'Torchwood: The Complete First Season' - High-Def Digest Review

[Attebery]

Ken has reviewed 'Torchwood: The Complete First Season.' He say's you'll want to check this one out a bit before deciding on a purchase. He seemed to enjoy it. This Blu-ray has problematic video, but it's otherwise impressive, and the supplements are vast. Worth a look.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1231/torchwood_s1.html

[Cochise]

Originally Posted by Attebery

Ken has reviewed 'Torchwood: The Complete First Season.' He say's you'll want to check this one out a bit before deciding on a purchase. He seemed to enjoy it. This Blu-ray has problematic video, but it's otherwise impressive, and the supplements are vast. Worth a look.

Sounds like another lazy Warner encode.

I have the BBC HD DVD UK import and it looks & sounds fantastic (also has DTS High Resolution audio). Not re-living the format war; I'm sure the BBC UK Bu-ray looks just as good; just criticizing Warner. Oddly, I have the Warner standard DVD release for Torchwood Season 2, and it upconverts very well, although the DD audio is a very noticeable drop in quality. I've never seen an episode of Dr. Who also, but really enjoy Torchwood.

[Kimba1970]

Originally Posted by CochiseGuy

I've never seen an episode of Dr. Who also, but really enjoy Torchwood.

You should give it a spin : it is quite different from Torchwood but still quite interesting. Take a look to season one, the one with Eclestone : some episode are simply wonderfully written (as "Father Day" for example). You can find those dvds fairly cheap nowadays....

[kcmurphy88]

I'm pretty sure that James Marsters wasn't in Series 1 (he was in 3 episodes of Series 2), so I'm surprised to see him mentioned in the review.

[Kimba1970]

Originally Posted by kcmurphy88

I'm pretty sure that James Marsters wasn't in Series 1 (he was in 3 episodes of Series 2), so I'm surprised to see him mentioned in the review.

You are absolutely correct : his character, Captain John Hart was introduced in the first episode of series 2... it seems the reviewer mixed up the two series....

[Josh Z]

Originally Posted by CochiseGuy

Sounds like another lazy Warner encode.

I have the BBC HD DVD UK import and it looks & sounds fantastic (also has DTS High Resolution audio). Not re-living the format war; I'm sure the BBC UK Bu-ray looks just as good; just criticizing Warner.

I'm pretty sure that this is just a case of you and Ken having different ideas of what constitutes "fantastic". BBC Video is using the exact same encode in both territories. Warner just distributes their titles in the US.

It's easy to blame one studio for all the perceived ills of the world, but that's rarely the case.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by kcmurphy88

I'm pretty sure that James Marsters wasn't in Series 1 (he was in 3 episodes of Series 2), so I'm surprised to see him mentioned in the review.

Sorry, I had watched episodes beyond season 1 before writing the review. It blurred together. I'll make the correction.

[Cochise]

Originally Posted by Josh Z

I'm pretty sure that this is just a case of you and Ken having different ideas of what constitutes "fantastic". BBC Video is using the exact same encode in both territories. Warner just distributes their titles in the US.

I was under the impression Warner encodes the BBC video for U.S. distribution. After all, for standard DVD, the BBC version would be PAL, Warner would need to re-code for NTSC. And in high-def, the BBC/UK release of Planet Earth had an extra episode that was not included in the US version.

Originally Posted by Josh Z

It's easy to blame one studio for all the perceived ills of the world, but that's rarely the case.

Not blaming anyone for all the perceived ills of the world, but I do think it is pretty easy to point out Warner as being the most careless studio for ensuring their high-def releases are as good as can be.

[bradavon]

Oh man this is Car Crash TV. Series 1 is okay at best but wait until you see Series 2 for disastrous scripts, woeful plots and passable acting. It get so utterly stupid at times. I managed to endure almost all of Series 2, never again.

Gwen is the only decent thing about Torchwood, it's a shame her acting is entirely wasted. Her accent takes some getting used to, we almost never get Welsh accents on TV.

As to Doctor Who, it's excellent. It always has been. I've been watching since the 1980s. The New Series is quite different to the Classic series, only characters and plot details really link them.

IMO Series 2 of the New Series is the best, Series 4 is good too. Series 1 was pretty good but Eccelston was completely wrong to play the Doctor, excellent actor but entirely wrong for the part. The episode "Dalek" is easily the best in Series 1. Series 3 has been the weakest so far.

It makes more sense to see Doctor Who: New Series before Torchwood, you'll get more out of it this way.

