The Rumour Mill

A forum member on Outpost Gallifrey claims to have some important news on Torchwood. The person has no specific source, or no real proof of what he's saying, so I suggest that readers take his 'news' with a pince of salt:

BEWARE POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!!

SARAH-JANE SMITH - FRIEND OF TORCHWOOD?

+ The episode Flotsam and Jetsam (dreadful title!) contains two gangland leaders who are infact aliens from the 51st Century. Jack has had previous dealings with the pair during his days as a time agent.

+ Episode two is apparently titled "Dark Revelations" and features Gwen's boyfriend, who is seemingly taken over by a great evil.

+ Sarah-Jane Smith stars in a number of episodes, as a reaccuring character. This story at least has a little truth in it. In a recent interview, Elisabeth Sladen revealled that plans are afoot for Sarah's return...but then she went on to comment that it wouldn't be a return to Doctor Who. Go Sarah-Jane!

I doubt any of these rumours will come to fruitition, but if they do, remember where you heard the news first! Until next time guys...

Enroll now in the Torchwood School

Another saturday night . . . another Torchwood reference. Advanced reviews say we will get another tease in School Reunion. We already got a quick reference in the Tardisode featuring Noel Clarke that goes with this episode. Once the episode airs, feel free to post what was revealed about our favorite Institute in the comments below.

Source: screencap from the School Reunion Tardisode

In other news, way back when this page started I got myself in a bit of hot water with my then 12 readers for dissing panto. Well six months later I have the opportunity to piss off our now hundreds of daily readers by again being less than enthusiastic about panto. But I must have mellowed a bit since then as I won't be doing that this time around. I'm just here to let panto fans know they should book their tickets now. During the festive season 2006 they can catch John Barrowman live in Cardiff.

So during the day JB will be Captain Jack filming for season 29 of WHO and during the evenings he will put on the tights and play Jack Trot of Beanstalk fame. If you aren't patient enough to wait until December for your panto, you're in luck! That same theatre in Cardiff is putting on the panto version of The Vagina Monologues in a few weeks.

It's a small world after all

The latest Dreamwatch Magazine has an article on Torchwood. They reveal that P.J. Hammond has written the third episode of the series which will be called Small Worlds. There was also some spoiler news about the episode included but I'm in a really bad mood this week so won't be giving that away.

OK fine you win, it's in the comments.

The Fantastic Four

Isn't it nice to finally get the complete picture? (well, near-complete I imagine) To any aliens out there who may be reading this, if you have plans to cause havoc on our planet, remember these faces.

The Earth is defended!

Meet Owen Harper and Doctor Toshiko Sato!

Some breaking news direct from the BBC Doctor Who site. At long long last the final two lead members of Torchwood have been announced. Joining John Barrowman (Captain Jack) and Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper) within the Torchwood Institute are - drumrolls please! - Burn Gorman and Naoko Mori.

Burn's casting was 'unoffically' announced a few weeks ago, though we had no idea of the character he was playing, or the significance of this role. Now it appears burn will be playing one of the four main leads, Owen Harper, Torchwood's resident medic. Burn was recently seen in both Bleak House and Layer Cake.

Source: http://www.stakesandstones.co.uk/

Meanwhile it's been confirmed that Naoko Mori will reprise her role of Doctor Sato, from Doctor Who Series One episode "Aliens of London". The scientist was seen there disecting a 'space-pig', and it's interesting to note that her scenes were Christopher Eccleston's first scenes as the Doctor recorded on screen! Already the woman's gone down in the Doctor Who history books.

With two men, and two women, it would seem that the Torchwood team is now complete. Well, except for that 'mysterious leader' Russell T Davies is so keen to tease us about. Anyway, filming is confirmed as "Starting next month" so that's the closest confirmation we've had of a May filming date for Torchwood.

More news as we get it folks...

So, Fancy A Stay At Torchwood House?

Just a quick update:
To coincide with Tooth and Claw, the BBC have made their first Torchwood themed spin-off website. It's viewable here http://www.visittorchwood.co.uk/. Naturally it has a few neat surprises and 'hidden features' in it, but to be quite frank, I haven't worked them out myself yet! (Password for the Observatory is in the comments)

Anyway, BBC, more please!

Her Royal Majesty's Torchwood

Those who haven't seen Tooth and Claw yet, you may want to run along and avoid this post.

