The characters never feel like real people, they always come off as tools for the plot. They are essentially just another gadget that Torchwood uses to simplify the plot. They need a character who knows history in a scene, well then suddenly Tosh has a new skill. all of these characters are inconsistent from episode to episode, and you rarely even know what role they play within the team. It gets aggravating that Jack will be the mysterious guy they follow, yet sometimes seems like he isn't really a leader at all.
Gwen seems to be in love with Jack, Rhys, and Owen depending on her mood of the episode. She is probably the least consistent character of the bunch. She ranges from naive, innocent, sweet, and the emotional one of the group...to cold heartless slutty bitch who cheats on her long time boyfriend and then callously drugs him to forget before begging for forgiveness.
Owen is probably the most consistent character, but his story arc of falling from the pilot from 1953 is overblown and unbelievable. Ianto and Tosh seem to just be there for background noise and occasionally doing an off-screen task. Ianto should hate Jack for his actions in Cyberwoman, but instead seems to begin having a sexual relationship with him mid way through the series.
There is a real conflict as to whether this is a secret organization or not. The problem stems from Torchwood's introduction in Army of Ghosts...they stamp EVERYTHING they torch with either their symbol or just plain TORCHWOOD. This is not a good way to keep a secret. It seems tons of people throughout the series seem to know of or about Torchwood. Yet they keep pretending they are one...with their NAME STAMPED ON THE SIDES AND TOP OF THEIR CAR NO LESS.
The problems are really in the Writers room. You get a sense that the writers of this first series weren't really talking to each other, and only half glanced at the others scripts. First seasons often have their missteps, but by the half way point we should have a basic understanding of our characters and few good plots to boot. Russell T. Davies had the idea for Torchwood before he got involved in Doctor Who. Once Who was up and running, and he had made it a success, he retrofitted his idea to fit into the Doctor Who universe. It could have worked...but his energy and focus stayed on Doctor Who itself, and Torchwood was put in the hands of Chris Chibnall. I don't think its entirely Chibnall's fault, but I do think he wasn't really leading the pack in this first series, and as a result its a jumbled mess.
In the end its hard to believe that a good chunk of this fits into the Doctor Who universe. Weevils are a decent invention...but other than that a good chunk is pretty weak or lame, and doesn't really fit in with the rest of the universe. Even when it clearly does though (Cyberwoman) its so ridiculous that you want to discount it
All in all it has a promising beginning and a solid end...but the majority of the middle is flawed and awful...maybe sub-par at best.
Had I not heard the good things about the following series, and had I not seen a pretty decent episode before I started...I would have ended here with Torchwood...and cut ties for good. Luckily I know it gets better from here. A lot better.
NEXT TIME: Bar Reunion
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