TREKS IN SCI-FI FORUM

Here is some information on the new spin off of Doctor Who called Torchwood


LONDON ”Russell T. Davies, creator of the _Doctor Who_

(http://www.scifi.com/doctorwho/) spin-off series Torchwood, told SCI FI Wire the British show began
production earlier this month and is definitely darker than its predecessor. "I would call it modern urban sci-fi really," Davies said in an
interview here. "It's a little bit harder science fiction than Doctor Who is, although, again, it's very character driven."

Torchwood stars John Barrowman as 51st-century con man Captain Jack Harkness, who was originally introduced last season on Doctor Who. The
ensemble cast also includes Eve Myles, Burn Gorman and Naoko Mori. "It"s quite dark," Davies said. "But when I write something dark, I automatically make it sunny at the same time, because I think that makes the dark darker and the funny stuff funnier. So I still very much have my tone of voice in it. But there are more adult emotions at play. When you see it, it will all make sense, because it's very different territory to Doctor Who. It's not about fleets of spaceships and invading monsters. It's more about ideas, like 'What if you could read someone's mind?' It’s quite X-Filesy in that way. The X-Files has been off our screens for far too long, and it's a marvelous show. So we've got elements of that in it, because it works. But at the same time, it's set in a Welsh city, with a bisexual con man from the 51st century at the helm, so you've automatically got something sexier and sassier and a bit wilder in places. We've actually got six scripts in at the moment, and they're marvelous."

Not surprisingly, Davies has already enlisted some of the writers who have worked on the past two seasons of Doctor Who, as well as a few new faces. "Toby Whithouse, who wrote the Sarah Jane [Smith] episode, 'School Reunion,' has written an episode of Torchwood that is marvelous," Davies said. "And there are a lot of new people as well, because, frankly, the best people are sticking with Doctor Who, because that's at the core of it. And we're bringing people with other skills onto Torchwood."

Davies added: "To be honest, just by being set in the modern world means it's a slightly easier show to write. The difficulty of Doctor Who is believing that you're in the world [in the year] five hundred zillion. But with a modern city, there are more writers who are well versed in the language of urban drama, so it's been easier to find writers for, and that's been paying off. It's not as effects-based, either. It's much more effects-light. There are a number of CGI shots per episode, but nowhere near the amount in Doctor Who. It's a lot more 'real' than Doctor Who is, but we're still sharing some of its sensibilities."

With two shows in production simultaneously, Davies admitted that his schedule is a bit hectic at the moment. But he added that he couldn't
be happier. "I've actually got to start writing the next Christmas episode of Doctor Who, and we're starting to meet with the writers right now," he said. "That's why I would only ever write one or two Torchwoods every year, because there's a certain formula you can follow on Torchwood. But on Doctor Who, the wide open skies are open to you, and it's much harder to write as a result, so there's never a moment when I feel I can relax when I'm writing Doctor Who. There's never a moment when I think, 'This is easy!' But that's fine. That's what I need to keep going!"

sounds cool. What channel will it air on?

No word on when it will air out in the US.. it's a british show and will start airing there in the fall.

SOunds cool. I hope that I get whatever channel its on. I've been looking at some computer television providers. Are they reliable or do they steal your money and run?

It’s nearly here! It’s nearly here! In case you’ve been locked in a cupboard for the last year, Torchwood is a new spin-off series from Doctor Who, in which Captain Jack (John Barrowman) heads up a team of investigators who look into crimes both human and alien. We’re so excited about it we have to change our pants three times a day.

The series starts airing on Sunday 22 October. Both episodes one and two will air on BBC Three that night, starting at 9.00pm. Both episodes will then be repeated BBC Two on 25 October. From then on there’ll be a new episode every Sunday on BBC Three, repeated on BBC Two on the Wednesday.

