Creator, lead writer and executive producer Russell T Davies said:
Things do get crazy.I wanted to tell a story in which civilization snaps, in which we turn on ourselves, in which nothing is safe. Plenty of people live like that, on this planet. In this story, it's Britain's turn.
What is Torchwood about? Basically they are a group separate from the government that works outside the police and outside the United Nations. In fact, the government isn't even supposed to know about them. Their goal is to protect Earth against alien threats.
Starting off as a spin-off of Doctor Who, Torchwood has gone beyond that. Torchwood is clearly a more 'adult' show consisting of more violence, language and even nudity. If you haven't seen Torchwood before (or even Doctor Who), Children Of Earth is a good place to start.
During Day 2, you really start noticing the cursing and shooting. Again, it's clear that this is not a typical Doctor Who episode. What I really liked was after an explosion, you see things from a character's perspective including the muffled sound and ringing in their ears. A nice touch.
Day 3 finds Torchwood getting back to the basics. They need to rebuild themselves in order to handle the situation. It was during this episode that I marveled over the fact that this wasn't a 'neat' little story that wrapped itself up after an hour. Having the story spread out over five days gives it a more realistic feel. Throughout, we delve further into the characters of Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones as we find out more and more about them. As I mentioned, none of them will be the same after this story. The touch of seeing a tie to Jack's past was intriguing.
I also started wondering during Day 3, what would happen if the Doctor did arrive on Earth during this crisis? Is this something that he could have solved in one 'day'? Is this crisis any more severe than the ones he's faced?
On Day 4 I noticed that things simply are more intense than a Doctor Who episode. Again having the story take place over five days was a nice touch, although some moments did feel as if things were starting to drag on. The music really sets the mood. You feel the emotion and turmoil the characters have to face.
Children Of Earth was a fun ride. With all the twists and turns, you don't know what to expect (especially if you've managed to avoid the spoilers). The show shows that no one is safe. The entire premise of the show is shaken up and it's a nice change. I'm not one for seeing the lead characters punished or abused, but by not knowing what happens next, you get pushed out of your comfort zone. They're not going to holding hands and skipping off into the sunset at the end. My only complaints would be I wasn't too crazy about the "threat" and I felt it could have taken place in perhaps four days over five. It's a borderline 4/4.5 out of 5. Check out the show tonight on BBC America. Even if you haven't seen an episode before and regardless if you like Doctor Who or not, it's worth watching. The story and presentation was very ambitious and I felt it did deliver at the end. Watch it and see for yourself.
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