Source:Wikipedia.org

As previously reported, tonight's episode took part mostly in a castle called Torchwood House in Scotland. At the end of the adventure Queen Victoria announced the foundation of the Torchwood organization. She said they will act as investigators of extra-terrestrial phenomonen and other threats outside the norm. They will also monitor for a return of the Doctor.

This appears to be where we find the distinction between UNIT and Torchwood, the former works within the United Nations framework, the latter is funded and directed by the House of Windsor.

Also, according to IMDB but denied by everybody else, John Barrowman will be appearing in the last two episodes of WHO this season. The two-part season finale will supposedly have story elements that lead right into Torchwood so we might not have to wait until October to see Captain Jack again afterall.

Torchisodes Coming

Well it's a better name than Tardisode anyway. According to somebody in the OG forums, Torchwood will get the same treatment as Doctor Who with minute-long weekly previews that you can watch on the web or on your cell phone as the show airs. They will also be wrtten by Gareth Roberts. This has not yet been confirmed by anybody else.

Source: http://doctorwho.time-and-space.co.uk

Don't miss WHO tomorrow night for lots of clues on the origins of Torchwood in the new episode Tooth and Claw. (As if anybody bothering to read this page would normally be watching snooker saturday nights) It's bound to be an improvement on New Earth, after all you can't go wrong when you put Queen Victoria together with a werewolf and flying Shaolin warriors. Throw in her servant John Brown and you have a classic.

Torchwood - Six Months On

Yes, we've reached our first milestone here at Torchwood.TV, for it was six months ago today that Torchwood was first announced on the BBC website, and therefore, six months since the birth of this very website. We've come a long way since our first post last October, and today - just days away from the filming - would be an ideal time to look back on the past half dozen months, and to take in exactly what we've learnt so far...

TORCHWOOD - WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
A spin-off from the popular Doctor Who series starring David Tennant and Billie Piper. In it, a former companion of the Doctor's, Captain Jack Harkness, travels back in time from the year 200,100 to Cardiff in the year 2006, where he heads up an ultra secret organisation called Torchwood, who hunt for aliens and their technology all across the globe. Torchwood was founded in 1879, after Queen Victoria had a nasty incident with a werewolf in Balmoral. Soon Jack has teamed up with Gwen, a modern day police officer who uncovers the Torchwood secret. Jack and Gwen lead the Torchwood investigation, and what they discover is yet to be seen...

STORY ARCS
Jack Harkness will lead the Torchwood team. Russell T Davies has promised that we'll learn more of Jack's mysterious past. Like Doctor Who season one we'll no doubt see events through Gwen's eyes, and see how she responds to working with soldiers and battling aliens. Apparently Jack's boss has a lot to do with the arc too...And could a romance be in the air for Jack and Gwen?

THE BBC - THE HOME OF TORCHWOOD

BROADCAST
The series will broadcast on BBC Three in October, and at the minute, it appears that it will transfere to BBC One the following week. And Canadian fans should look out for the series too. It's a co-production between the BBC and the CBC, and so, the series is likely to debut on the network in 2007.

CAST
John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness)
Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper)
Burn Gorman (Unknown Role)

WRITERS
Russell T Davies (Two episodes, including Flotsam and Jetsam)
Chris Chibnall (At least Four episodes, including episode two)
P J Hammond
Helen Raynor
Toby Whithouse
Si Spencer
Noel Clarke

DIRECTORS
Brian Kelly

FILMING (AND REHEARSALS)
Rehearsals begin this week in Cardiff, with filming slated to begin on May 1st. Filming takes place at Roald Dahl Plass at the beginning of May, and a press release is expected to mark the birth of Torchwood.

MERCHANDISE
Already confirmed is a Captain Jack action figure. No image is currently available, but Character Options will no doubt release an image of the doll in the coming weeks.
The BBC have also registered the web domain www.torchwood.org.uk. This is likely to be of a similar vain to Mickey Smith's site, and should be running by the end of the second season of Doctor Who.

CROSSOVERS
It's been confirmed by Russell T Davies that there will be no crossovers between Doctor Who and Torchwood.

The Music Man

Barrowman Online user Fitch has recently created a rather exciting mock theme tune for Torchwood. Keeping with the anagram theme of Torchwood (re-arrange the letters and you get the name of the parent show Doctor Who) Fitch has used the existing Doctor Who theme, and put his own unique twist on the sounds to create his Torchwood theme.

