Torchwood – Children of Earth for BBC One
New Five-Part Serial of the Doctor Who Spin-off
Jun 16, 2009
It looks like the world is facing yet another threatening alien invasion for about the seventeenth year in a row as the new series of the BBC’s “adult” sci-fi drama Torchwood hits TV screens in July with a five-part serial. This time it’s the Children of Earth who are at risk as an extraterrestrial terror, called the 456, come to the planet to cash in on a deal they struck with the government back in the 1960s. Sounds a little grim, does that mean the sex scenes and that bloke from Buffy won’t be showing up again this year?
The plot is possibly more complicated but the basis is this: as ever the world is at the point of ruin and only the Torchwood team, led by Captain Jack Harkness (BBC Saturday night light entertainment’s very own John Barrowman), can save the day. But apparently things will be tricky as they are forced undergrounded by the government and hunted down as Britain descends into chaos after every child suddenly stops.
A New era for Torchwood?
Although this all sounds very appetising when it originally aired in 2006 Torchwood was met with some criticism due to its strong language and sexual content despite being a ridiculous show that could be aimed at children. The second series was tighter and far more sensible yet still couldn’t live up to the hype around it or the parent programme, but seeing as that’s one of the most acclaimed sci-fi shows ever it’s almost like trying to write a sequel to Citizen Kane. Well, not quite but expectations were high.
Doctor Who has a history of long story arcs or multi-part adventures so this is very much in keeping with the traditions set by the classic series and which have recently been adopted somewhat by the Russell T Davies era with the Badwolf or Mister Saxon references. The ratings should also play in its favour as short, snappy series are far easier for the casual viewer to follow especially with the move to the mainstream BBC One.
How much Darker can Torchwood Get? None More Black
Plus, it’s good to see a creative team that isn’t afraid to kill off major characters as they see fit, the deaths of Owen (Burn Gorman) and Tosh (Naoko Mori) during the second series meant Torchwood has now been whittled down to a crew of three; Captain Jack, Gwen (Eve Myles) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd). The driving force of Torchwood – Children Of Earth is Russell T Davies, John Fay and James Moran, with Euros Lyn taking up directing duties.
In an interview with the BBC, Davies said: “Underneath the sci-fi and the aliens there's something very relevant to the world, I hope, the way we sit in the West and watch footage of atrocities in different countries and imagine it's all so far away, and so impossible here – which is a nice, comfy lie we tell ourselves. That was the heart of it. I wanted to tell a story in which civilisation snaps, in which we turn on ourselves, in which nothing is safe.”
John Barrowman has stated that this series will be far darker and edgier than anything they’ve done before. Then again the same was said about Spider-Man 3 and the BBC’s Robin Hood, and look what happened there. Guest stars include Tim Price reprising his role as PC Andy Davidson, The Thick of It’s Peter Capaldi (who appeared as Caecilius in 'The Fires of Pompeii' episode of Who), Dead Set’s Liz May Brice and Dalek voice man Nick Briggs.
Torchwood – Children of Earth starts on BBC One on July 20.
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