Review Torchwood S2 10 From Out of the Rain

[crabby_lioness]

This week we've got another Classic Plot, albeit one that's not often seen, Monsters Emerging From the Cinema Film.

It has appeared more often in comic books than in filmed media, probably because of budget considerations.  The last time I saw it was Leave it to Chance, but Marvel and DC have turned in their versions in the past.  My husband and I

Comments

[love_jackianto]

I thought this episode's plot was ok, it just seemed to fall apart at the end. I can forgive a 'so-so' plot as long as the acting is there- which is something I never have to worry about with Gareth. He really is like a young Katherine Hepburn. I think one of the reasons I like Jack/Ianto so much is because John and Gareth always play off of each other so well.

'Jack is very free with sharing his body, but he's completely out of practice with sharing his closest thoughts and feelings.'
That describes Jack so well. He seems very good with expressing himself physically, but not very good with letting people see behind the sexy-man-of-mystery mask. One of the things I like about Ianto is that he doesn't seem to push Jack to open up and because of that Jack does (See: To the last man).

'He's got a huge grin on his face. ' Me too. We have an old theatre in my town- it was a vaudeville house back in the 20's. I love sitting in the balcony, they just don't make theatres with that kind of character anymore.

[tencrush]

One of the things I like about Ianto is that he doesn't seem to push Jack to open up and because of that Jack does.
It's one of the things that annoys me about Gwen, she does that stereotypical manipulative woman thing sometimes, as in "No-one else will have me," where she kind of issues these below the belt challenges at him to talk to her. I love how he sidesteps those and never answers one way or the other.

[love_jackianto]

'...as in 'No-one else will have me,' where she kind of issues these below the belt challenges at him to talk to her.' Yes. Gwen doesn't seem to know when to back off. To me, Gwen sometimes comes off as insensitive (when Jack was holding Estelle's body (Small Worlds) and Gwen wanted him to answer her questions).

'I love how he sidesteps those and never answers one way or the other.' Oh yes, Jack is very good at sidestepping, must be because of all his years of being a con-man.

[crabby_lioness]

I think one of the reasons I like Jack/Ianto so much is because John and Gareth always play off of each other so well.

They both play those early-20th Century types so well, it really helps them synch up, if that's a term.

[beccaelizabeth]

The escapees turn out to be the Ringmaster and his Beautiful Girl Assistant/Mermaid, off to steal the breath of passersby and store it in a silver flask for their own purpose. While the Ringmaster does the dirty work, it's soon apparent the actual magic comes from the Mermaid. Her seashell motif adorns the flask, she summons the spirit of the ocean to sustain her, and I'd bet she's the reason this haunted carnival only appeared "from out of the rain."
I hadn't seen it like that but it makes sense.

[eumenidis]

Ah, those splendid old cinema palaces--I'm sooo jealous of your childhood experience. When I was a kid, it was drive-in or utilitarian, my town was still in the process of going from a small rural town to a suburb--there were working farms within walking distance of downtown. There were some in Dallas, but by the early 80s they'd been either torn down or "refurbished" & stripped of their original character.

[crabby_lioness]

That's sad, but they couldn't have them showing up the more modern theatres, could they? [/sarcasm]

[eumenidis]

Oh, no, that wouldn't do at all. Pity, though, there was a splendid old Art Deco theater--painted mural in the lobby, "gilded" statues above the exit doors, velvet curtain--that ran as a discount theater till barbari--um, gentrifiers with dollar signs dancing in their heads got their hands on it. To give you an idea: the dominant colors in the lobby mural were sea-green & light peach; it was "restored" in a hot pink & deep turquoise. Sigh. Even when they try, the buck-chasers just don't get it.

[veejean45]

Great review--as always--and I have to say I liked this episode. I've always loved stories about haunted carnivals ever since I read Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes back when I was a teenager--there's something so sinister about these painted, costumed travellers. I really enjoyed watching Jack and Ianto, how at ease they are working together. Did anyone else notice in the scene with the old woman at the hospital, how she turned to Ianto and said he had been touched by the Night Travellers too?

[mwrgana]

Something Wicked This Way Comes
I'm so glad someone mentioned this - I was 13 when I fist read it and just the memory of that first reading still reverberates now, 40 years later, *reels with shock realising how many years have passed*

[crabby_lioness]

Yes, I noticed. And it really says a lot without saying a word how comfortable Jack and Ianto are with each other. I hope the S3 writers take note.

[criccieth]

Amen to that. I was SO looking forward to this one. I had no problems with the heavy "Sapphire and Steel" and "X-Files" over-tones (hell, two of the best creepy cult shows ever made!) but the plot-holes irritated the hell out of me and Jack's back-story aside there was too much "oh so THIS is what it all means". Nothing made any sense, even for a Torchwood episode! It was so much of a wasted chance because the central idea was wonderful, the relationship side of the Jack/Ianto "thing" was built up so carefully, there were so many hints of back-story ("sent by who?" "long story", not to mention the WAY GDL delivered that line about knowing the mental hospital. And potential future fodder in the old lady's comment to Ianto that they had 'touched' him). But the plot itself? Gah!

Might be interesting to see if there are any missing scenes on the DVD release.