You can listen to the theme tune here: www.mediatypes.freeserve.co.uk/TorchwoodDemo.mp3

As ever, I have to stess that this isn't the real theme tune. When Torchwood eventually airs in October, it'll use a theme tune no doubt written by Murray Gold. Still, it doesn't make Fitch's music any less impressive. Post your comments about the theme here, and I'll e-mail a selection of them to Fitch to read.

Captain Jack and the Chocolate Factory

The South Wales Echo revealed today that the shooting location for The Hub (Torchwood HQ) is located underneath Roald Daal Plass in Cardiff Bay. Rehearsals for the spinoff are beginning this week, the first day of filming still appears to be May 1st. This spot is also known as the Oval Basin and is where the TARDIS parked on the rift in Boom Town.

Scan thanks to Chronologix, of the OG forums

I'm sure if they know what's good for them they will be keeping all gawkers far from the excitement, but we always welcome first hand reports here at Torchwood.TV. So if you happen to be enjoying a nice romantic walk on the bay and see a Sycorax strolling towards you be sure and let us know.

Let the feast begin

We made it through the long cold winter. We are just an hour away now from the premier of New Earth and a few days off from filming on Torchwood. It's good to see we are getting more and more people stopping by and showing interest in the spinoff. You will need quite a sharp eye to spot all the Torchwood clues sprinkled throughout season 28 of WHO.

However we have already seen that the TV shows are not the only place we should be hunting. The first book in the Tenth Doctor Adventures series The Feast of the Drowned was released this week and it has a brief Torchwood reference. In the novel, the Institute is mentioned by a US naval officer. Interesting that the military forces of the USA are also aware of Torchwood's existance, even though like the British PM they are not supposed to know about them.

So enjoy the new season of WHO and don't blink, you might just miss some clue that reveals where Jack has a tattoo!

The First Sighting?!?

Here's a photo from BBC 3's recent Doctor Who Confidential special. Notice the army officer in the background. They're wearing a cap without the usual (for Doctor Who anyway) UNIT logo on it. Mysteriously it also has a letter T on top. Could this be a Torchwood soldier? Is this our first sighting of a Torchwood operative? I guess we'll find out when that particular episode, Army of Ghosts/Doomsday airs in July. Anyway, lets hear your theories...

http://art.gmaskew.com/acemel/1/5_5.jpg

A 51st Century Guy

I was lucky enough to see a three minute preview of Doctor Who season two last night on BBCi, and stumbled across some interesting findings along the way...

A 51ST CENTURY SPACESHIP

In the episode 'The Girl in the Fireplace' the Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey meet Madame Du Pompadour, the King of France's mistress, who's being stalked by beings from the 51st Century. The beings want Pompadour for some (yet) unknown reasons. They send killer clockwork androids to hunt her down...and that's where the trouble begins.

Anyway, what's interesting is the fact that this ship is from the 51st century. It's established throughout series one that Jack Harkness is a '51st Century kind of guy'. We know that Jack does not appear in season two, but does this ship have something to do with him still? Is it part of the Agency that Jack worked for during his two missing years? Is it an old friend of Jack's that we've never met before? And does it in anyway tie in with Jack's future on Torchwood? We'll see.

The episode in question, The Girl In The Fireplace, airs at 7PM on BBC 1 May 6th. Don't dare miss it. I have a feeling another piece of the jigsaw will soon fit into place...

Hit The Road Jack...

Today was John Barrowman's final day on This Morning, but ever the showman, John left with one hell of a bang. After over-long articles on Coronation Street (apparently Mike Baldwin is dead - does anybody care?!?), John and Fern talked television gossip with pundit Paul Ross. And Paul managed to tease some Torchwood information out of John. Here's one big yay for Paul Ross!

After Tuesday's edition of "This Morning" John travelled to Cardiff to see the Torchwood sets. He seems very impressed with what he saw. The concept drawings for these sets can be found here. Anyway, John then went on to reveal that filming doesn't begin in May like we all thought...but NEXT WEEK!!! My friend within the BBC was right when he gave us that April information last month. All in all, it means torchwood.tv was the first internet site to give this information to its readers. Check us out! Last but not least, John revealled one final secret, but beware, your head may explode out of pure excitement after you've read it...

