#torchwood season 5

[designernishiki]

after the intensity of kiryu’s response to the news that majima was (supposedly) killed and the lengths he went to to find who’s responsible and do god knows what to them and all that– it’s fucking wild that there was no kazumaji reunion at ALL at the end of y5 like are you kidding me. all of that rage and grief? and their relationship is brushed off like it doesn’t even exist more or less?? cruel cruel cruel

[transmasc-rose]

I am an equal opportunity disliker of Doctor Who seasons. My three least favourite seasons are all from different showrunners.

Season 3: How they treated Martha and Ten's general unlikability (and not in a fun way, imo). I am generally bored or mildly uncomfortable with "oh no I like you but you don't like me" plots unless they do something interesting with it. Generally, I don't think RTDs seasons have a very strong plot, and use character arcs to make up for it, and this one wasn't compelling enough in that regard. High point: The Master was always fun, and Martha finally got to shine when the Doctor wasn't stealing her spotlight. If you like Martha watch Torchwood fr.

Season 7a: I haven't watched 7b yet but, and I say this as the worlds biggest Amy Pond fan, they should not have put her in a third season. Moffat ran out of ideas for her as soon as River was born. Please god why didn't you just let her leave on a high note. Moffat is good at bringing up concepts, even if he sucks at following through, and he didn't even bother with that in this season so What Is Left? Nothing is left. They did an arc in 6 episodes and the arc didn't exist. High point: That cowboy episode was fun. I love the Doctor pointing guns at people, it gets me every time. Doctor/Ponds family bonding moments :). Generally the individual episodes were ok but the bones were weak and, in fact, already broken.

Season 11: I was bored :( The companions didn't compel me in the way other companions have managed to do. It sort of felt like when a show wobbles around bc they can't tell if they're going to get cancelled or not and don't want to leave plot threads unfinished. So they didn't add multi-season plot threads. Thirteen's actions felt inconsistent with other nu who Doctors (ie. never bothering to deal with the systemic problems in ANY of her episodes. Ghost Monument. Kerblam!. The spider one. The other Doctors don't deal with it well usually, no, but he leaves the system broken without fixing them, not still running as is.) I've only watched a bit of s12 so I can only talk about what I've seen and Torchwood for Chibnall's writing, but I KNOW he can write. He can do it. I've seen his work on Torchwood. If he writes Doctor Who-rated Countrycide I will forgive all of his crimes. High point: I like Thirteen herself, and I like individual scenes ("That's my phone! All my stuff's in there!" "Not anymore :D"). Tardis wife <3. Spymaster wasn't in this season but I want to mention him anyways because I love him So Much and Spyfall SHOULD have been the s11 finale.

...I don't hate any of Torchwood though, so its not totally equal. I've watched two seasons and enjoyed two seasons. Gwen/Ianto/Jack is peak Weird Fucking Relationship and watching them exist absolves the show of all sins. Like, I think its lower quality than Doctor Who as a whole, but in the charming early seasons way that reminds me of the Ninth Doctor, and I love the Ninth Doctor. Congrats RTD and Chibnall, you get a pass on this one. (Special shout out to Catherine Tregenna <3 Her episodes were my favourite. I want to see her write Doctor Who.)

[akajustmerry]

I would also really encourage people to read up about Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner and how they treated Eccleston while shooting season 1 of Doctor Who in 2004/5. A good place to start is Eccleston's memoir where he writes in detail about how insensitive RTD and BBC producers were to his health struggles, and the rights of the crew which Eccleston helped fight for that got him blacklisted by the BBC. There are also plenty of interviews where Eccleston talks about how hard he had to fight Russell on using his natural accent. RTD was also showrunning Doctor Who and Torchwood the whole time John Barrowman was sexually harassing cast and crew. When I say I don't like RTD Who it's not just a subjective thing of not liking his ideas, there's very tangible reasons to do with how he's treated people in the past. I hope he's changed, learned lessons, etc. But the BBC have made a huge effort to bury this stuff because it's bad publicity for them, and people really need to remember he's not the perfect showrunner the PR hype wants you to believe. Don't fall for nostalgia.

[aysathenotsogreat]

trying to explain the specific insane energy torchwood has is hard man. like I don't recommend the show to people because it may be edgy sci-fi camp that perfectly appeals to me but there's so much in that's first season that can justifiably turn someone off of. like it took me a lot to watch past episodes 2 and 3 personally.

but the characters man. They were always, if not good, fucking compelling to watch. even if they were making idiotic, self-destructive actions, you couldn't stop watching to see if they'd actually figure it out. this show is insanely messy and the characters and how they act reflect that. they are horrible to each other and are horrible to themselves and it's all so fucking GOOD.

and by the time you get to season 3, you have a 5 episode story entirely focused delivering emotional gutpunch after another by the end. it's political and raw and nothing prepared me me for it the first time. I HAD NO IDEA AND I WAS 6 YEARS LATE. unfortunately the last season was something that I mostly watched out of attachment to my two fucked up blorbos more than out of enjoyment. like there was interesting stuff in there but for the most part I was bored which is the last thing I should be when watching this show imo.

sorry for the torchwood rambling. I just miss Gwen a lot guys.