To get you geared up for the launch, here’s an exclusive: a guide to all the characters, in the words of Torchwood producer Richard Stokes. You all know Captain Jack, but here’s the rest of the team, from left to right…

Gwen Cooper
(Eve Myles)
“Russell wrote the part for her. He saw her in [BBC Wales drama] Belonging first of all and was knocked out by her acting ability. He and Julie were really pleased when they got her a part in series one of Doctor Who [Eve played Gwyneth in “The Unquiet Dead”]. Having seen that, he realised this is someone who could carry a series. She’s kind of the heart of the show and the human side of Torchwood and the first episode follows her journey into Torchwood, thereby taking the audience into Torchwood. She has a bit more human empathy than the rest of the team, who have all been stuck hunting aliens for a bit too long…”

Suzie Costello
(Indira Varma)
“She’s second in command to Jack and she’s played by the extraordinary Indira Varma, who we were very lucky to get. She’s the workaholic of the group and the one who takes everything the most seriously. That may have an effect on her character in the series. But I’ll leave that hanging…”

Ianto Jones
(Gareth David-Lloyd)
“He’s kind of a butler. I’ve always described him as Alfred, Batman’s butler, but 50 years younger. He basically looks after everyone. He makes the coffee, he makes the tea, he drives the truck around, but he’s probably more like Radar from M*A*S*H. Just as Captain Jack is saying, ‘You know what we need right now?’ he’s out getting it. He’s got one or two really big episodes during the series and I must say he’s a real find. He plays fear and upset in his eyes like no other actor I know.”

Dr Owen Harper
(Burn Gorman)
“He’s very acerbic, very sarcastic, very, very intelligent. He’s brilliant at what he does and doesn’t really give a shit about anybody else. He’s also very sexy. He’s one of those people that appears incredibly aloof but actually you just get turned on by how good they are at what they do. Writers love writing for him.

We were very lucky to get Burn Gorman. There were a lot of names flying on email between me, Julie, Russell and [main writer] Chris Chibnall when we first talking about casting this character. We were talking about someone Welsh to start with, and we were talking about other names and then Andy Pryor, our casting director, mentioned Burn and all of us had completely fallen in love with him during Bleak House.”

Toshiko Sato
(Naoko Mori)
“Russell and Julie had cast her in Doctor Who [”Aliens of London”] and really loved her. All the cast are stunningly beautiful, but Naoko also has a real vulnerability that you completely believe. An easy way to describe her is she’s the computer geek, she’s the techy nerd, but emotionally she’s a much deeper character. But she plays that repressed, ‘I know what I feel about you, but I don’t know how to express it’ thing. She’s almost emotionally the opposite to Owen, but there are some episodes where we get to explore what that repression is…”



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TORCHWOOD REVIEW.
After watching the first two episodes of Torchwood, I thought I would post this review.
Torchwood is set in Cardiff where there is a rift in time and space, allowing for all sorts of aliens and alien junk to come through to our world. "Torchwood" is an organisation that deals with these aliens and uses their technology tho prepare the Human race for the 21st Century where "Everything Changes" ( a statement made by Captain Jack early in the first episode).
  The opening episode introduces the main characters to us. Captain Jack, a charismatic mysterious chap whose true identity may become clearer throughout the series, and WPC Gwen Cooper, a naive police officer who joins Torchwood after discovering some of their secrets.
  This show is written by Russell T Davies who has penned many quality shows in the UK including the new Doctor Who and there are several references to that show. Although Sci-Fi, this programme is definitely not for children. The first episode was quite suitable with the exception of a few choice words, but the secind episode was gratuitously sexual and will shock anyone expecting a Doctor Who type family show. (Davies has a history of making hard hitting but quality programming).
  The show is set exclusively in Cardiff and this may become tedious, we shall have to wait and see. The production and direction are very good, but it lacks the slickness of most American Sci-Fi shows, bur bear in mind that the budgets are significantly less. The story though is very well done. Russel T Davies is very well respected over here (Davies doing Doctor Who is the equivalent of JJ Abrams doing Trek) and the quality of the writing and scripts makes up for some less than perfect special effects.
  All in all, the show is a lot of funand although it is full of cliches, I really enjoyed it. If you liked Dr Who I'm sure you will find this show just as entertaining with a few more adult themes.

Neat.  Thanks for the write up.  I'll have to check my local bittorrents for the shows.

Hey Trekky.. now it's time for me to be jealous. Thanks for the review, umm I am manged to obtain the first two episodes  :unsure *cough* and look forward to watching them.

You'll enjoy them I'm sure. Let me know

Okay I finally finished watching the 13 episodes of Torchwood. It's totally different then Doctor Who. Most of the characters  or I should said all but one of the character is flawed... two of the characters are really hard to like. I did like the second to last episode when we met the real Captain Jack and the finally seemed very rushed. But all in all I'll watch a second season when it comes out.

