Torchwood

Torchwood
Torchwood title card
Created by	Russell T Davies
Starring	John Barrowman Eve Myles Burn Gorman Naoko Mori Gareth David-Lloyd Kai Owen Mekhi Phifer Alexa Havins Bill Pullman
Theme music composer	Murray Gold
Composers	Ben Foster Murray Gold
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	31 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Russell T Davies Julie Gardner
Running time	50 minutes (Series 1–2) 60 minutes (Series 3)
Production companies	BBC Cymru Wales (2006–9) BBC Cymru Wales / BBC Worldwide / Starz Entertainment (2010–present)
Original release
Network	BBC Three (Series 1) BBC Two (Series 2) BBC One (Series 3) Starz (Series 4) BBC HD (All episodes)
Release	22 October 2006 – present
Related
Doctor Who The Sarah Jane Adventures Torchwood Declassified

Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies' 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who, which has a family audience. Torchwood, however, is aimed at a mature audience. As a show, Torchwood has transitioned its broadcast channel every year since its inception, moving from BBC Three to BBC Two to BBC One, and acquiring US financing in its fourth series.

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 ex-con man from the distant future who has lived on Earth since the 19th century; Jack originally appeared in the 2005 series of Doctor Who. Under Jack's leadership, the formerly morally ambivalent organisation operates under a much more humanist ethos. Other than Barrowman, the series' initial main cast consisted of Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd. Their characters are each 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 an unusually recurrent alien presence in Cardiff. Gorman and Mori left the programme after the second series, with Kai Owen promoted from a recurring role to the main cast in series three. Subsequently, American actors Mehki Phifer, Bill Pullman and Alexa Havins join the cast of the show for its fourth series.

The first series premièred on BBC Three and on BBC HD in 2006 to mixed reviews but viewing figures which broke records for the digital channel. As such it returned in 2008 where it aired first on BBC Two, receiving a higher budget; criticisms of the first series, such as its uneven tone, were largely smoothed out, and the show received yet higher ratings and better reviews. The third series was given a larger per-episode budget and placed on the network's flagship channel, BBC One. BBC budget cuts in 2009 meant, however, that the show was limited to five episodes, which Davies elected to present as a serial, taking the title Torchwood: Children of Earth. Despite airing in July evenings, typically a graveyard slot, stripped across five nights in one week, the show received unexpectedly high ratings at home and abroad and for the most part, reviews hailed it as excellent. A fourth series, co-produced by BBC Cymru Wales, BBC Worldwide and US premium entertainment network Starz will air in 2011 as Torchwood: Miracle Day, with Los Angeles as its predominant setting.

Production

Early development

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 a post-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 and on the 'rushes' tapes 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. Subsequently, the word "Torchwood" was seeded in Doctor Who episodes and other media which aired in 2005 and 2006.

As Torchwood is a post-watershed show — that is, after 9 p.m. — 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, I'm ready to get out my cock and balls." 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.

The first three series of Torchwood, the programme was produced in-house by BBC Cymru 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 July and 10 July 2009.

Later development

BBC Three described Torchwood as the centrepiece of its autumn 2006 schedule, and the successful first season led to a second series on BBC Two and a third on BBC One in 2009. However, Davies expressed concern that the third series was aired in a summer evening graveyard slot. Lead actor John Barrowman felt that the show had been mistreated by BBC executives, despite what he felt was the programme's proven popularity and success. The third series, entitled Children of Earth, began shooting on 18 August 2008, and comprised a five-episode mini-series that aired over five consecutive days at 9pm on BBC One from 6 July 2009, and 9pm on BBC America HD and BBC America from 20 July 2009. Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner stayed on as executive producers, and Peter Bennett produced the series.

