiose storylines set in the US to the much smaller storyline in Wales, but that certainly made it stand out from every other show out there. 


It will be interesting to see how well the show did and whether or not there'll be another season. 


The dual epilogues at the end of the episode would suggest it might be in the works...