Torchwood was infuriating in its first season. The story of the shadowy group investigating and controlling the alien presence on earth was clearly meant to be a Dr Who spin-off for adults but for some reason it decided that adults wanted to see lots of girl-on-girl kissing and sexual playfulness. Now, this may well be true but we have other media to provide such material sci-fi dramas on BBC2 not really being where I'm looking for titillation. Anyway, while not completely removing this aspect of it, the writers seem to have realised this and as a result season two is a more assured affair.
The stories are better and, within these the characters also stand-up as more interesting and engaging. I particularly liked the themes that the stories explored as these are what makes it more interesting than just a simple sci-fi about aliens and guns. This is not to say that it is brilliant of course, because it is not. We do still have a touch of silliness about the whole thing, with perhaps a bit too many Eastenders scenarios for my liking across any specific story. That said it is darker and more interesting than season one, with death, loss, love and other themes handled pretty well.
The cast are given more to work with as a result and they respond by mostly improving their performances. Barrowman keeps his camp larger-than-life character but has more material in his dark streak it doesn't feel like he is flicking it on or off like a switch. It is the rest of the cast that improve through. Mori and Gorman in particular both have more to do and produce characters that I cared for and was moved by particularly in the key moments of the final episodes. Myles is less annoying than before although I still found her grating at her worst. David-Lloyd is better (but still not great) while Owen has more to do and adds the fresh eyes that usually helps this type of thing. Dr Who's Martha Jones makes a welcome and enjoyable appearance as well.
Season two is not brilliant then, but it is a lot better than I had expected. The biggest problems with season one have been at least partially addressed and it does mean that it feels like it is presenting to an adult audience rather than just sexually teasing them. It is not good enough to win over those who were horrified by season one, but for those returning to it, the good news is that the weaknesses have been partially addressed and the potential has been realised a bit more.