In August 2009, Davies stated that the fourth series was "ready to go", and that he had the next series planned out, stating "I know exactly how to pick it up. I've got a shape in mind, and I've got stories. I know where you'd find Gwen and Rhys, and their baby, and Jack, and I know how you'd go forward with a new form of Torchwood." At the time, he stated he would prefer for the series four to be another mini-series, though has no qualms about doing another thirteen-episode run. A November 2009 article posted on Eve Myles's website stated that shooting for the fourth series was to begin in January 2010;

Subsequently, Davies looked to US networks to finance future series of the programme. He was turned down by one of the United States' major television networks, Fox; some had speculated the Fox project could have been a spin-off or a reboot. Later, Davies succeeded in striking a deal with US premium cable network Starz. The production of the fourth series was not officially announced until June 2010: a ten-episode miniseries co-produced between BBC Wales, Starz and BBC Worldwide, expected to air around summer 2011. As with the third, the fourth series takes on its own title: Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Directing

Block One of series two, consisting of episodes by Raynor and Tregenna, was directed by Andy Goddard. Colin Teague directed Block Two, which consists of episode two by Moran and episode four by Tregenna, with Ashley Way directing Block Three, consisting of the series two premiere by Chibnall and the sixth episode of the series, by JC Wilsher. An edited repeat of the second series episodes, suitable for children to view, was shown on BBC Two at 7pm. In 2009, Euros Lyn directed all five episodes of the third series, Children of Earth.

In June 2010, a BBC News report confirmed that the fourth series would have 10 episodes. Filming begins in January 2011.

Writing

In an October 2005 announcement, 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." Davies later denied ever making this comparison, instead describing the show as "alleyways, rain, the city". In the first series, the main writer alongside Davies was 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. Of the first two series, Russell T Davies wrote only the première episode. Helen Raynor and Brian Minchin were the programme's script editors.

Series one of Torchwood was filmed from May 2006 until November 2006. For the second series, lead writer Chris Chibnall wrote the opening episode and the three final episodes. Both Catherine Tregenna and Helen Raynor wrote two episodes for the second series. The other episodes were written by James Moran, Matt Jones, J. C. Wilsher, Joseph Lidster, PJ Hammond and Phil Ford. Russell T Davies was initially announced as writing two episodes, but due to commitments to Doctor Who he no longer anticipating writing any Torchwood episodes. For series three, Davies returned and wrote the first and last episodes, co-wrote episode three with James Moran, and plotted overall story arc himself. John Fay wrote episodes two and four.

For the fourth series, Miracle Day, Davies secured several popular US television writers, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Jane Espenson, The X-Files, Star Trek: Enterprise and Supernatural writer John Shiban, and House writer Doris Egan. Additionally, both Davies and John Fay will both return to write episodes for Miracle Day.

In continuing the series, Davies inspiration returns again to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He explains that Torchwood is more focused on the human condition than its science fiction backdrop, and elaborates:

"The best metaphors in Buffy came down to, “What’s it like to be in high school, as a kid?” It’s the same with Torchwood: Miracle Day. It’s about us and our decisions and our lives, and how we live with each other and how we die with each other. That forms the core of the story."

- Russell T Davies

Crew

Richard Stokes produced Series 1 & 2 of 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." Series 3 was produced by Peter Bennett. The series also shares Doctor Who's production designer, Edward Thomas. Music for the series is composed by Ben Foster and Doctor Who's composer Murray Gold.

Opening sequence

The title card for the Torchwood miniseries, Children of Earth (series 3)

In lieu of full-length title sequence, the opening sequence of the show's first two series are composed of a voice-over monologue by Barrowman as Harkness, establishing the show's premise. The show's theme tune plays over this monologue and the additional intertitle. As in Doctor Who (2005–present), it is written by Murray Gold.

For Children of Earth, a recap of the last episode was played at the beginning of each episode, followed by a title card. The theme was not featured in this, instead only featuring over the end credits.

Overview

The 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. Season three, a miniseries, saw the Cardiff headquarters completely destroyed and the team temporarily operating as fugitives in the England's capital city of London, its membership wiped and the organisation thoroughly broken over the course of the serial.

