Dr. Who and Torchwood
Sep. 23rd, 2007 01:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sinanjuMy wife discovered Captain Jack Harkness today last night.
Last night I watched the most recent episode of Dr. Who, in which Captain Jack returns. My lovely and talented wife was...taken, shall we say, by the lovely and talented Captain Jack Harkness. She found him amazingly sexy, especially when he was flirting with other guys. So today I got at the crack of 11 a.m. only to have her announce that from now on Torchwood (which I had been Tivoing and then deleting once I'd watched it) was on the "don't delete it until she's seen it too" list. She had a repeat of Torchwood on the tv and was watching it.
Speaking of Dr. Who, my favorite bit of dialogue so far this season occurs when Jack's describing how he found them--and how he got left behind.
Martha: "But the thing is, how could you have left him behind, Doctor?"
Doctor: "I was busy."
Martha: "Is that what happens, though? Seriously? Do you just get bored with us one day and leave us behind?"
Jack: "Not if you're blond."
Martha: "Oh, she was blond! Oh what a surprise!"
Meanwhile on Torchwood...from the very first episode I've found Gwen's status as a police officer hard to buy into. She doesn't seem aggressive enough. Involved in trying to break up a bar brawl she gets thrown against the bar and falls to the floor, seemingly unhurt but in no hurry to get back into it. Later in that episode she gets threatened with a gun and seems unduly frightened. Yes, getting threatened with a gun is frightening, I'm sure--but she reacted more like any random young woman on the street, not someone who has supposedly been a police officer for years.
A friend of mine commented when I mentioned this, "Well, she is a British cop...." Which was mildly amusing.
But then on tonight's episode, Captain Jack Harkness takes her to the shooting range and tells her that she needs to learn how to fire all these weapons (as he gestures at a table covered with weaponry). I'm thinking futuristic, science fiction-y alien weapons.
But no--he's talking about handguns. Ordinary, 20th/21st century, 100% human-tech firearms. Which, to judge by her reaction, she's never ever handled before. And that may in fact be an accurate portrayal of a British cop. I don't know.
However, speaking as an American, that. Just. Looks. So. Freaking. Wrong. How can you be a cop--a detective, no less (ETA: I'm reliably informed that Gwen was a beat cop, not a detective and thinking about it I guess that's right, but my point still stands)--and never have handled a firearm? I know that Britain isn't the USA, that most of the world isn't the USA--but that's the most alien thing I've seen yet on this series about people dealing with aliens and alien technology on a weekly basis.
On the other hand, I'll give the actress (Eve Myles) this: she doesn't blink when she fires the gun. Unlike the vast majority of actors in tv shows and movies, who flinch (blink) everytime they pull the trigger, she keeps her eyes open and on the target when she's shooting.
Last night I watched the most recent episode of Dr. Who, in which Captain Jack returns. My lovely and talented wife was...taken, shall we say, by the lovely and talented Captain Jack Harkness. She found him amazingly sexy, especially when he was flirting with other guys. So today I got at the crack of 11 a.m. only to have her announce that from now on Torchwood (which I had been Tivoing and then deleting once I'd watched it) was on the "don't delete it until she's seen it too" list. She had a repeat of Torchwood on the tv and was watching it.
Speaking of Dr. Who, my favorite bit of dialogue so far this season occurs when Jack's describing how he found them--and how he got left behind.
Martha: "But the thing is, how could you have left him behind, Doctor?"
Doctor: "I was busy."
Martha: "Is that what happens, though? Seriously? Do you just get bored with us one day and leave us behind?"
Jack: "Not if you're blond."
Martha: "Oh, she was blond! Oh what a surprise!"
Meanwhile on Torchwood...from the very first episode I've found Gwen's status as a police officer hard to buy into. She doesn't seem aggressive enough. Involved in trying to break up a bar brawl she gets thrown against the bar and falls to the floor, seemingly unhurt but in no hurry to get back into it. Later in that episode she gets threatened with a gun and seems unduly frightened. Yes, getting threatened with a gun is frightening, I'm sure--but she reacted more like any random young woman on the street, not someone who has supposedly been a police officer for years.
A friend of mine commented when I mentioned this, "Well, she is a British cop...." Which was mildly amusing.
