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Torchwood 1.4 'Cyberwoman' 9:30 9/7/07 TEN
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What did you think of 'Cyberwoman'?
Excellent
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Good
50%
 50%  [ 5 ]
Average
20%
 20%  [ 2 ]
Poor
30%
 30%  [ 3 ]
Awful
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Total Votes : 10

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dave



Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 608
Location: Brisbane, Queensland

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:36 pm    Post subject: Torchwood 1.4 'Cyberwoman' 9:30 9/7/07 TEN Reply with quote

I thought this was a great episode. The idea of a person who'd been partially cyberised, most importantly having the emotional inhibitor active, and the effect on those around her was well explored. I'm guessing she was manipulative from the start, working to survive, and then to upgrade others.

I'm surprised there weren't greater consequences for Ianto. Smuggling in a cyberman and the upgrading equipment is more than a slight mistake. I guess he'd been through a great deal already, but I would have imagined they'd kick him out. Wonder if they'd wipe his memory first?

The climax was grisly and quite brutal. I didn't see that coming; I thought she might have tried to upgrade the pizza delivery girl. Her final comment, 'We can be upgraded together' was just chilling. Ianto must have wondered if he were in a nightmare; I'd like to see if there's any lasting psychological damage from this incident, as you'd imagine there would be.

Overall, this has been my favourite episode thus far. It was a well constructed sci-fi story, exploring the idea of a person who has become a robot, yet still appears passably human; human enough to fool those who'd once loved her. I'd give this 9.5/10.
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meglos



Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 670
Location: Perth

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Completely agree with you Dave. Best one yet. Brilliant!
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Greg
Site Admin


Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 1815
Location: Canberra

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't seen this episode nor read the previous post, but I have to say... Couldn't they have come up with a better and less obvious story title that Cyberwoman? It smacks of 'We'd better call it this to make sure we get the Doctor Who fans in!'.
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Amano07



Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 84

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 4:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i enjoyed it aswell and i thought Lisa's as the Pizza girl's last line was great at first we think she may have been saved from being converted but then she still uses the dreaded upgrade phrase so its clear she's gotta die!

only problem i had was when the Pteranodon came to save the day...
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arturo



Joined: 03 Jul 2005
Posts: 78
Location: Toowoomba

PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regards the title I believe it was to be called "The trouble with Lisa" or something similar until a couple of weeks before the premiere.

Great episode though, I loved the failed conversion in the beginning of the episode, awesome to see grisly cyber stuff at last.

Good to see another episode that deals with human emotion in the midst of crisis. Much more interesting than purely a chase or invasion story.
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SharazJek



Joined: 12 Aug 2005
Posts: 902
Location: Hobart, Tasmania

PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 8:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Greg wrote:
I haven't seen this episode nor read the previous post, but I have to say... Couldn't they have come up with a better and less obvious story title that Cyberwoman? It smacks of 'We'd better call it this to make sure we get the Doctor Who fans in!'.


No more obvious than calling the season 1 Rob Shearman episode 'Dalek'.

There are Doctor Who references in every episode so I doubt the episode title is there for the fans. I would suggest it's to entice casual viewers who remember the end of season 2.
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phase5



Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 246

PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"The Trouble With Lisa" aka "Cyberwoman".

An enjoyable episode.

(As long as you don't get too nit picky).

However a few things annoyed me.

- The original concept of (the alternate universe Cybermen) removing the brain and placing it in a robotic shell was dropped, obviously so we could have a sexy cyberperson as the threat. This was covered with a couple of lines of throw away dialogue which to me was contradictory. How is "upgrading whole bodies" faster than "transplanting brains" especially using "earth technology". This really needed to be addressed properly.

- When the cyberprogramming kicked in why didn't Lisa complete her own upgrade? (The answers obvious of course). All the gear seemed to be there to do it.

- A Cyber(wo)man with high heels?
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frobisher



Joined: 05 May 2006
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This ep was great nut as people before me have said what a stupid title it should it be ............ get back to you on that one
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Greg
Site Admin


Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 1815
Location: Canberra

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SharazJek wrote:
Greg wrote:
I haven't seen this episode nor read the previous post, but I have to say... Couldn't they have come up with a better and less obvious story title that Cyberwoman? It smacks of 'We'd better call it this to make sure we get the Doctor Who fans in!'.


No more obvious than calling the season 1 Rob Shearman episode 'Dalek'.

There are Doctor Who references in every episode so I doubt the episode title is there for the fans. I would suggest it's to entice casual viewers who remember the end of season 2.


Doctor Who is a show with a history, and calling an episode Dalek is to remind people of the history. Torchwood is a new show that needs to establish its own identity to survive. If it wants to label itself a spin-off continually, it may not last that long. Two seasons, max.