Main cast

Actor	Character	Duration	Episodes
John Barrowman	Jack Harkness	2006–	All episodes
Eve Myles	Gwen Cooper	2006–	All episodes
Gareth David-Lloyd	Ianto Jones	2006–2009	"Everything Changes" to Children of Earth
Naoko Mori	Toshiko Sato	2006–2008	"Everything Changes" to "Exit Wounds"
Burn Gorman	Owen Harper	2006–2008	"Everything Changes" to "Exit Wounds"
Kai Owen	Rhys Williams	2009–	Children of Earth (previously recurring)

The series two cast, including special guest star Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones

Unlike its parent programme Torchwood centres on a team instead of a single character with companions. Torchwood Three is the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute, tasked (among other things) with keeping an eye on the space/time Rift that runs through the city, and on whatever washes through it. The branch is initially 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 an audience surrogate. Owen Harper (Burn Gorman) is the unit's medical officer and Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) is the resident computer specialist, while "administrative" duties are performed by Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). Ianto's role within the team is increased in series 2; following Toshiko and Owen's deaths, the distinctions between the remaining agents' responsibilities are less pronounced. Ianto too is killed off in the third series. Aside from the team, another major character is Rhys Williams (Kai Owen), Gwen's live-in boyfriend and later husband, who is initially unaware of the nature of Gwen's mysterious new job. After learning about Torchwood in series 2 episode "Meat", his role in the programme increases and he joins the main cast in series 3. Regularly recurring is Andy Davidson (Tom Price), Gwen's former police partner and occasional comic relief.

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. Paul Kasey regularly portrays aliens on the series, as in Doctor Who, under heavy prosthetics, such as the alien Weevils and Blowfishes. Doctor Who's Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) crossed over to Torchwood for three episodes in the second series (from "Reset" to "A Day in the Death"). Another prominent guest star in Torchwood's second series is former Buffy and Angel star James Marsters, who plays Captain John Hart, a villainous Time Agent and Jack's former lover. Introduced in the episode "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", he reappears in the last two episodes of the series, forced to do Jack's brother Gray's vengeful will; he reforms when he escapes from Gray's influence. Making minor recurring appearances in the second series are a mysterious 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), senior MP 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), 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, will see significant additions to the cast. John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Kai Owen return to the series, and Tom Price is also expected to return as Andy. New to the cast are Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer), a "wickedly funny CIA agent born to make waves", and Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins), a CIA watch analyst and an optimistic Christian. American film star Bill Pullman will feature as Oswald Danes, a highly intelligent murderer who becomes the focus of media attention following his release from prison on a technicality. Lauren Ambrose has been cast as Jilly Kitzinger in seven of the ten episodes. She will play "a sweet-talking PR genius with a heart of stone who’s just cornered the most important client of her career … and maybe of all time." Arlene Tur also joins in a recurring role as surgeon Vera Juarez . Additionally, Dollhouse star Dichen Lachman will also guest star as another CIA worker. James Marsters expressed strong interest in returning for the fourth series as Captain John, though neither he nor Russell Tovey (whose Doctor Who character appeared alongside Jack in Doctor Who special The End of Time) were approached by Davies about the possibility of appearing in series four.

Episodes

Main article: List of Torchwood episodes

The premiere episode "Everything Changes" was written by Russell T Davies and serves to introduce 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 serves to push the setting towards an "apocalypse" for series 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".

The second 13-episode series of Torchwood begins by following on with Jack's return from the previous Doctor Who episode, "Last of the Time Lords" with the series premiere, "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", which aired 16 January 2008. 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 upon the death and partial resurrection of main character Owen Harper, and how he coped as a dead man. The second series' finale, "Exit Wounds" (which aired 4 April 2008) features the departures of main characters Owen and Tosh, whose deaths at the hands of Jack's long-lost brother Gray reduced the series' 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 parent show 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.

Series three is only five episodes long, and makes up a single story, Children of Earth. David-Lloyd departs the cast when Ianto is killed by aliens, and by episode five, everything about Torchwood Cardiff. In its closing scenes, with Gwen heavily pregnant and Jack leaving Earth, Torchwood effectively no longer existed. Series four, Torchwood: Miracle Day, will see Torchwood having been reduced to the status of legend following Children of Earth. The narrative will follow two CIA agents who encounter Torchwood's supernatural world, and later Gwen and Jack. Gardner has stated, however, that as with series three, Cardiff will remain a part of the show's setting, with Gwen being Welsh and her young family based in Wales.

Setting

"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'."

