Reset

"These attacks aren't random, they're clinical."

Writer: J. C. Wilsher

Format: TV

Broadcast: 13 February 2008

Series: Torchwood 2.06

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto, Martha

Synopsis

Captain Jack calls in Martha Jones to investigate mysterious deaths. When the trail leads to a sinister medical testing centre Martha must go undercover, but have Torchwood underestimated how far the testing centre will go to reach medical breakthroughs?

Verdict

Reset was a great episode of Torchwood to continue along the rewatch with my partner Gemma. This is obviously a big episode as we see the first real crossover with Doctor Who with Martha joining the team and she does so in a brilliant way. Now, Gemma is not a fan of Martha in the slightest so I made a point of ensuring that she was not spoiled in any way and I was successful in that task. I was so excited to see what her reaction would be and it's safe to say it didn't disappoint! She's not a big Gwen fan either so the two of them interacting sparked an amusing comment. I thought the confidence that Martha oozed was excellent and she really did become centre stage immediately. I was a big fan of the way she arrived and the directing from her point of view initially was very well done. I enjoyed the premise of the episode with the reset and the concept of restoring the human body to its factory setting was quite spectacular. I think that's really good and the more mature nature of Torchwood allowed for a more violent exploration than might be the case in Doctor Who. We're not going to have HIV or hepatitis mentioned there so Torchwood was the perfect place and Martha getting to fully detail her medical knowledge was great. I loved the little moments Captain Jack and Martha got reflecting on the events of The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords and Jack's comment about relying on her to save the world was excellent. I thought the relationship between Martha and Owen was terrific and exactly what I would have hoped for. Owen was flirting and getting nowhere which is always fun, but for me the highlight was him agreeing to go on a date with Tosh. A night of pool and drinks sounded delightful and it was so sweet to see how happy Tosh was that he said yes. Copley made for a stern villain as the head of the Pharm and the experimentation and as me and Gemma are big fans of Dynasty, it was fun to see the actor who plays Anders in a different role and a quite awful accent! The interaction he had with Jack was brilliant and I liked how he immediately offered Martha a role on the study after she quickly revealed she had hepatitis. She was good in getting into places and now she had Torchwood at her disposal. Not bad for a member of UNIT! Jack's comments about the red hat and Ianto were terrific too. I liked the alien larvae and the parasitical nature of it and the after effects in particular led to a killing spree. The puncture wound to the eye was pretty gruesome. I thought the pace ever so slightly dropped midway through the episode but we had an emphatic conclusion with Martha infected and on the verge of death before Owen mastered the alien device to destroy it without impacting Martha. I thought that was a bit of a cop out and too convenient. However, there wasn't time to ponder on it as Owen was shot dead by Copley in an incredibly emotional ending. Jack's face said it all and it was so sad that Tosh wouldn't get her date. Gemma was horrified as he's her favourite member of the team and doesn't seem impressed that Martha is sticking around either! Overall, a very good episode! 

Rating: 8/10