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I really didn't think that Russel T Davis would ever redeem himself for some of his later penned episodes of Doctor Who, but man does this renew all the faith that was lost and then some. This really is one of the best sci-fi dramas I have ever watched. Torchwood has come so very far from that hideously awful early episode with Ianto's cyborg girlfriend. A dark, sinister, thought provoking and intense edge of your seat thriller that never once loses the human factor. I really cannot express how much better this is than all previous installments of the series (and personally, I thought the second season was excellent). Chilling and gripping. I had hoped that RTD would have grown out of his "techno-babble fixes things last minute" crutch that plagued his Doctor Who scripts but unfortunately, it rears its ugly head, if only ever so slightly, in the finale. This however, is by no means a deal breaker and no other criticisms seem worth mentioning (even mentioning that feels like nitpicking). This series is incredible and oh so nearly perfect. I'd give it 9.5 if metacritic would let me.

Much of the (often severe) problems with the first season are fixed with this excellent follow up. Really coming into its own with a more consistent, if somewhat pulpy, tone; there is still the occasional hammy line or ridiculous storyline but Torchwood Series 2 is far tighter than its less than stellar debut series and certain episodes (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Meat, Adam, Adrift and Fragments) are truly excellent. Even the weakest episodes here are worth watching (unlike some of the frankly hideous episodes from the first series) and believe me when I say that it only gets better in Series 3.

Torchwood is original, clever, inventive, exciting and all around great sci-fi. Unfortunately, in the first season at least, the tone is completely inconsistent, most of the characters are unconvincing and underdeveloped and some of the dialogue is gut-wrenchingly awful. Good news then that these problems are (almost) entirely fixed by the second series, where the show becomes one of the best around. I would recommend this (occasionally excellent but mostly mediocre) first series simply because of how good it gets in the next.