I had my doubts. After losing Owen and Ianto (not to mention Tosh), I wondered if Torchwood could come back engaging and strong. Torchwood: Miracle Day alleviates my concerns and has me positively giddy at Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper’s reunion. Throw in some Mekhi Phifer, and all is good with the world. Well, except for the whole “not able to die” thing.

My first observation from the premiere is that Bill Pullman has become Robert De Niro in Cape Fear. I challenge you to disagree. I had to do a couple of second takes (what’s that make, 4 takes?) to make sure it really was Pullman. Though we didn’t get to see that much of him, his backstory alone makes him a vile, vile creature. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes from here.

You can already see the hard choice that will have to be made at some point, and though I guess we can figure out what it will be, the results will be worth sticking around for.

For new fans of the show, I think the premiere sets up just enough Torchwood lore to educate and entertain. Sure I would have liked more reminiscing, but that would have destroyed the pace of the episode. My only complaint is that all the scenes with pretty blond Esther nearly did that. I’m not invested in her, at all, at this point. Maybe she’ll get in on the action a bit in the next episode. I certainly hope so, because otherwise? Snore.

Overall, I give Torchwood: Miracle Day a strong A. Can’t wait to see the rest of it!