Stars: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Mekhi Phifer, Alexa Havins, Kai Owen, Bill Pullman, Lauren Ambrose, Arlene Tur, Jonathan Spencer, Frederick Koehler, Jason Brooks, Tom Price, Marc Vann, William Thomas, Ciera Payton, G. Lane Hillman, Lena Kaur, Liz Jenkins, Ernie Hudson
Writer: Teleplay by Jane Espenson & Ryan Scott, Story by Ryan Scott
Director:  Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Network: Starz, airs Friday nights
Original Telecast: August 26, 2011

One of the last three episodes of the BBC Worldwide and Starz co-production of TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY and the ball is still rolling and gradually picking up steam. Last week’s episode was one of the strongest since the first couple, and this week continues that story forward while introducing new elements and re-introducing older ones that I thought had been tossed aside in favor of a “Jack-centric” storyline.

“End of the Road” picks up literally where last week left us, with Nana Visitor showing up as Olivia Colasanto, the granddaughter of Jack’s (John Barrowman) old flame Angelo Colasanto (Daniele Favilli). Turns out that the prophetic message of her taking them to someone who knows where the ‘miracle’ originated didn’t take them nearly as far as I thought. Basically, it allowed the rest of the Torchwood gang (both US and UK) to get caught up on all of the flashbacks the audience was privy to in the last episode. Now we know that the men who formed the triangle with their handshake are behind the ‘miracle’ and Torchwood has to find them.

Yet another STAR TREK alumnus joins the cast with this new episode, John de Lancie playing  Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer) and Esther Drummond’s (Alexa Havins) CIA superior Shapiro. De Lancie is lovely to watch as always. He consistently was one of my absolute favorite guest stars on NEXT GENERATION and I really enjoy him on this as well. He adds yet another level of people in the government that are scrambling to figure out the ‘miracle’ and how to stop it, and his dry sarcasm is a nice switch on the show.

A lot of what I talked about in my last review had to deal with the fact that I felt a lot of the ‘American’ storylines had been abandoned suddenly to re-focus on the key characters of Torchwood, Jack and Gwen (Eve Myles). This was not a harsh criticism of the show, but a little bit of a sigh of relief at the streamlining of the story. Some of those elements I thought were gone come back in this episode briefly. Esther talks to her sister and finds out that there is a way to volunteer to be classified as a Category One. Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman) popped back up only find out that the government is planning to ice him and a lot of other criminals and bad people who escaped death through the ‘miracle’ and all of them are known as Category Zero. Jilly Kitzinger (Lauren Ambrose) showed up with Danes to get smacked around and then recruited into the three families’ organization that is running the show. Brian Friedkin (Wayne Knight) turned back up only to be hauled off by the legit CIA agents, and then to turn himself and a couple of other folks into Category One crispy critters.

There are some nice nods to TORCHWOOD history in this episode that should be noted. Jack gets to talk (and cry) a little bit more about Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) while he is sitting at the bedside of Angelo. Then there are some nice references to the null field that Torchwood Cardiff employed to stay off the radar. Of course, I kept thinking about the first episode with the lift up to the street, and Suzie (Indira Varma) capping Jack in the head when the null field doesn’t work on her while she is wearing the resurrection glove.

So this episode brings it home to finally being Alien technology after the somewhat red herring of Jack being the cause of the ‘miracle’. Jack was made immortal by Rose using the energy of the TARDIS, but it was a mistake because she simply said ‘Live’ and didn’t really give him an expiration date. I have always wondered if that made Jack unique on a genetic level or not. I guess in this episode we find out because he says it’s not anything to do with his actual body that makes him special.

I loved the collection of Jack over the years photographs on Angelo’s mantel. Especially the one with Jack and the moustache that he was sporting in the 1970’s!

Gwen seemed really high strung in this episode. She charges people with guns leveled at her head with little or no thought as to the consequences, and she just generally seemed ready to put a beat down into anyone that offered her any reason. As a result…she gets deported. Sigh.

Two left to go, before MIRACLE DAY wraps it up. It’ll be interesting to see how much more of TORCHWOOD’s past ends up making it into the plot and reasons behind the ‘miracle’ and what happens to all the people that should be dead when the field shuts off.

AGREE? DISAGREE? LET US KNOW HOW YOU FEEL – COMMENT BELOW!

Click on link:TORCHWOOD – “End of the Road”  – Review #1

Click on link: TORCHWOOD – “Immortal Sins”  – Review #2

Click on link: TORCHWOOD – “Immortal Sins”  – Review #1

Click on link: TORCHWOOD – “The Middle Men”  – Review #2

Click on link: TORCHWOOD – “The Middle Men”  – Review #1
Click on link: TORCHWOOD – “The Categories of Life”  – Review #1

Click on link: TORCHWOOD – “Dead of Night”  – Review #2

Click on link: TORCHWOOD – “Rendition”  – Review #2

Click on link: AX’s 10 Things About Torchwood You Need To Know

CLICK HERE for AX’s List on “THE FIVE QUESTIONS WE HOPE DOCTOR WHO – SERIES 6 ANSWERS”

CLICK HERE for Neil Gaiman talking about scripting his Season 6 DOCTOR WHO episode

CLICK HERE for brand new photos from DOCTOR WHO – Season 6 – including new poster

CLICK HERE to view the new EXTENDED SEASON 6 DOCTOR WHO trailer

CLICK HERE for Actor Mark Sheppard talking about his role in a Season 6 episode of DOCTOR WHO

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Review – TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY – “End of the Road” – Review #2

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