Torchwood Noticeboard
July 12th 2008Season Three News
Torchwood executive producer Julie Gardner announces the full plan for a third series of the show in the latest issue of Torchwood magazine, and tells us what to expect from the five-episode story, to be broadcast over one week in Spring 2009 on BBC1: ‘It will put our central characters in huge jeopardy,' she says. 'We’ll see them pushed to the absolute maximum, then even further. What choices will they make in those circumstances? What sacrifices will they make, personally and professionally? What do they stand for and how do they fight when they’re pushed to the extreme?’
Titan - Torchwood Mag
Julie Gardner has confirmed that a third series of Torchwood has been commissioned and that it will be unlike anything we have seen before!
Not only will the series air on BBC One, Torchwood will have a brand new format. The series will consist of just one continuous story, delivered over 5 consecutive nights.
That's not the only thing that will be new about the series - Torchwood will have a brand new producer, Peter Bennett, who has previously worked on Torchwood and on Doctor Who as well as 'The Mummy', 'A View to a Kill' and 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'. Euros Lyn will also join the team as Director. Euros has directed several Doctor Who episodes including the 'Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead' two-part story from the current series.
And just to add to the excitement, the show will boast some new arrivals in the cast as well...
Julie Gardner says that she and Russell T Davies "are thrilled to be bringing Torchwood back for a third series. The new series promises to be a gripping and surprising TV event and we're certain the audience will love the team's exciting, roller-coaster adventures."
Production on the new series will start in August.
BBC
Torchwood Audio Adventure - Lost Souls
A brand new, made-for-radio (BBC Radio 4) Torchwood episode will be available on CD from September 11th 2008. Captain Jack and the team are involved in a dangerous adventure at the real-life CERN particle accelerator project near Geneva.
BBC Shop
August 24th 2007
Torchwood:The official magazine Separate from the government, outside the police, beyond the united nations- Torchwood is our planet's best defence against the threats of tomorrow. Operating from an underground hub, built on a rift in time and space, the team use alien technology and expert know-how to face the unknown and fight the impossible.
Published every four weeks, the official Torchwood magazine will bring you the latest from the hit BBC show, with in depth star interviews, exclusive behind the scenes reporting and brilliant original fiction from the Torchwood universe. The 21st century is when everything changes- get ready with Torchwood magazine.
Titan
Torchwood series 1 will be repeated on BBC THREE starting on Friday 7th September 2007 at 9pm.
Region 2 S1 DVD boxed set will be released in the UK on 19th November 2007 (7 discs). RRP is £54.99, but play.com has it for £43-99, and Amazon UK for £41-24!
BBC America has set up a TW site - BBCA Torchwood
The official Torchwood calendar for 2008 is released on 3rd September 2007, at £7-99.
June 15th 2007
Parallel Universe
The acclaimed Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood takes science fiction into dark, sexy, very adult terrain. Tim Hunter reports.
After being stuck in a space/time rift, the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood finally has an Australian home on Ten.
Created by Russell T. Davies, the man responsible for the miniseries Casanova, the British version of Queer as Folk and the reinvented Doctor Who, Torchwood is dark, grim and very sexy.
It sees John Barrowman's Captain Jack, last seen resurrected after death-by-Dalek in Doctor Who's 2005 finale, heading the Cardiff cell of secret organisation Torchwood. Its mission is to investigate alien threats and incidents and, aside from everything else, is very adult.
"Doctor Who was a huge success when the first series went out and we had the most marvellous character in Captain Jack," Davies says.
"I'd had an idea for years of doing a psychic supernatural cop show, so it just made sense to make that part of the Doctor Who world, make a spin-off, and then make a show in its own right. So I suggested it, everyone liked the idea, wrote the first script and it was commissioned."
Torchwood, an anagram of "Doctor Who", was the code title on early edits of Doctor Who.
"I rather liked it and thought I'd use it in Doctor Who in some shape or form but when Torchwood came along, I thought that was perfect."
His TV projects have had risk attached to them but he doesn't see Torchwood like that.
"I don't take risks deliberately, it's the way my mind works, I can't help it. But I do watch a lot of television science fiction, and it is a particularly sexless world. With a lot of the material from America, I think gay, lesbian and bisexual characters are massively underrepresented, especially in science fiction, and I'm just not prepared to put up with that. It's a very macho, testosterone-driven genre on the whole, very much written by straight men. I think Torchwood possibly has television's first bisexual male hero, with a very fluid sexuality for the rest of the cast as well. We're a beacon in the darkness."
