I have waited since June for this episode. I am a Torchwood fanatic, but an even bigger James Marsters fan. I have been waiting to see a role for him that let him shine, and this role was tailor-made for him, but not fit perfectly in with what the show needed.

The show needed Jack to have more conflict and more revelation of his past with his "team." More unanswered questions, more secrets. They need to have John Hart back as a recurring regular to create this constant turmoil and conflict. The fact that he has kids in America is going to make that impossible, unless they work the shooting schedules around that fact. The opening and closing episodes of this season will have John and Jack and the issues involved therein. I hope the conflict created at the beginning of this series are not resolved at the end of this "series" as they call in the UK and season as we call it in the states. We need this conflict to continue and be a running theme.

Let the past and history of the time agent and the interaction between Jack, John, the agency and the others on the team develop slowly so that the dynamic can grow. Let the others, Gwen, Ianto, Owen, Toshiko begin to find out slowly just what a cad Jack was and begin to distrust their fearless leader. Find out that he was no better than John Hart and it was only recently that he started to reform.

Have a conflict where Jack begins to doubt his reformation and want to slip back into the ways of the scoundrel and want to go back to the "dark side" again.

This former partner brings up all kinds of delicious possibilities.

The outlet for James Marsters was superb. This was what a trues guest starring role should look like--shining throughout the entire episode.

It had the highest ratings so far for the series? I wonder why? I've seen it and it hasn't even aired in the US until this evening. I've seen it at least 6 times. I can't get enough.

Why does it have such high ratings?

There is really only one reason, and it can be summed it in two words, and the rest of the public can cry foul if they choose. The only reason this episode has such high ratings and will have the highest ratings until the final one of this season is



James Marsters



PS - listen to the directors' comments on the Torchwood season 1 episode 1 dvd --- they are also fans of BTVS and ATS, so I guarantee you they were squeeing with glee when James asked to be on an episode --- and they were probably trying to find a way to get him on as many as possible and will now, too, as soon as they see the ratings (as if they didn't know)

The special effects were awful, but the premise was great. The episode by episode flashback that tied the current experience to the past experience was a wonderful idea. This is what all our lives are about. We are not a moment in time--we are all a product of our experience. If a being were to live 800 years, 1000 years, 2000 years, we would approach each instant in time with the entire knowledge of our past. The fact that Forever Knight acknowledged that and used that was wonderful.

Their failure was in the development of the modern day storyline (family line-make us care) by having 3 years, and 3 different captains and 2 different partners. Having the sire come in and leave his life so she isn't a constant presence.

And of course, the vampire "change" was atrocious. I don't believe anyone has done that correctly, but this one was the worst I have seen to date.

I would highly recommend Forever Knight, just be prepared to laugh at the feeding and "bringing over" scenes. They just look demented.

In my opinion, the most important character in the series was introduced. The character that won the minds of the audience and forced the writers to totally revise their idea of what a vampire was (100% evil), looked like (ugly) acted lack (directionless and lack of motive) straight evil purpose with no sense of direction other than the end of eat, feed, kill.

Spike caused the complete re-vamping (no real pun intended) of the nemesis for Buffy. He caused the evil she fought to go from external to internal to external to internal........as it does with all of us.

James Marsters. Takes a role and makes a role!

He gave us Buffy. Loved it - an iconic study in the power of women and the strength to stand-alone without having to have a man by her side. However, he seemed to be jealous of the beauty of the men he created to stand by her -- both Angel and Spike, simply because they were prettier than the physicality of himself, so he made Angel leave and Spike evil, whipped, evil, whipped, then dead. All the while making Buffy "the poor tortured soul" in all this-- supposedly. Interesting writing, it made Joss's career, as well as all the actors'.

He gave us Angel -- interesting and twisted show that played all over the gamut from incestuous to nonsensical. Everyone loved it except the network -- that he keeps returning to (?).

He gave us Firefly -- browncoats can attest to the appeal of the show because the verse lives on-- Serenity shall never die.

He gave us Serenity.....it didn't make the millions desired, but once again the verse lives on.

Millions of fans still follow and write their own continuing fictions about the whedonverse that he so masterfully crafted. BUT, he is just a person.

Wonder Woman isn't in the verse....testimony to the fact that people will give up on the Whedon as my master mentality and only take his putting things off for years and years and years for only so long.

"I'll never do television again.." We are glad he is coming back. We wished he would have picked a different network, but maybe no one else would work with him because of his attitude? He does great work, but he doesn't do it alone. He owes much to his entire team. He owes the success of Buffy to the casting, not to his creative genius and his marvelous writing. He needs to admit that Buffy would have never made 7 years without the gorgeous face and acting ability of James Marsters. No one else draws a crowd like that man. Just ask the folks at the conventions -- the other people hate him. Now that Master Joss has humbled himself enough to come back to TV, he needs to put that man in a series not yesterday, but NOW. he has wasted too many years and too much unearned money being small and spoiled. Sure Joss is talented, but he is also shortsighted and petty. The only reason a Spike movie didn't materialize was because he was "too busy working on other projects" . Hmm...like? Lets get with the program and get a program in place that makes the fans of the verse happy, J-man. One with stick-to-itiveness. One that has meat, substance and makes sense.

Show us your worth, stop being petty, short-sighted and flighty and we'll stop losing faith in you and start rebuilding the pedestals we had raised in the past.

Alison Sweeny has grown up before our eyes. She has matured from a chubby teen to a curvacious beautiful goddess who can handle any facet of her role.

No matter how evil they make her character, who underlying vulnerability comes through and Alison make us love Sami. We wanted her with Austin. We wanted her with Franco. We wanted her with Brandon. We wanted her with Lucas. We just wanted her to be happy.

Since DOOL writers throw such mundane stories as "I can't be whole without a man" the way of characters, we have yet to see what Alison can bring to an independent character. However, with her abilities to turn on a dime, I think she could (Sami) be President with Alison in charge.