When Torchwood was announced, Russell T. Davies promised us stories on more of an adult level.  And in the openings of Torchwood, we heard the promise ever single episode:

Series 1 opening narration: Torchwood: outside the government, beyond the police. Tracking down alien life on Earth, arming the human race against the future. The twenty-first century is when everything changes. And you’ve got to be ready.

Series 2 opening narration: Torchwood: outside the government, beyond the police. Fighting for the future on behalf of the human race. The 21st century is when everything changes. And Torchwood is ready.

So at the end of Children of Earth, who’s ready?  Who’s fighting for us?  Where’s Torchwood, our would-be preparers and defenders?  Gone.  I had such high hopes for Torchwood.  The first series had a lot of potential.  The second series built on it, and then went all to hell by the end.  The third series just snuffed it out like a heel on a cigarette butt.  Character development doesn’t have to be just about torturing the characters.  You can build characters and drama with good experiences too.  When Torchwood was announced to be a more adult series, I thought they meant sophisticated story telling, not men snogging and soft core porn.

“The 21st century is where everything changes”.  What’s changed?  The DW/TW universe is no different now than before the word TORCHWOOD showed up in series 1 of Doctor Who.  Except a lot more people are dead and no one’s ready.