I agree Kenny. The problem as seen over here, is that they tried too hard. This was sold as Doctor Who for adults and its obvious that the makers were really trying to push this point. But in my view, it just came over as childish. I can only compare it to when a child learns a new set of swear words and discovers what sex is. They try to use the words at the most inappropriate times and to cram them in as often as possible. This eventually gets on your nerves and its clear that the writers are going for shock rather than substance.
   The writers missed a trick here. Captain Jack in Doctor Who is one of the most interesting characters in the show and the potential for a spin-off show was there, but in reality, they came up with an inferior show which pales in comparison to its more intelligent older brother. Its ironic really, they tried to grow up, but just succeeded in coming across as immature. Lets hope the second series can iron out these many flaws.

I liked "Torchwood" quite a bit actually.  Yeah, the characters are messed up in general, but I still like them.  The last episode with the big bad monster wasn't the best but a few other shows near the end I really liked.  Especially the one with Owen in love with the flyer girl from the past and the other one with Jack and Toshiko stuck in the WWII era.  Looking forward to the second season.  When does that start up?

Oh don't get me wrong. It does have potential and I did enjoy watching it, and no doubt it will improve. I mean TNG didn't have the best first season ever but turned out to be the best TV show in history. (In my opinion)

James Marsters (”Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel”, "Smallville") is in town filming for the second series of UK scifi television favorite “Torchwood.”

He will be appearing as a guest star alongside leading actor John Barrowman in the BBC’s adult spin-off of long-running television series “Doctor Who.”

“Torchwood” - an anagram of “Doctor Who” - is a secret task force that deals with alien encounters. John Barrowman plays mysterious multi-sexual time agent Captain Jack Harkness, who leads the Cardiff-based team. Series creator Russell T Davies, winner of the 2006 BAFTA Dennis Potter Award for Outstanding Writing for Television, has also written “Casanova,” “Doctor Who” and “Queer As Folk.”

The episode will be broadcast in the UK by the BBC early next year.

Really enjoyed the first season of this.  Looking forward to more!

Torchwood Secrets To Be Revealed

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=42439

John Barrowman, who plays Captain Jack on the BBC Two's Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming second season will reveal more about his character's complicated backstory.

"Every day I come in, or every new script I get, I learn something new about my character, which keeps it fresh," Barrowman said in an interview at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 13. "And it means that when I play things, I play them differently, because I know different things about him now."

The character of Captain Jack was introduced in a two-part episode of Doctor Who and went on to appear in the final five episodes of the first season. Later, he become the leader of a secret organization at the center of the spinoff show, Torchwood. How he got from one place and time to the other is a mystery that will gradually unfold over the course of Torchwood's second season.

"You don't know the exact date when Jack returned yet," Barrowman said. "We do know he was left on Satellite Five [at the end of season one of Doctor Who]. He was brought back to life. He then came back to Earth and arrived back in another time and had to live through it to get to the point where the Doctor came back. In [season] two of Torchwood, there's some of that revealed."

In his performance, Barrowman is also now bearing in mind an intriguing new piece of information about the character, which was slipped into the end of the recent third season of Doctor Who (currently airing on the SCI FI Channel). He couldn't talk about the twist in specifics, but he did say that it came as a shock, not only to him, but also to co-star David Tennant, who plays the Doctor.

"It's always something that takes you by surprise, otherwise it wouldn't be fiction," Barrowman said. "And I love that. And that script, when it came out, David read it. We were filming at the time, and he came running to my trailer and he went, 'F--k me. Have you read this?' And I went, 'No.' And he went, 'Oh, my God. Hurry up.' I went, 'Shut up and get out of my trailer. I'm not reading it yet.' ... So then I read it, and on a lunch break I ran to his trailer and knocked on the door, and he went, 'Well?' And I went, 'F--k me!' But it's absolutely brilliant."

Season two of Torchwood will also further develop the character of Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman, who will be making a guest appearance in three episodes.

"It's a perfect progression for her character," Barrowman said. "Because she develops such a strong character by the end of [season] three. So if Jack needs help, who else is he going to call? Jack trusted her to save the world. So did the Doctor. So who are you going to call? Martha Jones."

The third season of Doctor Who is currently running on SCI FI Channel Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Torchwood's first season will begin airing on BBC America on Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. â€"Cindy White

And if you have seen the finale of Doctor Who Season Three then you know what the "F**K Me" moment is.. and man is it a jaw dropping moment.

I will have to give it a look