Captain Jack is going to be driving his own Scooby Doo styled van in Torchwood. Described by John as "massive", Jack will drive the vechile (think Dead Reckoning from that Land of the Dead film) around the country. John goes on to advise viewers to keep their eyes peeled, because he may pass them on the road inside the van! Imagine driving home from work and finding a 51st Century guy parked next to you...! No pictures are currently available, but with filming due to start next week, it can only be a matter of time before an official BBC press release. Failing that, it can't be long before some tabloid newspaper creeps on set to capture the return of Captain Jack.

Here's hoping at least!

He Loves Me...He Loves Me Not

Sci-fi Wire posted this interesting Torchwood/Doctor Who interview yesturday. It's quite funny reading RTD's views on the forthcoming Torchwood production, but somehow I think the writers of the article have taken Russell's comments out of context:

RUSSELL - HE DOES LOVE US. SO THERE.

"It's actually not as busy as you think. American series run for 22, 23 or 24 episodes a year, and we've only got 13 episodes a season. So it's really no heavier than an American workload, and you all seem to survive! Unfortunately, I have a suspicion that your executives are chauffeur limo-ed from meeting to meeting, whereas I have to get the bus. But there are a lot of systems in place, and there's a huge team here. So we've spent a long time setting up Torchwood, to make sure that both shows can run simultaneously. Torchwood is a bit more of a formula show than Doctor Who. It's more capable of running itself. We must always remember that Doctor Who is the parent show and is the show that gets the 44 percent share of the audience [in the United Kingdom], so that's the show that I will always be looking after. That's where my heart is as well. Despite the fact that I created Torchwood, Doctor Who needs constant love and attention." The first season of Doctor Who airs on SCI FI in the United States on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Make what you will of this interview. Personally I think he's simply been taken 100% out of context. Of course he loves Torchwood. Who wouldn't. It has the promise of being a fantastic show. As we all know.

This Morning The TARDIS Arrived...

The big day finally came today: John Barrowman interviewed David Tennant on This Morning, the first major meeting (bar a quick run in during John's Pantomine last year) between the two stars. Sadly, Billie Piper was a no-show (she's ill apparently - get well soon!). Her absense wasn't too noticable though - thanks mostly to one John Barrowman, as ever, being on top form.

DFOCTOR WHO RETURNS - ALAS, WITHOUT CAPTAIN JACK

Tennant came with an added beard, and he talked about two specific topics : New Earth's broadcast (Saturday, 7:15 PM, BBC One folks!), as well as the return of Sarah-Jane Smith and K9 in episode three "School Reunion". John desperately tried to extract more information from his future co-star, but all his attempts were futile. It was a great moment when John chatted to David about his return in series three, because he doesn't half sound excited by the idea! It's claer that John's missing the Doctor Who fold - so he should be counting down the days to May just like all of us then!

Anyway, today's hot news is that John recently went to a modeling session for Character Options. Yes, that's right folks, the Captain Jack action figure is coming out in June, as John 'exclusively' revealled today. Whether or not this will be a Doctor Who series one or Torchwood series one figure remains to be seen. But one thing's for sure - Captain Jack's back. At long, long last.

Hub Captain!

DWM recently spoke to Torchwood producer Richard Stokes to find out all the latest news from the series. The interview is re-printed in full here (with many thanks going to the DWM team)...

QUATERMASS - A GREAT INFLUENCE ON STOKES, AS YOU'LL SEE

Congratulations on your new job, Richard! How does it feel to be starting work on the first full Doctor Who spin-off series?
Thank you. To be honest it's a bit of a dream gig. I've been attached to the show now for a few weeks, and I still can't quite believe it's happening. Long night shoots will soon bring me back down to Earth though, I'm sure.

We already know that Torchwood will have its own very seperate identity away from Doctor Who. Without giving too much away - of course! - how would you describe the tone and feel of the series?
It's much darker - both in tone and in look. I'm discussing style with directors, the design team, Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner all the time and we keep talking about a noir style, lots of shadows. Doctor Who famously sends the kids round the back of the sofa; I went the grown-ups there too. The tradition of horror films - from Wes Craven to M Night Shyamalan - has filtered through to American television for many years and we should do a bit more of that here. People like being scared and a bit unsettled. Its themes are more adult - which is not about lots of swearing and gratuitous violence - it's about exploring more adult themes and sides of humanity you may not want your kids to watch. That's not to say we don't have a laugh on the way. Both Russell and our other lead writer - Chris Chibnall - have filled their scripts with great humour.

