Torchwood" is an anagram of "Doctor Who". When the first series of Doctor Who (2005) was being made, television pirates were desperate to acquire the preview tapes. One of the people in the office had the idea of labeling the tapes with the anagram "Torchwood" rather than "Doctor Who", as a security measure to disguise the tapes when they were delivered from Cardiff to London. Writer Russell T. Davies liked this idea so much that it later inspired him to use it as a title when creating this spin-off series.
Two of the regular characters - Jack Harkness, and Toshiko Sato - originally appeared on the parent series, Doctor Who (2005). Toshiko (Naoko Mori) was the government forensic pathologist called in to perform the autopsy on the alien corpse in Doctor Who: Aliens of London (2005). Jack (John Barrowman) first appeared in Doctor Who: The Empty Child (2005) and became one of the Doctor's companions. He was last seen in Doctor Who: Journey's End (2008). Eve Myles played a similarly named character on the parent series in the episode, Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead (2005). It was heavily suggested that the two are related in Doctor Who: The Stolen Earth (2008) when the Doctor and Rose Tyler mention that she resembles the earlier character and she confirms that her family has lived in Cardiff since the 1800s. Freema Agyeman was a series regular in series three of Doctor Who (2005), as the Doctor's companion 'Martha Jones'. Agyeman later appeared in Torchwood: Reset (2008) and the two following episodes as the same character. Peter Capaldi plays 'John Frobisher' in the Children of Earth specials, and also played 'Caecillius' in Doctor Who: The Fires of Pompeii (2008). Also in Children of Earth, _"Torchwood" (2006) {Children of Earth: Day Four (#3.4)}_ Nicholas Briggs plays Rick Yates. Nicholas is the voice of the Daleks and the Cybermen in Doctor Who (2005)
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from the 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from BBC Three to BBC Two to BBC One, and acquiring US financing in its fourth series when it became a co-production of BBC One and Starz. In contrast to Doctor Who, whose target audience includes both adults and children, Torchwood is aimed at an older audience. Over its run, the show explored a number of themes, prominent among these were existentialism, gay and bisexual relationships and explorations of human corruptibility.
Torchwood follows the exploits of a small team of alien hunters, who make up the Cardiff branch of the fictional Torchwood Institute, which deals mainly with incidents involving extraterrestrials. Its central character is Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), an immortal former con-man from the distant future; Jack originally appeared in the 2005 series of Doctor Who. Other than Barrowman, the initial main cast of the series consisted of Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd. Their characters are specialists for the Torchwood team, often tracking down aliens and defending the planet from alien and nefarious human threats. In its first two series, the show uses a time rift in Cardiff as its primary plot generator, accounting for the unusual preponderance of alien beings in Cardiff. In the third and fourth series, Torchwood operate as fugitives. Gorman and Mori's characters were written out of the story at the end of the second series. Recurring actor Kai Owen was promoted to the main cast in series three, in which David-Lloyd too was written out. Subsequently, American actors Mekhi Phifer, Alexa Havins, and Bill Pullman joined the cast of the show for its fourth series; the latter two were written out at the end of its run.
The first series premiered on BBC Three and on BBC HD in 2006 to mixed reviews, but viewing figures which broke records for the digital channel. It returned in 2008 where it aired first on BBC Two, receiving a higher budget; its uneven tone, a criticism of the first series, was largely smoothed out, and the show attracted higher ratings and better reviews. The third series episodes worked on a higher budget and transferred to the network's flagship channel, BBC One, as a five episode serial, entitled Torchwood: Children of Earth.
Although Torchwood: Children of Earth was broadcast over a period of five nights in one week, the show received high ratings in the United Kingdom and overseas. A fourth series, co-produced by BBC Wales, BBC Worldwide, and US premium entertainment network Starz aired in 2011 under the title Torchwood: Miracle Day. Set both in Wales and the United States, Miracle Day fared less well with critics than the previous series, though was applauded by some for its ambition. In October 2012, Davies announced that for personal reasons the show would enter indefinite hiatus.
To date all four series have been aired overseas in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. Owing to the early popularity of Torchwood various tie-in media were produced, including audio dramas, and novels and comic strips. From its inception, the BBC invested in a heavy online presence for the series, with an alternate reality game running alongside the show's first two series, and an animated web series running alongside its fourth.
Before the revival of Doctor Who, Russell T Davies began to develop an idea for a science-fiction/crime drama in the style of American dramas like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.This idea, originally titled Excalibur, was abandoned until 2005, when BBC Three Controller Stuart Murphy invited Davies to develop an after-watershed science-fiction series for the channel.During the production of the 2005 series of Doctor Who, the word "Torchwood" (an anagram of "Doctor Who") had been used as a title ruse for the series while filming its first few episodes to ensure they were not intercepted. Davies connected the word "Torchwood" to his earlier Excalibur idea and decided to make the series a Doctor Who spin-off.[6] Subsequently, the word "Torchwood" was seeded in Doctor Who episodes and other media that aired in 2005 and 2006.