[geronimomo-spd]

and there we go! the full Confidential Archive!

here are all the episodes, according to tardis wiki list, including all of the mini specials and chrismas specials and most if not all in good quality! the full list of everything is under the cut because yeah, its a longgg list!

all in order, including some youtube videos and dvd rips hehe, all according the the tardis wiki list

SERIES 1 -

1x00 - A New Dimension (a prolog to season one, narrated by David Tennant)

1x01 - (rose)

1x03 - (the unquiet dead)

1x04 - (aliens of london)

1x05 - (world war 3)

1x06 - (dalek)

1x07 - (the long game)

1x08 - (father's day)

1x09 - (the empty child)

1x10 - (the doctor dances)

1x11 - (boom town)

1x12 - (bad wolf)

1x13.1 - The Ultimate Guide (another little documentary right before

parting of the ways, about key aspects about filming the season)

1x13.2 - (parting of the ways)

1x14 - Backstage at Christmas (the nine minutes they gave us from some of behind the scenes of The Christmas Invasion)

SEIRES 2 -

2x00 - One Year On (a general preview for season 2, including the series 2 press launch, a lot more behind the scenes of The Christmas Invasion and some Torchwood stuff)

2x01 - (new earth)

2x02 - (tooth and claw)

2x03 - (school reunion)

2x04 - (the girl in the fireplace)

2x05 - (rise of the cyberman)

2x06 - (the age of steel)

2x07 - (the idiot's lantern)

2x08 - (the impossible planet)

2x09 - (the satan pit)

2x10 - (love & monsters) - (featuring the winning of the contest of designing a monster)

2x11 - (fear her)

2x12 - (army of ghosts)

2x13 - (doomsday)

2x14 - Music and Monsters (the behind the scenes of doctor who's first music show, including some behind the scenes stuff of The Runaway Bride)

SERIES 3 -

3x01 - (smith and jones)

3x02 - (the shakespear code)

3x03 - (gridlock)

3x04 - (daleks in manhattan)

3x05 - (evolution of the daleks)

3x06 - (the lazarus experiment)

3x05 - (42)

3x06 - (human nature)

3x07 - (the family of blood)

3x08 - (blink)

3x11 - (utopia)

3x12 - (the sound of drums)

3x13.1 - (last of the time lords)

3x13.2 - Children in Need Special (the behind the scenes of the special where 10 meets 5, really cute stuff)

3x14.1 - Kylie Special (series 3 christmas special. version 1 - the full version in less of a good quality i found on youtube, bless this youtube channel honestly)

3x14.2 - Kylie Special (series 3 christmas special. version 2 - the shorter version that was up on iplayer)

3x14.3 - Kylie Special (series 3 christmas special. version 3 - the version i edited to include the low quality parts that were missing with the good quality shorter version)

SERIES 4 (INCLUDING THE SPECIALS) -

4x01 - (partners in crime)

4x02 - (the fiers of pompaii)

4x03 - (planet of the ood)

4x04 - (the sontaran stratagem)

4x05 - (the doctor's daughter)

4x06 - (the posion sky)

4x07 - (the unicorn and the wasp)

4x08 - (silence in the library)

4x09 - (forest of the dead)

4x10 - (midnight)

4x11 - (turn left)

4x12 - (the stolen earth)

4x13 - (journey's end)

4x14.1 - The Journey (So Far) (a documentary about the entire show so far)

4x14.2 - Confidential Christmas 2008 (behind the scenes of The Next Doctor christmas special)

4x14.3 - Doctor Who: Top 5 Christmas Moments (a sort of confidential behind the scenes clip show of all of the episodes set at christmas)

4x15.1 - At the Proms 2008 (behind the scenes of doctor who at the proms 2008)

4x15.2 - The Eleventh Doctor (the special they used to announce Matt Smith as the new doctor who)

4x15.3 - Desert Storm (behind the scenes of Planet Of The Dead)

4x16 - Is There Life on Mars? (behind the scenes of The Waters Of Mars)

4x17 - Lords and Masters (behind the scenes of The End Of Time, Part One)

4x18 - Allons-y! (behind the scenes of The End Of Time, Part Two. version 1 - full dvd version)

4x18 - Allons-y! (behind the scenes of The End Of Time, Part Two. version 2 - shortend higher quality version from iplayer, this version has a song in the soundtrack that is diffrent from the dvd version, this is the most accurate version to what aired on tv at the time)

SERIES 5-

5x01 - (the eleventh hour)

5x02 - (the beast below)

5x03 - (victory of the daleks)

5x04 - (the time of angels)

5x05 - (flesh and stone)

5x06 - (the vampires of venice)

5x07 - (amy's choice)

5x08 - (the hungry earth)

5x09 - (cold blood)

5x10.1 - (vincent and the doctor)

5x10.2 Monster Files: The Daleks (a little documentary about victory of the daleks/daleks in general)

5x11 - (the lodger)

5x12 - (the pandorica opens)

5x13 - (the big bang)

5x14.1 - Monster Files: The Weeping Angels (a little documentary about the weeping angels episodes this season)

5x14.2 - Monster Files: The Silurians (a little documentary about the silurian episodes)

5x14.3.1 - Monster Files: The Alliance (a little documentary about the alliance of monsters from the pandoica opens)

5x14.3.2 - Backstage at the Doctor Who Prom 2010 (behind the scenes of doctor who at the proms 2010)