But then on tonight's episode, Captain Jack Harkness takes her to the shooting range and tells her that she needs to learn how to fire all these weapons (as he gestures at a table covered with weaponry). I'm thinking futuristic, science fiction-y alien weapons.
But no--he's talking about handguns. Ordinary, 20th/21st century, 100% human-tech firearms. Which, to judge by her reaction, she's never ever handled before. And that may in fact be an accurate portrayal of a British cop. I don't know.
However, speaking as an American, that. Just. Looks. So. Freaking. Wrong. How can you be a cop--a detective, no less (ETA: I'm reliably informed that Gwen was a beat cop, not a detective and thinking about it I guess that's right, but my point still stands)--and never have handled a firearm? I know that Britain isn't the USA, that most of the world isn't the USA--but that's the most alien thing I've seen yet on this series about people dealing with aliens and alien technology on a weekly basis.
On the other hand, I'll give the actress (Eve Myles) this: she doesn't blink when she fires the gun. Unlike the vast majority of actors in tv shows and movies, who flinch (blink) everytime they pull the trigger, she keeps her eyes open and on the target when she's shooting.
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I Heart Captain Jack
Date: 2007-09-23 03:44 pm (UTC)And I thoroughly agree with your assessment of Gwen as a police officer. She even rather runs like a girl, which I can't totally fault, but it just seemed so . . . delicate. But your friend might be on to something with the British bit. I remember the old joke, what does a British police officer shout to a fleeing criminal: "Stop! Or I'll shout 'Stop' again!"
Alas, we don't have full cable, so I have to borrow tivoed episodes from friends, but we were able to catch all the first season Doctor Who through (no doubt illicit) online sources and then broke down and bought the second season. So loved the bit of your favorite dialogue. I haven't seen the episode (haven't seen any of the Martha episodes yet), but I know where it comes from. Tee hee.
Hi to Snippy! We'll half to talk Jack at when I see her!
Cheerio and all that,
Ris
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-23 05:23 pm (UTC)It's accurate. Just grabbing off of Wikipedia, it says, "the vast majority of British police officers do not carry firearms on standard patrol," and "With the rare occurrence of UK Police carrying firearms, it will usually be at an airport or an armed incident. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) firearms unit is called CO19 (formerly SO19), but every force in England operates an armed response unit." I'm American, but I grew up watching some BBC stuff on PBS so I've got some awareness of it.
How can you be a cop--a detective, no less--and never have handled a firearm?
Not that it matters as far as whether or not Gwen should have experience with a gun, but Gwen isn't a detective. They're plain clothes. She's uniform. Her ambition prior to joining Torchwood was Desk Sergeant. In one of the later episodes Owen and her pose as a Detective Inspector and a Detective Sergeant, but those are done with Torchwood fake ID's.
When I mentioned your having trouble with Gwen to my dad, he said I should tell you from the very first episode he's been impressed with how good a cop Gwen's been. In the bar brawl she hit her head hard enough that she's next seen at the hospital getting looked over, and possibly stitches. I haven't been clear on that. She didn't just get a little rattled.
On the other hand, I'll give the actress (Eve Myles) this: she doesn't blink when she fires the gun.
Actually, whether it happened over the course of the shoot or was entirely good acting on Eve Miles part Gwen starts out flinchy and ceases to flinch by the end of the scene. The scene amuses me every time I watch it because Gwen gets so into it, including ceasing to flinch, while John/Jack still blinks. I love that.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-24 09:42 am (UTC)Ok, my two penn'orth, as a Brit.
Rightly pointed out that Gwen is a beat cop not a detective, but in this country, even detectives don't carry firearms so it is very correct that she would never have handled a firearm before. The only time our police ever get such training is if they join CO19.
Aside from this, I agree that the extent of Gwen's injury in the pub would have prevented her from jumping back in, however, I do agree that she's not aggresive enough. For a suburban or country area maybe, but in a major city like Cardiff? no chance.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-24 12:53 pm (UTC)Welcome to the wonders of a world where fire arms are NOT common and the cops aren't armed. I get very nervous and find it "So. Freaking. Wrong" when I walk through an airport onto the street and see arms cops around me - let alone the panic I nearly had when I walked into the airport and found armed security!!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-24 08:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-27 06:50 am (UTC)I believe 'try not to get killed' is quite high on the list of things to do in that situation.
Real life, by the way, is not like Hot Fuzz.
Except for the paperwork.