Russell T Davies

The first two series of Torchwood were both filmed and set in Cardiff. 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. Conservative MP Michael Gove described the debut of Torchwood as the moment confirming "Wales' move from overlooked celtic cousin to underwired erotic coquette." Filming has also taken place in areas outside of Cardiff, including Merthyr Tydfil.

Roald Dahl Plass, outside the Millennium Centre, acts as the exterior of the Hub.

The team's headquarters during the first two series, referred to as the Hub, was beneath Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff Bay — formerly known as the Oval Basin. This is where the TARDIS landed in the Doctor Who episodes "Boom Town" and "Utopia" to refuel, and is the location of the spacetime rift first seen in "The Unquiet Dead". The Hub itself was around three storeys high, with a large column running through the middle that was an extension of the fountain above; at its base lay the rift machine. The Hub had two means of access: a lift that rose to the plass next to the fountain (camouflaged by a perception filter), and a more mundane entrance hidden in a tourism office. Production crew were keen to use everything Wales had to offer in filming the series; for example, the military base scenes in "Sleeper" and the booby-trapped abandoned warehouse scenes in "Fragments" were filmed at RAF Caerwent, near Chepstow, South Wales.

The third series opened in the traditional setting, but in the first episode the Hub was reduced to a smoking pile of rubble; the show adapted to a conventional London setting, with many scenes filmed and set at real-life British intelligence agency headquarters Thames House. The fourth series will venture outside the UK for the first time, and will see storylines widen to include locations in the US and worldwide.

Themes

Main article: Themes in Torchwood

Torchwood 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. The programme also addresses issues around existentialism, the nature of human life and the absence of a traditional afterlife, and the corrupting nature of power.

Spin-offs

Companion programme

BBC Two is airing Torchwood Declassified, a making-of programme similar to Doctor Who Confidential. Each Declassified episode runs under ten minutes, in contrast to Confidential's 45 (formerly 30). Torchwood Declassified is also available online at the BBC's Torchwood site. Installments were produced for each episode of the first two seasons, with a single installment produced for Children of Earth. As of April 2011 it has not been indicated whether any installments will be produced to coincide with Miracle Day.

Companion magazine

Titan Magazines have launched a Torchwood Magazine which was released on 24 January 2008 in the United Kingdom. The United States version was launched in February 2008. The Australia/New Zealand version was launched in April 2008.

Electronic literature

Torchwood has "a heavy online presence". 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. Due to digital media rights restrictions most video content on the BBC Three websites is only accessible to users within the UK. "You can join the corporation of Torchwood and be one of its employees," said Bennett. The Flash-based interactive website, including the Hub Tour, debuted on 12 October 2006.

During the fourth season of the revival of Doctor Who, a crossover webcast production called Captain Jack's Monster Files was launched, featuring Barrowman, in character as Jack, hosting a series of shorts profiling various monsters and aliens featured on Doctor Who. These segments, posted to the BBC's official Doctor Who website, included specially shot footage of Jack in the Hub. After Season 4, the segments were produced less frequently, with the last featuring Jack, released in December 2009, taking the form of Jack narrating a mini-episode featuring the Weeping Angels entitled "A Ghost Story for Christmas". Subsequent Monster Files webcasts released since 2010 have been hosted by Doctor Who co-star Alex Kingston as her character, River Song. As with most other online video content from the BBC, Captain Jack's Monster Files are not viewable outside the UK and to date (2011) have never been included on a DVD or Blu-ray release of either Doctor Who or Torchwood.

To promote its rebroadcasts of Torchwood, the UK digital channel Watch has twice commissioned the creative team of the Torchwood Magazine comic strip to produce brief online-exclusive comic strip stories for the Watch website. The first of these, The Return of the Vostok, was uploaded in February 2009, with a follow-up, Ma and Par, appearing in February 2010.

Radio plays

Set between the end of Series Two and the beginning of Series Three, the BBC aired four Torchwood radio dramas featuring the cast of the series. As a tie in with Radio 4's CERN-themed day on 10 September 2008, a CERN-themed radio episode of Torchwood written by Joseph Lidster, entitled "Lost Souls", aired as the day's Afternoon Play. This was the first Torchwood drama not to feature Burn Gorman and Naoko Mori. Three further episodes were broadcast on 1–3 July 2009: "Asylum", "Golden Age" and "The Dead Line".