[Josh Z]

Originally Posted by CochiseGuy

I was under the impression Warner encodes the BBC video for U.S. distribution. After all, for standard DVD, the BBC version would be PAL, Warner would need to re-code for NTSC.

Both the UK and US Blu-ray releases of Torchwood are 1080i/60. Name another Warner release at that resolution.

Not blaming anyone for all the perceived ills of the world, but I do think it is pretty easy to point out Warner as being the most careless studio for ensuring their high-def releases are as good as can be.

Warner puts out a great many quality Blu-rays, by volume more than any other studio. Their shaky support of lossless audio is frustrating, but they're getting better about that. The nonsense spewn all over AVSForum about all Warner video transfers being soft and artifacty is pure fanboy garbage.

I give you a disc and tell you it's from a different studio, and you think it looks fantastic. Take the same disc and tell you it's from Warner, suddenly it's "another lazy Warner encode".

[Sarang]

Originally Posted by bradavon

Oh man this is Car Crash TV. Series 1 is okay at best but wait until you see Series 2 for disastrous scripts, woeful plots and passable acting. It get so utterly stupid at times. I managed to endure almost all of Series 2, never again.

Gwen is the only decent thing about Torchwood, it's a shame her acting is entirely wasted. Her accent takes some getting used to, we almost never get Welsh accents on TV.

As to Doctor Who, it's excellent. It always has been. I've been watching since the 1980s. The New Series is quite different to the Classic series, only characters and plot details really link them.

IMO Series 2 of the New Series is the best, Series 4 is good too. Series 1 was pretty good but Eccelston was completely wrong to play the Doctor, excellent actor but entirely wrong for the part. The episode "Dalek" is easily the best in Series 1. Series 3 has been the weakest so far.

It makes more sense to see Doctor Who: New Series before Torchwood, you'll get more out of it this way.

Bullshit Eccleston is great and it's a shame he left when he did. He's witty and charming. Just wonderful. I loved Billie Piper in the show but who wouldn't.
Martha was good too I'll admit. I think it's a shame Kylie Minogue didn't stay on. While Tate isn't bad Minogue easily proved herself in the one episode she was in.

[Cochise]

Originally Posted by Josh Z

Both the UK and US Blu-ray releases of Torchwood are 1080i/60. Name another Warner release at that resolution.

The first pressings of Full Metal Jacket and T3?

Originally Posted by Josh Z

I give you a disc and tell you it's from a different studio, and you think it looks fantastic. Take the same disc and tell you it's from Warner, suddenly it's "another lazy Warner encode".

I was going by Kenneth's review: "Problems abound. Contrast is uneven at times, edge enhancement appears in almost every episode, crush and blocking are regular (albeit minimal) issues, blacks aren’t always fully resolved, delineation is hit or miss, and the high-def presentation uncovers more seams and irregularities in the series’ effects and prosthetics than its creators would probably like people to see."

I didn't see any of that in the UK HD DVD. I'll let Blockbuster Online give me a disc from Warner and decide for myself if it's "another lazy Warner encode" - I put disc 1 BD in my Q and will check it out.

Originally Posted by Kimba1970

You should give it a spin : it is quite different from Torchwood but still quite interesting. Take a look to season one, the one with Eclestone : some episode are simply wonderfully written (as "Father Day" for example). You can find those dvds fairly cheap nowadays....

I put Dr. Who Series One in the Q as well, thanks for the recommendation.

[Kimba1970]

Originally Posted by Sarang

Bullshit Eccleston is great and it's a shame he left when he did. He's witty and charming. Just wonderful. I loved Billie Piper in the show but who wouldn't.

Add my vote : I loved Eccleston, well he is the one who got me hooked on the series ! I also enjoyed David Tennant, when I finally get used to his super fast speaking habit (... well English is not my mother language...). What do you think of the new Doctor, Matt Smith ? A bit too young for my taste, but I trust Moffat and the others will keep up the good work...

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by Josh Z

Both the UK and US Blu-ray releases of Torchwood are 1080i/60. Name another Warner release at that resolution.

I believe the UK Torchwood may actually be 1080p/24, and that the box incorrectly lists 1080i. The (HD DVD) UK version of Planet Earth (also from BBC) also lists 1080i and it's the same encode as the US version which is 1080p.

[ATimson]

Originally Posted by bruceames

I believe the UK Torchwood may actually be 1080p/24, and that the box incorrectly lists 1080i.

That's possible, but unlikely; the show was shot at 1080p/25 (and finished, adding titles and credits, at 1080i/50), so there's not a good 24p image to use. (And no, it's not slowed down for the UK version.)