5x14.4.1 - Charlie McDonnell - Runner (the first Charlle behind the scenes videos, pretty quiet - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

5.14.4.2 - Charlie McDonnell - TARDIS (another Charlie video, she explores the tardis set this time -Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

5x14.4.3 - Charlie McDonnell - Decorating Bus (another Charlie video, she decorates the food place with christmas decorations, i liked them Charlie - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

5x14.4.4 - Charlie McDonnell - Christmas Presents (badger) (the famus Charlie video where she brings the cast and crew presents! this is where Matt gets his badger puppet - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

5x14.5 - Christmas Special 2010 (behind the scenes of A Christmas Carol)

SERIES 6 -

6x01.1 - (the impossible astronaut)

6x01.2 - My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen (a special memorial for the late Elisabth Sladen 😭😭)

6x02 - (day of the moon)

6x03 - (the curse of the black spot)

6x04 - (the doctor's wife)

6x05 - (the rebel flesh)

6x06 - (the almost people)

6x07.1 - Charlie McDonnell interviews Neil Gaiman (Charlie interviews Neil Gaiman, appewrently causing some ruckes on Charlie's blog at the time hehe - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

6x07.2 - (a good man goes to war)

6x07.3 - The Monster Files: The Silence (a little documentary on the silence, thank god because i needed that)

6x07.4 - The Monster Files: The Gangers (a little documentary on the gangers, my beloveds)

6x07.5 - Charlie McDonnell Becomes A Dalek (the last Charlie video, released late because it had the 1-4 tardis set, also she gets to ride a dalek in this one - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

6x08 - (lets kill hitler)

6x09 - (night terrors)

6x10 - (the girl who waited)

6x11 - (the god complex)

6x12 - (closing time)

6x13.1 - (the wedding of river song)

6x13.2 - The Monster Files: The Antibodies (a little documentary on the antibodies from lets kill hitler)

6x13.3 - The Monster Files: The Cybermats (a little documentary on the little adorable cybermates because awww)

6x14 - The Nights' Tale (a little documentary on on the nights mini episodes! the last confidential stuff ever made rip)

[theplanetcafe]

gwen is truly the most unhinged member of torchwood she made out with a murdering alien prisoner in full view of the security cameras on her first day of work, she’s kissed her boss like 5 times, she angry-fucked her coworker for months, and she locked her boyfriend in a prison cell- all in season 1. no one is doing it like her

[maspers]

Ranking the Miracucast by how good of a Doctor Who Companion they'd be.

Marinette: She'd be great at it, but she would also hate it and just want it to be over. She's tired and has no time for this shenaniganry. Please give her this chance to not be involved. 5/10

Alya: Would have SO MANY QUESTIONS. Could do very well, but I can see her veering dangerously close to Adam Mitchell territory. Careful there, Alya. 7/10

Adrien: Yes. 10/10

Nino: I think he'd be a decent TARDIS passenger, but he's the type that'd be part of an ensemble. Wouldn't work as well as a solo companion. 4/10

Chloe: Sorry Chloe fans, but no. The Doctor can pull a redemption arc out of anyone, but they also have no patience for bullcrap. It's just not happening no matter how much I want it to. 1/10

Sabrina: I think she would be great, but the fandom would not like her as a companion. 6/10

Mylene: Yeah, she would not like it. 0/10

Ivan: If Mylene isn't going, then neither is he. 0/10

Rose: Would be absolutely hilarious due to her name alone. Accompanying a Classic Doctor might be better for her. 7/10

Juleka: I don't care what you say she would be excellent and the fandom would love her. Ironically would probably fit better with a NuWho Doctor. 10/10

Kim: The Doctor does not want Kim in the TARDIS. Kim has been in the TARDIS at least once, and the Doctor has vowed that it will be the last time. They're wrong. 4/10

Max: The Doctor would ADORE Markov. Max would be Markov's plus one. 7/10 by proxy

Alix: Pretty sure she already is a companion. Like. In canon. We haven't seen it but it's definitely happened, fight me. Alix/10

Nathaniel: I want to say he'd be great but in my heart I know he would be Very Stressed. Definitely would not want to travel with the Doctor, but would keep getting dragged along by his friends. The fandom would love him though. 5/10

Lila: As she is now? Absolutely not. The Doctor would despise her. -10/10, BUUUUUUT if she was picked up before Volpina (or pre-Chameleon at the latest) I think she could be redeemed like in the Scarlet Lady AU. She would be hilarious. She gives me Turlough vibes. If the Doctor can deal with Turlough and Missy then he can deal with Lila. She has the potential to be unique and have an interesting character arc compared to other companions, and let's be honest NuWho needs something unique and interesting. 8/10

Luka: Like Nino, he works better as part of ensemble. Would be an excellent supporting character for Marinette or Juleka if they were companions, or maybe be a very cool Oneshot Companion like Wilf. 3/10

Kagami: The Doctor would have their work cut out for them, because Kagami is a "stab first ask questions later" person and the Doctor doesn't vibe with that normally. Neither The Doctor nor Kagami would be happy with this arrangement. So naturally Kagami's sole season would be one of the best in the entire show. 9/10

Marc: He would travel with either the Second or Thirteenth Doctors. He would do wonderfully, but his seasons would definitely be more focused on the Doctor than Marc himself. Sorry Marc. 7/10

Ondine: Is too busy keeping Kim out of trouble. And as stated previously, the Doctor does not want Kim in the TARDIS. 2/10

Felix: I just don't think it would work. Felix could definitely be a major recurring character, but somehow I can't really see him actually being a companion proper. He does get bonus points for being British. Perhaps instead of being a companion he spends his free time annoying Torchwood. 3/10

Zoe: She'd be great. But the universe would be Very Cruel to her. People will die, and she will not be happy about it. 8/10

[finalgwen]

I'm going to go on a little ramble about representation in Doctor Who because tonight they managed to make me feel a way I haven't felt since 18 June 2005.

