I was really looking forward to the second episode of the new series of Torchwood.  I always feel that the first episode of any series is far from a typical episode.  They usually have a lot of ground to cover: plot holes to close, characters to reintroduce, the intervening period of time between episodes to explain.  This can lead to convoluted dialogue and skimpy plotlines.  Although "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" didn’t go too far down this road, it still felt a little forced and unnecessary in places.  "Sleeper", however, is a completely different kettle of (blow)fish!

BEWARE: Spoilers follow…

"Sleeper" is the debut episode from screenwriter James Moran and is a much bigger episode, both in terms of plot and ambition.  The story starts with a sleeping couple being woken by intruders.  When the Torchwood team arrive to investigate, the two intruders are dead and the man of the house is seriously injured.  Mysteriously, Beth (the other half of the couple) is unharmed and suffering from amnesia.  She is taken back to the hub where she in interrogated by (a rather angry) Jack, who has his suspicions.  After an intensive (and graphically distressing) mind probe, Beth’s true identity is revealed, along with her motives which could have disastrous consequences.

This episode is a stonker from start to finish.  The pacing is absolutely right, and we’re thrown into the plot from the outset.  The use of the Torchwood’s members is fairly even (although Jack and Gwen are leading, as expected) and I didn’t find myself annoyed by any character (either by their actions or dialogue).

The effects were also good - I really liked the transformation of the Sleepers’ arms from human to alien form.  Its nice to see that back-to-back effects were not needed nor relied upon to create a truly gripping, yet "believable" story.

Don’t get me wrong, there were a couple of problems.  For example, wouldn’t a military base containing nuclear warheads be much more heavily guarded than just by a handful of soldiers.  Plus, if the outer perimeter had been breached then surely the Armed Forced would have sent backups immediately?  And not really a problem, but would the baby of the "chav mother" Sleeper be part alien?

These are only tiny holes, and certainly didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the episode.  It was nice to see the Weevil again, and the Sleepers are interesting and mysterious enough to easily hold a storyline in future episodes (after all, "they’re already here!").  I’m looking forward to more of James’ episodes in the future (he’s written for the new series of Doctor Who as well), especially if they’re as good as this.

I loved this episode and its a good sign of things to come, especially if its part of a larger story arc - I give Sleeper a score of 8.5/10.

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