Torchwood: Miracle Day Episode 3

• Courtesy of Starz
• CANDLELIT VIGIL HAS A SAD: “The Soulless” of ‘Torchwood: Miracle Day’

“Torchwood’s” latest episode, “Dead of Night,” shows the permissiveness of Starz network compared to the show’s previous home on the various BBC channels. “Miracle Day’s” first chapters felt consistent with “Torchwood’s” earlier incarnations, American actors and locations notwithstanding. This week pours on the spice like you’d expect from the broadcast home of that racy “Spartacus” show. But let’s not get all hot and bothered too soon.

The Oswald Danes plot seems to be moving on a much faster track than the other characters. The episodes pass in days for Jack, Gwen, etc., while Oswald’s legal machinations, talk show bookings and public redemption you’d think would require weeks if not months. This week, everyone’s favorite condemned pedophile murderer talks up the idea of free prescription drugs on another chat show. At home, Wayne Knight’s Friedkin turns Oswald off his TV, but — surprise! — Rex shows up and holds a gun to his head. True, a bullet couldn’t kill him, but debilitating injuries are still a thing, and Rex wonders what part of the brain commands memory, or bladder control.

Friedkin gives up the mysterious conspirator’s cell phone and number, and the neo-Torchwood team make their getaway, with Gwen efficiently leaving some of those tire-popping chains behind.