So let's start there, with the last time we got to see the Doctor and a male character have a romantic kiss. On family tv in 2005, with kids across the country watching. Two years before that, it was literally illegal to mention LGBTQ+ people in a positive sense in UK schools. Section 28's shadow lingered for a long time, I don't think there was any palpable change to the curriculum in those two years. But RTD gave us Captain Jack and that kiss, and he did so explicitly for the purpose of representation, saying 'It’s time you introduce bisexuals properly into mainstream television'.

Then after that kiss, Jack dies. Tale as old as time for queer characters. But then... He doesn't. He comes back to life, and refuses to die from that point on. A writer that saw too many brilliant gay and bi men disappear from his life (as It's A Sin brings into stark contrast) gave us a queer hero whose power was that he couldn't die, and I still marvel at the power of that.

(... And then sadly the elephant in the room, John Barrowman refused to learn about what's appropriate on set and kept doubling down on why his behaviour was actually just fine and dandy, and so we'll likely never see the character again, which sucks given how much he meant to bi kids growing up in that era.)

So anyway, Doctor Who moves on as it always does. We get Torchwood and a gloriously bi team there, but safely away in the adult television space. RTD era Who keeps on mentioning queer characters but we never get anyone quite as in your face or central to the plot as Jack. River Song briefly mentions flirting with everyone in the same 51st century way, but then stays mostly focused on the Doctor on screen.

Then Moffat era Who comes about and Season 5 doesn't feature a single queer character except River's reappearance. Even Moffat realised how much he'd fucked up here and course corrected. So things get slightly better with Vastra and Jenny (two prominent lesbian characters, only one of whom gets non-consensually kissed by the very male Doctor, yay) and eventually Clara, a canonically bi companion. It's only mentioned in little side snippets about kissing Jane Austen in unseen stories, but it's there? You can't deny she's bi, even if it never really informs her story. And then Bill, who's actually genuinely handled pretty well as a lesbian character, I think Moffat tried and things like getting a gay date interrupted by the pope are genuinely funny gags. Wish we got more of an actual dynamic between her and Heather though.

Then we get the Chibnall era and we do get queer characters here and there, The Witchfinders casting of Alan Cumming as James I is very good, and Praxeus has a quite sweet central gay relationship. But then there's Yaz.

See, Yaz is in love with the Doctor, apparently anyway, it's never mentioned before Revolution Of The Daleks when they became aware of the fan headcanon, and after using Jack to point to the similiarities between them in his last appearance, they kinda kept it on the backburner after that, so it's all very hastily resolved in one conversation in Legend Of The Sea Devils and they never kiss or get to display much affection.

So really we've had two eras where the main character representation has been piecemeal, there's certainly stuff there for queer fans to cling onto, in the same way that we've torn apart the classic era for hints of gayness. But Nyssa and Tegan weren't really for us, and neither is most of this. Even at its best it feels like straight writers realising it's a thing they should include but without any real passion for it.

And along comes Rogue and we get a full fledged romance, a dashing hero stepping into the Doctor's world and them instantly clicking and flirting, the chemistry palpable, all leading to a heartbreaking conclusion where they actually get to kiss before the end, and the chance of more to come in the future. No little one liner where Rogue says 'I like guys btw but anyway moving onto the important stuff'. No nods and winks and jokes about long tongues. Actual text, more development in an episode than Yaz and the Doctor managed across an entire run.

The writers of this episode are Kate Herron and Briony Redman who used to work on Loki, the one with the one side conversation about bisexuality that's a nice nod but never really builds to anything, that RTD famously called a 'craven, feeble gesture'. So they came in without the shackles of the MCU and did it right, and I love them for it. They tried to give us what representation they could, and with a producer that wants the same, we got something authentic.

Authenticity matters when it comes to representation, it can't just be to tick a box, and it really feels like this was for us. Something that might lead to the same brain explosion in a queer kid watching Doctor Who that Parting Of The Ways did in 2005 for me.

[doctorwho-rewatch]

S4E12 & S4E13 - The Stolen Earth & Journey's End

★★★★☆

This is like Doctor Who: The Greatest Hits and I bloody love it. The Doctor? Check. Companions past and present? Check. Torchword? Daleks? The universe about to blow up again? Check, check and check.

Is this the strongest two-parter finale? No. While The Stolen Earth builds up a very horrifying tension with a decent cliffhanger, in Journey's End there's a very rushed resolution that seems unsatisfying - Donna flicking a couple of switches ends the entire Davros strategy and reality bomb? After entire planets were blinked out of existence? But this is is less about plot and more about character fan service. So I'm reviewing how they ended up.

