Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-11-19
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: Box set, Dolby, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 7
• Running time: 630 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
While occasionally clumsy in the way it goes about things, the first season of Torchwood ultimately makes good on its promise to be a science fiction programme for an older market. So while it’s spun out from the more family-friendly Doctor Who, it does carve out an edgy, entertaining niche for itself.

The programme follows the adventures of the Torchwood agency (who we met in far more prestigious form at the end of Doctor Who’s second series), a small team led by John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness who investigate the extra terrestrial and the paranormal. And across the thirteen episodes of this maiden season, they have a lot to look into, from the likes of a sex-craved alien and cyberwoman, through to cannibalistic foes and strange, spooky fairies.

Admittedly, particularly in the early stages when Torchwood is finding its feet, there are a few missteps, and a little too much side-indulgence in exploring material that the more mainstream Doctor Who wouldn’t allow. But it’d be to your folly to write Torchwood off: by the time it gallops into the second half of this first season, the quality is strong, the storylines are interesting, and the show proves to be a real winner.

Intertwining with the narrative of the main Doctor Who show, Torchwood nonetheless then works as an independent programme in its own right, replete with a strong cast of characters (led by the terrific Barrowman) and scripts that have more of an experimental edge to them. It’s certainly one of the most interesting science fiction shows Britain has produced in the last decade or two, and there’s much to enjoy again and again in this box set. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
This exciting and leftfield DOCTOR WHO spin-off finds philanderer of the future, Jack Harness arriving in contemporary Cardiff and being inducted into Torchwood – a covert extra terrestrial and paranormal investigation agency. Included here are all the episodes from the show's premiere series.

Customer Reviews

Odyssey
I just have to say I love the Torchwood series. Captain Jack and Gwen Cooper are the two that catch my interest. The show has me asking are they going to do it or aren't they lol. But I have 1 questions is the Uk version of the Show Dvd Different than the US version?

Awful Writing, Bad Acting, Big Disappointments
Like other Dr. Who fans I had high hopes for Torchwood, and it is fertile ground for a sci-fi series. However, the first series rarely delivers during its run of thirteen episodes. Other than the main character of Captain Jack, any other of the actors could have easily been replaced with a chunk of wood and the show would have been much improved.

The real fault for this painful to watch show lies with the production team, who didn't seem to make any right choices when developing this series. I found particular fault with their decision to make the Torchwood team a bunch bickering, self-obsessed, petty individuals who couldn't work together or stay focused on the investigation at hand in any of the episodes. In most of the story lines Torchwood are their own worst enemy more than any of the external threats they are trying to deal with. Torchwood watches more like a daytime soap with creatures than a sci-fi show, and a poorly written soap at that.

Avoid like Plague
Steer away from this really third class spin-off. It's waste of time and money. It's badly done, terrible actors, some really bad special effects, very thin plot, and above all what happened to the humour? It's a lame attempt to generate some extra cash using a well established name of Dr. Who. Script and dialogues are so very flat and boring that it makes even the dullest of the new Dr. Who series episodes look far more interesting.