Novels and audiobooks

Main article: List of Torchwood novels and audio books

Accompanying the main series of Torchwood are a series of novels. The books are published in paperback-sized hardcover format, the same format BBC Books uses for its New Series Adventures line for Doctor Who. These novels were later released, abridged, as audiobooks.

Original soundtrack

Main article: Torchwood: Original Television Soundtrack

On 22 September 2008, Silva Screen Records released a compilation of music featured in the show's first and second series. The disc features 32 tracks composed by Ben Foster and Murray Gold.

A second compilation disc was released on 17 July 2009, featuring 40 tracks from the show's third series, Children of Earth.

See also: Torchwood: Original Television Soundtrack - Children of Earth

Programme information

Critical reception

Main article: Criticism of Torchwood

As a spin-off of long-running British cultural artefact 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 regarding its status as an "adult" Doctor Who spin-off as well as its characterisation and portrayal of sex. Reviews for the first series were largely negative, with sites such as Behind the Sofa giving many more negative reviews than positive ones. Reviews of the second series were more positive. The third series, which took the form of a five-part story arc with the blanket title of Children of Earth, received a number of positive reviews. Critics described it separately as a "powerful human drama"; "Best. Torchwood. Ever."; and "... against all expectations, a work of Proper Drama". Conversely, The Daily Mirror gave the mini-series a negative review, describing it as "the modern-day Blake's Seven: ludicrous plot, hammy acting, an adolescent penchant for 'Issues'". Metacritic, an American review aggregator website, gives Torchwood series one a rating of 74 out of 100, meaning "generally favourable reviews". The show's second series rates higher, at 81 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim". The third series rated 80, with the highest score being a 91 from TIME and the lowest a 60 from The New York Times.

A plot point in the Torchwood miniseries, Children of Earth, triggered protests from fans of the show, including the "Save Ianto Jones" campaign, which collected more than 10,000 pounds for the Children In Need charity. Other fans resorted to abuse and threats, causing writer James Moran to fire off an angry missive in a blog post. Showrunner Russell T Davies made no apologies for the decision to kill off the character, saying, "I’m just delighted that the fans are so wrapped in the character to have that reaction." The same plot point (the death of a character involved in a same-sex relationship) led several writers to analyse the death in view of the character's earlier refusal to admit to his relationship with a man, and claimed that the death was a sign that the LGBT community was leaving behind its image of victimhood.

Positive and negative attention has been given to the portrayal of bisexual male relationships in Torchwood. Maria Boyd of the University of Texas at Austin published her paper at a conference, "Gay Sex and Aliens! How the Press frames Russell T Davies’ Torchwood." She argues through "a discourse analysis of 109 reviews of the Season 1 and Season 2 premiere episodes" how "TV critics are more concerned with the depictions of bisexuality among the principal characters on Torchwood." Furthermore, she argues that the show's reviews "highlight the same-sex interactions depicted on the show utilising sensationalist, assimilationist, or condemnatory language" and that the "hegemonic, heterosexist language used by TV critics covering Torchwood has framed the program in such a way that it limits audience’s ability to make meaning of the text themselves."

Ratings

The first episodes of Torchwood on BBC Three gave the channel its highest ever ratings, and the highest ratings of any digital-only non-sports channel at the time with 2.519 million viewers (though this has since been surpassed by Bionic Woman on ITV2 which gained 2.553 million in March 2008). The audience share was 12.7%, increasing to 13.8% for the second episode (shown immediately after the first episode on the same day), despite viewership dropping to 2.498 million.

Ratings for later episodes dropped to around 1.1 to 1.2 million viewers during the first showing on BBC Three (the lowest being 0.8 million for week ending 24/12/06), but nevertheless, the show remained the most viewed programme on BBC Three by a wide margin. The repeat screenings on BBC Two later the same week were around 2.2 to 2.3 million (dropping to under 1.1 and 1.8 respectively for the weeks ending 03/12/06 and 10/12/06).