Jackie and Pete 2.0 - they are together and expecting little Pete 3.0. Cute. 5 stars.

Sarah Jane and her kid - safe at home with K9 and Mr Smith. Love that for them. Sarah Jane got her proper goodbye with the Doctor, finally. 5 stars.

Captain Jack and the Torchwood gang - they live another day to keep saving Wales from more sex aliens. Class. 4 stars.

Martha - fuck you RTD for pairing her up with Mickey the Tin Dog. What happened to being engaged to hot Lucifer doctor?? My girl Martha always with the thankless job. 1 star.

Rose - as if Rose hadn't suffered enough heartbreak on a beach, here we are again. The real Doctor is there and dangled in front of her, but here's his Metacrisis human version that she has to settle for knowing that the real Doctor is going to continue on his adventures again and not with her...again. She gets to fix a man, yippee! It's not the happy ending I remember it being when I watched it as a teen. 2 stars.

Donna - oh Donna. You grew on me so much this season and to have your memories wiped in this way is beyond cruel. Hers is the ending of the series that we mourn. All those adventures in time and space that basically never happened. Because you know she's going back to her dull life in Chiswick where her self-esteem drops and her mum berates her all the time. It was painful and so 4 stars for that.

QUOTE: "I just want you know there are worlds out there safe in the sky because of her. And there are people living in the light and singing songs of Donna Noble a thousand million light years away. They will never forget her. While she can never remember. But for one moment, one shining moment, she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe." "She still is. She’s my daughter."

[none-ofthisnonsense]

Merlin liveblog (partly for @thisisjustmefangirling )

Season 1 Episode 1:

I’m halfway through the first episode, and so far HOW IS MERLIN SO LUCKY ALL THE TIME. (Also, why has everyone been in Doctor Who?!)

I’m coming into this with some background - I think I watched the first 5 episodes a few years ago? But I don’t really remember them well. Apart from being shot in the heart by Katie McGrath’s beautiful outfits. And also, being on tumblr, I have some mutuals who are fans of it, or I’ve seen gifsets when scrolling through some blogs. And I also do know basic Arthuriana, so I can guess in what position some characters are meant to end up. I’ve got a little background knowledge but not that much. Onto the liveblog!

Merlin you’re behaving like a dramatic teen. Which I guess you are, I don’t really know how old you are.

“Look, I’ve told you you’re an ass, I just didn’t realise you were a royal one.” BEST BOY MERLIN but also he can definitely hurt you and holds power maybe don’t challenge your social superiors too much Merlin mmk?

Merlin. Don’t challenge him. You won’t win.

Yeah tbh if I were Arthur I’d probably laugh too.

Merlin he’s been training his whole life and has power and has weapons and has armour WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN YOU AREN’T ALLOWED MAGIC

“Wow. And how long have you been training to be a prat?” See Merlin gets the best lines but that’s dangerous for him.

Slight discrepancy: how does Arthur know Merlin’s name?

Yeah if I were Gaius I’d have that reaction too. Merlin has NO self-preservation instinct.

I like the music. (Also apparently this was filmed at Pierrefonds, so that’s cool!)

YEAH “OH GOD” WHAT DID YOU THINK MERLIN??? That you’d win??!

(Let’s just pause for a moment and appreciate all those historical inaccuracies. They’re painful but also there are so many it almost warms my heart. They’ve COMMITTED to being historically inaccurate. Though I suppose this is fantasy anyway.)

I like both leads’ actors.

And of course he sees Gaius and loses.

“He may be an idiot, but he’s a brave one.” Merlin summarised in one sentence. This boy is DUMB.

“There’s something about you, Merlin. I can’t quite put my finger on it.” See I’m starting to get why this was explained to me as Destiel before Destiel.

“How could you be so foolish?” We are all, at heart, Gaius.

See Merlin’s problem is he wants to be special. Not to be that person but you’re a servant in the (fantasy) Middle Ages you were always going to be a nobody. Being special is very 2000s not so much 1300s.

Aaaand he’s a dramatic emo boy.

Gaius we love you. You’re so kind and honestly the most relatable character. Gaius is great I love him.

OUCH that looks like it hurts.

Oh fantasy medieval painkillers! That’s cool.

It’s not that I don’t like Eve Myles but I specifically chose Merlin to avoid seeing her and John Barrowman all the time. So. I’ve been seeing her pretty much nonstop for a few weeks. I was sort of hoping to catch a break.

Uther is realistic. (As much as a fantasy character from the fictional Middle Ages playing a mythological king from a fictional kingdom can be realistic, but he is!) Both as a father and as a king. I don’t necessarily agree with him, but he’s definitely the most fleshed out character so far.

That voice is creepy and after watching Torchwood CoE it reminds me of the 456.

Merlin come on. Really?

The camera work on this series is………interesting.

Y a un couvre-feu ou quoi? Pourquoi y a personne dans la cour?

Merlin you’re having too much fun with those dice.

Ohhhh is this the dragon Gaius told him about?

OKAY YEAH IT IS DEFINITELY I didn’t expect us to see the dragon so quickly.

So he has a destiny. Great. We already knew that. But I guess this is establishing characters.

Merlin not understanding is me. Yeah I’m confused too don’t worry.

