The trailer is out there!

Reports are that the BBC3 autumn press release DVD which has already been distributed to some media includes a 90-second trailer for Torchwood. I haven't spied this online yet so we may just have to wait a month or so before it airs! (Don't hesitate to shout out if you see it somewhere)

According to an OG forum report (minor spoilers) the trailer has several scenes between Jack and Gwen, with Jack saying, "Torchwood is separate from the government, outside the police, beyond the United Nations." There is also a police official who makes reference to Jack failing to report for duty and dissapearing on January 21st, 1941. There are some shots set underground at the Hub, and one dramatic one featuring the Captain standing on top of a tower. The music and tone throughout have an X-files feel to them.

A trailer is worth a million words, so let's hope this is released soon so I won't have to type them.

I've just met a girl named Maria!

Sorry, the headline above concerns a different Maria and a different musical than in the new BBC reality show How do you solve a problem like Maria? (There are no nuns in West Side Story, that alone makes it a much better musical than The Sound of Music)

Screencap from last night's premier installment

The show featuring John Barrowman as one of the judges premiered last night, and as I'm no more an expert on West End musicals than I am on Ice Dancing, you will just have to go to the show's official site if you want updates on how the Maria hunt is going. It will only become the concern of Torchwood.TV if the Weevil gets loose and devours all of the potential Marias.

For the young at heart

In papers worldwide today you can find the headline, "BBC launches Doctor Who for young adults." When I first saw that I thought they were talking about K-9 Adventures but nope this is indeed a UPI story about Torchwood.

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

So far the blurb has been spotted in North Korea, India, Washington, Florida and the UK. No real news in this moonies-wire-service article for us long time Woodies, but I for one am glad to know that at 34 I'm still considered to be a young adult.

The Fall Flagship

The press release from BBC3 announcing their Autumn schedule is now out and a few scenes from Torchwood have been screened for all the right people (Which of course means not us) and there is no shortage of ink on the WHO spinoff this week.

In The Sun they give us a glimpse of one of the new monsters that the Institute will have to worry about. Click here, if you don't mind getting a sneak peek at a Weevil. OG has also posted 4 promotional shots released by the BBC.

The Telegraph reported,

Scenes unveiled by the BBC yesterday showed an edgy drama with a team that feels it is "separate from the government, beyond the police and outside of the United Nations."

There was also good coverage of Torchwood in Brand Republic, and The Stage. Most articles reiterated that this won't be a show for the kiddies. However, I'm not sure how you are going to persuade the young tykes to go to bed early, now that they have seen a Weevil!

Captain Workaholic

Since I put this job upon myself of closely looking at John Barrowman's schedule, I have become exausted myself just trying to figure out how he puts all the pieces together. In the middle of Torchwood production JB is somehow finding the time to be on a new reality show. And unlike Dancing on Ice, this time he gets to call the shots.

How do you solve a problem like Maria will premiere on BBC1 this coming Saturday evening. The winner of the 8-part Idol-type show will star in a West End revival of The Sound of Music this December as Maria, that o-so-feisty nun played by Julie Andrews in the film.

Source:http://www.mhtplay.com

Perhaps they are bringing prospective Marias out to the HUB so that JB can get a preview before the show. I'm sure they could do with a few nuns around the place. Sitting alongside JB on the judges panel Saturday night will be David Ian and Zoe Tyler. I wonder how tough a judge JB will be. I doubt Barrowman will take on the Simon Cowell role since he doesn't have the proper accent after all.

Greeks, Ghosts and New Girls!

This month's issue of Doctor Who Magazine is now on sale and includes a short news section on the development of Torchwood.

Episode two is entitled "New Girl" (and not "Dark Revelations" as previously noted). That particular episode formed part of recording block one with "Flotsam and Jetsam" - and filming on both episodes has now completed.