Despite the different audience demographic, would you say that Torchwood has any similarities with Doctor Who, beyond the character of Jack himself?
The Doctor Who team has injected an iconic series with great heart and compassion and that will certainly be the same - everyone on this show wants nothing short of the very best. Like all the most memorable shows in this genre it's about us; who we are and what we're doing to ourselves and each other. Doctor Who taps into a yearning for adventure in all of us and Torchwood will, similarly, touch on universal truths in the human condition.

Doctor Who fans are, of course, already familiar with John Barrowman's character, Captain Jack, from his episodes last year. What did you make of Jack in Doctor Who, and how are you looking forward to bringing him to Torchwood?
I thought he was a fantastic character - great fun and very charismatic. He was very deliberately there to mix up the relationship between the Doctor and Rose, whereas in this series he is the heroic lead and that requires some subtle changes.

Will your job be similar to Phil Collinson's? What sort of duties do you have on a day to day basis?
Yes - very similar. Producing is about plate-spinning; making sure nothing falls and breaks during the whole process. Day to day can be very different and that's part of the joy of the job but I have an overview on everything from scripts to directors to crew to cast to design to budget to sheduling and making sure everything is delivered to the channel for the money, on time and to the high standard everyone wants and expects. And then making sure all the different departments know what's going on so that when cameras start rolling everyone is making the same show.

If this first series of Torchwood is a success, is it hoped there may be a second? Or is this planned as a self-contained series of 13 episodes?
Hopefully - if all goes to plan and the audience enjoy it - there will be more.

As a former producer of Eastenders and Holby City, how do you think producing a sci-fi drama series will compare with the soaps?
It's all about storytelling. We all look for characters with whom we can emphathise as heroes or hate as villains and it's the combination of these things in a great story which made good drama. And that's true of anything, whether it's setin Albert Square or Andromeda.

Thanks to shows like Doctor Who and Life On Mars, it seems that the BBC is looking at more fantasy drama. What do you think about this recent interest in this sort of television? Are you a fan yourself - and if so, what sort of shows have influenced you?
It's about time. We were the best at this genre in the 1950's and 60's with Quatermass, Hammer productions and the original Doctor Who and the whole thing got hijacked by America doing it very well - and with a lot more money - and TV execsin this country thinking the genre was for kids. I am a fan - I was the perfect age when Star Wars came out to completely fall for it but writers like Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel and Firefly), J.J Abrams (Alias and Lost) and Chris Carter (The X-Files) have shown how these shows can appeal to an intelligent, adult audience. It's exciting...it feels like a genuine renaissance and to be part of that is incredibly exciting.

Finally, do you have any specific aims and ambitions for Torchwood as you enter production?
To be honest - my ambition is not to fall short of Russell's vision of the show. He generates a creative atmosphere which just makes everyone want to do their best. It's infectious and great fun. I don't want to let him down, but equally I want to make a series that fans talk about and which brings in a new audience that feels the show has something to say...so no pressure then!

Nobody Can Wear An Elvis Outfit Like John Barrowman

Day two of John's stint on 'This Morning' opened with a rather comical sketch involving John dressed in an Elvis costume (complete with a g-string we're told), similiar to the one he wore during his Dancing On Ice routine. The reason? His old friend from the show, Stefan Booth was poping in to chat with John and Fern.

JOHN BARROWMAN - AS ELVIS AS YOU CAN GET?!?

Stefan talked about his recent visit to Kenya, on behalf of World Aid. Raising some valid points about the state of Africia, Stefan seemed glad to be back with John - here's hoping for another reunion soon enough on Torchwood!

Now, John may come across on screen as an intergalatic rogue, but the secret's out: in real life he appears to be a fashion expert. When he and Fern introduced an item on this spring's hot fashion John seemed to know more on the topic than This Morning's own fashion expert. Who needs a Costume Designer on Torchwood when they've already got John. Perhaps he has his own defabricator at home too...

One particular highlight was the guest Gail Porter, talking about ghosts and strange goings on in her "documentary" series Dead Famous (a subject matter that John himself will soon be very familiar with...). Anyhoo, during the discussion, Fern referenced ghosts possessing humans, and I quote, Gail's responce was "Was he partially entered from the front or the behind?". Of course John, Captain of The Innuendo Squad, leaped on this comment and for the next fifteen minutes was in a fit of hysterics. And you know what, I'm betting millions of viewers were too.