“If anyone wants to kill him, they can go ahead, in fact I’ll lend them a hand.” At least Merlin is coherent, and funny. If extremely dumb and foolish.

“No. No. There must be another Arthur, because this one’s an idiot.” BAHAHA OKAY THAT’S FUNNY

Oh we get the theme music again when Merlin is asking all his questions.

Yeah again Gaius I get you. Also that’s the bedroom of a teenage boy what did you expect, did you want it to be clean? Gaius you’re aiming too high. I have a 15-year-old brother the most I can wish for is for him to open the window once in a while.

One thing I do like is how well-lit the castle is. It’s nice for once.

Oh please tell me he isn’t getting a crush on Morgana. Noooooo please why does every character always have a crush in these shows can my aroace heart be soothed for a while instead of crushed at every occasion

Merlin is a teenage boy with hormones okay. Check.

Okay Merlin just squeaking to imitate Gwen is funny.

Gwen where are you though?

And she arrives! Gwen and Gaius are easily the most relatable people.

I loooove candle lighting.

OHHHHH I FORGOT ABOUT THE REFLECTION THING NOOOO WHY IS SHE DYING

Oh so Merlin and Arthur have spotted each other- nope that’s just Katie McGrath in an incredible dress that won’t be invented for centuries but since when is accuracy the point of this show. The inaccuracies make it better

Isn’t she your cousin or something Arthur?

Gwen is so sweet! But also. The foreshadowing is starting. “Not that I’d want to marry Arthur.” WELL YOUR NAME IS GUINEVERE. SO I GUESS YOU’RE HEADING THERE ANYWAY GWEN I really hope he improves.

“No, I like much more ordinary men like you.” Gwen is realistic! She doesn’t have ideas above her social station! Finally a character who has some knowledge of where they stand! But also no Gwen please don’t fall in love with Merlin that’s just a bad idea

Gwen deserves better than this world. She’s so sweet and nice and frankly dealing with stuff she isn’t paid for enough. #GiveGwenARaise

Oh phew thank god it’s established she doesn’t like him I don’t think I could have borne it.

Merlin is very much a self-centred emo teenager while Gwen is reasonable and sweet and dealing with so much bullshit I promise Gwen you deserve so much better than dealing with him.

Guys believing the female characters for once would have made a nice change. I guess not, huh?

I love Uther’s voice.

I almost expected her to start singing Memory from Cats but no it makes sense that she’s singing something else actually

I’m 95% sure Eve Myles is dubbed here but also medieval music had lyrics.

OH IT’S A SPELL

The darkening as the spell takes effect is well-done and a touch I wouldn’t have imagined. But also what in the Sleeping Beauty

Merlin I thought you said you’d help anyone trying to kill Arthur? Apparently not, huh?

Those cobwebs look sticky.

How has Merlin not gotten caught yet?!

So he saved Arthur’s life huh. Quite a different reaction to twenty minutes ago. Is this character growth? Or is it him realising how bad it would be if A died? (Or am I just having fun interpreting his joke too literally)

“You shall be Prince Arthur’s manservant.” BAHAHA I LOVE UTHER

the absolute DESPAIR on M and A’s faces

Gaius is having fun.

Oooh a magic book! This’ll be interesting!

Aaand the episode ends.

[whywhatswrongwithblue]

Do you have tentoorose fic recommendation in which one goes missing (maybe gets kidnapped and severely injured/tortured) and held hostage while the other goes absolutely batshit insane in their desperate search to find and rescue them, and also to make the one responsible for the damage pay?

hello! yes! i do!

A Scatter of Echoes by Elialys (ten&rose, tentoo/rose)

A tragic accident leaves the (human) Doctor devastated and spiralling down...to the point where the Prime Doctor has no choice but to get involved.

This is honestly my favourite tentoo/rose fic ever so if you haven't read this yet...DO IT NOW

2. bitter pill by the_spin

Post Journey's End. Things don't exactly go as planned.

3. Out of the Howling by thirty2flavors and Goldy

Whatever reaction she’d expected from telling her boyfriend that his alien duplicate from another universe was contacting her telepathically, this wasn’t it. 

4. Blood and Anger and Revenge

Years after settling in on Pete's World, the Doctor must face something he thought he could escape.

5. King and Country

On Tony’s eighth birthday, the Doctor is kidnapped by a paramilitary group who will do anything to defend Earth from aliens.

7. The Long Way Home

After losing the Doctor, Rose sets off to find him again.

8. Ten Minutes

Hoping to prove to the Doctor that she can handle herself, Rose strikes out on her own and ends up trapped in a room with a bomb.

9. Aliens Don’t Celebrate Christmas by sapphire_child

It’s 10.5 and Rose’s first Christmas together in the alt!verse – and what would the festive season be without Ten's unlucky tuxedo and an invasion of rogue aliens at the Torchwood Christmas party?

10. Chimera by gallifreyburning

“I’m only trying to be helpful, honestly,” Rose says. “Because if you’re holding me prisoner here, that means there’s this bloke coming to get me. And he’s been diagnosed with a problem – a condition. A blood and anger and revenge kind of condition. He’s not exactly in remission yet. When he shows up, there might be a bit of bloodshed, and I think we’d all rather avoid that.”

