Sometimes you don't want to use your brain. you just wanna sit back and enjoy a good romp. this is exactly what this episode is. Like it's bonkers but its easy and simple and does all the work for you. You can just chill and enjoy the madness
I always really liked this one, it's not one of the dark mentally scarring cases, it's just a weird alien running around and the Torchwood gang dealing with it, humour ensues. These are the kind of cases that I enjoy, like the speeding fish-man at the start of this series, that you'd have to think they would be dealing with on a more daily basis.
i just really hate the whole love triangle thing that it nearly destroys this episode for me. it makes no sense especially because at this point in the series Jack has asked Ianto out? also we already had an infidelity plotline with Gwen? it cheapens everyone's relationships, both romantically and platonically, and their characters as well. it undoes a lot of character development. and even if the writers wanted the love triangle at the beginning they should have ditched it as the characters developed and the actors chemistry developed. i believe John so much more in scenes with Gareth and the same with Eve and Kai.
agreed! i don't mind love triangles on principle, but this one has always seemed super force, and especially so by the time we get to this episode. it really cheapens gwen&rhys and jack&ianto, i don't understand why they kept pushing it
@@patchworkfellow I've listened to all the 8th Doctor stuff by Big Finish, except a few Short Trips, but I remember Companion Piece because there was a 4th Doctor's companion (most likely the one with Nerys Hughes) in there that the TARDIS wiki wouldn't allow you to say was definitely a 4th Doctor companion, due to her not having appeared in anything else at the time and the story only implied that character tracelled with 4 (I think it was said to happen in 2021 or 2022, so that lines up with what you said about her being a companion). That's what happens with Big Finish and their 4 year ahead knowledge (Jason Haigh-Ellery said at a 2019 convention that Big Finish is about 4 or 5 years ahead of releases in regards to what they have planned).
@@toast99bubbles yup! Big Finish has a plan, they _always_ have a plan! (… which is a line _completely_ stolen from Extra History’s Bismarck video-series)
There's also the fact that Jack gave the choice about the Retcon in regards to Rhys, showing that in a way, the events of the episode gave Jack some form of respect for Rhys.
This episode is weirdly a perfect example of one of the areas RTD was actually influenced by Buffy when setting up NuWho - season structure. In Buffy, there is always a campy, ridiculous episode immediately before, or immediately after any of the most intense and plot heavy episodes. If placed AFTER, they function as a breather - a way to calm and entertain the viewer after they traumatised them the week before. If placed BEFORE, they lull the viewer into a false sense of security so they can be sucker-punched in the next episode - it makes the the emotions of the episode hit harder, for both storyline-related and sadistic reasons. If it's placed directly in between two strings of serious episodes it does both jobs, AND prevents the season becoming too grimdark and depressing and turning off some viewers. These episodes can still have serious moments and key plot points themselves, but the majority of the episode is inherently ridiculous and noticeably lighter than everything around it. Examples include Halloween, The Zeppo, The Prom, Superstar, Tabula Rasa, and Doublemeat Palace. RTD's era of Doctor Who used this technique in more or less every season, with Boom Town, Love & Monsters, Blink, and The Unicorn & The Wasp being the key examples. Blink is a unique case in that it fulfils the same role of being very campy in concept (statues that move when you blink, and a plot that hinges on a movie nerd finding a weird message in VHS Easter eggs, seriously?) and also diffusing the tension and providing an emotional contrast to the surrounding episodes, BUT as basically a 45 minute psychological horror movie it doesn't exactly lift the mood! But anyway, this episode does that.
*The Time War. A deadly, brutal, bloody conflict that destroyed countless millions of species every second and ripped apart entire galaxies and time-zones…* *And is f"cking LIMP compared to Brenda William’s and Mary Cooper’s epic, so-called “passive”-aggressive, feud!*
The giving Gwen the eye while dancing with Ianto is what leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The audience loved Jack and Ianto as a couple and having Jack always seeming to pine for Gwen cheapened the relationship between them. I don't know if the writers wanted to go for a secondary love triangle but forgot to give much credence to the Janto side of it or if they were so tone deaf they didn't think it would be an issue or what was going on. I adore Ianto as a character, and his relationship with Jack, but because they didn't give us a lot of their interactions in comparison to everyone else and had Jack making eyes at Gwen all the time, it takes away a bit from Jack's upset when Ianto eventually dies. Don't get me wrong, I still sob at that scene in CoE but remembering how confused the writers seemed to be writing their relationship in the previous two seasons it just makes it feel a biiiit artificial. Just a bit because I'm an emotional wreck who loves Ianto regardless so I'll always sob at his death.
