Yes, those influences are just a tad evident.

(Ahem.)

Craig Oxbrow | August 24, 21:19 CET

I "took a flight to the UK", got the show and I love it.
Especially for all of the shout-outs.
How can you not love it when one character calls another "Quincy"?
(For all of you younglings, it was a show about a medical examiner and starred Jack Klugman. If you don't know who he is? You're on your own.)

AmazonGirl | August 24, 23:43 CET

Ah, Quincy. In those days heroes didn't solve problems through violence, they solved them BY SHOUTING AT BUREAUCRATS. A LOT ! If it got really dicey they might have to break out the expansive hand gestures but those were a weapon of last resort.

Not sure about the US influence on 'Torchwood'. Personally I don't think it's really fair to blame it on you guys ;).

(BTW, there's a link on the right of that page to stills from 'Southland Tales'. None featuring SMG unfortunately but the top one is of Bai "She" Ling - looks interesting, more overtly sci-fi than I was imagining)

Saje | August 25, 00:50 CET

I'm not sure how flattering it is to claim that Buffy and Angel influenced the making of poo, or as I call it, Torturewood.

theonetruebix | August 25, 00:55 CET

b1x, some of us like all the pretty and the sex. I'm just saying.

TamaraC | August 25, 02:00 CET

b1x, some of us like all the pretty and the sex. I'm just saying.

Yeah, I get that. Me, the insufferable characters and the plotholes you could drive another show through kind of outweigh anything else. *shrug*

theonetruebix | August 25, 02:04 CET

having just been converted to Doctor Who, I dutifully checked out Torchwood and was kinda ehh about the first four or five, but the series has really started to come into its own over the last half of the season--lotsa British psychodramatic stuff. (I am, however, going through one of my periodic anglophilic phases, so bear that in mind.)

annagranfors | August 25, 02:41 CET

Started watching Torchwood but it just hasn't got the depth of BtVS or Ats. A bit like Hex, but not as bad, where it looks like Buffy but just hasn't got the writing.

I still wish Strange had taken off.

zz9 | August 25, 03:54 CET

I noticed the Buffy and Angel influences. I love Torchwood. It's not perfect, but gee it's pretty.

Green Queen | August 25, 09:17 CET

Torchwood usually lacks the plot complexity and interesting dialogue of Buffy and Angel. Reading the interview it is easy to see why the vocabulary is KIND of limited. The writing can swing between both ends of the quality spectrum however the acting is generally poor and characters suddenly do the most bizarre things just to fit the story. I can still watch it if I deactivate my pedant facility.

MutantFriend | August 25, 12:34 CET

Wait a minute, it deactivates ? Now you tell me.

And yep, a longer run for 'Strange' might've ironed out the (relatively few IMO) bugs and kinks zz9. Plus, if/when 'Ripper' gets made we could knowingly comment that "It's just like 'Strange' but with Giles" ;).

Saje | August 25, 12:50 CET

I haven't watched Torchwood yet (two weeks and counting), so I can't really state an opinion about it. But I will say that since watching all of Joss's shows, I've really had to adjust the way I view television. Whenever I watch a show that doesn't quite meet my expectations, I have to remind myself that Mutant Enemy isn't writing said series. When someone raises the bar so high, sometimes we have to remember what normal is. So I'm more than willing to give Torchwood a chance for that reason (that, and hey, John Barrowman). ;)

deepgirl187 | August 25, 17:10 CET

The Buffy/Angel influences are quite transparent, as are the Firefly influences (think of the scene with the Torchwood team playing ball in the hub). It's obvious RTD is a Whedon fan, whether or not the show sucks balls (which, in my opinion, it doesn't -- it just needs some work).

electricspacegirl | August 27, 02:59 CET