Series 2 Discrimination!

The brand spanking new BBC Store has launched. The online shop allows you to purchase digital copies of all of your favourite BBC series. Torchwood is there - however, series 2 is currently missing off of the available download options! No reason is given, although it's likely to do with rights issues on one or more of those particular set of episodes.

We'll update you when series 2 is ready. In the meantime, you can find the BBC Store by clicking here.

In other news, the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (number 493) contains an interview with former Torchwood writer Catherine Tregenna. She talks about her time on the series, as well as writing for Peter Capaldi in Doctor Who's The Woman Who Lived:

"Torchwood was a bit 'anything goes' in that first series and that's fun, you know? It's fun to get your teeth into darker, greyer areas of morality, where not all the characters are necessarily likeable.

Tregenna goes on to discuss how she chose the name Bilis Manger, her acting career, and creating Welsh TV soaps! You pick up her interview in DWM now - in shops, or via Apple Store download.

Janet's Papa

Those watching Doctor Who's new season opener The Magician's Apprentice got a surprise last night, as a couple of very familiar alien foes made surprise reappearances...

I'm talking about a Weevil and Blowfish, of course. Spotted early on, at the Maldovarium bar, they drank alongside Sycorax, Hath, Ood and many other oddities. TORCHWOOD.tv can exclusively reveal that the Weevil shown is actually the father of Torchwood captive Janet, and he's named Julian. After Janet was lost through the rift (and thrown back through time) Julian turned to alcohol, and the rest, as they say, is now history.

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In more serious news, Big Finish have announced the titles of the final two releases in their initial cycle of Torchwood audio dramas:

Release#5 is Uncanny Valley. It stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack, and is written by David Llewllyn. Big Finish confirm it "sees Jack still on his quest to find out more about the mysterious Committee. What is their involvement in the life of a reclusive billionaire?" There's no indication as to where this play takes place chronologically (aside from the fact it must be set after The Conspiracy from Jack's P.O.V.)

Release#6 (and the final adventure in this "Committee" arc) is called More Than This, and is by Guy Adams. It stars Eve Myles as Gwen on "a very special mission". From previous Big Finish teases, we know that this adventure will also feature other Torchwood stars too. Most likely Jack and Ianto.

For those interested, the company has also put out a full trailer for their new UNIT series, featuring Jemma Redgrave. No doubt it'll crossover with Torchwood at some point...

Torchwood Crossovers!

Big Finish have announced today that Tracy-Ann Oberman is to headline their fourth Torchwood audio adventure, One Life.

Oberman was the face of Torchwood in Doctor Who's second series finale Army of Ghosts/Doomsday, playing its leader Yvonne Hartman. Her London Hub, based on Canary Wharf, was destroyed in a battle between the Daleks and the Cybermen. In the process, Yvonne was Cyber-converted. Now, she's back!

One Life takes place a year before the battle of Canary Wharf, and sees Yvonne visiting Torchwood's Cardiff base. Producer James Goss promises she'll become "thoroughly unstuck" there...

The story is released this December, and you can order it here.

We still don't know who's in the fifth release... but the sixth story sees a mix of established characters reuniting - with Eve Myles already confirmed for the adventure.

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In other news, the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine (issue 491) has been released. It features an interview with Torchwood costume designer Ray Holman (who has returned to the fold, designing Doctor Who's ninth season costumes), as well as confirming that they'll be a slight Doctor Who/Torchwood crossover, as an Arcateenian alien (one debuted in 2006's Greeks Bearing Gifts, and then Sarah Jane's Invasion of the Bane) will feature in new series adventure Under the Lake/Before the Flood.

An Arcateenian

Over in SFX Magazine land, Gareth David-Lloyd is interviewed briefly about Torchwood: Fall to Earth in their latest issue, number 266.

The End of Time (and Captain Jack?)