As the issue went to press, block two was also nearing completion. This block includes the episodes "The Ghost Machine" and "Greeks Bearing Gifts". Recently our friend Chula revealed the following information about the set of episodes (If you want to stay in the dark skip the rest of this post, but not everything has been revealed to protect the production team - we don't want all the good stuff leaking out before its time):

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

Ep 3, "Ghost Machine", sees our heroes come into possession of a device that can tap into the hidden energy left behind by strong emotions; the person holding the device sees the exact transaction that caused the energy to be imprinted, they not only see what went on but FEEL it too. This obviously has a lasting impression and we see certain members of Torchwood investigating the events they felt and witnessed to either gain some semblance of closure or in one case - revenge.

Ep 8, "Greeks Bearing Gifts", is definitely one for the lads. The guest star is Daniela Denby Ashe who starred in Eastenders and My family. She plays Mary, an incredibly sexy alien who seduces Toshiko so she can gain her trust and infiltrate Torchwood's secret base. She gives Tosh a pendant that enables Tosh to hear peoples thoughts. She uses her new gift to help people but soon finds that what people say and think are two different things.

Block three consists of two episodes, one written by Chris Chibnall (his second episode), and the other is by a new set of writers, Dan McCulloch and Paul Tomalin. This block is directed by "The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit" helmer James Strong. Chula had to say about these episodes in all his might:

Block Three is now being shot and are probably the best two so far, even I don't want to spoil it for your readers, as the explosive plots really make these episodes great. Suffice to say we see old friends return in both episodes - trust me, fans will go wild.

So, bets now who the "old friends" are...

Currently in pre-production is block four, confirmed as being directed by Alice Troughton (no relation apparently!). This production block finally sees PJ Hammond's "Small Worlds" (now a confirmed title!) go behind the camera, and sees the debut of new writer Cath Tregenna. With both a female director, plus a female writer, this should be a fully-female charged set of episodes, and everyone here at Torchwood.tv can't wait.

Because we all know girls have just as much fun as the boys.

Until next time (which for me won't be for another week, because I'm going on holiday!) cheerios and adios. Enjoy the summer sun...and remember, three months to go!

Makes a great gift!

If Amazon is to be believed, the first vanilla R2 Torchwood DVD will be released on November 26. They are already accepting pre-orders so let's hope there are no snags in the rest of the production. If this follows the pattern for WHO releases we can expect the premiere of Torchwood on Halloween as I forecasted in December.

Of course it wouldn't hurt if you clicked on the picture of the DVD above when you order it, so we can keep the lights on at Torchwood.TV. However, this first release won't have all the good extra features of the big box such as the secret footage from JB's dressing room, but perhaps if you order your DVD this early, Amazon will also throw in Shark Attack III for free.

Update: Amazon has now pulled this DVD as of July 25, so pre-orders are off for awhile I'm afraid.

The Hub Sweatshop

Another update for you from the inside, Don't worry, no spoilers or anything exciting like that.

Production has now passed the half-way mark, blocks 1 and 2 are finished and the cast and crew are now into block 3 of shooting. Well some of the crew, many only had 3-month contracts, so there was a big overhaul of the faces hanging around the Hub at the half-way mark.

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

The report is that block 2 was grueling for everybody and the crew are tired from the rigourous schedule. The cast looks to be giving their all as well, last week Naoko Muri sprained her ankle during shooting! Good news is, I'm told she's already back on her feet.

Burn Gorman might have it the roughest of all though, congratulations go out to him, because in the midst of the toughest part of production he became a father to a baby boy! That's no problem, he's tough enough to survive on a few hours of sleep a day. Keep up the good work Burn.

So whenever you are tempted to complain about your job, remember you probably get to go home after 8 hours, and don't forget those sweating for you in Cardiff so you can be entertained in three months time.

The Magic 200 - Have Your Say

Folks, we've reached another milestone here at Torchwood.tv - our 200th post! It doesn't seem like yesturday (well, it wasn't of course, it was October 18th 2005!) that we were sat here, i awe, as a new Doctor Who spin-off was announced. We had no idea what Torchwood was, how Jack Harkness fitted into it all, or who his side-kicks are.

Look how far we've come.

And the journey's not over yet. To celebrate our 200th posting, and to begin the final 3 month countdown until October finally arrives, we're giving you readers the chance to have your say.

Write your comments below, in the comments section, telling us exactly how you feel, and what you want from Torchwood. Remember, comments can be about anything (anything at all I tell ya!), so get typing!