Oh, and round two of the Tom Cruise discussion arose today. After previewing a clip from the forth coming Scary Movie 4, where a character mimics Cruise's Oprah Winfrey stunt, John decided it best to jump on the studios chairs in his own special tribute to Cruise. As soon as screencaps become available, I'll post them here. I promise you, I was in a fit of laughter. This man is a genius!

Anyway, tomorrow's guests are none other than David Tennant and Billie Piper. The interview will mark the first time that John, David and Billie have all sat together as a team. The interview will be aired around 11 o'clock, but the programme begins at 10:30. You can't afford to miss it. I have a feeling that come series three of Doctor Who we'll be seeing a lot more of this trio. Forget "School Reunion". Tomorrow's going to be a rather cool reunion.

Torchwood 2D

Here at last is a full gallery of images from last night's Doctor Who Confidential:

Thanks to our friends at http://torchwood.time-and-space.co.uk/ the screencaps can be seen in full. Thanks a lot guys. I owe you one!

A Very Bleak House

The first major casting news for Torchwood aside from Eve Myles and John Barrowman has today been announced. Starring along side John and Eve will be Burn Gorman in an un-named role. The casting was revealled in an article within the British newspaper "The Independent". It can be read online here.

BURN IN 2005'S "BLEAK HOUSE" ADAPTION ON BBC ONE

Burn starred along side Gillian Anderson in last year's adaption of Charles Dicken's Bleak House, a series nominated for four BAFTA awards. In 2004 the actor starred along new James Bond Daniel Craig in Layer Cake. He's appeared with a fair few of Britain's best talent then! It's unclear what role he'll play, whether he's simply a guest star, or one of the other two mysterious (as yet uncast) Torchwood members. Fingers crossed it's the latter.

In other news SFX Magazine want to hear from you. They want to hear the views of readers regarding future Doctor Who spin-offs. Would you like to see a second K9 And Company? How about the Adventures of Mickey Smith? What about a series starring everyones favorite, Adric (God no!!!). E-mail SFX at sfx@futurenet.co.uk and your comments could very well be published in a future edition of SFX Magazine. But hurry, you only have until 1st May!

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who's The Most Tom Cruise Of Them All?

Whoa. I just sat through two and a half hours of day time television, and I feel as though my head is about to implode. But it was worth it. Because it was also two and a half hours of non-stop John Barrowman...

JOHN DURING DAY ONE

So, aside from the odd fluffing of lines (which we'll forgive him for) , John did a good job today, forfilling Phillip Schofield's shoes rather nicely. Anyway, here's a quick rundown of the highlight's:

+The cosmic order, which John clearly doesn't believe in!!!

+Prince William is a Chav!

+A guest compared John to Tom Cruise, commenting on how much they look alike! Well, girls, post your reactions here...

+John interviewed former Partridge Family favorite Danny Bonaduce, talking about the star's recent breakdown, and also commenting on how fickle he thinks modern Hollywood is. Go John!

+John also seems to have a fetish for young girls getting naked together, and helping one another to rub self-tan into each other. Cheeky devil. Only Jack Harkness could get away with saying that on National television!

+Finally, John helped resident chef Aldo cook ravioli in a chef face-off with Gino, but alas, Aldo lost to his competition.

Anyway, we've another three days of this madness to go. If my head hasn't exploded by the end of the week, then it'll be a miracle. Honest.

Yours, Confidentially...

Yes, as a few of you have discussed on the comments section, earlier this evening, during a special episode of "Doctor Who Confidential" entitled One Year On, Torchwood was discussed in some detail, which I'll break down for you below:

BACKGROUND
According to RTD (who was interviewed about the show) Jack Harkness travels back in time, through the rift, to Cardiff, where he hopes the Doctor will one day return, in order to re-fuel the TARDIS (much like he did in Boom Town). It's here that Jack becomes head of the re-formed Torchwood, and as we know folks, that's where all the fun begins...

JULIE GARDNER
According to Gardner (Torchwood's executive producer) the show will be filmed in Cardiff, but set throughout Britain's cities. So yay! Here's hoping they visit Manchester (where I live!)