While news on the "Torchwood" front has been conspicuously absent recently, the same cannot be said for its parent program. Just over two hours ago, BBC One transmitted the final moments of David Tennant's run as the Tenth Doctor in the two-part "Doctor Who" special finale, "The End of Time".

The finale saw the return of several of the Tenth Doctor's friends and foes, and -- since we can always link things back 'round to Torchwood SOMEHOW -- it's no surprise that Captain Jack made an appearance!

(We posted back in April that John Barrowman had been spotted in costume as the Captain around the Who set. He later denied those claims, but his explanations sounded fishier than, well, a Blowfish driving a sports car.)

For non-Brits, you can catch "The End of Time" on BBCAmerica and/or Space Channel Canada tomorrow, January 2, 2010. (Thus ensuring your New Year's festivities will end with you watching television and grabbing furiously for a box of tissues by your side.)

As a result of this delay, I won't divulge any further spoilers regarding Captain Jack's role in the special, but feel free to discuss the events of the show in the comments below.

And if you're a Torchwood fan who has never seen "Doctor Who", why not take advantage of this TW-free period to start watching the series that brought us Captain Jack and Torchwood in the first place? The two shows are inextricably linked!

If you begin with Series 1, starring Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, you can even catch a couple Torchwood cast members (BESIDES Captain Jack!) in before-they-were-famous roles!

Episode 1x03, "The Unquiet Dead", guest-stars Eve Myles/'Gwen' as a 19th century English maid with unusual powers, and the following episode 1x04, "Aliens of London", features Naoko Mori/'Toshiko' in a bit part as "Dr. Sato" (and it also explains the origins of the "space pig" comments Tosh and Owen made in their last minutes of 2x12 "Exit Wounds"). And yes, episodes 1x09 and 1x10, "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", introduced the world to Captain Jack Harkness (perhaps you've heard of him?).

When Tennant took over as the Tenth Doctor the following year, the second series' theme was "Torchwood", as Russell T. Davies was in the process of developing our favourite spin-off at the time. That finale even included the Doctor visiting the doomed Torchwood One in London, aka the previous workplace of Ianto Jones (although he is not seen or mentioned on-screen).

Series 3 of "Doctor Who" featured Martha as the Companion, and its three-part finale saw Captain Jack return to help out the time-travelling duo. The episodes 3x11/3x12/3x13, aka "Utopia"/"The Sound of Drums"/"Last of the Time Lords", took place between the end of Torchwood's first series and the beginning of its second, and also gives context to Jack and Martha's cryptic inside jokes when she visits Torchwood halfway through TW Series 2.

Most obviously, Tennant's fourth season finale involved the first official Torchwood/Doctor Who crossover, as Ianto and Gwen both spoke with the Doctor, and Captain Jack again re-joined him in the TARDIS, in the epic battle to realign the planets and destroy the Daleks.

Now that David Tennant and Russell T. Davies have both left the TARDIS, and a new showrunner and production team has taken over "Doctor Who", it remains to be seen whether future episodes of "Who" will involve Torchwood and/or Captain Jack. Today's final Tenth Doctor episode may very well be the last time Captain Jack Harkness and his team of Cardiff-based alien-fighters are included in the world of the Doctor.

Today's "Doctor Who" episode truly marked the end of an era.

And now I will try to stop tearing up every time I think of the Tenth Doctor, and shall instead try to keep a positive attitude towards the future of our favourite sci-fi characters and shows.

In the words of the Tenth Doctor: "Allons-y!"

RTD talks 'Torchwood' and, um, that other show

Another day, another Who-related interview pops up. But for a change, this one isn't with John Barrowman! (pause for the audience to gasp dramatically!)

In a piece published the other day, American TV critic Alan Sepinwall spoke to our main man Russell T. Davies about both 'Doctor Who' and 'Torchwood: CoE'.

Even though the article was written as a tie-in to the American premiere of a DW special, the article contains a surprising amount of Torchwood talk. RTD speaks about the possibility of a fourth series (and what format it could take), his own use of the word "epic", and whether or not Jack really is The Face of Boe. (Answer: C'mon, it's RTD!)

