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Torchwood is a British science fiction crime drama television programme, created by Russell T. Davies and starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles. It deals with the machinations and activities of the Cardiff branch of the fictional Torchwood Institute, who deal with supernatural occurrences. An initial 13-part series was commissioned by the BBC as a spin-off from the long-running science fiction series Doctor Who with which it is closely interlinked. In December 2006, the BBC announced that it was renewed for a second series.[1] BBC Wales Head of Drama Julie Gardner serves as executive producer alongside Davies. The first two episodes of Torchwood premiered on 22 October 2006 at 9 p.m. on BBC Three and BBC HD with all subsequent episodes of the first series shown at 10 p.m. every Sunday evening; each episode was repeated on BBC Two every Wednesday at 9 p.m. The post-watershed airings provide more adult content than found in the traditionally family-oriented Doctor Who. The second series will premiere exclusively on BBC Two.[1] According to actor John Barrowman, it will likely air in 2008.[2]
Overview
The series is set in Cardiff, some time after the Doctor Who series two finale, setting it in 2007 and later in early 2008 ahead of its actual air date. It follows the Wales branch of a covert agency called the Torchwood Institute which investigate extraterrestrial incidents on Earth and scavenges alien technology for its own use. To paraphrase Torchwood Three's commander-in-chief, Captain Jack Harkness, the organisation is beyond the government, the police, and the United Nations. Their public perception is as merely a 'special ops' group. The main writer alongside Davies is Chris Chibnall, creator of the BBC light drama show Born and Bred. Other writers include P.J. Hammond, Toby Whithouse, Doctor Who script editor Helen Raynor, Cath Tregenna, and Doctor Who cast member Noel Clarke, who gained acclaim for his screenplay for the film Kidulthood. Russell T. Davies wrote just the first episode.[5][6] In a 17 October 2005 announcement, BBC Three controller Stuart Murphy described Torchwood as "sinister and psychological... as well as being very British and modern and real." Davies further described it as "a British sci-fi paranoid thriller, a cop show with a sense of humour... dark, wild and sexy, it's The X-Files meets This Life."[7] Davies has since denied ever making this comparison, instead describing the show as "alleyways, rain, the city".[8] As Torchwood is a post-watershed show — that is, after 9.00 p.m. — it has more mature content than Doctor Who. Davies told SFX:
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".[10] BBC Three described Torchwood as the "centrepiece" of their autumn 2006 schedule.[11] Cast and crewSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Regular charactersImage:Torchwoodgroup.jpg The Torchwood team assembled. Clockwise from top left: Gwen, Suzie, Ianto, Owen, Toshiko and Jack Torchwood, unlike its parent programme, centres around a team instead of a single character and companion(s). The series is based around Torchwood Three, the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute, tasked (among other things) to keep an eye on the space/time Rift that runs through the city, and whatever washes through it. Torchwood Three is a team of five operatives, led by Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), with Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) as the "new girl" who joins in the first episode and acts as a point-of-view character for the viewer. Aside from the team, a recurring character is Rhys Williams, Gwen's live-in boyfriend, who is unaware of the nature of Gwen's new job. Other characters who have appeared in more than one episode include Tom Price as PC Andy, Caroline Chikezie as Lisa Hallett, and Louise Delamere as Diane Holmes. Toward the end of the first series, the character of Bilis Manger was introduced as a villain. It has not been indicated whether these characters will reappear in series two. Before the programme's debut, publicity materials prominently featured Indira Varma as Suzie Costello among the other regular cast members, giving the impression that she would appear beyond the first episode. However, Suzie was unexpectedly killed off at the end of the first episode, Everything Changes. She has however appeared once since in the capacity of a recurring villain.