Because Torchwood is shown after the watershed – that is, after 9 pm – it has more mature content than Doctor Who. Davies told SFX: "We can be a bit more visceral, more violent, and more sexual, if we want to. Though bear in mind that it's very teenage to indulge yourself in blood and gore, and Torchwood is going to be smarter than that. But it's the essential difference between BBC One at 7 pm, and BBC Three at, say, 9 pm. That says it all – instinctively, every viewer can see the huge difference there." According to Barrowman: "I don't do any nude scenes in series one; they're saving that for the next series! I don't have a problem with getting my kit off, as long as they pay me the right money." Davies also joked to a BBC Radio Wales interviewer that he was "not allowed" to refer to the programme as "Doctor Who for grown-ups". The first series includes content rarely seen or heard in the Doctor Who franchise, including sex scenes, same-sex kissing, and use of extreme profanity in several episodes
Although Torchwood was originally intended to be Sci-Fi aimed at adults, the character Captain Captain Jack Harkness who had previous been introduce in Doctor Who proved popular with young audiences. Russell T Davies decided to edit second series "child-friendly" removing kissing, sex, and swearing. These edits to the shows enabled it to be broadcast at 7 pm (pre-watershed).
The first three series of Torchwood were produced in-house by BBC Wales. The Head of Drama at the time of the first series, Julie Gardner, served as executive producer alongside Davies. The first two episodes of Series 1 of Torchwood premiered on 22 October 2006 on BBC Three and BBC HD. Series 2 premiered on BBC Two and BBC HD on 16 January 2008. The third series, a five-part mini-series entitled Torchwood: Children of Earth, aired on BBC One and BBC HD between 6 and 10 July 2009.
he series is set in Cardiff and follows the Welsh branch of a covert agency called the Torchwood Institute which investigates extraterrestrial incidents on Earth and scavenges alien technology for its own use, its origins outlined in the Doctor Who episode "Tooth and Claw". As the opening monologue explains, the organisation is separate from the government, outside the police, and beyond the United Nations. Their public perception is as merely a 'special ops' group. The events of the first series take place some time after the Doctor Who series two finale, in which Torchwood's London headquarters was destroyed. This format was maintained for the first two series.
Series three, a miniseries, saw the Cardiff headquarters destroyed and the team temporarily operating as fugitives in England's capital city of London, its membership wiped and the organisation thoroughly broken over the course of the serial. Series four, another miniseries, starts with Torchwood fully disbanded. Jack has left Earth after the events of series three, and Gwen has retired to be with her family. The group is then unofficially reformed, this time operating primarily in the United States, joined by two fugitive ex-CIA agents who have been framed for treason.
Unlike its parent programme, Torchwood centres on a team instead of a single character with companions. The show initially depicts a small team of alien-hunters known as Torchwood Three, based in Cardiff. The team is made up of five operatives led by Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), formerly a time-travelling "Time Agent" and con man from the distant future who has lived on Earth as an immortal since the 19th century. Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), the female lead, joins the team in the first episode; she is originally an audience surrogate, but later grows into a more morally complicated character. The original cast is filled out by Torchwood medical officer Owen Harper (Burn Gorman), computer specialist Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori), and general factotum-cum-administrator Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). Toshiko and Owen are killed off in the second series finale, as is Ianto in the show's third series. Recurring characters are Rhys Williams (Kai Owen), Gwen's live-in boyfriend and later husband; and Andy Davidson (Tom Price), Gwen's former police partner and occasional comic relief. Kai Owen becomes a main cast member in the programme beginning with the third series; his character is initially unaware of Gwen's activities with Torchwood, but later becomes her close confidante and the team's ally. Price appears in all four series.
Prior to the programme's debut, publicity materials featured Indira Varma as Suzie Costello among the regular cast members, giving the impression that she would appear throughout the series. However, Suzie was killed off at the end of the first episode with Gwen taking her place on the team, Suzie reappearing only once more as an antagonist. In the first two series, Paul Kasey regularly appears under heavy prosthetics, portraying, as in Doctor Who, a number of aliens on the series, such as humanoid Weevils and Blowfishes. Other recurring characters include Doctor Who's Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman)—like Jack, a former time-traveller, and now medical officer for the militaristic alien-investigating organisation UNIT—who crosses over into Torchwood for three episodes in series two. Additionally, James Marsters portrays Captain John Hart, Jack's villainous former lover and Time Agent partner. Others in the second series, recurring in a minor capacity, include a mysteriously age-immune little girl (Skye Bennett) and Victorian-era Torchwood member Alice Guppy (Amy Manson). The second series also introduces Gwen's parents, Geraint (William Thomas) and Mary Cooper (Sharon Morgan), who later reappear in the show's fourth series.
Children of Earth featured a largely new supporting cast for the duration of the five-episode serial, such as Permanent Secretary John Frobisher (Peter Capaldi), Clem McDonald (Paul Copley), Frobisher's personal assistant Bridget Spears (Susan Brown), Prime Minister Brian Green (Nicholas Farrell), ruthless operative Agent Johnson (Liz May Brice), Jack's middle-aged daughter Alice (Lucy Cohu), her son Steven (Bear McCausland) and Ianto's sister Rhiannon (Katy Wix). Cush Jumbo was cast as Frobisher's personal assistant Lois Habiba; Habiba was written into the story after Agyeman was unavailable to return to portray Martha.
