Torchwood by stopwatch
Last week I was stuck at home with no car while dh was out of town. I decided I needed some light mental exercise and an excuse to re-watch Torchwood so I figured out how much sceentime each main character got per episode. This is a compilation of the posts I wrote about my experience on OG:
While it might have been more fun, I didn't use an actual stopwatch. I have Winamp (sorriest blanketty-blank excuse for a viewing program you ever saw -- excuse me, I'm not happy about the "latest innovation"), a pencil, and a piece of paper. The timer is set to count backwards. I pause the screen when someone enters or leaves the stage and write down the number in their column. After it's all over with, I do a bunch of time-table subtracting, then a bunch of time-table adding.
I'm blocking it as if it were a stage play. I start counting when the actor "enters" the "stage" and stop when he or she "exits". If the camera is swinging back and forth between actors but everyone is still present, I count the temporarily out-of-shot actors as still "on stage" unless the camera pauses for a long, significant "close-up" that could be filmed without the other actors present. I also don't bother to take out the music breaks if the show comes back to the same actors. So there's a built-in margin of error, but the proportions should be right.
Everything Changes by RTD
Gwen - 33:03
Jack - 21:35
Suzie - 13:39
Tosh - 12:42
Owen - 11:24
Ianto - 2:21
Gwen had the longest single block, being on screen for a whopping 29:34 at the start.
Tosh is a lot more prominent than I thought. She beat out Owen in the first episode. Granted she's often working in the background, but she's still in the scenes.
Day One by Chris Chibnall.
Gwen - 35:16
Jack - 26:30
Tosh - 22:45
Owen - 19:54
Ianto - 4:34
Once again, Tosh beats out Owen. And Ianto doubles his screen time from 01.
Ghost Machine by Helen Raynor
Gwen - 33:46
Owen - 26:38
Jack - 22:35
Tosh - 13:05
Ianto: 2:44
Owen has more screentime than Jack, but it's Owen's episode. Ianto slips back down to just under 3 minutes. I have a feeling CC is more equal with screentime than the others.
Originally Posted by Twhylight
Three episodes in and Ianto dosen't even have 10 minutes in. Boy, they were keeping him in the background for Ep 4.Weren't they, though! Before the intro he gets 7:44. That's more than he did in the first two episodes combined!
Cyberwoman by CC
Ianto - 30:03
Gwen - 24:36
Jack - 22:06
Owen - 18:38
Tosh - 15:03
Small Worlds by P. J. Hammond
Jack - 21:38
Gwen - 19:21
Tosh - 7:39
Owen - 5:45
Ianto - 1:33
It's the Jack and Gwen show, now with 2/3rds less Owen and Tosh, and half as much Ianto! The guest stars racked up a lot of time in this episode so everyone's overal time is down. Jack has more time than Gwen for the first time, but it's his episode. Tosh beats out Owen again as she has done in 3 of the 5 episodes. Owen clocks in at one minute over Ianto's time in Day One.
Countrycide by CC
Gwen - 27:14
Tosh - 22:12
Jack - 20:00
Owen - 19:02
Ianto - 18:37
Toshiko comes in second this episode. We could call Countrycide a "Gwen and Tosh" story, instead of a "Gwen" story. This makes 4 out of 6 episodes where Tosh has more time than Owen. Jack comes in third as he did in Cyberwoman, another CC story. Ianto comes in last again, but he's only 30 seconds behind Owen and 90 seconds behind Jack. His time would be respectable for Owen or Tosh in most other episodes. This is the most even the times have ever been, beating out Cyberwoman, another CC story. (I think we're seeing a trend here.) I figured we'd see more of Ianto in CC's stories, but the rest of the variations surprised me.
Greeks Bearing Gifts by Toby Whithouse
Tosh - 41:06
Jack - 10:58
Gwen - 10:46
Owen - 9:32
Ianto - 1:25
Who would have thought quiet little Tosh had it in her to so dominate the screen? She now has the highest overall score for a single episode and the highest score for continuous screen time at 31:37, beating Gwen's record of 29:34 from Everything Changes. Gwen is in third place for the first time, in a tight cluster with Jack and Owen. Ianto reaches a new low. And for 5 out of 7 episodes Tosh has more time than Owen.
