I am – Hercules!!
The BBC decided to order only five hours of “Torchwood’s” third season, and aired them all over five days, starting two weeks ago. BBC America is doing the same this week, starting Monday night. USA Today says:

… a highly polished, beautifully scary production that takes the series into deep waters, all well-navigated by John Barrowman, the charismatic star. Some fans may not be thrilled with what some choices may mean for Torchwood's possible future, but don't let that deter you from watching a terrific miniseries that works perfectly as a stand-alone. …

The New York Times says:

… Every week or two the Torchwood team sets out to identify and defeat a new alien, then returns home to lick its wounds and count its losses. One problem with “Children of Earth” is that it has to stretch this process over five hours. This means, inevitably, less derring-do and more fretting over things like (minor spoiler alert) the pregnancy of Gwen (Ms. Myles) and the future of Jack and Ianto. Mr. Davies has added some structure by concocting a conspiratorial back story and a running theme of government duplicity; it serves to stretch out the suspense but it also gives too much screen time to transient characters we don’t care about. … But despite these quibbles, “Children of Earth” is still good fun, if not good, exactly. “Torchwood” has always been about jokey repartee and Saturday-matinee save-the-world heroics, and those are here, along with other constants, like clumsily staged action and middling performances. Mr. Barrowman and Ms. Myles are funny, likable and great to look at, but that’s about as far as it goes. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… Given that it's basically a five-hour feature film, it's not surprising that the series flags around night four. (It recovers.) Not all of it makes sense, and the ending feels rushed, but the spell largely holds, no small thanks to the crisp direction of Euros Lyn and a supporting cast that includes Cush Jumbo as a Nancy Drew figure, Katy Wix as Ianto's sister, Liz May Brice as a government hit woman and Ian Gelder as a self-preserving old technician. The alien is beautifully presented and quite frightening, and its motivation when revealed is a genuine shock -- yet, of course, brilliantly familiar. …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… If you watch the first hour and don't find yourself hooked, check your wrist -- you may not have a pulse. …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… begins Monday with an adrenaline-fueled hour that's more thriller than sci-fi. For the uninitiated, it offers an uncomplicated entry point. … Tuesday's episode offers somewhat less excitement -- it's largely a rescue mission -- but "Children of Earth" gets back on track Wednesday as aliens arrive and Jack makes what appears to be a shocking end-of-episode confession. …

The Newark Star Ledger says:

… an exciting, epic story …

Variety says:

… a crackerjack, fabulously entertaining thriller. Although John Barrowman reprises his role as Capt. Jack Harkness -- the mysterious, seemingly immortal head of a team founded in the 19th century to thwart extraterrestrial threats -- the project makes like any good politician, catering to its base while inviting the uninitiated to join the party. Spread over five nights, it plays like an expanded version of what "The X-Files" movies should have been. …

9 p.m. Monday-Friday. BBC America.

Season Eight: Volume Five!!

Hrm.