Torchwood's take on sex and sexuality is indeed very frank, and is one of Davies' hallmarks, but he says he's just doing what comes naturally.
"Actually, I look at it another way, I have a big bloody laugh about sexuality. It's very rare, and it's part of my personal politics, that I'll handle it as a dark and serious story. All I'm saying is, 'relax!'. If anything, I get a lot more comedy into it."
Although Torchwood has its fair share of sex - the second episode has an alien that feeds off orgasmic energy - it's about more than that. It has an adult attitude but Davies says "it could do with a bit more of a laugh".
Burn Gorman plays Owen Harper, one of the Torchwood team, and was recently in the BBC adaptation of Bleak House. He was offered Torchwood on the strength of that performance.
"I didn't know exactly what the tone of the show would be," Gorman says.
"I knew that Russell was writing it and, in a sense, I relaxed a little bit because he's got a mind like quicksilver and great instinct. I knew it would involve human nature. The characters aren't black and white, they make mistakes all the time, and that was what attracted me to it."
"Torchwood is unlike any other sci-fi show. It's quintessentially British because it's pushing boundaries. It's not bland; viewers either absolutely hate it or absolutely love it. It has awkward situations that aren't particularly resolved in a good way and that's what I like."
He also appreciated the chance to shape his character.
"When we started off episodes one and two, they were still writing the other episodes so they've written to our strengths and weaknesses. It really was a work in progress and very satisfying to get a story that shows different sides of your character and to be used. It's a dream job for an actor: you get to shoot guns in the morning, have sex before lunchtime, and drive a brilliant car in the afternoon."
Also in the mix is Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Naoki Mori as Toshiko Sato and Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones; the ensemble works well together on and off screen.
"I'm glad it shows," Gorman says. "Just by chance, it's alchemy. We all clicked on the first day and we really have a scream. Perhaps we should tone it down. John is a force of nature; he's literally the all-singing, all-dancing company leader. But when we got to work, we work really hard."
And it has paid off. When it screened in Britain last year on the digital channel BBC3, Torchwood broke ratings records.
"Our transmission was the highest rating for a drama on a multichannel ever - the record held previously by me, with Casanova!" Davies says. The series proved so successful, a second is in production to be screened on BBC2 next year. He promises that the second series will be more of the same but with a lighter tone.
Davies himself is shows no signs of slowing, juggling Doctor Who, Torchwood and new spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures.
"I thrive on it, to be honest. It's like a free bar for an alcoholic. In Britain, we're more or less the only ones making shows like this and I know very well this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and nothing else to work on quite like this in the country. It's really rare, so I'm just dying for more, really. I love it, absolutely love it!"
Torchwood premieres Monday at 9.30pm on Ten.
The Age, Australia
March 15th 2007
Time lord tourism boost for city
Science fiction TV series Doctor Who and Torchwood have pushed Cardiff into the top 10 short break UK destinations, according to a travel website. The two shows, which are filmed all over south east Wales, attract fans keen to visit key locations.
Cardiff Council said the city was building a "tourism package" on the back of the success of the programmes.
Dale Who from Brighton, who started visiting Cardiff because of the series, said the city was "stunning".
In the case of Doctor Who, Cardiff often doubles as London and other cities. Torchwood is set in modern-day Cardiff.
Interiors for both series are shot at purpose built BBC studios in Upper Boat, near Pontypridd.
Travelsupermarket.com compiled the top 10 from searches made on their website for UK holiday destinations.
They spoke to travel experts and attractions in the cities and regions featured in the top 10 to identify a trend based on popular films and TV shows.
Mr Who, 33, has returned to Cardiff on three occasions and has been impressed by the modern buildings of Cardiff Bay.
"A lot of the fans like visiting the towering water feature outside the Wales Millennium Centre and jumping up and down on the paving stones because that's where the Torchwood hub is supposed to be," he said.
Cardiff's four-star Park Plaza hotel has been selling Doctor Who packages costing £140 per room for over a year. They include entry to the Doctor Who Up-Close exhibition in Cardiff Bay.