the thing I couldn't get past when rewatching this one as an adult was... seriously, why not just reschedule the wedding? Gwen's reasoning seems totally irrational - not only is she putting everyone in the wedding in danger, but she's revealing to her entire extended family that she's 9 months pregnant without thinking even once that she would then have to explain to everyone why she didn't have a child??!!! Really ruined what was otherwise a fun episode, because the reasoning needed to justify the plot contrivance of having this all play out during the wedding was just too weak.
the singularity scalpel is a really cool item because it's actually mentioned in a sixth doctor episode (don't ask me which one, I'm fairly certain i heard it mentioned. it's a s22 serial that's all I can remember lol)
I loved this episode. After the heaviness of the last few episodes, this goofy, absurd story is just the palette cleanser you need to cheer things up a bit.
Not everything has to be serious i like this episode its just a bit of a laugh and absolutely nuts on what is going on. To be fair it does make me laugh
This episode was worth the weirdness because we get Rhys bloodied up and wielding a chainsaw, Owen teaching him how to use the singularity scalpel, and of course…Jack and Ianto dancing 🥺
Honestly in my eyes whenever Reese was majorly in an episode the whole thing became 10x better. And he CARRIED this ep just Fucking badass AF Reese DON'T MESS WITH REESE He's the Rory to Gwen's Amy. Heck I love how smart he's shown to be as well. like in miracle day HE is the one to figure out Ficor's secret before everyone else
JUST ANNOUNCED Chibnall all has finally signed Doctor Who’s death warrant by announcing that season 13 will be one story like in classic Who. It worked back then but I doubt very much it’ll work now!
top 10 vampire weddings:
www.patreon.com/harbowholmes
This was the torchwood episode that confirmed it was a doctor who spinoff, without this campness we never would’ve known
Only thing I remember was Jack getting punched out by Rhys for calling his mum ugly. It lives rent free in my head.
best part of the episode
@@HarboWholmes Torchwood was such a meme even in its heyday - btw hope you hated setting up hotel weddings as much as I did 😂
Ahah I was mainly on service duty so luckily I didn't have to do too much setup but it was always a bit of a nightmare
@@HarboWholmes Veterans of Greene King #neverforget also brilliant commentary and analysis as always ❤️
It has big “Austin Powers thinking Basil’s mother is a man” energy
Sometimes you don't want to use your brain. you just wanna sit back and enjoy a good romp. this is exactly what this episode is. Like it's bonkers but its easy and simple and does all the work for you. You can just chill and enjoy the madness
I always really liked this one, it's not one of the dark mentally scarring cases, it's just a weird alien running around and the Torchwood gang dealing with it, humour ensues. These are the kind of cases that I enjoy, like the speeding fish-man at the start of this series, that you'd have to think they would be dealing with on a more daily basis.
"Well grab your chainsaw, and try not to get bitten by an alien shape shifting monster"
Urgh, is it Tuesday again already??
"He's still giving Gwen the eye while he's dancing with Ianto..."
Quote of the week.
every doctor who spinoff needs to have a wedding episode, sarah jane had the crossover and torchwood had this
The only thing I remember from this episode aside from the absurd premise is the Evil Dead joke and Rhys swearing vigorously.
Rhys ALWAYS swears vigorously
I also remembered the 'dress for a friend' joke
i just really hate the whole love triangle thing that it nearly destroys this episode for me. it makes no sense especially because at this point in the series Jack has asked Ianto out? also we already had an infidelity plotline with Gwen? it cheapens everyone's relationships, both romantically and platonically, and their characters as well. it undoes a lot of character development.
and even if the writers wanted the love triangle at the beginning they should have ditched it as the characters developed and the actors chemistry developed. i believe John so much more in scenes with Gareth and the same with Eve and Kai.
agreed! i don't mind love triangles on principle, but this one has always seemed super force, and especially so by the time we get to this episode. it really cheapens gwen&rhys and jack&ianto, i don't understand why they kept pushing it
Rease turned into a real player, especially in Children of Earth. I always felt he should have had more to do in Miracle Day.
