The first two episodes of this five-episode run of Torchwood were, in my opinion, not much cop. But I watched day three on the iPlayer this morning and I actually really enjoyed it (the story really clicked into gear and the dull stuff about Torchwood being on the run had settled down). It had the feel of a big-old disaster movie, and I’m liking the fact that Captain Jack was involved in the original 456 incident – anything that makes Captain Jack a much more believable, flawed character is a good thing. So here we are, day four in the Torchwood house, and the 456 want our kids…

Related: Day I review | Day II review | Day III review

Some of last night’s tenser moments came when Peter Capaldi’s Frobisher negotiated with the spitting, baritone 456. And so it continued this evening, although not before Jack’s part in the whole sorry mess was explained – back in 1965 Jack delivered the original alien hostages in return for an anti-virus that could counteract a deadly plague threatened by the 456. Buggers aren’t they?

So that was that out of the way, but the first part of the episode saw Torchwood crew sit around and not do an awful lot. But that was ok because other things were happening, and, like us, they were waiting, waiting, waiting. Thanks to Lois’ magic eyes they were able to observe the negotiations and the subsequent COBRA meetings. The 456 had demanded 10 per cent of all children on the planet (it wasn’t quite explained why they needed them, but we saw one of the original children attached to one of the aliens, still child like but severely jaundiced), and the government had agreed to go along with the plan. If they didn’t certain annihilation would surely ensue.

Discussions about which children they could ‘spare’ certainly tugged on the emotions and beefed up the tension - I mean, how do you choose which children to be taken be aliens? Frobisher suggested tried to get away with 60 orphans for the handover, the 456 wanted 325,000, and whatever 10 per cent of the child population was in France, America and from every country on the planet. In the end it was decided all thick kids in underachieving schools were the ones to go on a one-way holiday (“After all, what are the school league tables for?” asked one cabinet minister).

And that’s when Torchwood leapt into action. They blackmailed the prime minister (let us handle it or we release all the recorded negotiations to the public), and Jack and Ianto got themselves down to the 456 holding pen and told them to shove the deal up their arse, because the human race was brilliant and they would all fight and kill them and then have some ice cream for tea.

Like that would work. Just as a taster of things to come the 456 released a deadly virus into the air of Thames House. Many people died, including Ianto and Jack. “It’s been good, yeah?” wheezed Ianto as Jack held him in his arms. Bleeerugh! A bit of a sickly way to go that my friend.

So then there were two. Jack, of course, woke up with a gasp in the makeshift mortuary and fell into a grieving Gwen.

Another decent episode, but some of the things I was expecting didn’t quite happen. The plot was developing in the same sort of way as Independence Day (impending alien invasion, a solitary human sacrificing him or herself to save the human race), and I was expecting disturbed Clem to be the human sacrifice at the end of it all. But he carked it as well, so I have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow night. That’s a good thing, by the way.