The hotel's marketing manager, Caroline Sims, said: "We are expecting the combined effect of Torchwood and the fourth Doctor Who series to create a real buzz about Cardiff locations.
"The packages are particularly popular with families. We provide them with a locations map which includes Howells and the Wales Millennium Centre so they see exactly where the filming took place."
The Doctor Who Up-Close exhibition, which is based in the Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Bay, had more than 57,000 visitors between July and November last year - an average of around 500 a day.
Manager Graham Jones said: "In our visitor book you see names and comments from all over the world.
"We are increasingly seeing visitors from New Zealand and Australia who come to Cardiff for the day or an overnight stay to visit the exhibition and locations."
A spokesman for Cardiff council said Doctor Who and Torchwood had helped to raise the profile of Cardiff.
He also said that visitors attracted by Doctor Who and Torchwood were finding that Cardiff had a lot more to offer for a short break.
BBC
16th February 2007
Doctor Who has now managed to spawn it’s own spin off in the form of Torchwood (it’s an anagram folks…). But those who expect family fare will find themselves quite surprised as the release of Torchwood Series 1, Volume 2 (BBC DVD) adequately demonstrates. The alien hunting team (from the lovely country of Wales) find themselves hunting cannibals in the thoroughly nasty ‘Countrycide’, getting involved with gratuitous lesbian antics in ‘Greeks Bearing Gifts’, getting slowly shot in the head in ‘They Keep Killing Suzie’ and finally being spied on by dead people in ‘Random Shows’. The running themes of the episodes are general swearing, shagging each other and trying to save the world. It’s all a lot of fun (and it’s great to see a stylish adult sci-fi show made in this country) but it does sometimes makes it hard for you to care for the characters. But those who like sci-fi will like this: though you may want to wait for the spiffy box set (full of extra features and commentaries) which will almost definitely be released later in the year.
Netribution
26th January 2007
Call to name St David's 2 'Torchwood'
It's a secret agency committed to fighting otherworldly threats - now there are calls for Cardiff's massive new shopping development to be named after it. Torchwood, the team that hunts aliens from its underground Cardiff Bay HQ in the BBC sci-fi drama, should lend its name to Cardiff's £650m St David's 2 development, according to one city councillor. Self-confessed sci-fi fan Councillor Richard Foley is calling for the massive shopping complex to be named Torchwood. The councillor, who represents Llanishen and Thornhill, is even raising the matter at the authority's next meeting. He said the development should have a name of its own to distinguish it from the city's existing St David's Centre. Coun Foley said: 'If it could be called Torchwood I think it would be amazing and a boost for tourism. The programme has showcased the city so well.'
Coun Foley will now press Cardiff council leader Rodney Berman for a statement on the possibility of renaming the development. And he insists there is a serious matter behind his question. 'I have been told that St David's 2 is a working title but we have still not had a debate on what the name should be, despite repeated requests from myself and other members.' However, it appears Coun Foley's name change plan could be dashed. City centre manager Paul Williams said he expected the new complex to be known as St David's 2.' People know St David's and it's vitally important we preserve the name and recognise that heritage, even in a 21st-Century development,' said Mr Williams.
Council leader Rodney Berman said: 'Torchwood is a great ambassador for the city and has helped to put 21st Century Cardiff on the map. On a personal level I have a lot of sympathy for the idea but the practicalities are not quite that simple.' The council does not have the right to the name of Torchwood. That rests with the BBC and the naming of the development rests with the developers.' A spokeswoman for the St David's Partnership said: 'St David's 2 is a brand name designed to differentiate it from the existing St David's Shopping Centre during construction.' The intention on completion in 2009 is for both centres to be known collectively as the St David's Shopping Centre.'
icWales
The Element Man
From Sapphire and Steel to his recent contribution to Torchwood, PJ Hammond has been responsible for some of the spookiest shows on television. In this exclusive interview, he tells Rod Edgar his highest weekend body count and more.
PJ Hammond is one of Britain’s finest TV fantasy writers, but he has been largely absent from the genre since his strange, unsettling series Sapphire and Steel reached its memorable conclusion in the early 80s.
Now he is making a comeback, however, with an episode of Torchwood already under his belt (Small Worlds), and another on the way for series two.
“I was very pleased with Small Worlds,” he says of his first foray into the Doctor Who spin-off. “I don’t usually watch things again, but I watched all three transmissions because I was just so pleased with the production.
