khaosworks | Torchwood

Well, I guess this news is breaking all over Doctor Who fandom now. Just updated Wikipedia, so here it is.

BBC to screen 'Dr Who for adults' as new spin-off show
By Ian Burrell, Media Editor
Published: 17 October 2005

The BBC has commissioned the Doctor Who scriptwriter Russell T Davies to make an adult post-watershed spin-off of its mostfamous sci-fi show.

The new programme will be called Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who) and will follow a crack team investigating alien activities and crime in modern-day Britain.

It will feature in its starring role John Barrowman, who played Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and who will play the same character in Torchwood.

Like the latest version of Doctor Who, which the BBC successfully relaunched this year, Torchwood will be based in Cardiff. Davies, who has just begun writing Torchwood, said the new programme would be aimed at adult audiences and would "have its own, unique identity". He said: "Torchwood will be a dark, clever, wild, sexy, British crime/sci-fi paranoid thriller cop show with a sense of humour - the X Files meets This Life," the latter a reference to the groundbreaking Nineties BBC drama about a group of young lawyers in Bristol.

Torchwood will be shown next summer on BBC3 in 13 episodes, each lasting 45 minutes. Alert viewers of the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special will hear a reference to the Torchwood unit and further mentions will be made in the new series in the spring.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What do they mean by "Post-watershed"?

More adult programming in some countries is placed after a particular time so as not to corrupt the kiddies. In Britain, the watershed time is 9 pm to 5.30 am. See here for more details on this.

they'll play it at the same time as the Smurf Village bombing ads.

Post 9pm.

Basically there is a gentlemen's agreement between the British TV companies that "adult content" (sex, serious violence, swearing etc...) should not be on the TV before 9pm.

It's a bit arbitary and hjas led to some weird editing of shows, such as the imfamous 32 minute (or such like) Angel episode.

" Well, I guess this news is breaking all over Doctor Who fandom now. "

That sounds suspiciously like you knew in advance... [RAISES AN ENQUIRING EYEBROW].

Not directly, no. I only wish I had that kind of finger on the pulse :) I just had the benefit of being up some 8 hours before the UK people were to read the Independent. Someone posted the news up on Wikipedia, someone else thought it was a hoax, I went to check various sources and lo! There it was...

There was a suspicious note on Outpost Gallifrey earlier that Barrowman would not be attending Gallifrey One next year because he would be involved with a television series in February. Now, one wonders if Shaun Lyon knew...

I am interested, but also a bit worried that it'll overshadow the main series by not having the restrictions. It could also make the main series even more silly because they feel they no longer have to worry about the adult SF-fan audience. But then I'm just cheerful all over.

Also - happy birthday! (according to my portal)

I think it'll free the show up to actually do more non-Earth stories, but then I just have faith in RTD. Trust the fuckhead.

Thanks for the birthday wish. I was thinking that nobody outside of my family would remember or notice.

:D But I want Jack to meet Ten whine grumble. My brother said it'll end up like the comedy episodes of "farscape".

Well, according to the webmaster of Barrowman's official website, the plan is for John to wrap filming on Torchwood then go into filming for Series 3. Happy?

:D oh yes :D

... if Ten is still around by then...

Tennant is, as far as I am aware, officially signed up for at least 2 seasons.

Torchwood

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