There is a chance that Jack Harkness himself, Mister John Barrowman, could be sat at the Hub right now, reading what you've written - so get writing!

Oh, and happy 200th us!

A job for the plumber

Torchwood seems to be leak-free of late. The dripping faucet of news and gossip we were getting early on in production has been plugged up. I suppose I can't say that's a bad thing, but we're not even getting any coverage at all in any media that we can point you to these days. There was this brief report on OG last week, but other than that you wouldn't even know the show was a few months away from premiering.

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

Coverage, even if it is on the leaky side, will at least get some publicity for the new spinoff. Yes, I'm sure the Beeb has a calendar in hand with all the Torchwood promos all planned out, but I find it odd that it was easier for me to come up with posts about the show last October than it is now! Now that publicity for WHO Season 28 is finished, let's hope the team is hard at work on the "Jack's Back!" campaign. (or preferably something a bit more clever)

If they are doing their job there really is no reason why a silly blog like this should still be in the top 5 of a Google web search of a major TV show like Torchwood!

"Oh! Put the puppies back in!"

EXPECT TO SEE MORE OF THIS COME OCTOBER!

At last, you can read a full transcript of John's question time from this year's London Film and Comic Con here.

John talks about Eve Myles' breasts, Captain Jack's buttocks, and the possibility of having a potato head into Torchwood.

Happy reading!

The Battle of Torchwood

DALEKS .VS. CYBERMEN = DOOMSDAY

Doomsday is over, and its time for us survivors to take stock. Rose Tyler is no more, and as far as offical reports go, dead. Only the Doctor knows the truth. So, in October, when Captain Jack Harkness does indeed arrive at Torchwood Cardiff, he won't know any different. To him, his old friend Rose Tyler - as well as his boss and Torchwood London - is dead. The 'Rose Tyler in Torchwood' rumours end here folks.

As do the Captain Jack Christmas Special ones. Because, in this year's special ("The Runaway Bride") the Doctor fails to meet John Barrowman. Instead he meets one Catherine Tate. Only 170 days to go folks!

Also this evening, there failed to materialise any Torchwood previews, which is a real shame. But at least we can sit back and say at last, "October is only 13 weeks away!". 13 weeks? Enough time to re-watch the entire Torchwood-centric second season of Doctor Who, one episode a week. Get out the DVD's - it's time we celebrate before Torchwood is born!

In other, totally unrelated news, Behind the Sofa reveals some exciting news. This very week, two Torchwood faces go head-to-head, in the same style as Daleks and Cybermen. Who will you be watching on 12th July? Noel Clarke, or Eve Myles? The choice is yours...

In anticipation of the final 13 week (or so) countdown for Torchwood, I'm proud to announce an exciting new feature for torchwood.tv! Every single Saturday from here to October, I'll be opening Torchwood's secret files, to examine the organisation's hidden history in close detail. Come with me, back to 1879, and meet Queen Victoria. Learn Torchwood's involement with the Titanic's secret, and as October draws near, learn what really happened during the battle of Torchwood, when they say Bronze monsters faught with silver giants. Oh, and meet Captain Jack Harkness along the way, and see how he fits into proceedings...

"The Torchwood Archives" are opened for the very first time next Saturday evening, and make sure you're here, or run the risk on missing out! Remember though, the Archive is a work of fan fiction, and no way represents what the BBC Production Team are thinking! So back off lawyers!!!

"Because we are defended!"

A Christmas Without Jack?

Outpost Gallifrey reports today that filming on Doctor Who season three has begun, in secret. The episode currently being filmed is none other than this year's Christmas Special, directed by Euros Lyn, and starring David Tennant, without either Rose or Martha at his side.

But what about Jack?

Well, all the signs are currently pointing one way: Jack Harkness does not appear in this year's Christmas Special. Look at the evidence:

+The episode is filming in early July - Torchwood continues filming for at least another three months, and would they really film a month without John Barrowman?

+John's soon set to star in "Maria" - so he's already got very little free time on his hands!