The full article is found online here.

BBC America is Bringing it ALL to Comic Con International

According to News-a-Rama, BBC America is set to bring the biggest names in Doctor Who and Torchwood to San Diego's Comic Con International, July 23-26. With their latest acquisition of first run rights to Doctor Who as well as the release of Torchwood: Children of Earth, BBCA is bringing show creator/recreator Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner, and director Euros Lyn for both Torchwood and Doctor Who's panels.

For Torchwood's panel, they have the irreplaciable John Barrowman and for the Doctor Who panel they have David Tennant, fresh out of filming his final scenes as the Doctor.

The Doctor Who panel is on Sunday at 10AM in Ballroom 20. The Torchwood panel (which is partnered with a small bit of Being Human) is also Sunday at 2:15PM in Room 6BCF.

There will also be a back-to-back showing of Doctor Who's "Planet of the Dead" and the final episode of Torchwood: Children of Earth on Saturday at 7:30-10PM.

BBCA will also feature a part of the Doctor Who set at their booth in the exhibit hall.

Read the original article for more information. Please also keep in mind that Comic Con's schedule can be subject to change, especially since this is pre-released information.

BFI: Russell T. Davies on the Future of Torchwood

News abound from the preview screening at the BFI this evening in London. Reviews have begun sparking up as well as chatter about what's to come. The screening of the first of five episodes of Children of Earth was followed by a Q&A with actors John Barrowman and Eve Myles as well as Russell T. Davies himself.

According to this article among other sources, when asked about the future of Torchwood, Russell T. Davies stated that Series 4 is "ready to go". He also has hopes for further crossover with the parent show, Doctor Who. Davies was still tight lipped about the official air date for the series, saying they have it set, but it is still to early for it to go public.

The Secret Life of Captain Barrowman...?

It's Halloween all year 'round for John Barrowman... or so he would have us believe.

A special premiere screening of the first episode of Children of Earth was held today, and while reporters are sworn to secrecy about all the juicy details, that didn't stop them from questioning The Barrowman about his costumed appearance on the Doctor Who set.

His reply? "I actually go to the supermarket dressed as Captain Jack and that was a picture of me running from Tesco to my car and some paparazzi photographed me and they superimposed David there and that's what that is."

Cue the raised eyebrows of, um, everyone who reads that. Far be it from me to call "shenanigans" on his explanation, but just take a good look at his face as he says the same thing to each reporter! One video from Digital Spy here, and another video here.
(And "I'm telling you the honest to God truth, haven't read a script" -- haven't read a script? I think we may have found a loophole the size of the Rift!)

It's Christmas In Cardiff!

"We Are Coming"... to traumatize you! Well, sort of. The official Torchwood website has just posted a new 10-second teaser clip of CoE. It was originally cut for Australian television networks (which only recently aired series two), but the Beeb has been kind enough to let international viewers watch it on their site. It's a must-see for anyone who thought that the longer preview didn't show enough creepy children acting creepily (if that's even a word).

EDIT: It appears the clip has now been restricted to UK viewers only. But I'm sure we Torchwood fans are resourceful enough to find it somewhere else...

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Fandom has been working overtime today with rumors of a certain Torchwood member appearing on the Doctor Who set... but now we have photos to prove it! John Barrowman has been spotted filming for the final specials, and intrepid fan alun_vega has photographic evidence of Jack's return to the Who crew.

The scenes he's shooting now are intended for the final two Tenth Doctor specials, which are slated to air around Christmas 2009. Does this mean Jack will witness the regeneration scene? Because I would pay good money to see his reaction to barely-legal Eleven.

(Also: way to abandon your team again, Mr. I-Came-Back-For-You! Have we learned nothing from 'Last of the Time Lords?')

