MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
Certainly the most old school episode of the recent run, the seventh episode of Starz and the BBC’s “Torchwood: Miracle Day” hit the UK late last week and resulted in a few complaints about the “soft core porn” sex scene according to generally conservative tabloid The Daily Mail.
“Game of Thrones” and “Battlestar Galactica” scribe Jane Espenson penned the mostly acclaimed episode in question which mixed some brutally honest present day character interaction with long flashbacks set in 1927 New York City.
Said flashbacks dealt with regular Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) engaging in a touching and ultimately tragic love affair with a conflicted young Italian immigrant named Angelo (Daniele Favilli).
Reviews have been somewhat divided though most (eg. Assignment X, Den of Geek, The Independent) have labelled it as easily the strongest episode of the current season, an assessment I entirely agree with. Favilli’s emotional performance in particular I found both astonishing and haunting, and he’s definitely an actor to keep a watch on.
Complaints mostly seem to come from those unfamiliar with the adult-targeted sci-fi show, and surrounded a seven minute sequence. Said scene involved a steamy aural seduction, a tastefully shot half-minute roll in the hay between the two men, and a little post-coital pillow talk. The sequence can be glimpsed here (warning: brief nudity).
Unlike an earlier episode where two intercut and mostly frivolous sex scenes (one gay, one straight) were both edited down for the UK airing, the scenes this time weren’t censored for the 9pm free-to-air broadcast as they were relevant to the plot.
Oddly enough little mention is made in the article of the reaction to a graphic and bloody scene later in the episode involving the immortal Jack being strung up and gruesomely murdered over and over.
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