For its second series which began in January 2008, Torchwood was moved to the more established BBC Two channel. Again, initial ratings were respectable and the first episode garnered 4.22 million viewers. However, the series again began to decline and had lost a million viewers by its fourth episode. It later dropped to a low of 2.52 million viewers towards the end of its run, even after the BBC had moved it from its usual Wednesday night slot (where it was being consistently beaten by ITV's programming and Channel 4's no.1 series, Grand Designs) to Friday nights. The second series had an overall average rating of 3.26 million viewers on BBC Two.

Torchwood's five part third season, entitled Children of Earth, premiered on BBC One in July 2009, with an estimated 5.9 million viewers according to overnight figures. Ratings for the second episode dropped to 5.58m, but rose to a high of 6.24m for the fourth episode. According to the overnight figures, the mini-series garnered an average rating of 5.88 million viewers.

According to official figures, published by Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB), all five episodes of the mini-series garnered more than 6 million viewers, with the fourth episode gaining the largest audience.

Awards

In April 2007, Torchwood beat its parent series, which is also made in Wales, to win the Best Drama Series category at the BAFTA Cymru Awards. The awards, given by the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, celebrate the achievements of film and television productions made in Wales. Eve Myles won the Best Actress category at the same awards, ahead of Doctor Who's Billie Piper. In 2008, the episode "Captain Jack Harkness" was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.

The 2009 Television Serial Children of Earth, which served as Torchwood's third series, won a further BAFTA Cymru award for best Drama Series as well as a Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation during the 36th Saturn Awards and a 2010 Celtic Media Festival Award for best drama series. Myles picked up a further BAFTA Cymru Best Actress nomination, as well as winning the popular vote for the Best Actress award in the 2010 SFX Reader's awards poll, and the 11th annual Airlock Alpha Portal Awards.

DVD and Blu-ray releases

The complete first series has been released on Region 2 DVD in the UK. A North American Region 1 release occurred 22 January 2008, following the broadcast of Series 1 on BBC America in the United States and the CBC in Canada. Series One Part One, Two and Three have been released In Australia Region 4, with the Complete First Series released in February 2008. The complete series 1 sets released in the UK and US also include the episodes of the behind-the-scenes series Torchwood Declassified. The Complete Second Series was released on 30 June 2008 (Region 2), along with the Complete First series on Blu-ray and HD DVD. Series 1, 2, and 3 episodes are currently available for download through iTunes in the US and UK.

DVD release name	UK Release Date (Region 2)	North American Release Date (Region 1)	Australian Release Date (Region 4)	New Zealand Release Date (Region 4)
Series One	Part One (Episodes 1–5): 26 December 2006	Complete (Episodes 1–13): 22 January 2008	Part One (Episodes 1–5): 31 July 2007	Complete (Episodes 1–13): 11 September 2008
	Part Two (Episodes 6–9): 26 February 2007		Part Two (Episodes 6–9): 6 September 2007
	Part Three (Episodes 10–13): 26 March 2007		Part Three (Episodes 10–13): 2 October 2007
	Complete (Episodes 1–13): 19 November 2007		Complete (Episodes 1–13): 6 February 2008
Series Two	Complete (Episodes 1–13): 30 June 2008	Complete (Episodes 1–13): 16 September 2008	Complete (Episodes 1–13): 2 October 2008	Complete (Episodes 1–13): 15 January 2009
Children Of Earth (Series Three)	Complete (Episodes 1–5): 13 July 2009	Complete (Episodes 1–5): 28 July 2009	Complete (Episodes 1–5): 1 October 2009
The Complete Series (1–3)	Complete Series (Episodes 1–31): 26 October 2009	Complete Series (Episodes 1–31): TBA	Complete Series (Episodes 1–31): 5 August 2010

Blu-ray release name	UK Release Date (Region B)	North American Release Date (Region A)	Australian Release Date (Region B)
The Complete First Series	30 June 2008	16 September 2008	1 October 2009
The Complete Second Series	22 June 2009	7 July 2009	1 October 2009
Children of Earth	13 July 2009	28 July 2009	1 October 2009