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Speaking of The Barrowman (because when are we ever not?), his official site has been updated with news of the BFI's exclusive screening of CoE:

John will join other members of the cast of Torchwood at the National Film Theatre on 12 June for a preview of Torchwood: Children of Earth, followed by a Q&A session. Tickets are expected to go on sale on 5 May (members) and 12 May (general public).

Is Torchwood Getting A Check-Up?

Another entry for our unsubstantiated rumour department: Some fans are claiming to have recently seen the Torchwood cast filming scenes for the 2009 Doctor Who specials.

No definitive set reports or photographs have surfaced as of yet, so this possible "spoiler" should be taken with more than a grain of salt.

A starting point for these claims may have been last Saturday's "Jonathan Ross Show" on BBC Radio 2. As jackharkness posted last week, David Tennant and Catherine Tate filled in as hosts for the program, with John Barrowman as their special guest. The three actors obviously enjoyed their time together, and at one point made reference to a discussion they had been having "the other day".

Could this be a clue that we may soon see the Hub dwellers getting a check-up from the Doctor? Or was that innocent remark only more grist for the rumour mill?

EDIT: After a little more dirt-digging... yup, this is entirely false. In the words of the Tenth Doctor, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Guess I lived up to my username after all?

Jumping Ship

The 2010 series of Doctor Who is shaping up nicely, don't you think? Not only do we have the ever brilliant Steven Moffat as Head Writer and the youthful Matt Smith as his Eleventh Doctor, but now it's been confirmed that Peter Bennett (Producer of Torchwood's "Children of Earth" series) will take over the role that Phil Collinson once occupied, as main series Producer.

The BBC's Press Office confirms his promotion, and notes that he'll share the job with Tracie Simpson (who has already produced "Planet of the Dead" as well as the Christmas 2009 finale to the David Tennant era).

Beth Willis (Ashes to Ashes - which is back next Monday, don't cha know?) steps in as the show's third Executive Producer, alongside Moffat and Piers Wenger.

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I'm hearing that Torchwood's fourth season (if commissioned...) won't film until at least next February or March, as John Barrowman is looking to return to the stage at some point later this year, and then head up his usual Christmas time panto, plus there's the fact that Gareth David-Lloyd is in America for the next few months.

Hmm... what with this and whispers that the Torchwood Hub set has been torn down to make room for the new look TARDIS console room it's looking like it'll be a nervous few months for us Woodies as we wait to hear what comes next, beyond the "Children of Earth".

He of Barrowman fame

Isn't John Barrowman a nice chap, huh? Inviting members of the Great British public onto his latest BBC vehicle Tonight's the Night, and then making their dreams come true - what a guy! And what's this? One lucky viewer will have the chance to audition and maybe star in a special Doctor Who scene as a MONSTER?! Oh John, really, you're spoiling us...

LOOK WHAT ONE FAN WISHED FOR...

So says the BBC: "Offering viewers dream-come-true wish fulfilment, BBC One's Tonight's The Night is running a competition for one viewer to take part in a specially-written Doctor Who scene, working with the Doctor Who production team, and shot on the set of the TARDIS."

And what does the Great and Mighty Barrowman think of it all? "This is a fantastic opportunity and I can't wait to see the winner experience performing on the set of Doctor Who."

Well, there you go - get applying now! You have until Saturday 28th.

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In other news, it appears Kai Owen will be joining John at Chicago's Torchsong convention in June!

Friendly Cardiff .VS. Big Old Nasty London

I've just read this short interview from the latest member of the Innuendo Squad, Ianto, aka Mister Gareth David-Lloyd. (Thanks to our friends at The Institute for this lead). You can hear what he has to say below (and if Gareth's reading, congratulations on the casting young man!) :

http://www.musicomh.com/theatre/three-women.htm

He learned his acting craft in Gwent but now Gareth David-Lloyd’s talents are going intergalactic.

Gareth, 25, from Bettws, has landed the role of a lifetime a major part in the new Dr Who spin-off series Torchwood.