Now, I have a question - is it just me, or do other people find it highly unlikely that partially-converted cyberpeople have special frames designed to lift and separate, which are presumably still in place under the chestplate of the fully converted body?
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Theta Sigma



Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 4423

PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought this started pretty slowly but does improve as the episode progresses. It is particularly good towards the end with the emotional impact of Ianto losing Lisa. Not to mention that it was quite a shock when Lisa transplanted her brain to Annie's body and her being shot by the Torchwood team.
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Theta Sigma



Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 4423

PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Greg wrote:

Doctor Who is a show with a history, and calling an episode Dalek is to remind people of the history. Torchwood is a new show that needs to establish its own identity to survive. If it wants to label itself a spin-off continually, it may not last that long. Two seasons, max.

The post original Star Trek shows have done well in regard to their survival when they had the words "Star Trek" as part of their title with three of the spinoffs, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine & Voyager lasting seven seasons.

The Star Trek shows contiunally remind viewers that they are part of the Star Trek universe just by the virtue of the Star Trek name.

So it would be bizarre if Torchwood which does not have the words "Doctor Who" as part of its title to be cancelled just by reminding people that it is a spin-off of Doctor Who.

The Star Trek shows, at least until the final years of them on television, did not seem to be in trouble by being spinoffs of Star Trek and therefore I don't think Torchwood would have that problem as well.
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Greg
Site Admin


Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 1815
Location: Canberra

PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Theta Sigma wrote:
The Star Trek shows, at least until the final years of them on television, did not seem to be in trouble by being spinoffs of Star Trek and therefore I don't think Torchwood would have that problem as well.


The chief difference being that all the Star Trek series were pitched at the same audience, as well as still carrying the name. Torchwood is pitched at some of the Doctor Who audience and doesn't carry the parent show's name. It is fortunate in that the UK Doctor Who audience is so large that even a proportion of that audience puts it in the public eye, but that's no guarantee that those viewers will stay or that new viewers will start watching if it isn't an attractive viewing choice in it's own right.
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Theta Sigma



Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 4423

PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Greg. I have to say that I have been waiting for someone to explain the difference for a Doctor Who & Star Trek spinoff although whether I agree with you or not is something I have to determine later on.
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Greg
Site Admin


Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 1815
Location: Canberra

PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Time will tell how it turns out.
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SharazJek



Joined: 12 Aug 2005
Posts: 902
Location: Hobart, Tasmania

PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's amazing how connected Torchwood is to Dr Who though, considering the very different format. Jack is pining for the Doctor for virtually the entire first season, and as for the end of episode 13, there's a full crossover.
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Greg
Site Admin


Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 1815
Location: Canberra

PostPosted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SharazJek wrote:
It's amazing how connected Torchwood is to Dr Who though, considering the very different format. Jack is pining for the Doctor for virtually the entire first season, and as for the end of episode 13, there's a full crossover.


A lot of the connectedness wouldn't be apparent to a casual viewer, though. Jack has a mysterious past, of which there has been limited exploration. Torchwood has any number of strange artefacts, so the hand may not seem to have too much extra significance. The resembalnce between the partially cyber-converted villain in Cyberwoman isn't that close to those of the Cybermen we got in four episodes of the parent show (to me, she looks more like a classic series Cyberman...). What else? A couple of references to UNIT, but these are casual and not essential to the story. A reference to the 'right kind of doctor', which can be seen as part of Jack's mysterious past.

We'll have to see whether we have a 'full crossover', as that will depend on whether the episode(s) Jack appears in Doctor Who are at all referred to back in Torchwood or have any impact on the storylines. If the aren't, then I wouldn't call it a full crossover.
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SharazJek



Joined: 12 Aug 2005
Posts: 902
Location: Hobart, Tasmania

PostPosted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd call the tardis materialising, picking up Jack and taking off a crossover.
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Odnet



Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 61
Location: Mudgee

PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought this was great. Mostly. The Cyberwoman was a little too "Cyberporn" in reality. I mean the real Cybermen all look the same whether they be based on Men or Woman. No Cyber Breasts there. Although she did look great! I also thought that Ianto should of been sacked. Torchwood seems to be the most forgiving workplace in history. Almost every episode has someone losing it big time and badly breaking the rules. Only Suzie has ever really paid a price (Death). I hated the kiss between Gwen and Owen. Too predictable.
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ADAMK



Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 219
Location: Canberra

PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Torchwood got 756,000 viewers last night and came 4th in its timeslot.
See http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/archives/2007/07/the_ratings_race_new_week_3.html

Let's hope Channel Ten doesn't lose patience and relegate it to a graveyard timeslot!
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montypython



Joined: 25 Jan 2006
Posts: 841
Location: My own little world

PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe it was Sulp Niar who, last week, said Ianto's role had been pointless. Well, he certainly got a look-in this week.

I thought this episode was good, but not as good as the first. I got really sick of Ianto's crying. Gwen is a useless damsel in distress, and what she sees in Owen I'll never know. I think Jack looks really stupid the way he hugs himself. I'm still confused as to why Lisa had Cyberboobs and Cyberheels. And was Jack pashing Ianto, or giving him CPR, or both?

Having said that, I also thought this episode had good action, a good level of emotion and a good level of suspense.
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