Torchwood v Doctor Who

[LK Today]

Ok, I have spoken to a few people about this, but surely I cannot be the only one who loves Torchwood but really doesn't love Doctor Who. I don't get the whole sci-fi fantasy stuff normally, which is why I really don't like Doctor Who, but for some reason I really like Torchwood. I don't know why, and, no, it isn't just John Barrowman. Is it me, or is Torchwood more 'human' than the others?

Is there anyone else out there who feels like this?

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[Rufus]

Hrrmn.

As much as I love Torchwood (even though a few of the episodes have been awful! Tonight's was back on form) I would say that the reason you're finding it more 'human' than Doctor Who is possibly because the team at the core of Torchwood are all human, whereas the Doctor is a Time Lord and thus the humanity is generally shown through his companion (part of the reason why Rose was so brilliant).

Does that make sense? I'm too tired.

[Jen the Phantom Hobbit of]

Both are good, but both are very different, so if you don't like one you can enjoy the other. Plus you don't necessarily need to know Doctor Who to understand Torchwood.

I dunno - they're both great!

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The voices in my head tell me I'm not insane ... but everyone else does.

[Thackary]

Doctor Who - Good.
Unbelievable stories, very little gore, great scripts, smashing acting (from the leads at least)

torchWooD - Dreadful!
Wooden acting, hindered by awful scripts and direction. Same low budget, but without tongue in cheek. It's crap.
And yet I keep watching it.

[Pan]

I'm sorry, but Doctor Who is just better.

Torchwood- I like, Doctor Who- I love.

[hr]

"Last time you gave me a pie, I cut into it, and birds flew out of it, hitting me in the face and chin. I was confused. It was a trick pie"

[oddly familiar]

Slightly OT here, but... I read recently that the BBC spent the equivalent of $4m per episode of Doctor Who, yet they spend roughly $1.5m per episode of Battlestar Galactica, which looks infinitely better - production values, CG, sets, etc. are waaay better than DW or Torchwood (not to mention the acting and writing). Ever get the feeling the BBC is wasting your license payer's money?

[hr]

saru mo ki kara ochiru

[thePontificator]

What that amount of money will get you in America is different to what it'll get you here. It's very expensive filming in Britain so I assume that's got something to do with it.

Also, I can hardly believe the BBC would spend approx £1.5 - £2 million per episode of Doctor Who. Could you give me a link to that info please?

And Doctor Who is better than Torchwood simply because it has better written, less annoying characters, and doesn't contain lines as cringeworthy as 'When was the last time you came so hard you forgot where you were?'

[Rufus]

Yeah, the Owen/Gwen relationship is frightening to behold...and I thought her gallumphing boyfriend Reece was painful enough.

I'll still watch Torchwood though, however many times they stray off track, because Captain Jack is just ace.

Also, according to wikipedia 'Tennant has confirmed that he will continue to play the Tenth Doctor at least into the revived programme's third series in 2007,[6] and the Sun has reported that he has also signed for the fourth (2008) series, "in a £1 million deal".[7] The Daily Mirror has reported that Tennant is forbidden from attending Doctor Who fan conventions while he is playing the role'

I can't see Doctor Who costing £1.5 million per episode either, maybe per series.

[novium]

just to be pendantic- I think a good number, if not a vast majority- of tv shows, at least scifi shows, seem to be filmed in canada

Quoting thePontificator from 11:37, 4th Dec 2006
What that amount of money will get you in America is different to what it'll get you here. It's very expensive filming in Britain so I assume that's got something to do with it.

Also, I can hardly believe the BBC would spend approx £1.5 - £2 million per episode of Doctor Who. Could you give me a link to that info please?

And Doctor Who is better than Torchwood simply because it has better written, less annoying characters, and doesn't contain lines as cringeworthy as 'When was the last time you came so hard you forgot where you were?'

[hr]

tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[novium]

Torchwood annoys me immensely, but i keep watching it. Although the last two episodes were not quite as annoying. But that's not saying much.