CONCEPT DRAWINGS
The designs for The Hub, and various other Torchwood locations were featured quite heavily throughout this broadcast. We also saw some builders actually assembling the set! As soon as any screen caps are released onto the net, you can be sure we'll post them here! And boy, will they be worth the wait!!!

UPDATE! Thanks to www.eyeofhorus.org.uk the concept drawing for the "Autopsy Area" is now here! It can be seen below:

http://www.eyeofhorus.org.uk/images/photo/10tennant/dr-who-night-dwc/torchwood-drawing1.jpg

Anyway, I better get typing away at that Richard Stokes (long overdue!) interview. Until tomorrow...

Torchwood and Claw

Below this screencap is something that I would consider a minor spoiler about the forthcoming season of Doctor Who, so skip it if you are among the faint of heart.

Source:http://www.gallifreyone.com

While it looks like there will be no clues on Torchwood in the first episode of season 28, advanced reports on the second episode, Tooth and Claw, reveal there will be a visit to the Institute by none other than Queen Victoria. What is of most interest to Woodies perhaps is that this seems to indicate that Torchwood was already in operation in the 19th century.

Reviews of the show which mention Torchwood can be found at Scotsman.com and The Daily Record. The second episode will air on BBC1 on April 22, so that gives us plenty of time to imagine up some exotique scenarios involving Captain Jack and Queen Victoria.

The Canadian branch of Torchwood

Perhaps needing something to warm them up in the great white north, the Canadians thought investing in a steamy scene between Jack and Gwen might just do the trick. Just like with Doctor Who, it was announced today that CBC will be a production partner on Torchwood.

Source:http://doctorwho.time-and-space.co.uk/

Series two of WHO, which starts on BBC1 on Saturday April 15th, will not air in Canada until the fall because of the coverage of some sport with a bunch of guys skating around with sticks. So I would assume that would also push back a Torchwood airing until the beginning of 2007 for our northern neighbors. Jeez, some of these backwards countries we have in the world just need to get their priorities straight.

Church Bulletin

Of course long time readers know I started this site so I could talk about Charlotte Church on a daily basis. Imagine my disappointment when RTD said back in November that she would not be in Torchwood! Well just as I was about to get over it, the news from Wales on Sunday comes out today that "he would love her" to be in WHO or Torchwood and that as far as a cameo or small role is concerned, the ball is in her court.

Source: http://www.cardiffmardigras.co.uk

However there is bad news for all you Jordan fans out there, Russell says he will definitely not be letting her anywhere near The Hub as the tabloids had reported back in December. Plus RTD said that for those of you who had been already lining up at your local cineplex in hope of a WHO movie, it's going to be a very long wait.

In another article released yesterday, (April Fool's Day) I learned that WHO is coming here to my neck of the woods, the Seattle area! According to this report Bill Gates will be out on Lake Washington in an episode and abducted by aliens. A clever article, but quite obviously a put-on. Of course we all know, if Gates were abducted, the Doctor and the other powers that be would say, "enjoy the trip."

Captain Jack covers up

John Barrowman has disappointed the legions of admirers of his bum by saying he will not be appearing naked in Torchwood! In an article published in Out Northwest magazine, a publication of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, he talked about the spinoff and everything else that has been happening in his life. The interview is available for download in a nice PDF format. Regarding Torchwood, JB said:

Jack’s still going to be outrageous, but you’re not going to see him naked or anything. It’s going to be very scary. Things are going to happen on screen, and you’re going to think, “How did they think of that?!?” It’s Cardiff based, but it’s set all around the UK. You might see me in Manchester, you might see me in other parts of the UK because... well, that’s all I can tell you! Seriously, it’s worth more than my life!

Near the end of the interview Barrowman does let it slip that right after his stint on This Morning which starts on the 10th, he might be involved with another show on the BBC, but he couldn't reveal the name.

Source: http://www.lgf.org.uk/

In the lengthy interview JB also fills us in more on the pilot he made for HGTV that we mentioned on the site a few weeks ago. This show for American cable TV will be called Keys to the Castle. It will be a lifestyles show that takes a glimpse into the lives of the residents of castles and stately homes in Scotland. If it is picked up the show will run about 13 episodes.

Oh and one last thing, John said that in his spare time, he will host a daily drivetime radio show, record another album, star in several feature films, and work on a cure for cancer.