torchwood Mekhi Phifer, as a CIA agent working with Torchwood, is much more loose and open than he’s been before. Among the many pleasures here is a superbly creepy performance by Bill Pullman as Oswald Danes, a celebrity pedophile-murderer. Plus, guest stars including Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) and Wayne Knight, transcending Seinfeld’s Newman with dapper villainy. Juggling the themes of famine, fame, and family, Torchwood: Miracle Day – conceived by series creator Russell T Davies, with some episodes written by Buffy and Warehouse 13 vet Janes Espenson, makes a trans-Atlantic shift that will, I hope, broaden this marvelous, tense fantasy’s audience.
The transition is a bit of a bumpy one. Seeing Gwen, with her combination of smarts, skepticism, and sarcasm, contrasted with her opposite number here, a CIA analyst played with prim eagerness by Alexa Havins, you realize how rarely a dire sci-fi premise gets played for occasional laughs in America. For me, that’s one — minor, but significant — reason why shows such as Heroes and The Event sputter and fail: They leave no room for humor, for an aknowledgment of the absurd. Of course, people who don’t enjoy the original Torchwood or Doctor Who could say the opposite is true: That Brit shows can be reduced to mere silliness at moments when a fan might want more furrowed-brow seriousness.
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