They Keep Killing Suzie by Tomalin/McCullough (but it looks/sounds/smells/acts like an RTD)
Jack - 32:40
Gwen - 31:25
Owen - 21:22
Tosh - 17:22
Ianto - 14:31
You can tell this is a "Jack" episode because it's only the second time he's got more screentime than Gwen; the other time was Small Worlds. Owen beats out Tosh for the third time out of 8 episodes. Ianto still has the least time, but at 14:31 it's respectable. Sure beats the under-two minute episodes he's had before.
I made some notes about the way Ianto is staged in this episode which I've posted seperately here.
Random Shoes by Jaquetta May
Gwen - 40:35
Owen -- 4:07
Jack -- 2:54
Tosh -- 2:06
Ianto -- 1:02
AKA "The Gwen Show".
Out of Time by Cathy Treganna
Owen - 19:04
Jack - 15:30
Gwen - 11:17
Ianto - 2:48
Tosh - 1:38
Owen takes the lead, followed by Jack. Gwen falls to third place for the second time this series. Tosh falls to last place for the second time. Ianto has his longest scene so far outside of Cyberwoman. Tosh has a better time than Owen in 5 out of 9 episodes; he's almost caught up with her.
Combat by Noel Clarke
Owen - 23:06
Jack -- 14:13
Gwen - 11:23
Tosh -- 9:13
Ianto -- 6:07
Owen comes in first. Jack in second. Gwen comes in third again. Tosh makes a rare appearance at fourth, and Ianto makes the best time of his single-digit figues so far. Tosh and Owen tie for best time between them.
Captain Jack Harkness by Cathy Treganna
Jack - 24:11
Tosh - 17:25
Owen - 9:34
Ianto - 7:54
Gwen - 6:10
And now that we no longer need her services as an introductory point, Gwen takes her turn on the bottom of the list.
End of Days by CC
Gwen - 30:24
Jack -- 22:59
Ianto - 19:05
Tosh -- 15:97
Owen - 14:00
Gwen comes in first again with Jack second again. Ianto comes in a very respectable third, claiming the middle for the first time. Owen, in his usual position behind Tosh, comes in last for the first time.
Twhylight on OG totaled them up for me. Here's her figures:
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....Gwen.... Jack.... Tosh.... Owen.... Ianto
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everything Changes by RTD.................................| 33:03 | 21:35 | 12:42 | 11:24 | 02:21 |
Day One by Chris Chibnall......................................| 35:16 | 26:30 | 22:45 | 19:54 | 04:34 |
Ghost Machine by Helen Raynor.............................| 33:46 | 22:35 | 13:05 | 26:38 | 02:44 |
Cyberwoman by CC ............................................ | 24:36 | 22:06 | 15:03 | 18:38 | 30:03 |
Small Worlds by P. J. Hammond ........................... | 19:21 | 21:38 | 07:39 | 05:45 | 01:33 |
Countrycide by CC .............................................. | 27:14 | 20:00 | 22:12 | 19:02 | 18:37 |
Greeks Bearing Gifts by Toby Whithouse...............| 10:46 | 10:58 | 41:06 | 09:32 | 01:25 |
They Keep Killing Suzie by Tomalin/McCullough.... | 31:25 | 32:40 | 17:22 | 21:22 | 14:31|
Random Shoes by Jaquetta May............................ | 40:35 | 02:54 | 02:06 | 04:07 | 01:02 |
Out of Time by Cathy Treganna............................. | 11:17 | 15:30 | 01:38 | 19:04 | 02:48 |
Combat by Noel Clarke......................................... | 11:23 | 14:13 | 09:13 | 23:06 | 06:07 |
Captain Jack Harkness by Cathy Treganna .......... | 06:10 | 24:11 | 17:25 | 09:34 | 07:54 |
End of Days by CC............................................... | 30:24 | 22:59 | 16:37| 14:00 | 19:05 |
================================================== ===========
TOTALS............................................ .......... |05:03:43|04:18:00|03:18:53|03:46:10|01.52:44 |