“It was a good crowd to work with, too. It’s taken a while because the show has to find itself. So, at the very beginning, none of the writers really knew what they were writing. We didn’t know the shape – so it was a lot of work – but it was worth it.”
[snip]
As for Torchwood, Hammond is reluctant to give away his ideas for series two. “If I talk about them now I’ll probably lose interest. But I think they want me to keep to the supernatural. They probably think it’s my bag.”
Dreamwatch
15th January 2007
Torchwood/Doctor Who Convention, Holiday Inn Birmingham, July 21/22 2007
Gareth David-Lloyd and Gareth Thomas listed as guests!
Bad Wolf
30th December 2006
OUT NOW!
DVD Vol 1 (eps 1-5)
Volume 2 due 26th February 2007; Volume 3 due 26th March 2007
BOOKS - Another Life; Border Princes; Slow Decay
Audio versions due April 2007
26th December 2006
Out 22nd March 2007
Inside the Hub: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Torchwood by Stephen James Walker
Torchwood. Protecting the Earth against alien threats in the 21st Century – the time when everything changes.
Created by Russell T Davies and starring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Burn Gorman as Owen Harper, Naoko Mori as Toshiko Sato and Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones, Torchwood is dark and gritty, rain soaked and blood drenched, sexy and thrilling. Its first season covered subjects as diverse as a sex-addicted alien mist, a powerful Cyberwoman, a telepathy-inducing pendant, an invisible man and alien Weevils.
In this, the first factual book to be published on the series, noted TV historian Stephen James Walker charts the story of Torchwood, complete with character profiles, cast and production team information, behind-the-scenes details and a comprehensive guide to each of the 13 episodes, looking at the key elements and the many links to Doctor Who that permeate the show.
Inside the Hub is every fan's one-stop guide to the secret world of Torchwood.
250pp approx. A5 paperback book. ISBN 978-1-84583-013-7 (pb) £12.99 Telos Publishing
Saturday 16th December 2006
...the award for the Year's Most Jarring Show goes to the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, which somehow managed to feel like both a multi-coloured children's show and a heaving sex-and-gore bodice-ripper at the same time. The constant clash of mutually-incongruous tones meant watching it felt like stumbling across a hitherto secret episode of Postman Pat in which Pat runs down 15 villagers while masturbating at the wheel of his van. Interesting, but possibly aimed at madmen.
Charlie Brooker, The Guardian *rolls eyes*
Tuesday 12th December 2006
Torchwood to return for second series
BBC Three's Torchwood is back for a second series but this time it will premiere exclusively on BBC Two as confirmed by Jane Tranter, Controller of BBC Fiction, and BBC Two Controller Roly Keating.
Starring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd, Torchwood has captivated audiences and smashed records.
It attracted an audience of 2.4 million viewers for the broadcast of its first two episodes - securing the highest-ever audiences for a BBC Three programme and the highest-ever ratings for a non-sport programme to air across all channels in digital history.
Created by award-winning writer Russell T Davies, with Chris Chibnall as co-producer and lead writer, the high-octane sci-fi thriller follows a team of modern day investigators as they use alien technology to solve crime, both alien and human.
Set in Cardiff, Torchwood delves into the unknown - battling against the impossible in the highly volatile underworld of savage aliens and monsters whilst trying to maintain their every day lives.
Roly Keating said: "Inventive, intelligent and unpredictable, Torchwood is a brilliant piece of 21st century fantasy drama. I'm delighted that its second series will be premiering on the channel."
Julian Bellamy, Controller of BBC Three, said: "Breaking all records on BBC Three is no mean feat and we've been proud to help build Torchwood into one of the most talked-about and eagerly-anticipated series of recent years."
Jane Tranter said: "Torchwood is a modern and innovative drama that has truly captured the imagination of its audience, and we are very excited that there will be more of the adrenaline-fuelled, action-packed adventures of our team of Torchwood heroes."
Russell T Davies said: "The whole team is bristling with ideas and we are delighted that Cardiff is going to be home to more monsters and mayhem."
Torchwood will be executive produced by Julie Gardner and Russell T Davies.
Filming is due to start in Cardiff in Spring 2007 and the series will hit screens later next year.
The remaining four episodes in the current series will continue to transmit on Sundays at 10pm on BBC Three and Wednesday nights at 9pm.
