It's not that he doesn't use his characters to mean anything - it's just they never mean what he wants them to! Take Gwen - meant to be the heart of Torchwood. Ianto - meant to be a dogsbody and PA.
That's not what they actually are. Ianto was something huge to the public - suddenly, a real representation of a bisexual/homosexual relationship that was ... well, all it was. No massive "Am I gay, am I not? What will my mammy think?" story line, not big battle against homophobia and internal struggle. It was just a normal, healthy relationship. I can only speak for British TV, but Jack and Ianto's relationship was the only homosexual one of its kind (not a parody, not a big plot, not a problem) on television at the moment. He was a role model - a normal bloke, struggling to find himself, working to hard for too little appreciation and having the same relationship issues as the rest of us (Unlike Her Gwendom, who has her perfect realtionship - despite her affair, and drugging of the loyal boyfriend - is constantly being told how wonderful she is and how important she is, when really she does nothing other than imitate Jack. She can criticize him for going in there all guns blazing - but what about the whole issue with Flat Holm? So what if she didn't actually have a gun - she went in there all mouth and righteousness and fucked everything up for Nikki and for Jack and for herself.
I know of so many people who identify with Ianto and Jack because of their comfortableness within themselves - all other portrayals of homosexuals on telly are all going through a Huge Fucking Drama - and I speak from personal experience when I say "NOT ALL HOMO RELATIONSHIPS START LIKE THAT - shockingly, some of us are very comfortable in our realisations, and so are our families." << which is also true of Ianto, even if he was a little worried (but weren't we all?)
The Rift/Hellmouth thing I could ignore, because that was set up before Torchwood was even conceived (wayy back in DW S1), and while the female role models like Buffy (strong, independent women) have been dwindling (is it me, or are all TV heroines just interested in shopping and shoes?), Gwen does have an appeal on the feminism front - and also guys like her because she's thin, has a leather jacket and a sexy, sexy gun. Then again - now she's the perfect image of a nuclear family, what else has she got left for her in life?
I'm confused with the message RTD is sending out about Gwen now. Strong and independent - or a happy little wifey with her husband and baby. What are females supposed to take from that message? Be strong and confident, don't take shit from nobody - then get married, have babies and shut up.
*sigh* CoE was such a mess - RTD can't even write a continual character. One moment Ianto (in TTLM) is saying he's going to die young - then he mentions to Jack about dying of old age? In "The Dead Line" it makes it perfectly clear that Ianto doesn't expect to reach 30, never mind "watch his hair turn grey - or god forbid: fall out". Jack sacrificing children alllll over again. Jack and Ianto's relationship going from caring to Jack being a total bastard.
This relationship - that means so much to straights as well as GBLTs - has suddenly become very one-sided and WTF??? Suddenly it's all Ianto pining after Jack??? Have you read nikki4noo's picspams? It's pretty clear, there, that Jack fell for Ianto first. The kiss in Cyberwoman is proof enough that Jack has been pining after Ianto since day one - not to mention his open reaction to liking him in "Fragments".
I feel like I may have been typing for too long, so I'm going to give my little lecture a rest now. I can't even remember what it started as making a point of :S
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It's not that he doesn't use his characters to mean anything - it's just they never mean what he wants them to!
Take Gwen - meant to be the heart of Torchwood. Ianto - meant to be a dogsbody and PA.
That's not what they actually are. Ianto was something huge to the public - suddenly, a real representation of a bisexual/homosexual relationship that was ... well, all it was. No massive "Am I gay, am I not? What will my mammy think?" story line, not big battle against homophobia and internal struggle. It was just a normal, healthy relationship. I can only speak for British TV, but Jack and Ianto's relationship was the only homosexual one of its kind (not a parody, not a big plot, not a problem) on television at the moment. He was a role model - a normal bloke, struggling to find himself, working to hard for too little appreciation and having the same relationship issues as the rest of us (Unlike Her Gwendom, who has her perfect realtionship - despite her affair, and drugging of the loyal boyfriend - is constantly being told how wonderful she is and how important she is, when really she does nothing other than imitate Jack. She can criticize him for going in there all guns blazing - but what about the whole issue with Flat Holm? So what if she didn't actually have a gun - she went in there all mouth and righteousness and fucked everything up for Nikki and for Jack and for herself.
I know of so many people who identify with Ianto and Jack because of their comfortableness within themselves - all other portrayals of homosexuals on telly are all going through a Huge Fucking Drama - and I speak from personal experience when I say "NOT ALL HOMO RELATIONSHIPS START LIKE THAT - shockingly, some of us are very comfortable in our realisations, and so are our families." << which is also true of Ianto, even if he was a little worried (but weren't we all?)
The Rift/Hellmouth thing I could ignore, because that was set up before Torchwood was even conceived (wayy back in DW S1), and while the female role models like Buffy (strong, independent women) have been dwindling (is it me, or are all TV heroines just interested in shopping and shoes?), Gwen does have an appeal on the feminism front - and also guys like her because she's thin, has a leather jacket and a sexy, sexy gun. Then again - now she's the perfect image of a nuclear family, what else has she got left for her in life?
I'm confused with the message RTD is sending out about Gwen now. Strong and independent - or a happy little wifey with her husband and baby. What are females supposed to take from that message? Be strong and confident, don't take shit from nobody - then get married, have babies and shut up.
*sigh* CoE was such a mess - RTD can't even write a continual character. One moment Ianto (in TTLM) is saying he's going to die young - then he mentions to Jack about dying of old age? In "The Dead Line" it makes it perfectly clear that Ianto doesn't expect to reach 30, never mind "watch his hair turn grey - or god forbid: fall out". Jack sacrificing children alllll over again. Jack and Ianto's relationship going from caring to Jack being a total bastard.
This relationship - that means so much to straights as well as GBLTs - has suddenly become very one-sided and WTF??? Suddenly it's all Ianto pining after Jack??? Have you read
I feel like I may have been typing for too long, so I'm going to give my little lecture a rest now. I can't even remember what it started as making a point of :S
Sorry if I rambled at ya ^_*