[hr]

tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[oddly familiar]

It was something that I read on a internet messageboard, we all know you can trust those..... Still, bearing in mind how much it costs to make science fiction TV, it wouldnt surprise me at all if 1.5m per episode was about right. Ive spent the last 40 minutes trying to find a budget vreakdown of the BBC's drama costs, and found nothing. Here's my reasoning for why it could cost £1.5m an episode though:

You're right about things costing more here, it seems that there is a pound-for-dollar exchange rate when it comes to costs of many things. Most American sci-fi shows have a budget approaching $1-1.5m an episode. The first episode of lost for example cost $5m. The 1996 TV movie of doctor who cost £4m, which though it had higher production values than the current one, was about twice as long, so maybe £1.5m for an episode is about right. It really wouldnt surprise me - even things which don't require a lot of special effects or sets to be built cost a lot - bleak house last year cost £750 000 per hour.

On the other hand during my internet trawling I did also discover that the Battlestar Galactica mini-series where most of the sets would have been built and prodution costs would have been incurred, did cost $17m. Hmmm.

[hr]

saru mo ki kara ochiru

[novium]

i thought the first episode of lost cost some outrageous amount of money, closer to a movie than anything else... much more than five million? (on edit: like 25 million)

[hr]

tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[Colleen]

Torchwood is a barrel of crap. Enjoyable crap, but crap nevertheless. It had potential - fairies! pterodactyls eating cyberwomen! that's the cracktasticness of Who - but just UGH, mostly. Owen offends me on every level, Gwen makes Rose look competent, I have a soft spot for Ianto and Tosh I will admit and Jack is... wooden. Which is a shame, as he was ace in Who.

(I still watch every week, mind you. I have this vague hope it'll miraculously get good.)

I'm the secretary of DocSoc, so it's sort of understandable that I prefer both Doctor Who and think that UNIT are a ZILLION TIMES BETTER than Torchwood. Can you see the Brigadier being emo? He would have Owen quietly removed, make Ianto a cup of tea and save the earth all at the same time. And while I'm on the topic, every problm Torchwood tries to sort out, it's generally brought on itself.

When an organisation makes UNIT seem competent, you know it can't be good.

[hr]

taking shots for mother nature

[Amaunet]

Geek.

I like Dr Who because I grew up on it, but Torchwood is something I love because it is so out there and beyond the realms of possibilities. Whats not to love about a show that gives us fairies, gloves, ressurection and dialogue cheesy enough to spread on crackers and eat?

Torchwood in my opinion isn't meant to be classy or an earth-shattering piece of scifi, its meant to be fun.

And you have to admit that the team are much better looking than UNIT

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"You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how"

Gone with the Wind

[novium]

I agree with you entirely. Especially about Jack.

Quoting Colleen from 13:05, 4th Dec 2006
Torchwood is a barrel of crap. Enjoyable crap, but crap nevertheless. It had potential - fairies! pterodactyls eating cyberwomen! that's the cracktasticness of Who - but just UGH, mostly. Owen offends me on every level, Gwen makes Rose look competent, I have a soft spot for Ianto and Tosh I will admit and Jack is... wooden. Which is a shame, as he was ace in Who.

(I still watch every week, mind you. I have this vague hope it'll miraculously get good.)


[hr]

taking shots for mother nature

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tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Torchwood has grown on me... although I think the problem is both shows are quite variable. There have been terrible and excellent examples of both Torchwood (that Cyberwoman episode was a bag of shite, but last night's was excellent) and Dr Who (the two parter where the Doctor met lucifer in the middle of that asteroid was wonderfully dark and fantastically written - even with little nods to the videogame Doom). As a whole I prefer Dr Who, but that is perhaps because it's been around longer and has had more time to throw up gems.


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Mmmmmmm, cake.
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[the Empress]

I have to KNOW . . what the hell can you do with a stopwatch in 10minutes?!

I used to loath John Barrowman for being too enthusiastic, but he's grown on me. Gwen=idiot. And . . Gaius(BSG)=brilliant. Me=geek:S

[novium]

yeah, I assumed that was supposed to be a sexual reference, but it was the dumbest one I've ever heard.

[hr]

tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[Legion]

It's the little button on the top.

[orudge]

Quoting Colleen from 13:05, 4th Dec 2006
Torchwood is a barrel of crap. Enjoyable crap, but crap nevertheless. It had potential - fairies! pterodactyls eating cyberwomen! that's the cracktasticness of Who - but just UGH, mostly. Owen offends me on every level, Gwen makes Rose look competent, I have a soft spot for Ianto and Tosh I will admit and Jack is... wooden. Which is a shame, as he was ace in Who.

For the most part, I'd have to agree with you here. Haven't watched the last two episodes yet, shall get around to that later, but Torchwood really isn't a patch on Doctor Who. It's alright, but not brilliant.

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