TORCHWOOD!
The Independent has This news article about Russell Davies writing a Doctor Who spin-off featuring Captain Jack. It’s going to be shown on BBC3 in a post-watershed timeslot and be what Russell Davies describes as “a dark, clever, wild, sexy, British crime/sci-fi paranoid thriller cop show with a sense of humour - the X Files meets This Life”
Well, I’m sold.
There are five good reasons why we should have seen this coming:
- Doctor Who was such a phenomenal ratings success it was inevitable the BBC would want some kind of a spin-off
- BBC3’s controllers are not dummies: two of their hottest commodities last year were Doctor Who Confidential and Casanova
- John Barrowman has become the ‘it boy’ in the UK right now. He’s the hot actor and he’s getting tons of exposure
- BBC boffins are, understandably, wondering if a) the magic of Doctor Who can transfer beyond the all-ages pre-watershed timeslot and b) if they can have another SF series in the slate
- Hey, it worked for Buffy, Law and Order, etc. etc…
Of course there are five lingering questions:
- Does this mean RTD is going to pull a Chris Carter, where he concentrates so much on the spin-offs that attention is taken away from the series that prompted the spin-offs in the first place, or is he going to be more like Seth McFarlene, who set up and created American Dad but very wisely went back to show-running Family Guy and ensured that franchise stayed on top?
- Do they really think they can get away with an adult SF/Crime series set in contemporary Cardiff?
- Could there be a backlash against a more ‘adult’ spinoff of Doctor Who?
- Will it be like the Law and Order spinoffs (good) or like the Trek spinoffs (bad)
- Will it have as dreadful a theme song as the last Doctor Who TV spinoff?
Posted by Graeme on Monday, October 17 at 2:48 am
17 Comments...
To be fair, I don’t see why Cardiff is such a more ridiculous location for repeated alien incursions than London and the surrounding counties…
Posted by Paul Hayes on 10/17 at 08:11 AM
I just spent two days in Cardiff a little while ago getting to know the locations very well, so I look forward to recognizing a few more of them in the summer during Torchwood. Though they will have to be bit careful not to show any Doctor Who “London” locations that were in Cardiff - and they are all over the place in Cardiff Central.
RTD worked on Casanova last year at the same time as the first series of Doctor Who and both were awesome, so I’m not too concerned as to whether he can handle the workload.
And PJ Hammond is one of the writers for Torchwood - writing for Doctor Who (sort of) at last!
Posted by Luca on 10/17 at 04:31 PM
I absolutely loved Captain Jack in Doctor Who but I’m rather unsure about seeing him for 44min as the main character.
The supporting cast will have to be just as strong. Let’s remember that we know and love Captain Jack as a companion character to the likes of Christopher Eccleston.
All bets are off until we see an episode of this new Bad Wolf….
Posted by Allan Spears on 10/17 at 07:32 PM
Och, let the man play with sock puppets for 44 minutes, I don’t care, I’ll be happy.
Posted by Scott on 10/17 at 09:08 PM
Hey if teevee people can make Milton (and Toronto) Ontario pass for South America, China, Africa, and so forth in Relic Hunter I’m sure we can buy an alien invasion and more in Cardiff. I know which *I* prefer!
Posted by Broton on 10/18 at 12:08 AM
Sounds intriguing, though of course the question of North American distribution must rear its ugly head.
Kudos for beating Outpost Gallifrey to this scoop! Guess we now know why Barrowman bowed out of Gallifrey 2006…
The anagram title is too clever by half, but it could set a trend. Maybe the next version of Paramount’s sci-fi franchise should be a present-day medical drama called St Karter. Maybe Chris Carter’s next spinoff could be about a punk band called Filthe Sex. And perhaps we now know why Serenity has been re[a]l iffy at the box office. (I’ll stop now.)
Posted by Curt on 10/18 at 12:15 AM
OK, I’m not a fan of pre-Eccleston Dr. Who, but am I the only one who thinks this is a terrible idea?
Posted by Jimmy on 10/18 at 12:27 AM
I’m not so sure if it’d be that bad an idea - esp. if more guest writers get a chance to write Dr Who episodes along the lines of Dalek, and Dr Dances etc. RTD has done a fantastic job of creating a new background and tone for the new series upon which new writers can build, and I think he has demonstrated that he can select great writers, which I’m sure he’ll contiunue doing.
And I think Davies would do a good job of the Captain Jack story. I thought he was a great new addition to the “universe” and really brought the Doctor up to date. The BBC SF shows have always been a bit pervy: I could watch Romana, Nyssa or Peri etc showing off their cleavage indefinitely; and then there’s the female cast of Blake’s 7 mmm… and that’s just the hetero male side of things : )
So I’m all in favour of the bi-sexual spin-off! Science Fiction needs *more* sexuality, not less (and not sexism, of course - eg. not another Jo Grant).
I just hope they bring back some of the UNIT boys, esp. if they’ve been officially banned by the UN
Posted by Chris T on 10/18 at 01:30 AM
This looks like a win-win situation. More Who-related stuff for those who want it, but it’s distanced enough from Who that those who only care about the ol’ Timelord won’t be missing anything.
(By the way, can we have a little less kneejerk Trek-bashing please?)
Posted by Steve Roby on 10/18 at 04:11 PM
A good idea. I never thought that Jack could really live up to his potential in a 7 PM show as a companion. He’s just too big a character. I like the guy but just didn’t think he could come off as simply a companion. A 9 PM Captain Jack as the lead? I’m there!!
Posted by Ryan on 10/18 at 04:29 PM
Trek-bashing? Where????
Posted by Paul Hayes on 10/18 at 10:00 PM
> Trek-bashing? Where????
From the main article:
> Of course there are five lingering questions:
>
> 4. Will it be like the Law and Order spinoffs
> (good) or like the TREK spinoffs (bad)
I liked the Star Trek franchise myself and didn’t like that Star Trek: Enterprise ended its run after its strong last season… but let’s not turn this into a Trek-bashing thread.
I’m just waiting for the news if the CBC is going to pick up Torchwood…
Posted by Nadir on 10/18 at 10:20 PM
Ah, missed that one, thought you were referring to something here in the replies!
Posted by Paul Hayes on 10/19 at 09:53 AM
I wonder if Barrowman can carry the show…
Still, the pluses seem to outrank the minuses.
Posted by Sarah on 10/19 at 07:41 PM
This is great news! Maybe this is one for Showcase!
Plus…I don’t think stating an unfavourable opinion about Star Trek spinoffs counts as bashing, knee-jerk or otherwise. It’s just an opinion.
Posted by Mike on 10/20 at 06:40 AM
I tend to think that this may be a case of Barrowman getting a show because he’s the ‘hot’ property right now in England.
Sort of like the sitcom situation where you get a really funny comic and some network offers him/her a tv show and it goes horribly wrong.
That’s why I’m cautious. He’s an AWESOME companion character, great to play off of, but leading a show…we’ll see.
Posted by Allan Spears on 10/23 at 06:37 PM
Did anyone notice the Torchwood reference in part one of the last two episodes of Season 1 of Doctor Who?
With the team assembled, and it is formidable, the quality will definitely be premium for both shows.
Posted by David on 01/08 at 02:56 PM
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