Torchwood

Hurrah! Martha's back in two episode's time but on BBC3 next week! (have they all been on BBC3 a week early and I've never noticed?). Martha's back! Martha! Martha! Martha! She cares just as much as Gwen and she can do stuff too!

I love Rhys. I know that was an Unpopular Opinion last series but I loved having someone normal who was a bit podgy and not very heroic and I really liked that they didn't let him in on stuff last year. And how sweet that RTD said he wanted to kill him off in End of Days but they all liked the actor too much.

As a person, Rhys is probably more likeable than the rest of the characters. Also, he's Welsh which gets him bonus points with me (see also: Ianto). The trouble is that while I'd probably be really pleased to see one of my friends with a decent bloke like him, I just don't find him either entertaining or attractive as a TV character. He's an ordinary, decent bloke - but I don't want to watch ordinary, that's why I like sci-fi.

I don't know if they'll kill him off, though I wish they would just to stop him from taking up screen time. I'm sort of banking on an eventual Torchwood-or-me flounce, myself.

But British sci fi has never been pretty and shiny - that's what the Amercians are good at. We do gritty and podgy and we should all stick to what we're good at.

I assume Rhys is going to want to get more involved with Torchwood and this will cause Jealousy and Sexual Tension. So it's all good.

I don't think they will. I can't see them doing Torchwood + Rhys. I imagine that they'll use him as a source for transport - they need a lorry for something, and he'll drive. He's already shown that he's a dab hand with the lasagne, so I can imagine him bringing Gwen some dinner if they're all working late. Which means Jubilee Pizza is going to do less business...

They created the Rhys character to show that Gwen had another life beyond Torchwood, and I don't think they'll waste that.

Also, they'd want to do loads of scenes where she tells him about the weirdness that she's seen, and get his reactions.

You're right, of course - I didn't say Rhys is going to join Torchwood but he's going to want to play with Gwen's cool friends and they won't be interested in him except as a dogsbody (especially Owen, who'll be really sarky about him). And he's not stupid so he'll pick up on the shagtasticness of it all.

Why haven't all Gwen's police chums been retconned? And Old Blowfish Lady? And the entire population of Cardiff, except for Rhys?

Well, none of it makes sense. I mean, they're supposed to be this ultra-super-secret-no-one-knows organization, but every beat cop is all, "Oh, look, Torchwood's here. Must be something alien and strange going on."

I think they're NSA like, back when the NSA was kinda secret.

And Andy just asks Gwen if it's one of her "spooky do's" so he doesn't necessarily know that it is alien related, just that it's a fucked-up situation.

Except that Old Lady With Blowfish wasn't particularly surprised to see a car driven by a fish (at least not once Torchwood had turned up). Perhaps she's an agent for UNIT.

I keep thinking that it would be interesting to see them deal with someone they couldn't Retcon. It would amuse me to see them doing their smug "You wont' tell anyone in the morning" and have someone turn up the next morning and say "And what precisely was that supposed to do?". Actually I'd have thought it funny if it had turned out that they couldn't Retcon Rhys for some reason. I'd have liked that better than Gwen being allowed to get away with it, which made me think it was a bit unfair, and how many people had the others had to give up for their jobs?

From what we've seen of the team, they're all far too incestuous for it to be a real concern.

If Rhys isn't killed off, how long before he and Tosh hook up?

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From what we've seen of the team, they're all far too incestuous for it to be a real concern.

And with Owen I don't think he could attract anyone outside of Torchwood without using that rape-spray anyway.