They openly murdered aliens for no other reason than they were alien and claimed anything alien in origin was theirs, that's explicitly racism.
It's super effective.
Removed:
- What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Not that most fans are complaining, but one wonders how a show spun off from a known family show like Doctor Who would get away with the more harsher swearing, blood, gore, nudity and sex scenes.
It's hardly just "Doctor Who with jarring adult themes", no matter how successful or otherwise such themes were executed in the initial series. It's essentially a crime drama about an extra-government organisation (with elements of politics and global conspiracy later on) with a science fiction bend and the occasional rubber monster, and has consistently aired at 9 or 10pm where such themes are expected. The grimmer tone and more flagrant instances of bisexuality was also front and centre during the promotion of series 1. What about Torchwood's exterior and surface implies it's magical and kid-friendly?
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I agree with your categorization of the show. I would simply point out that, as the original trope remarked, Torchwood was a spin-off of an incredibly long-running and well-known family show. And a huge amount of the marketing focused on that fact- naturally, since a known brand is a surefire marketing tool. Yes, the darker tone was evident as well, but especially considering that the other spinoff, The Sarah Jane Adventures, hewed closer to a family tone, it's easy to understand the potential for confusion.
The page currently describes the former Torchwood Institute as being "motivated by British imperialism and racist nationalism." They were certainly imperialist nationalists but what evidence is there that they were racists? There were black people working there, one of them being Ianto's girlfriend who was converted into a Cyberwoman.
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