Description
Gwen’s first day on her new job at Torchwood sees Cardiff’s night-life at the mercy of a gaseous alien who consumes its victims during orgasm, leaving behind only dust. And it’s all her fault — she let it escape a fallen meteorite. The gas is devouring its teenage host. She’s fighting for control as the alien inside takes down victim after victim. Torchwood tracks the alien to a sperm bank, but too late for the patrons within. Soon, if they don’t act quickly enough, it’ll be too late for everyone else too!
Paycheckgurl –
I literally tell people to skip this episode when I pitch the show as something new to watch. Because do you have any idea how many people see “alien sex cloud that kills people with orgasms” and then just nope the heck out of there?!
Some positive things:
The scene where they all eat together and speculate about Jack’s Deal is really fun, and does a good job of setting up some of the team dynamics.
“usual formation.” “What’s the usual formation?” “It varies” “How can the usual formation vary?” Is great dialogue.
Gwen is shown right off the bat to be caring and mean well, even if she’s out of her element.
And of course Jack’s Hand In a Jar obsession is most on display here. We love Jack and his Hand in a Jar.
Alien Sex Cloud has been an inside joke in my friend group for years, and if nothing else I can say I’ve gotten some enjoyment from that alone.
Other than those moments though…this episode is a Mess. It tries too hard to be edgy and adult, and unintentionally fails at both. While it is very committed to the premise…the premise is still Alien Sex Cloud. And it does not handle that well.
I think if you want something that is so bad it’s good, then this episode hits the spot. But in comparison to other, actually good, episodes…well ,like I said at the top, I tell newbies to skip this one on the initial watch.