The fourth series, Miracle Day, features an expanded cast of eight. Barrowman, Myles and Owen all return to the series. New to the Torchwood team are CIA agents Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer),and Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins), and surgeon Vera Juarez (Arlene Tur). American film star Bill Pullman joins as Oswald Danes, a highly intelligent child murderer, and Lauren Ambrose plays Jilly Kitzinger, a ruthless PR woman who takes on Danes as a client. Tur's character is killed off in the fifth episode, whilst Pullman and Havins last until episode ten. Recurring characters include CIA directors Brian Friedkin (Wayne Knight) and Allen Shapiro (John de Lancie), San Pedro camp manager Colin Maloney (Marc Vann), Esther's sister Sarah Drummond (Candace Brown), and CIA watch analysts Charlotte Willis (Marina Benedict) and Noah Vickers (Paul James). Nana Visitor plays Olivia Colasanto, who directs the team toward their real enemies; Frances Fisher and Teddy Sears portray recurring villains.
Episodes
Main article: List of Torchwood episodes
The premiere episode "Everything Changes" was written by Russell T Davies and introduces the main characters and roles within the series, using newcomer Gwen as the audience surrogate in a similar style to the introduction of the companion characters in Doctor Who. The second episode, titled "Day One", aired immediately after the first. It continues Gwen's neophyte role and includes a "sex monster" science fiction storyline. The first 13-episode series ended with a two-parter on 1 January 2007. The first part, entitled "Captain Jack Harkness", is a love story set in wartime Britain, with a subplot which pushes the setting toward an apocalypse for the finale "End of Days". It deals with the ramifications of diseases and persons from throughout history falling through time and across the universe to arrive in the present day, and particularly in Cardiff. The episode also sets up Jack's return in the Doctor Who episode "Utopia".
2008's second 13-episode series of Torchwood begins with Jack's return from the previous Doctor Who episode, "Last of the Time Lords" with the series premiere, "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang". The series introduces Jack's ex-partner Captain John Hart in its premiere, reveals flashbacks to Jack's childhood in "Adam" and shows how each member joined Torchwood in the penultimate episode "Fragments". A three-episode arc ("Reset", "Dead Man Walking" and "A Day in the Death") in the middle of the series guest stars Doctor Who actress Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, temporarily drafted into Torchwood. The arc focuses on the death and partial resurrection of main character Owen Harper, and how he copes as a dead man. The second series finale, "Exit Wounds", features the departures of main characters Owen and Tosh, whose deaths at the hands of Jack's long-lost brother Gray reduced the cast to Barrowman, Myles and David-Lloyd in its closing scenes. The Torchwood Three team made a crossover appearance in the series four finale of Doctor Who, "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End", which featured Jack Harkness leaving the Doctor at the close of the story, accompanied by Martha Jones and Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke).
Series three is only five episodes long, and was broadcast over consecutive nights as a single story, Children of Earth (2009). The series focuses on the consequences of appeasement policy; having been given 12 children as a tribute in 1965, aliens called the 4-5-6 arrive in the present demanding a greater share of the Earth's population. For the first time in the series, the majority of the action takes place outside of Wales; Torchwood's base of operations is destroyed in the premiere and the remainder of the Torchwood team have relocated to London. Kai Owen is promoted to a regular cast member, while a new cast of political figures are introduced alongside family members of main characters Jack and Ianto. Nicholas Farrell plays Prime Minister Brian Green whose intent is to give in rather than fight the 4–5–6, leaving Torchwood to stand against the government and the aliens. David-Lloyd departs the cast when Ianto is killed by the aliens in episode four, leaving Jack distraught. In the series closing scenes, with Gwen pregnant and Jack abandoning Earth, Torchwood effectively disbands.
Series four, Torchwood: Miracle Day (2011), comprising ten episodes, sees Torchwood having been reduced to the status of legend following Children of Earth. The narrative follows two CIA agents (Mekhi Phifer and Alexa Havins) who discover Torchwood on the same day death ceases to occur, due to an event known as Miracle Day. The agents join Gwen and Jack as they seek to restore death to the world. While primarily a conspiracy thriller, the series also examines the depths humanity can sink to under pressure. Actress Arlene Tur portrays a surgeon who challenges the failing medical system and shifting government legislation. The characters of Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman) and Jilly Kitzinger (Lauren Ambrose) are used to highlight the precariousness of fame and the amorality of the media. The late-2000s global recession is implicated as another element of the Miracle Day conspiracy. Though largely set in the USA, Wales remains a key setting. The origins of the Miracle Day conspiracy are revealed in a 1920s flashback in "Immortal Sins", as the worldwide scale of the story takes the protagonists to Shanghai and Buenos Aires in the finale "The Blood Line". In the epilogue, Gwen questions Jack whether he will stay to reform Torchwood; he does not provide an answer.
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