Part of the hype has been of course the range of interviews from cast and crew with Russell T Davies being almost as visible as the stars. A typical example would be this short q&a from Metro although the key difference is that's its rather less sychophantic than usual with the interviewer, Andrew Williams taking him to task over Torchwood and the reaction in particular:
"Torchwood had a mixed reception...Or if you want to read between the lines, Mr Williams hated it too. I'm writing about this here because I've already inadvertantly opened a can of worms in the usual place that write about these things and to mix the metaphore I don't want to fan those flames. But this really is the kind of thing I dislike hearing from Russell. I understand what he's doing -- he's defending the work of his colleagues against what has been a barrage of criticism and the fact that he says that they're working on improvements or the second series indicates a recognition that the first did have its problems.
What do you mean, a mixed reception?
Some people hated it.
You mean among online, moaning old minnies? We got the highest digital figures the BBC ever got so, frankly, we were laughing. We’re working on ways the second series can be improved, none of which has anything to do with online forums.
Two things worth investigating in this statement. Firstly, that Torchwood got the highest digital figures the BBC ever got. No denying there's some truth in that but glancing through the numbers in SFX magazine's excellent new special about the series reveals that those figures had nearly halved by the end of the series and a million had fled from the BBC Two showings. That isn't healthy for any series, particularly if its supposed to be supported by an active fan base. Arguably scheduling didn't help (10 o'clock on Sunday) but if show has an inherent quality people will just keep returning.
Russell is perhaps suggesting that a couple of a million people can't be wrong. But how many of those people were watching because they were enjoying the show or because they were trapped in the psychosis I was of willing the thing to get better, ten weeks of denial masquerading as entertainment? In addition it's the same argument that the head of the studio that made Sex Lives of the Potato Men used to explain the quality of that epic in relation to its remarkably high dvd sales. Oh and Norbet has been at number one in the uk box office, a film that no one I've read has anything good say about. Just because lots of people watch something, doesn't make it good.
The second issue and what particularly ticks me off is the language, which he's often used elsewhere. 'Moaning old minnies'? Actually they would be the core fanbase that were supporting the overall franchise and still talking about this show, even when it was shedding viewers by the bus load. He does clarify that somewhat in the answer to the follow up question, and it could be said that some people who frequent the forums might fit into that category. True, this genre might be scrutinized by its audience far more than sitcom (although soap nowadays tends to run a close second) but the majority of the criticism I've read (and hopefully written) about Torchwood has been pretty constructive and simply holding the show up against the blisteringly high standards set by the mother series.
Perhaps all of this is just me finally purging the evil before the brilliance ahead. Certainly the first episode of this series can't be as poor as the first of the last New Earth a ramshackle, often offensively unfunny episode which threatened to derail the series had the second Tooth & Claw (the one with the werewolf) not been so brilliant. But that's what I sort of love about the franchise; even in the first series of the old show, for every The Sensorites there was a touch of inspired genius like The Aztecs. It can turn on a dime the way that the average programme can't. Some are just plain average all of the time. Frankly, if any of it is half as good as the Hugo-nominated The Girl in the Fireplace, I'll be happy.
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