CrewRichard Stokes produces Torchwood. Originally, Doctor Who director James Hawes was lined up as producer. After directing the BBC Four drama The Chatterley Affair, Hawes backed out of the project. Davies told Doctor Who Magazine that Hawes "has been having such a good time... that he's decided directing is his greatest passion, and as a result, he's stepped down."[12][13] Helen Raynor and Brian Minchin are the programme's script editors.[12] The series also shares Doctor Who's production designer, Edward Thomas. The show's theme tune is written by Doctor Who's composer Murray Gold, and music for the series is composed by Ben Foster and Murray Gold . The first block of episodes, directed by Brian Kelly, comprises "Everything Changes", by Davies, and "Day One", by Chibnall.[6] The second block, which includes Helen Raynor's "The Ghost Machine" and "Greeks Bearing Gifts" by Toby Whithouse, was directed by Colin Teague;[14] Block Three, directed by James Strong, consists of Chibnall's "Cyberwoman" and "They Keep Killing Suzie" by Dan McCulloch and Paul Tomalin.[15] Block Four, directed by Alice Troughton, was again made up of two episodes: "Small Worlds" by Hammond and "Out of Time" by Cath Tregenna.[15][16] Other blocks of episodes included:
ProductionThe programme began filming on May 1 2006. Speaking at the London Film and Comic Con on 2 July 2006, Barrowman said that he would finish filming Torchwood in October, "just as it's going on air", after which he has been contracted to appear in the third series of Doctor Who, once again as Harkness;[17] Jack will appear in the episode Utopia, having returned to the TARDIS in End of Days. Some of the writers for Series 2 have been announced. Three episodes will be scripted by lead writer Chris Chibnall, with two more from Cath Tregenna, one more from Russell T. Davies, and one more from Helen Raynor, with plenty more currently being scripted (perhaps to be commissioned as part of the main series) by as yet unknown writers. International broadcastThe Canadian network CBC is co-producer of the series, with exclusive rights to broadcast the North American premiere of the show.[18] Series One will be broadcast on TV2[19] in New Zealand, and on Cuatro TV[20] in Spain in 2007. In early January 2007, it was reported that the ABC[21] was to broadcast the series in Australia, however according to a later report in TV Week both of the free-to-air government-owned television networks - the ABC and SBS - passed on the series.[22] On February 28, 2007, it was finally announced that Network Ten have acquired the rights to air the series in the country.[23] On April 2, 2007 BBC America announced it had acquired the rights to broadcast the series in the United States of America,[24] a transmission date has not been released however the broadcast of the series is tied-in to a "radical makeover" of the channel that is to occur later in 2007.[24] SettingTorchwood is filmed and set in Cardiff. Russell T. Davies told the South Wales Echo, "With Doctor Who we often had to pretend that bits of Cardiff were London, or Utah, or the planet Zog. Whereas this series is going to be honest-to-God Cardiff. We will happily walk past the Millennium Centre and say, 'Look, there's the Millennium Centre.' "[25] The makers of Torchwood deliberately portray Cardiff as a modern urban centre, contrasting with past stereotypical portrayals of Wales. "There's not a male voice choir ... or a miner in sight," said BBC Wales Controller Menna Richards.[26] Conservative MP Michael Gove described the debut of Torchwood as the moment confirming "Wales' move from overlooked Celtic cousin to underwired erotic coquette."[27][28] The team's headquarters, referred to in Doctor Who Confidential as the Hub, is beneath Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff Bay — formerly known as the Oval Basin. This is where the TARDIS landed in the Doctor Who episode Boom Town and is the location of the spacetime Rift first seen in The Unquiet Dead. The Hub itself is around 3 storeys high, with a large column running through the middle that is an extension of the fountain above. ReceptionAs a spin-off of long-running British cultural artifact Doctor Who, Torchwood's launch into British popular culture has received much positive and negative review, commentary and parody following the hype of its inception, especially in regards to its status as an "adult" Doctor Who spin-off as well as characterisations and gratuitousness in its portrayal of sex. The series initially attracted record high ratings,[29] which later dropped to a degree,[30] but ensured the programme at least a second series. ThemesTorchwood explores several themes in its narrative, in particular LGBT themes. Various characters are portrayed as sexually fluid; through those characters, the series examines homosexual and bisexual relationships, and their problems. Although the nature of their sexual flexibility is not explicitly discussed, characters like Jack, Ianto, and Toshiko offer varying perspectives on orientation. Through the use of repetition, in particular of thematically important lines and by drawing parallels between characters, the show also delves somewhat into existentialism, the value of human life, and the corrupting nature of power. Spoilers end here.
Spin-offsTorchwood has "a heavy online presence".[31] At the Edinburgh International Television Festival, BBC Director of Television Jana Bennett said that the online features will include the ability to explore the Hub, an imaginary desktop, weekly 10-minute behind-the-scenes vodcasts. It should be noted that due to digital media rights restrictions most video content on the BBC3 websites is only accessible to users within the UK. "You can join the corporation of Torchwood and be one of its employees," said Bennett.[32] The Flash-based interactive website, including the Hub Tour, debuted on 12 October, 2006.[1] BBC Three is airing Torchwood Declassified, a making-of program not unlike Doctor Who Confidential. Each Declassified episode runs under ten minutes, in contrast to Confidential's 45 (formerly 30).[33] Torchwood Declassified is also available online at the BBC's Torchwood site. In January 2007, BBC Books published the first three original, adult-focused[34] novels based upon Torchwood. The books were published in paperback-sized hardcover format, the same format BBC Books uses for its New Series Adventures line for Doctor Who. The books are Another Life by Peter Anghelides, Border Princes by Dan Abnett and Slow Decay by Andrew Lane. There have been eight more Torchwood books confirmed to accompany the second series.[35] DVD Releases
Trivia
Footnotes
References
See also
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