One day, three lives, and a sparkly pink intergalactic lifeline

I wasn't sure about this episode when I watched it last week on BBC3. Perhaps it was because it's a little uneventful; I don't quite know. This week I really enjoyed it, though - proof, perhaps, that sometimes a second viewing can make all the difference. It's a fairly unusual piece; not that Torchwood ever especially bothers itself with being normal. Joe Lidster is best known for his work writing audio plays for Big Finish, and he's done some great work for them in the past. "Terror Firma" was a terrific recent-ish one for the Eighth Doctor, for example, in which Davros returned, up to all manner of tricks. It had a wonderfully written support cast, and a great story. He also wrote "The Gathering", of course, but that's not entirely his fault. Somebody had to get saddled with it, after all... At any rate, it was always going to be interesting to see what he came up with for Torchwood, and with one small issue keeping me from being wholly enthusiastic, I think the result was very good. And, to be fair, that small issue isn't his fault in the slightest. It's a non-linear story; very simple, really. Just a day in Owen's shoes, seeing how he copes with being dead. Not, admittedly, an issue that tends to bother many people. At least that we know of. Clearly of some considerable import to him, though; and he has to decide if he wants to carry on the way he is, or if the best thing is simply to look for a way out - or, having seen what might be waiting for him, whether he can really face up to doing that, either.

( Pink sparkliness this way... )