[jakowskis]

torchwood resources

just some stuff i've accumulated during this fixation :) hope it proves handy :D

ianto's-desktop (livejournal) - archived most of the things found on the torchwood website during season 1 and season 2; the only thing missing is the videos. / note: click the headers of the posts to see the full thing, or some stuff with appear incomplete. took me a sec to figure out, lol

speaking of the website...

season 1 website (archive.org)

season 2 website (archive.org) - unlike the s1 website, the bulk of the s2 site's content is pretty inaccessible through the wayback machine (at least for me; maybe i'm doing something wrong), so thank g-d for ianto's desktop

there's also a good amount of rebloggable site content in this person's tumblr tag.

season 1 declassified (youtube)

season 2 declassified (youtube)

season 1 commentaries (mega.nz)

torchwood books (google drive) - gonna be honest, i haven't tried to download any of these myself

border princes audiobook (read by eve) + all of the radio plays (archive.org)

torchwood magazines (beta.reddit) - download links for all of them! p fuckin kewl

torchwood official yearbook (archive.org)

herecomesthedrums (youtube) - account that started posting before the show came out and is chock full of promos, trailers, interviews... some real fun goodies in there

torchwood: up close (youtube) - handful of bts videos with the cast + crew

season 1 unreleased tracks (soundcloud) - the end of days ones hrhghgh

out of time unreleased tracks (soundcloud) - i absolutely adore the music in this ep so i was so happy when i found these

the torchwood fanpop - this has sooooooo much content like i scrolled for a loooooong time and never reached the bottom. lotta stuff i hadn't seen before, too. there's fun hd promo pics, pics of the cast, and a lot of extremely early 2010s edits, graphics, and fanvids. / note: i also had this page bookmarked + it's got different content than the main page so i'll link it

aaand under the cut i'm gonna dump some silly stuff i've collected of the cast. but yeah, there ya go :-)

gally 2015: zip files of someone's pictures of eve, naoko, and burn (livejournal)

gally 2015: someone's account of the torchwood panels + meeting the cast (everyone was there but gareth!) - naoko & burn's solo panels / autograph table chats + barrowman photo-op + the naoko&burn&eve group panel / barrowman solo panel + burn&eve joint panel

dragon con 2013 (flickr) - i found two albums: this one, and this one, which has torchwood cast images on the first and second pages.

burn at chicago tardis 2012 (flickr) - ehehe 2012-2013 burn gorman w his classy little outfits my beloved. this is just hq pictures of that event. burn's in a bunch at the top and some at the end of the second page

the hub 2009 (flickr) - some kind of torchwood event. gareth, burn, eve, kai, and tom are all there. i dunno

hvff 2018: 'insights from the whole cast'

hvff 2018: video of everybody goofing off (twitter)

gareth endorsing owandy teehee (twitter) - this is getting dumped here bc im gay

sigh. (blogspot) - pics from that one fuckin 08 panel where gareth & john made out like 5 times + gareth took his jeans off for some reason. i don't even go here but i feel like this is unfortunately historically relevant. also the fujoshis in the comments are really funny

incomplete but sizable lists of cons gareth's been to and john's been to, in case anyone wants to dig around for photos/footage of any of these. the other cast members (excluding burn, for some reason) all have pages on this site as well, but theirs are super incomplete so i won't bother linking

[april]

doctor who cinematic universe simplified (re)watch order

Doctor Who season 1 (Mar-Jun 2005)

Doctor Who season 2 (Dec 2005 - Jul 2006)

Torchwood season 1 (Oct 2006 - Jan 2007)

Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride (Dec 2006)

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Invasion of the Bane (Jan 2007)

Doctor Who season 3 (Mar-Jun 2007)

The Sarah Jane Adventures season 1 (Sept-Nov 2007)

Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned (Dec 2007)

Torchwood season 2 (Jan-Apr 2008)

Doctor Who season 4 (Apr-Jul 2008)

The Sarah Jane Adventures season 2 (Sept-Dec 2008)

Doctor Who: The Next Doctor (Dec 2008)

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (Apr 2009)

Torchwood season 3 (Jul 2009)

The Sarah Jane Adventures season 3 (Oct-Nov 2009)

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars (Nov 2009)

Doctor Who: The End of Time (Dec 2009 - Jan 2010)

The Sarah Jane Adventures season 4 (Oct-Nov 2010)

Torchwood season 4 (Jul-Sept 2011)

The Sarah Jane Adventures season 5 (Oct 2011)

FAQ

What is this?

It's the release order of the Doctor Who revival series and accompanying specials and spin-off series.

Why did you do this?

To make sure I don't watch my time-travel shows non-chronologically, obviously. And since I'd already put the list together I thought I might as well share it.

Hey! Some of these aren't strictly in release order!

I know and I don't care. Those cases don't matter.

Does any of it matter? Why not watch each series standalone?

There are some crossover moments! I thought it'd be neat to see those play out the same way as a broadcast viewer would.

Where's Doctor Who seasons 5 and 6?

don't worry about it

[chartmyfixations]

cris watches dr. who: s01eCS - "The Christmas Invasion"

"I'm gonna be killed by a Christmas tree!"

