TV on DVD: "Torchwood: Children of Earth"

Just four days after the end of Torchwood: Children of Earth here in the US, BBC Video is releasing the two-disc set for the epic mini-series from writers Russell T. Davies, John Fay, and James Moran.

While I've not only reviewed the mini-series in full (my advance review of the five-night event can be found here), I also wrote up each installment of the series' limited run (Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, and Day Five) and offered up a two-part interview with executive producer Julie Gardner (which can be found here and here).

Over the course of the five taut installments, Davies and Co. manage to break the alien fighting team in half, push the series' characters well beyond their breaking points, and bring us piece of a politically and socially-minded action-adventure-sci-fi television making that is absolutely extraordinary in its scope.

Make no mistake: this is an alien contact story unlike any other but the writers wisely craft a series that tells parallel plots: bringing the viewer both a street-level view of the crisis (via the families of our main characters) and inside Whitehall and Thames House. The result is an acute portrait of a world where morality is a nebulous term that is easily compromised and blood sacrifice demanded.

The two-disc box set for Torchwood: Children of Earth, available for purchase today, contains unedited versions of all five episodes of Children of Earth, along with a DVD-exclusive featurette entitled "Torchwood: Declassified," featuring interviews with the cast and crew of Torchwood.

All in all, viewers who enjoyed Torchwood: Children of Earth would be wise to pick up the box set. Despite its grim tone, the mini-series remains spellbinding, utterly original, and fantastically gripping, even on repeat viewing.

Torchwood: Children of Earth is available for purchase on DVD for a suggested retail price of $29.98. Or you can pick one up in the Televisionary store for just $14.49.