+The production team have promised no crossovers. If Torchwood begins airing in late October like RTD has indicated, it won't end until mid-January 2007, meaning it'll still be on air when this year's Christmas Special does indeed air. If Jack appears in two shows at once = crossover.

+At the London Film and Comic Con, John himself indicated that he'll film his new Doctor Who episodes in October, after Torchwood. This is months after the Christmas Special is in the can!

My guess is John will appear in a mid-season two parter next series. But I hope he appears sooner, cois we all love the lovable rogue, don't we? Well, expect an offical confirmation sooner rather than later on the subject.

But don't fret about a lack of Jack in Doctor Who this Christmas - like I said earlier, more than likely Torchwood will still be airing over the festive season. Result!

Oh, and talking about Who, enjoy tonight's episode. I hear it's going to be a killer...

As Big As You Can Get

Firstly can I - just like Kurly did in his wonderful post below - welcome all new readers to torchwood.tv. I've been a little absent from these pages recently, due filming of a short film called "April 3rd", but with that over and done with now, I'm back full time - and it's time to catch up on everything that I've missed.

Welcome to the first Torchwood.tv Extraganza!

Last week's Doctor Who episode "Army of Ghost" rather famously featured Torchwood, up against two of The Doctor's greatest enemies - Daleks and Cybermen! The episode in question takes place in the London branch of Torchwood, which is (not literally of course!) a million miles away from what we can expect from the Cardiff branch this coming fall.

The episode's stars are not expected to appear in Torchwood the series...Which is a shame, because Tracy-Ann Oberman plays a bitch so well!

The ratings for "Army of Ghost" were 7.66 Million, so hopefully, a large chunk of this audience will feel motivated to watch Torchwood the series come this October. We have our fingers crossed!

Current rumours on the internet suggest a cameo appearence from John Barrowman in this week's season finale, "Doomsday", but it's a real small possibility - so don't go blaming me if he doesn't show up, and your hopes are dashed! Anyway, there's supposedly an advert for Torchwood at the end of Doctor Who, so keep your eyes peeled.

As Kurly has already pointed out, last weekend's Doctor Who Confidential was a Torchwood bonanza, featured behind the scenes clips and interviews, which included:

+ John Barrowman seeing The Hub set for the first time (it's located under the Millenium Fountain in Cardiff city centre fact fans!). Captain Jack has his own office in the series - which seems to be the biggest office of the lot!

+We saw Eve Myles rehearse and film a scene where she entered Torchwood for the first time, disguised as a pizza woman!

+The first cast readthrough was shown (and some lines of dialogue were uttered too!). One important thing happened during these scenes. My girlfriend fell in love with Burn Gorman as he introduced himself to his fellow cast and crew. She describes him as 'utterly digestable'! So Burn, if you're reading, take note: I'm dating a cannibalistic girl who's after YOU!

Snapshots from the Confidential episode can be found here (with thanks to our lovely friends at The Institute of course). Click on screencaps and scroll down a little until you've found the Doctor Who Confidential icon.

In other news, Doctor Who Adventures issue 7 again features a story by Torchwood writer Si Spencer. It's on sale until next week, and also features a preview of the "Army of Ghosts" / "Doomsday" two hander.

The latest issues of Dreamwatch Magazine and SFX Magazine also feature interviews with Torchwood writers. Whilst I haven't read the Dreamwatch interview myself (anybody who has, tell us about what is says in the tag board) I have had a read of the SFX one. It features a talk with lead writer Chris Chibnall, and makes for an interesting read. "We're all working to Russell's vision; his first script had such an instant, clear and brilliant vision of what Torchwood was," he says, "There's some great stuff - especially the bits with the...oh, wait I can't tell you that." Chris goes on to talk a little about his scripts, commenting how each one so far features takeaway food (Torchwood's Bad Wolf?!? lol). In episode two, Gwen has Chinese Crispy Duck, and then in the next script Ianto orders pepperoni feast pizza. Exciting stuff. Chris departs by saying, " It's mostly Cardiff. Helen Raynor's script has a great chase through the streets of Splott! We go beyond the city in a couple of episodes, but I'm not telling you where or why. You'll have to watch!"