International broadcasts and syndication

Torchwood is popular in the English-speaking North American continent; in fact, Canadian networks helped to finance the series, as they had the revived production of Doctor Who in 2005. On 2 April 2007, BBC America had acquired the rights to broadcast the series in the United States. The series started on 8 September 2007; the initial broadcast of the series was tied-in to a "radical makeover" of the channel that was to occur later in 2007. The second series started on BBC America 26 January 2008, and the third on 20 July 2009. Torchwood has become one of the higher rated programmes for BBC America with its first series première in September 2007 attracting an audience of almost half a million viewers. HDNet acquired the US high definition rights for the first 26 episodes (Series 1 and 2) and began airing Series 1 episodes on Monday evenings, starting 17 September 2007. On Monday 11 February 2008 HDNet began showing Series 2 episodes.

The Canadian network CBC was a co-producer of series one, and premiered in October 2007. The show airs for French-speaking Canadian audiences on Ztélé. Series two began airing on Space on 8 August 2008 and series three was aired on Space over five consecutive nights in July 2009. Space has since broadcast series 1 and repeated series 2. The series also airs in high definition on HDNet.

Torchwood also airs in Europe. In France, the first series began airing on 12 October 2007 on NRJ 12, and since 13 January 2009 on SciFi. The second series began on 5 September 2008 on NRJ 12 and the third series began on 17 November 2009 also on NRJ 12. In Germany, RTL 2 broadcast series 1 to 3. The first series started airing on 28 June 2010 on Icelandic network Stod 2. In Italy, the first series started airing on 3 September 2007 on Jimmy; the third series has not been aired. Portuguese network SIC Radical started transmitting the first series in January 2009. The first series premiered on 24 June 2007 on Swedish network TV4+. Serbia aired the first and second series daily on the network RTS from 1 on 19 August 2009 to begin showing the third series from 13 April 2010. In Israel the first 2 series aired on yes Stars Action and currently available on HOT V.O.D services, in HD also.

Torchwood also shows in the English-speaking nations of Australasia. In Australia, after the ABC and SBS passed on the series, Network Ten acquired the rights to air it. After its première on 18 June 2007, a reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald's The Guide said, "The appeal of Torchwood is not so much that it's gloriously implausible sci-fi pulp, but that it knows it's gloriously implausible, sci-fi pulp." Ten's press release cites rival programming in their decision to move the show to a Wednesday 12 am timeslot halfway through the series. Torchwood now airs on UKTV in Australia. Series one was played on Imparja, but as of 3 February 2008 the station is no longer affiliated with Ten and will not screen more. Series 2 of Torchwood aired on Ten HD from 1 September 2008. On 19 June 2009, ABC2 began broadcasting series one, two and three on Fridays at 8:30pm. When Series 2 started broadcasting on 18 September 2009, ABC2 started broadcasting Torchwood Declassified after each episode. Each episode of the third series was broadcast on UKTV and BBCHD the day after it was aired in the UK. ABC2 began airing Children of Earth on 8 January 2010 weekly. The first series began screening on TV2 in New Zealand on Wednesday, 9 July 2008, starting with series 1 and running straight through to the 4th episode ("Meat") in the second series. Series 2 continued airing on 11 February 2009 and season 3 premiered on 10 February 2010. Repeat screenings of the first two series began on 16 March 2010 after the conclusion of Children of Earth during the previous week, and now plays re runs on UKTV in New Zealand. On 13 August 2010, Children of Earth will begin repeated transmission after the conclusion of the second series on 6 August 2010. Additionally, in Malaysia the first two series were last transmitted on BBC Entertainment (Chn731) on the Astro Network on 29 November 2009. Japan also airs Torchwood on Super! drama TV.

See also

• Doctor Who spin-offs
• Doctor Who tie-in websites
• List of Torchwood episodes
• List of Torchwood novels
• List of Torchwood writers

External links

• Torchwood at BBC Online
• Torchwood at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com
• Torchwood (BBC South East Wales) at BBC Online
• Torchwood at BBC America
• Torchwood organisation (BBC mini-site)
• AfterElton.com: Torchwood
• Torchwood on Doctor Who Wiki, an external wiki
• Torchwood production office on X