Torchwood Redux, Season 2 on DVD

There’s one thing that all of my favorite television shows have in common and that is the ability to make me laugh, squeal and cry all in the same episode. Torchwood is one of those shows. I laugh at Jack’s snarky jokes, I squeal over the guy-on-guy kissing, and when Gwen meets a mother who will never know the fate of her son, I can’t see the screen for the tears.

Quite the mixed bag, Torchwood, and now you can watch every minute of the second season in uncut, unmarked, glorious color on DVD. If you’re a novice, I suggest you start with Season One, but for those brave souls who like to jump into the deep end of a cold pool, here’s a Torchwood primer.

Torchwood is a super secret agency created to track down all things alien that slip through the rift in time that happens to be located in Cardiff (Which is in Wales, which is in the UK.) The ringmaster is Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), a cheeky, bisexual ex-time agent (think Doctor Who with frills) who happens to be immortal. Working under him (quite literally at times) is tacked and tucked concierge, Ianto, girly geek Tosh, handy but randy Doctor Owen and Gwen.

Gwen is the audience point of view, a former police officer who is new to this whole “catching aliens” thing. She’s the heart and soul of the group. The one who reminds them of their humanity when they slip. And that’s where things get interesting.

Season Two of Torchwood is darker, weightier than Season One. There’s quite a bit of death and destruction and it wraps with one of the biggest twists of the series. The second biggest talking point for this season are the guest appearances by Buffy’s James Marsters. He exceeds expectations as Captain John Hart, a lonely time agent who is looking to hook up with former pal / lover Captain Jack. Yes, Captain Hart gives all new meaning to the phrase “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” and when he returns for the season finale. . . . let’s just say that anytime you think you know what’s going to happen, you don’t and that’s what makes Torchwood so deliciously watchable.

The Second Season DVD set has 13 episodes (yes, that’s the BBC’s idea of a full season) on four discs and a fifth disc filled with nothing but “Torchwood Declassified” segments. These short featurettes focus on one or two aspects of making a particular episode. They combine behind the scenes footage with interviews with the cast and crew and I find them really informative and enjoyable. Here in the US, we get only very tiny snippets of these features during the weekly episode so it’s great to have the full versions tucked away on the DVD.

What I do find odd is the fact that they’re all together on the last disc instead of spaced out on the discs with the matching episodes. Same goes for the deleted scenes which can all be found on disc four. They’d make more sense if I could watch them in conjunction with the episodes they were taken from. Also on disc four are outtakes which are pretty amusing (especially the fight scene outtakes between Marsters and Barrowman) and a featurette called “The Life and Deaths of Captain Jack.” Interesting, and definitely something you don’t want to watch until you’ve seen all of the episodes.

What’s blatantly missing from this set are commentaries. I really enjoy listening to the cast and crew prattle on about an episode and I was disappointed to find there wasn’t a single one on this set.

About the only other thing I can complain about is the price tag. As a BBCAmerica release, it’s much more expensive than comparable US series box sets. Still, with it’s movie-like production values, cool characters and wild, often complex plots, Torchwood is a show that’s made for DVD. It’s perfect popcorn viewing for a rainy Saturday afternoon as long as you’re careful to avoid the Night Travelers as you watch.

Torchwood: Season Two is already on the shelves of your local media store, so rush out and buy a copy right now.