Also in SFX is a column about other potential Doctor Who spin-offs, with comments from readers...including one by me! Jackharkness, in all his wisdom says "If anybody even dares suggest an Adric spin-off I think the universe will implode or something. The only thing worse would be seeing k9 sing 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' again!" Needless to say, in the comment immediately after, somebody does indeed suggest an Adric spin-off. Oh dear.

This week, the Doctor Who community learnt the identity of the newest Doctor Who companion. Freema Agyeman plays Martha Jones from the first episode of series three, although not in this year's Christmas Special. This quashes rumours of Gwen Cooper in the TARDIS seat- but interestingly, RTD is quoted as saying "We have something special planned (for the Christmas Special)". Captain Jack's return anybody?

Our friends at the Torchwood Institute have a report published from the 2006 London Film and Comic Con, which John Barrowman attended. Go John! marcella_riddle reports, “John Barrowman STOPS filming Torchwood in October. Then he has a 2 week break. After that he STARTS filming Doctor Who. He then has another break around Christmas to do the Panto in Cardiff. This would seem to indicate that Captain Jack does indeed travel with the Doctor for some amount of time. It also indicates that he ISN’T the full-time companion.
John doesn’t think Jack will kiss the Tenth Doctor - apparently those sorts of things are going to be kept strictly to Torchwood from now on. BUT he does think the new Doctor is funny and sexy. He also said Jack is pretty angry that the Doctor ditched him. He also said Captin Jack is NOT in Doomsday. The Captain Jack figure will be out in October. We do get to see Jack/John’s arse in Torchwood. Huzzah! John also said he’s gunna check out the fanfiction on the internet. Hide/display (whichever is appropriate) the smut NOW. John’s nephew appears in an episode of Torchwood. John himself wanted to be a Cyberman as an in-joke but it didn’t happen.”

There's a cool, extra long Russell T Davies interview here, written to celebrate the DVD launch of series one of Doctor Who in North America. Russell reveals that if things go to plan, Torchwood will probably launch in late October 2006.

Our friends at Behind the sofa have plans to review all episodes of Torchwood when it airs later this year. The site is a great web community for Doctor Who fans, and a great place to meet new friends, so check it out!

And that's about it for now - I think we've caught up with the Torchwood tide of information. Yay! Anyway, we've got some exciting stuff planned for Torchwood over the coming months, in the build up to Torchwood's launch. So, join us for the ride. It's going to be a blast.

Totally Torchwood

With all the Torchwood hubbub the past week I want to welcome all the newcomers to the site! Everybody is welcome to comment or leave something on the tagboard. I don't have the time to put into this blog like I did last fall, but I'm now back here at the Seattle branch of Torchwood after a few month mission, and of course jackharkness admirably has not left his post commanding Torchwood Manchester.

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

The site should be fun and collaborative, there are even plenty more slots for folks with the right stuff who want to post on this blog. So if you want to be commander of Torchwood: Timbuktu branch for example, just drop us a line. We try to scour the world for news about the show and its actors, and even get inside tips from time to time. However, I think of this site as more like the editorial section of the web on Torchwood, rather than page one.

As far as news this week, with all the tie-in's with the series finale of WHO it isn't hard to find. Here is a nice article about JB today that expands a bit on what we know of his character. On DW Confidential last week, we got a peak at the Hub set and saw them filming a few scenes (Captured above), there are a few clips from the show available at the BBC site. Some things about the show are still under wraps of course. We will just have to wait until October to find out exactly what kind of pizza the Captain ordered.

Time And Time Again

It's all a matter of time. Or rather, a distinct lack of the stuff. Both myself and kurly have been a little busy of late, getting married (not me!) and making a film (me!). I've lost count of the number of time I've literally been too busy to post here, but that's all gonna change soon.

My film wraps early next week (it's called "April 3rd" fact fans!) and I'll be busier than ever on these pages, so they'll be no getting rid of me up to the launch of Torchwood in October/November.

Anyway, I'll post some more later in the week, mostly about Army of Ghosts, Doctor Who Confidential, and other news that's bound to crop up along the way.

Stick with us, because every second's going to be worth it.

See you all very soon.