Torchwood: Children of Earth

DVD release is Tuesday.

They ran this five-part miniseries this past week on BBC America and, I have to say, that this is probably the best piece of science fiction I have seen in the last several years.

This is technically the third season of Torchwood (Even though it only lasted five episodes), the story of a team of paranormal investigators based in Cardiff, Wales who travel around the English and Welsh countryside hunting aliens, ghosts, and other assorted bad guys. The story is set in the Doctor Who universe and the main character, Captain Jack Harkness, is a) from the future and b) can never die. I mean absolutely never. His character is very well-developed and adds some complexity to the cast. The show has always been very well done, and this one takes it up a notch.

If you haven't seen Torchwood you can still get into this pretty easily. The quick set up is that a race of aliens comes to earth and demands that the world turn over a very large amount of the child population or else the planet will be destroyed. There is lots of drama and intrigue surrounding some family issues with the various cast members, but they are easily explainable and found on Wikipedia if you get too lost. The story arc is absolutely tight, the acting is good all around, and the bad guys (both human and alien) are contemptible. Very good storytelling.

It is probably worth buying, but at the very least you should absolutely go rent it. It is a total three count.