- Radio Times
- Review by:
- Alison Graham
A rapist and child murderer is led to his execution by lethal injection in an American prison. He’s a gimlet-eyed, set-jawed beast (brilliantly played, against type, by the splendid Bill Pullman, star of so many romantic comedies).
But something odd happens in the death chamber. The fatal dose is administered, but the killer doesn’t die. It is Miracle Day, when the critically ill and the fatally injured remain stubbornly alive.
Of course, the world must be saved because if no one dies and babies keep on being born, then the global population will explode. Only Torchwood can save the day, but it’s been disbanded. Captain Jack (John Barrowman) has vanished and Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) is in hiding on the Welsh coast with her husband and baby. But when the call comes, they have to act.
It’s a big, slick, gruesome and noisy start to the new series (written by Russell T Davies), full of sound, fury and bluster. There is a lot of running and a lot of shooting and, probably due to a big chunk of American money (it’s a co-production with the US channel Starz) it’s coated with a thick Hollywood sheen. Just think of it as a fairground ride, and hang on tight.
About this programme
1/10. Death has become a thing of the past. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, people no longer die - despite getting sick and injured - leading to a population boom across the world. As experts predict it will be only four months before the ageing human race will no longer be able to cope, CIA agent Rex Matheson investigates the phenomenon - and finds himself drawn into the world of a top-secret British institute known only as Torchwood. John Barrowman and Eve Myles return in the sci-fi thriller, with Mekhi Phifer (ER) and Bill Pullman (Independence Day).
Cast and crew
Cast
- Capt Jack Harkness
- John Barrowman
- Gwen Cooper
- Eve Myles
- Rex Matheson
- Mekhi Phifer
- Esther Drummond
- Alexa Havins
- Oswald Danes
- Bill Pullman
- Vera Juarez
- Arlene Tur
- Rhys Williams
- Kai Owen
- Sgt Andy Davidson
- Tom Price
- Mr Peterssen
- Brian Guest
- Geraint Cooper
- William Thomas
- Mary Cooper
- Sharon Morgan
- Noah
- Paul James
- Male hiker
- Phil Nice
- Female hiker
- Penny Bunton
- TV journalist
- Ellen Fox
- Joan Cabina
- Heather Ann Smith
- Senior guard
- Rocky McMurray
- Female anchor
- Nischelle Turner
- Male anchor
- David Grant Wright
- Male anchor £2
- Jim Castillo
- Female anchor £2
- Jackie Torres
- Senior male anchor
- Rick Chambers
- Charlotte Wills
- Marina Benedict
- Female anchor £3
- Jessica Mathews
- Nurse
- Charlene Lovings
- Female expert
- Laura Gardner
- Male professor
- Clint Jung
- Teenage girl
- Carla Jeffery
- British professor
- Robin Sachs
- Archivist
- Van Epperson
- Male nurse
- Hymnson Chan
- Senior professor
- Ron Butler
- Flight attendant
- Laura Morgan
- Rosita
- Bunnie Rivera
- Angry nurse
- Lauri Hendler
Crew
- Director
- Bharat Nalluri
- Executive Producer
- Julie Gardner
- Executive Producer
- Russell T Davies
- Executive Producer
- Jane Tranter
- Executive Producer
- Bharat Nalluri
- Writer
- Russell T Davies
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