It's way too late at night to work up the actual averages, but here are the weighted rankings. In this chart 5 has the most time and 1 the least:
Actors //Gwen//Jack//Tosh//Owen//Ianto
Episodes
1 ----//5//////4//////3//////2///////1
2----//5//////4//////3//////2///////1
3---//5//////3//////2//////4///////1
4--//4//////3//////1///////2///////5
5--//4/////5//////3///////2///////1
6--//5/////3/////4///////2///////1
7--//3////4/////5///////2///////1
8--//4///5/////2///////3///////1
9--//5///3////2////////4///////1
10-//3///4////1///////5///////2
11-//3///4////2//////5///////1
12-//1///5////4//////3///////2
13-//5///4////2/////1////////3
Average weighted ranking:
Gwen - 4
Jack - 3.5
Tosh - 2.6
Owen - 2.8
Ianto - 1.6
ETA: Here's the average minutes/episode based on Twylight's totals:
Gwen - 23.3 minutes/episode
Jack - 19.8 minutes/episode
Owen - 17.4 minutes/episode
Tosh - 15.3 minutes/episode
Ianto -- 8.7 minutes/episode
ETA: Teaspoon is deleting their entire nonfiction section in 10 minutes. Boo! I'm archiving my reviews here.
alienstar072007.12.31 - 07:03PM1: Chapter 1SignedI read this on OG, but it suprised me that in a lot of eps Tosh had more time than Owen.
Author's Response: The difference is that Tosh did not call attention to herself by misbehaving. Owen did.
[Respond]
NavyGiraffes2007.10.17 - 08:39PM1: Chapter 1SignedI think the really strange thing about this, is that everyone loves Ianto, it seems, and nobody likes Owen, and not a lot of people seem to like Gwen. I sure don't. Compared to the numbers you have here, it really doesn't add up. I'm not saying your numbers are wrong, I'm just saying it's very odd the way it's turned out. You should do one for Doctor Who, comparing Rose and Martha screentime or something. Just a suggestion.
Author's Response: It's not odd when you think about it. Ianto never did anything really objectionable when he was onscreen, unlike Gwen and Owen, who one quite often wanted to slap upside the head.
[Respond]
wmr2007.10.05 - 04:17PM1: Chapter 1Signed...and this explains why I'm so 'meh' and even 'no, thanks' about Torchwood. I can't stand Gwen or Owen. I only watched it for Jack but, while he gets a respectable amount of screen time, he's only the lead character in two or three episodes. I came to like Tosh, but there are only two episodes where she carries any kind of a decent story. Ianto - the little we saw of him - comes across as underdeveloped (and now I know why!) and whiny, and his sudden switch from wanting to kill Jack to shagging him is never explained (again, due to insufficient screen time).
It's far, far too much the Gwen show for my liking, with occasions when it's the Owen Show or the Gwen 'n' Owen show. No thanks. :(
Author's Response: I wouldn't call Ianto's decision 'sudden". It was built up subtly over several episodes. It never took center stage, but there was a lot going on in the background.
[Respond]
Fire Storm2007.10.05 - 04:14PM1: Chapter 1SignedI don't watch Torchwood but I read this out of interest.
All I can say is you definately have a lot of time on your hands...
Also, wow. I never knew Ianto was so unpopular!
Very informative :)
Author's Response: LOL Ianto's hardly unpopular! He was just -- sneaky first season.
[Respond]
jekyll2007.10.05 - 03:35PM1: Chapter 1SignedVery interesting... poor Ianto. Although I have heard he's a bit more a part of the team for the second series.
Author's Response: GDL told Tanerian he's got four times as much script next series.
[Respond]