Dude I just wanna say...Rhys has the patience of a fucking saint
Find this to be one of the most rewatchable episodes of the show specifically because of how light hearted and fun it is
This was a weird one, but it gave us Nerys Hughes as Rhys's mother.
Nerys Hughes, who’s now playing Margaret in the 4th Doctor Adventures on Big Finish :D
@@patchworkfellow I'm really behind on the 4DAs, but I remember hearing she was in some.
@@toast99bubbles yup! She first appeared (briefly) in “Companion Piece”, an 8th Doctor story, but now she’s getting more lines 😄
@@patchworkfellow I've listened to all the 8th Doctor stuff by Big Finish, except a few Short Trips, but I remember Companion Piece because there was a 4th Doctor's companion (most likely the one with Nerys Hughes) in there that the TARDIS wiki wouldn't allow you to say was definitely a 4th Doctor companion, due to her not having appeared in anything else at the time and the story only implied that character tracelled with 4 (I think it was said to happen in 2021 or 2022, so that lines up with what you said about her being a companion). That's what happens with Big Finish and their 4 year ahead knowledge (Jason Haigh-Ellery said at a 2019 convention that Big Finish is about 4 or 5 years ahead of releases in regards to what they have planned).
@@toast99bubbles yup! Big Finish has a plan, they _always_ have a plan!
(… which is a line _completely_ stolen from Extra History’s Bismarck video-series)
There's also the fact that Jack gave the choice about the Retcon in regards to Rhys, showing that in a way, the events of the episode gave Jack some form of respect for Rhys.
Ianto Jones: Tea Maker, secretary, torchwood agent, strategist, wedding planner, and DJ. Just try and fit that on a business card!
And THAT is why Ianto is the best character hands down 😤😤
This episode is weirdly a perfect example of one of the areas RTD was actually influenced by Buffy when setting up NuWho - season structure. In Buffy, there is always a campy, ridiculous episode immediately before, or immediately after any of the most intense and plot heavy episodes. If placed AFTER, they function as a breather - a way to calm and entertain the viewer after they traumatised them the week before. If placed BEFORE, they lull the viewer into a false sense of security so they can be sucker-punched in the next episode - it makes the the emotions of the episode hit harder, for both storyline-related and sadistic reasons. If it's placed directly in between two strings of serious episodes it does both jobs, AND prevents the season becoming too grimdark and depressing and turning off some viewers. These episodes can still have serious moments and key plot points themselves, but the majority of the episode is inherently ridiculous and noticeably lighter than everything around it. Examples include Halloween, The Zeppo, The Prom, Superstar, Tabula Rasa, and Doublemeat Palace.
RTD's era of Doctor Who used this technique in more or less every season, with Boom Town, Love & Monsters, Blink, and The Unicorn & The Wasp being the key examples. Blink is a unique case in that it fulfils the same role of being very campy in concept (statues that move when you blink, and a plot that hinges on a movie nerd finding a weird message in VHS Easter eggs, seriously?) and also diffusing the tension and providing an emotional contrast to the surrounding episodes, BUT as basically a 45 minute psychological horror movie it doesn't exactly lift the mood!
But anyway, this episode does that.
Note: I know Chibnall ran Torchwood, but RTD was still EP and NuWho was the template for Torchwood.
*The Time War. A deadly, brutal, bloody conflict that destroyed countless millions of species every second and ripped apart entire galaxies and time-zones…*
*And is f"cking LIMP compared to Brenda William’s and Mary Cooper’s epic, so-called “passive”-aggressive, feud!*
I didn't enjoy the Owen trilogy that much, so I remember this episode very fondly as a nice breather from all the moping around.
To note: The Happiness Patrol is not about the Kandyman, he's moreso a secondary villain.
How dare you
You will feel the back of his Kandy hand
The giving Gwen the eye while dancing with Ianto is what leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The audience loved Jack and Ianto as a couple and having Jack always seeming to pine for Gwen cheapened the relationship between them. I don't know if the writers wanted to go for a secondary love triangle but forgot to give much credence to the Janto side of it or if they were so tone deaf they didn't think it would be an issue or what was going on. I adore Ianto as a character, and his relationship with Jack, but because they didn't give us a lot of their interactions in comparison to everyone else and had Jack making eyes at Gwen all the time, it takes away a bit from Jack's upset when Ianto eventually dies. Don't get me wrong, I still sob at that scene in CoE but remembering how confused the writers seemed to be writing their relationship in the previous two seasons it just makes it feel a biiiit artificial. Just a bit because I'm an emotional wreck who loves Ianto regardless so I'll always sob at his death.
