*** May contain spoilers ***
Torchwood meets Buffy?
KalteStern from ,
6th March, 2010
This is clearly trying to combine the Joss Whedon style ‘modern fantasy’ appeal with something akin to the X Files, but doesn’t really succeed at either, not least because the pseudo-science rapidly descends into the risible. The Sanctuary network resembles Anne Rice’s Talamasca, but with resources that stretch to aircraft and a submarine, as well as real estate. Dr Zimmerman begins Episode One working for the police, but police, government, or any kind of public regulatory framework soon just fade into the background. Vampires, werewolves and Old Uncle Tom Cobbley and all are lobbed into the mix to try to appeal to every angle. There are hints of a comprehensive ‘alternative-history' arc, with some strange ruins and mention of somewhere called New City, but the writers couldn’t really be bothered to work it out in full or incorporate it into the script properly. Nor do they seem to have decided a few other crucial things, or to be very consistent; we are supposed do believe this is about ‘sanctuary for all’, the all being the various Abnormals, humanoids and otherwise, that form the basis of most of the story-lines. Unfortunately, the Sanctuary seems to be more akin to a prison, fitted out with detention cells and security measures to keep creatures from entering or leaving. There is also a worrying tendency for creatures to be bumped off without hesitation if as they become any kind of inconvenience to the main characters: several are casually exterminated despite being ‘unique’, while kick-ass teenage daughter character Ashley seems to be little more than an armed thug, sent to exercise a little pest control. There are other aspects that have a very dodgy underlying morality; it is hard to separate the purpose of the Sanctuary and their supposed arch rivals the Cabal; both seem to have very similar methods in the field, but one is supposedly in it for ‘good’ reasons, while the other is an Evil Empire. The script makes the leader, Helen Magnus, come across as an arrogant sanctimonious prig, and combines that with historical name dropping that soon becomes comical: she not only knew Einstein, Tesler, and one of the Beatles, but she not only knew Jack the Ripper, but Viewer, she shagged him… Amanda Tapping, in the main role, tries hard to look warm and saintly, but she just can’t get past that script, while the production values are odd (why does everyone look jaundiced all the time?). Painted wooden scenery would have looked better than some of the CGI, and in fact much of it has the look of a mid 90s PC game. Good points? It’s different, it can be funny at times, and for those who like their fantasy loose and unscientific, its light relief as long as you don’t analyse any of it too carefully - fans of Torchwood or Dr Who might like it.
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