There was a second triumph for the BBC last week: Torchwood (BBC1, Monday to Friday). This Doctor Who spin-off reached the age of maturity in a five-part drama stripped across the week created by outgoing Doctor Who supremo Russell T Davies. It was gutting to learn that Davies is now off to try his hand in Hollywood.
Children Of Earth was five hours of pure thriller with more twists and turns than a week in the life of Peter and Jordan. I couldn't get enough of it.
For a drama about aliens, it was actually quite realistic. If I am to believe that these creatures exist I could happily conceive that they did capture some children in 1965 in order to use them as "recreational drugs". You're right, totally unbelievable. What am I talking about?
THIS, HOWEVER, was where the drama succeeded brilliantly in creating a "realistic" world in which a government tries to deal with a scenario in which, in this case, the alien "456" would like Earth to give up 10 per cent of the population of children in return for saving everyone else. And you guessed it... the government agreed to the deal rather than fight. This was clearly not a Churchillian war cabinet.
There were some truly splendid performances here from Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper and Peter Capaldi as the permanent secretary of the Home Office.
Is this the end of Torchwood? Ianto Jones, Captain Jack's gayish pal, was killed off, Gwen's gone off to have a baby, while Jack Harkness has gone off to a waiting spaceship. If this is the end, thanks for a brilliant and harrowing send-off.
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