BBC Press Office
Torchwood has been commission for a second series, the BBC has confirmed.
The Dr Who spin-off, which stars JOHN BARROWMAN as Captain Jack Harkness, has been a huge hit for BBC3, with the most recent episode beating Sky One’s Lost in the ratings. Creator Russell T Davies is delighted about the recommission, saying, “The whole team is bristling with ideas and we are delighted that Cardiff is going to be home to more monsters and mayhem.”
All the original cast, including John, EVE MYLES, BURN GORMAN, NOAKO MORI and GARETH DAVID-LLOYD, will be returning. But this time the show will air exclusively on BBC2. And that’s good new for the cast, because they will earn a lot more dosh. An insider on another BBC3 show, which was then later aired on BBC2, revealed that when a show is officially a BBC3 production, the actors get paid a fraction of what they’d get for a BBC1 or BBC2 show.
Filming starts in Cardiff next Spring. And there’s good news for John Barrowman fans. He’ll be returning as Captain Jack in the new series of Dr Who, which starts on BBC1 early next year. But you’ll have to wait until the season finale to see him.
Showbiz Vixen
Monday 11th December 2006
BBC channels fight to show Torchwood - Dec 11 2006
Lauren Turner, South Wales Echo
Rival bbc channels are fighting for the chance to screen a second series of Cardiff-based sci-fi hit Torchwood.
It has not been officially confirmed that a second series of the Doctor Who spin-off will be commissioned. But the team behind the city-set show, starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles, is already working on scripts for the next series at BBC Wales' Llandaff headquarters.
And both BBC Two and BBC Three are fighting for the right to screen it first - with writer Russell T Davies pushing for a slot on BBC One.
At the moment the 45-minute episodes are screened several times a week, first on digital channel BBC Three on Sunday nights and second on the mainstream BBC Two. The result has been a viewing-figures bonanza for the broadcaster with up to 4m people watching it every week over the different showings.
But insiders at the BBC say that the mainstream BBC Two has been so impressed with the drama and its stunning Cardiff backdrop that the channel is fighting for the chance to screen it first.
An insider told the Echo: 'Nothing's been confirmed but the big question is not if it will be re-commissioned, but which channel is going to screen it.'
In a year when several original dramas have flopped, including Channel 4's Goldplated and the BBC's Innocence Project, Torchwood is one of the few new shows to have beaten expectations.
The news is set to delight star John Barrowman who has settled in Cardiff with his partner and will tie the knot with him in a civil partnership ceremony on December 27.
icWales
Torchwood Leaves Lost Behind
BBC3's Torchwood pulled ahead of Sky One's Lost in the big multichannel ratings battle last night.
Torchwood was watched by 971,000 viewers on BBC3 from 10pm, up slightly from last Sunday's 958,000, according to unofficial overnights.
Sky One's Lost premiere slipped below 1 million viewers for the first time this series, attracting 863,000 viewers last night in the 10pm hour.
Media Guardian
November 25th 2006
THE director general of the BBC believes Wales has set a benchmark for the other regions to aspire to with its popular series of Doctor Who and Torchwood.
Mark Thompson said the BBC Wales-produced dramas were a fine example of the "sexy and modern" programmes the regional offices should be making for the network.
Doctor Who, penned by Swansea writer Russell T Davies, is soon returning to BBC1 for a third series and has won a clutch of awards.
A spin-off show Torchwood (an anagram of "Doctor Who") pulled in more than two million viewers when it made its debut on BBC3 last month.
Mr Thompson believes both series will run and run.
"Menna Richards (BBC Wales Controller) and her team here in Wales are flying at the moment," said Mr Thompson who visited Broadcasting House in Cardiff yesterday.
"I'm sure we will be seeing more series of both Doctor Who and Torchwood."
"There's a lot of admiration and a bit of jealousy elsewhere in the BBC because of the success here."
Mr Thompson said there had been a debate for many years about whether a Wales-produced drama could be a success if it was screened nationwide.
He believes that with its stunning aerial shots of Cardiff and its fast-paced scenes, Torchwood, starring John Barrowman and Welsh actress Eve Myles, is the perfect solution.
"We wondered whether Wales could be portrayed as modern and forward-looking and Torchwood is the answer. It's obviously Welsh and it's sexy, modern and fantastic."
icWales