Anyone familiar with the BBC version of Torchwood or Doctor Who will recall that some of the best episodes all had one thing in common: running. While this week’s episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day titled ‘Escape to L.A.’ was good, it definitely missed the mark on a couple of key scenes that were make-or-break to the episodes success.
One of the early scenes starts with Rex saying, “2700 miles…” A bit of forced exposition to cover why they are all of a sudden in Los Angeles. It is effective and not too distracting, but there is a lot to be said for a well edited and paced quick montage. The scene doesn’t sit well with me because of that, and since the entire episode is based on their arrival in Los Angeles to take down PhiCorp at its source, it lays down a cracked foundation to build a house on.
I was delighted to see two of my favorite underused actors, Mare Winningham and C. Thomas Howell, in this episode. Ms. Winningham’s pretty blatant Sarah Palin-esque character is well thought out, her dialogue solid, and her entrance as an antagonist to Oswald Dane’s meteoric rise welcome. The downside is that this is her only episode. I understand the writers are building up whoever is behind PhiCorp as being everywhere and untouchable, but I think they dropped the ball in retiring her character so early.
The plus side is that her exit is AWESOME! It really brings home the scope of the Miracle that has happened and its consequences, possible more so than any other example brought forth in the show so far.
C. Thomas Howell is another matter. He starts out well, and up until his very last scene in the episode, I am loving his character. Then he starts monologuing. I don’t mind the “Evil Guy Monologues” that happen in shows like this. They’re tried and true, and overall a good plot device. Here, though, it’s his delivery that unnerves me. The facial ticks and twitches he uses show far too much emotion and are counter to everything he has done to build up the character to that point.
Mr. Pfifer the actor has decided to finally join us. The writers gave Rex Matheson a great scene where we not only meet his father, but also get a glimpse as to why he is the way he is. It is a pretty powerful scene and Pfifer does a great job pulling it off without resorting to any cheap actor tricks along the way.
The problem is, though, that the scene’s placement and lighting make it a failure and completely take away from his performance. It feels as if it was wedged in at the last second, almost like they filmed this great scene, but didn’t know where to put it. The lighting gives it more of a stage play-feel than a television show. If that were the norm for all of the scenes in this episode then I could overlook it, but it isn’t. It breaks the flow of the episode and just was a really poor choice by the director.
I can’t say enough about John Barrowman’s performance of Captian Jack. I know right now Nathan Fillion is the standard for the geek man crush, but Mr. Barrowman should be right up there with him. He delivers a flawless performance in this episode.
Oswald. Oswald. Oswald. It finally dawned on me why the character of Oswald Dane is becoming so popular amongst the people in the Miracle Day universe. It actually calls to a part of the human psyche where we strive for redemption. To see someone so evil and heinous make peace and seemingly redeem themselves gives hope to those who struggle with forgiveness. It is why, every so often, you’ll see a cartoon episode where the bad guy and the good guy work together. You almost start rooting for the bad guy; wanting him to turn his ways straighten up. He doesn’t, ever, and as we saw in the previous episode’s banter between Dane and Captain Jack, neither does Oswald. His charisma, his ability to be an opportunist, these are also all things that not only make him a viable public figure but also what aided him in his crimes.
‘Escape to LA’ was a good Torchwood: Miracle Day episode overall, but it could have been great. It’s a bit of a disappointment from the previous episode, but still some solid television and continues laying the groundwork for what I think is going to be one hell of a climax.
– James Zappie