Harbo: puts Something Borrowed in B-Tier
The A Tier: so you have chosen death.
the thing I couldn't get past when rewatching this one as an adult was... seriously, why not just reschedule the wedding? Gwen's reasoning seems totally irrational - not only is she putting everyone in the wedding in danger, but she's revealing to her entire extended family that she's 9 months pregnant without thinking even once that she would then have to explain to everyone why she didn't have a child??!!! Really ruined what was otherwise a fun episode, because the reasoning needed to justify the plot contrivance of having this all play out during the wedding was just too weak.
the singularity scalpel is a really cool item because it's actually mentioned in a sixth doctor episode (don't ask me which one, I'm fairly certain i heard it mentioned. it's a s22 serial that's all I can remember lol)
I loved this episode. After the heaviness of the last few episodes, this goofy, absurd story is just the palette cleanser you need to cheer things up a bit.
5:17 I’ve seen him in DAI: Trespasser, he is absolutely the God of Style.
Torchwood was not just "inspired by Buffy", Spike was right there in the cast! :-)
Is the Jack-Gwen romance thread the first example of "Straightbaiting"?
The chainsaw scene is just brilliant I love that scene so much
Not everything has to be serious i like this episode its just a bit of a laugh and absolutely nuts on what is going on. To be fair it does make me laugh
Ah yes, the Torchwood camping trip.
Love this episode. After the owen trilogy it was nice to have a less serious one and it was great! Thanks for the awesome content 🤓
My absolute favourite episode of torchwood and I ain't even sorry
This episode was worth the weirdness because we get Rhys bloodied up and wielding a chainsaw, Owen teaching him how to use the singularity scalpel, and of course…Jack and Ianto dancing 🥺
I love this episode, it's just so light and fun, and it reminds what a wacky and wonderful gem torchwood is
God torchwood what a throw back I remember watching the first eps to come out must have been about 6-7 madness
This is my comfort episode 😅
Thanks for the shout-out
I love this episode, it is so much fun. A good few great lines and some fun stuff, always a favourite.
the gwen and Jack story line is annoying
"The *stakes* are good", heh heh...
10:28 Is pure GWEN COOPER.
Honestly in my eyes whenever Reese was majorly in an episode the whole thing became 10x better. And he CARRIED this ep just Fucking badass AF Reese DON'T MESS WITH REESE He's the Rory to Gwen's Amy. Heck I love how smart he's shown to be as well. like in miracle day HE is the one to figure out Ficor's secret before everyone else
"He's the Rory to Gwen's Amy.". That explains it. Rhys is one of my favorite TW characters and Rory is my favorite DW character.
The re reference ! Love your videos
1:28 hen do!!!
You really like showing that clip of Martha sewing up Owen's hand don't you. 2 episodes in a row. My poor squimish eyes
JUST ANNOUNCED
Chibnall all has finally signed Doctor Who’s death warrant by announcing that season 13 will be one story like in classic Who. It worked back then but I doubt very much it’ll work now!
This episode is just so damn fun!
PLEASEEEE, DO THE WATERS OF MARS REVIEW AAAAAAHHHHH
This was one of my fav episodes, even though it was a bit goofy
it's an extremely weird one but always rly enjoyed it. it didn't make me want to sleep with the lights on.
Torchwood vampires remind me of the True Knot from Dr. Sleep
"A normal human pregnancy"? Was the vampire Jackie Daytona? 😂
Not 'stag do' but hen party!
One of my fav episodes! Crazy fun! For that alone I already love it.
And you were so made for *green* 🙃
My favorite episode
It was fun as hell to watch
What the...? This has to be a prank. I do not remember this episode AT ALL!
Stag do?
3:16 - 3:50 Gwen cheated on him!
Weird of you to call the Candyman "Sweet" and "Based".
❤️
rhys reminds me of miky and rory, romantic partners of the main heroin who are treated like shit
,❤️