"Cyberwoman" took "Torchwood" even further away from the Mothership, both stylistically and in terms of remit. Someone made a bizarre comparison with "Dalek", but in truth "Cyberwoman" was the sort of story Doctor Who would only ever have done previously in a comic strip; the most "spin-off"-like of the spin-off episodes so far. Consider, for a start, that "Dalek's" aim was to successfully re-introduce a classic monster for a new generation, as well as restating the old series template of edge-of-seat chills and action sequences. There were no Cybermen in this episode of "Torchwood", neither was it particularly bothered about reminding us what they were. Instead, "Cyberwoman" hitched itself to the coat-tails of a Doctor Who episode still warm in the memory and explored one peripheral aspect without having to bother about conducting a fresh Doctor Who adventure into the bargain.

On the negative, I remain mystified as to what Ianto Jones' role in "Torchwood" actually is. He's barely had two lines up to now, making one wonder if his extremely fortunately positioned name in the credits was some kind of joke akin to that lost play that "The Celestial Toymaker" was once based on, where the eponymous hero never appears. Suddenly though, Ianto is the focus and required to give some of the most tortured, weighty acting yet seen in anything connected with Doctor Who. It makes his role in the series now seem unbalanced, and yet still unexplained; especially as all he's done so far is order pizza.

So "Cyberwoman" aimed to deliver on one level - an all out tension-packed scarefest exploring that most fascinating of concepts, Cyber Conversion. There was some clumsy logic in here - like the line explaining away why the episode couldn't actually make sense because the Cybermen that visited Earth pursued conversion via transplant of brains into metal suits... therefore you could never actually have a 'half converted' human body. That aside, the episode provided all the excitement one might expect, from the terrifying hunt for Sako and Owen in the 'crypt' to the classic way Lisa the Cyberwoman continually came back to life. That was what it was there for - to keep you glued to your seat, and no-one went home empty-handed.

"Torchwood" does, however, insist on ramming its adult undertones down our throats every five minutes. Why on Earth, when cornered by the Cyberwoman - did two sets of characters have to suddenly start kissing? It suggests a severe emotional immaturity on the part of the writers that these random motiveless sexual acts have to keep being inserted without dramatic requirement or consequence. Unfortunately, the trappings of Jack's immortality also seemed tacked on and unnecessary here, and perhaps an episode which otherwise tried to rack up the threat levels for our heroes might have been better served by not continually reminding us that the main hero can't be killed?

While there was some extremely worthy writing in force as we were introduced to Lisa and Ianto's relationship, I can't help but now ponder how much more sympathetic we might have felt towards Ianto if we'd got to know him a bit better in the preceding episodes of this series. Would it have been in the realms of planning to even let us into the secret of the Cyberwoman in the basement a few weeks ago, both to set up this episode and to provide some additional motive for regular viewing? Never having been privy to the bond between Ianto and his girl, the fond memories of this being recalled here, I found it hard to be reduced to tears by her demise. That said, this is good, worthy material we have been waiting since 1966 to see, via many, many Cybermen adventures that barely even touch on the creatures human origins.

Just curse Star Trek for having done it before us throughout the nineties, of course, making Lisa too Borg-like for comfort. But that's what you get if you wait forty years to fully exploit your own creations.

John Barrowman Sit-On-My-Face-O-Meter:

You'd have to have had your emotions removed not to enjoy Barrowman's macho performance this week....

Torchwood Tally:

... and while not perfect, the episode itself had a lot of soul.