Aw. My favourite menace - Rose's mum - is so happy when she hears the weird bwoosh-bwooshing of the landing TARDIS

Ah, a whirling dervish Christmas tree. So this episode is camp

I just watched Good Omens s1 and my god, David Tennant is so young here

I have no idea how afraid I'd have to be of the hypnotized humans standing on roofs, because I don’t know my blood type. (I have known, mind you, I just always forget)

HARRIET JONES! YAY!

The Torchwood series must have been greenlit by now, no? The way they keep mentioning it

These Sycorax are giving me Buffy season 1 demon realness. Oof

Hee. The new Doctor is vain

OMG, his hand! The Doctor got Luke Skywalker'd!

Huzzah! Rose's mum (Jackie) saved the day!

Torchwood is ready? I have seen some of that show, and generally, they weren't ready for anything

Ah, so Harriet turns villain/anti-hero by blowing up the retreating ship of the aliens, just to keep the secret of Earth hidden a bit longer. The Doctor obviously doesn't agree, being a vicious pacifist, but he's functionally immortal. The narrative condemns Harriet, MP, but I get where she's coming from

"Doesn't she look a bit tired" are the words that bring Harriet's reign down. That's a bit of kicker, how mean-spirited and real that is

5 out of 8 Tardes. It would've been 6, but that damn Christmas tree outline in the wall was just a notch too Looney Tunes.

[umbrellalavender]

I don’t exactly know the best way to explain this, but seeing other people hate content I love really annoys me. More than it should do. I feel guilty (?) that I enjoyed something others don’t.

Especially with that Ghosts ending. OH MY GOD! THAT ENDING! I am in tears! I loved it! The whole episode kept me tense because I was so worried for the ghosts. They no longer had the safety they would do in other episodes. I could feel my heart sink when they told Alison what they did in the last 5 minutes.

But it’s just so disheartening seeing people disappointed by things. It ruins my mood in a way. And it’s no one’s fault! Everyone can have their own opinions, but it’s just frustrating when I want to obsess about something, and are met with disappointment.

Same with other shows. Umbrella Academy, first example. Season 3 wasn’t their best run, but I still really enjoyed it and don’t see others talking about it enough.

Torchwood too! I enjoy watching people do essays on topics I love. So it’s annoying when I come across a video that looks likes an interesting essay on the show’s plot, only to be met by someone explaining how bad the show is for 30 minutes.

I don’t know if this makes sense.

[etherealspacejelly]

i feel like infodumping so here is my opinion of every new who companion!!

Rose Tyler

shes the og, shes That Girl, she is the moment! (lol, get it?) Rose was one of the best companions fr. her love story with the doctor is so beautiful and so tragic and honestly, he Needed her. ninerose >>> tenrose i said what i said. 9/10

Jack Harkness

very fun character! they kinda ruined him in torchwood a little bit. some of the earliest explicit queer rep in mainstream media i ever saw, if not the first! i loved his dynamic with rose and nine. 8/10

Mickey Smith

my sweet boy, my babygirl. he deserved so much better fr. dont get me wrong, i love Rose, but the way she treated Mickey was so mean. also the doctor hated his ass for no reason other than he was competition for Rose's affection. plastic Mickey was iconic. 8/10

Martha Jones

ICON!!! QUEEN!!!! i Love Martha soooo much. she was the only companion to Get Out and i love that for her, she deserved it. she slayed fr. however i do kinda hate that most of her character was simping for ten like. girl. stand up. 9/10

Donna Noble

Oh My God, incredible. cant wait to get her back!!!! the adipose scene through the windows???? hilarious, i can quote every word!!! she gave the doctor a run for his money and i love that for her. she was exactly what he needed after Rose and Martha, just A Mate. 10/10

Amy Pond

my favourite companion!!! eleven was My Doctor tho so thats probably why. every episode of season 5 is a banger. i love that she and Rory and River became a family to the doctor. love her. little Amelia is so cute and grown up Amy is a total badass. fish custard/10 10/10

Rory Williams

my beloved <3 hes so boyfriend fr. raised my standards as a kid. he waited 2000 years for her ;-; 10/10

River Song

hello sweetie :)

i love that her story was told backwards, very interesting narrative choice! knowing that she was always doomed to the library was so tragic. learning all of her secrets over each series was very fun and satisfying!! 10/10

Clara Oswald

hmm. not one of my favourite companions. she's ok i guess? the impossible girl thing was kinda cool but i dont really like her as a character. 5/10

Bill Potts

YESSSS! i love lesbiabs. lessbiens. women. her ending was super sad tho :(

she was cool and fun and gay 9/10

Yasmin Khan

hrm. boring. didnt have much of a personality, not really her fault the writing was just so shit. she had potential!! thasmin 4 lyfe! 4/10

Ryan Sinclair

yea. no. dont like how they made his dyspraxia a fun quirky thing that he just. magically got over somehow??? its a literal disability. my brother has it. it could have been so interesting to see how that manifested over the course of his travels with the doctor but its almost like they just. forgot about it?? also he was boring as hell. 2/10

Graham O'Brien

i literally didnt even remember his surname, i had to look it up. he was just kinda. there. a little more interesting than Ryan i guess?? but. still. 2/10

Concluding remarks

looking forward to Donna coming back and meeting the new companions!!! i hope the writing is better in this season :/ chibbers was Not It. anyway. thanks for reading my silly little ramble!! special interest go brrrr