Project: Chronological (New) Whoniverse - watching all episodes from the Davies/Moffat Era Doctor Who & Torchwood in chronological order.
Purpose: I never did it in the first place. After sprinkled episodes of both, I went: series 3 of Who, series 2 of Who, series 1 of Who, series 1 & 2 of Torchwood during series 4 of Who... then finally chronological for the Who Specials, "Children of Earth" and series 5 of Who. In my impatience to obtain series 5 on DVD, I decided I should go back and watch everything in order.
Having just finished series 2 of Who, I'll have a re-cap/review/reaction to that, but my first impulse to write about it all came with the first two episodes of Torchwood, specifically while watching (Doctor) Owen Harper. Within five minutes of Owen's on-screen presence it struck me once again what a twisted fuck that character is... and how much I adore him. Granted, the fact that Burn Gorman is electric to watch benefits the formation of my opinion, but what makes Owen work for me goes deeper. On the surface he's a callous, sarcastic, narcissistic jackass -- even if he is a medical doctor who in theory should want to help people. Yet underneath that facade exist multiple layers to Owen -- layers of sensitivity, compassion, self-loathing, fear of really living, sensuality, insecurity, and bravery. Owen's character rivals Captain Jack Harkness in complexity, yet while I adore Jack and sometimes get angry or frustrated with his choices, I have a true love/hate complex with Owen. Still, I do love him -- a love attributed to some incredible writing and damn fine acting.
More detailed, articulate praising of Owen Harper to come as Project Whoniverse continues.
You're not helping our case that girls do not indeed prefer bad boys lol.
ReplyDeleteI had EXACTLY this thought while writing (and thinking about it before writing). I sit there watching Owen and think, "You are SUCH a DICK!" until he goes through an emotional screw-over or has something really terrible happen to him and while I should be all, "Karma's a bitch, dude!" he's so well written & acted, so layered as a character, that I just want to reach through the screen and cuddle him (and thensome).
ReplyDelete