He is to play Ianto, the receptionist at the Cardiff branch of Torchwood a government agency searching for alien technology which has fallen to Earth.

He will be filming for six months on the show, which is set in modern-day Cardiff. This is the first major role for the Newport actor, who went to Bettws Comprehensive and Coleg Gwent, Cross Keys.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “This is going to be different to anything else I’ve done before.”

It was at Monnow Junior School in Bettws that Gareth had his first acting role playing a robot in the school play. He then had acting lessons at Risca Leisure Centre before joining the Dolman Youth Theatre and Gwent Young People’s Theatre, where Argus reviewers marked him out as a star of the future.

He moved to London to pursue his career three years ago, with roles in Absolute Power, with Stephen Fry, and a BBC2 documentary drama on the life of Beethoven.

But Gareth is pleased his new role will be based in Cardiff, “I can’t wait to move back to South Wales, people are just much friendlier,” he said. “London was getting a bit fast for me.”

He was encouraged in acting by his aunt, 80-year-old Doris Leaves, with whom he lived on Allt-yr-yn Crescent from the age of nine.

Mrs Leaves said: “He got out of breath when he played football so I told him he needed a hobby. It has all sprung from there really.”

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, now Lord Kinnock, became a fan after seeing Gareth performing at Monmouth Castle. When Gareth decided to pursue a career in acting Lord Kinnock sent £250 to help him on his way.

Filming started on Torchwood last month and Gareth will be on set from May 24. His character will be introduced with a small part in the first episode, before featuring in all 13-parts of the drama series.

Gareth says there will be plenty of surprises for Doctor Who fans in the series, “I can’t say too much but the scripts look really good. I can’t wait to get started.”

In other news, last night's Doctor Who episode over here in the UK, "Rise of the Cybermen" featured two short Torchwood references made at the expense of the Cybus Corporation. One reference saw a news item on Rose's mobile phone talk about the latest Torchwood Institute happenings, whilst another saw returning face Pete Tyler talk to "Stevie"; an old friend of his, who seemingly works at Torchwood.

The fact that this episode - and next week's too - takes place on a parallel world may dampen the relevence of these references to the over-all story arc. But we'll see. It seems Torchwood is building momentum rather rapidly now.

Torchwood's coming folks. Brace yourselves.

And the BAFTA goes to...

So, last night Doctor Who won the BAFTA award for Best Drama Series (rightly so!) and also the brilliant Pioneer Audience Award, voted for by the public. The entire team deserve the award 100%, and that includes a certain Mr. John Barrowman, who in my opinion made "The Empty Child" two-hander the best piece of drama this side of forever. David, Billie, Russell, Phil and Julie may have been celebrating their win in a rather posh London Hall, but John was tucked away in Cardiff, filming Torchwood. The dedication I tell ya!

Anyways John, if you're reading (and I'm sure you are!) give yourself a pat on the back on behalf of the British public. We love Doctor Who, as evident from the show's BAFTA win, and we love Captain Jack too.

But most importantly we can't wait until Torchwood. So go get 'em tiger!

Bedtime With John (Insert Innuendo Here)

CBEEBIES - THINK 'TORCHWOOD-LITE'

All this week John Barrowman will be presenting the Bedtime Hour on the Cbeebies Channel, a channel over here in England that's run by the BBC for pre-school children. John will be reading aloud children stories, and if you want to see him every night this week doing so, you can catch Cbeebies on Freeview Channel 71, Sky Channel 617, Ntl Channel 599/68, Telewest Channel 702, or by clicking this link after each broadcast, and then following the link on that page to the Bedtime Hour catch-up.

TARDISODE NO. FOUR

Oh, and if anybody hasn't seen the TARDISODE for "The Girl in the Fireplace" yet, do check it out. No Torchwood references this week, but still, it's cool to see other 51st Century guys and gals at work. Who knows, they could even be time agents...

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.

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.

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