Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off from the 2005 revival of long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who , Torchwood aired four series between 2006 and 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from BBC Three to BBC Two to BBC One, and acquiring US financing in its fourth series when it became a co-production of BBC One and Starz. In contrast to Doctor Who, whose target audience includes both adults and children, Torchwood is aimed at an older audience. Over its run, the show explored a number of themes; prominent among these were existentialism, homosexual and bisexual relationships, and explorations of human corruptibility. During the course of the programme, 41 episodes of Torchwood aired over four series.
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
1 | 13 | 22 October 2006 | 1 January 2007 | BBC Three | |
2 | 13 | 16 January 2008 | 4 April 2008 | BBC Two | |
3: Children of Earth | 5 | 6 July 2009 | 10 July 2009 | BBC One | |
4: Miracle Day | 10 | 8 July 2011 [a] | 9 September 2011 [a] | Starz / BBC One |
Series 1 focuses on Gwen Cooper, her introduction to Torchwood, and meeting Jack Harkness; as well as introducing the characters of Owen Harper, Ianto Jones, Susie Costello, and Toshiko Sato (who was previously introduced in the first series of the newly revived Doctor Who). There is also a loose plot arc centring around the rift; Owen's love of Diane, a woman lost in time; and Owen and Gwen's affair, as well as her relationship to her boyfriend Rhys.
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Everything Changes" | Brian Kelly | Russell T Davies | 22 October 2006 | 1.1 | 2.52 |
2 | 2 | "Day One" | Brian Kelly | Chris Chibnall | 22 October 2006 | 1.2 | 2.50 |
3 | 3 | "Ghost Machine" | Colin Teague | Helen Raynor | 29 October 2006 | 1.3 | 1.77 |
4 | 4 | "Cyberwoman" | James Strong | Chris Chibnall | 5 November 2006 | 1.4 | 1.39 |
5 | 5 | "Small Worlds" | Alice Troughton | Peter J. Hammond | 12 November 2006 | 1.5 | 1.26 |
6 | 6 | "Countrycide" | Andy Goddard | Chris Chibnall | 19 November 2006 | 1.6 | 1.22 |
7 | 7 | "Greeks Bearing Gifts" | Colin Teague | Toby Whithouse | 26 November 2006 | 1.7 | 1.31 |
8 | 8 | "They Keep Killing Suzie" | James Strong | Paul Tomalin & Dan McCulloch | 3 December 2006 | 1.8 | 1.12 |
9 | 9 | "Random Shoes" | James Erskine | Jacquetta May | 10 December 2006 | 1.9 | 1.08 |
10 | 10 | "Out of Time" | Alice Troughton | Catherine Tregenna | 17 December 2006 | 1.10 | 1.03 |
11 | 11 | "Combat" | Andy Goddard | Noel Clarke | 24 December 2006 | 1.11 | 0.83 |
12 | 12 | "Captain Jack Harkness" | Ashley Way | Catherine Tregenna | 1 January 2007 | 1.12 | 1.23 |
13 | 13 | "End of Days" | Ashley Way | Chris Chibnall | 1 January 2007 | 1.13 | 1.23 |
Series 2 focuses on the disappearance of Jack and his subsequent return, as well as his past; and also introduces the mysterious yet dangerous character named John Hart. Episodes 6–12 were all shown on BBC Three a week before their BBC Two broadcast.
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | 1 | "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" | Ashley Way | Chris Chibnall | 16 January 2008 | 2.1 | 4.22 |
15 | 2 | "Sleeper" | Colin Teague | James Moran | 23 January 2008 | 2.2 | 3.78 |
16 | 3 | "To the Last Man" | Andy Goddard | Helen Raynor | 30 January 2008 | 2.3 | 3.51 |
17 | 4 | "Meat" | Colin Teague | Catherine Tregenna | 6 February 2008 | 2.4 | 3.28 |
18 | 5 | "Adam" | Andy Goddard | Catherine Tregenna | 13 February 2008 | 2.5 | 3.79 |
19 | 6 | "Reset" | Ashley Way | J. C. Wilsher | 13 February 2008 | 2.6 | 4.07 |
20 | 7 | "Dead Man Walking" | Andy Goddard | Matt Jones | 20 February 2008 | 2.7 | 4.32 |
21 | 8 | "A Day in the Death" | Andy Goddard | Joseph Lidster | 27 February 2008 | 2.8 | 4.26 |
22 | 9 | "Something Borrowed" | Ashley Way | Phil Ford | 5 March 2008 | 2.9 | 3.75 |
23 | 10 | "From Out of the Rain" | Jonathan Fox Bassett | Peter J. Hammond | 12 March 2008 | 2.10 | 3.85 |
24 | 11 | "Adrift" | Mark Everest | Chris Chibnall | 19 March 2008 | 2.11 | 3.49 |
25 | 12 | "Fragments" | Jonathan Fox Bassett | Chris Chibnall | 21 March 2008 | 2.12 | 3.60 |
26 | 13 | "Exit Wounds" | Ashley Way | Chris Chibnall | 4 April 2008 | 2.13 | 3.13 |
Series 3 centres around the 456, a mysterious alien race who make contact to Earth via the world’s children, and presents how the world’s governments react to solve the problem. It also focuses on Jack and Ianto’s relationship, as well as Gwen and Rhys.
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
27 | 1 | "Day One" | Euros Lyn | Russell T Davies | 6 July 2009 | 3.1 | 6.47 |
28 | 2 | "Day Two" | Euros Lyn | John Fay | 7 July 2009 | 3.2 | 6.14 |
29 | 3 | "Day Three" | Euros Lyn | Russell T Davies & James Moran | 8 July 2009 | 3.3 | 6.40 |
30 | 4 | "Day Four" | Euros Lyn | John Fay | 9 July 2009 | 3.4 | 6.76 |
31 | 5 | "Day Five" | Euros Lyn | Russell T Davies | 10 July 2009 | 3.5 | 6.58 |
Series 4 centres on an event called Miracle Day, where everyone in the world stops dying and subsequently becomes immortal. It also focuses on Jack’s past, his immortality, as well as Gwen and Rhys’s relationship. It also introduces new characters such as Rex Matheson, Esther Drummond, and Oswald Danes.
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original U.S. air date | Prod. code | Viewers (millions) [a] [b] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
32 | 1 | "The New World" | Bharat Nalluri | Russell T Davies | 8 July 2011 | 401 | 1.51 / 6.59 |
33 | 2 | "Rendition" | Billy Gierhart | Doris Egan | 15 July 2011 | 402 | 0.98 / 5.75 |
34 | 3 | "Dead of Night" | Billy Gierhart | Jane Espenson | 22 July 2011 | 403 | 1.02 / 5.49 |
35 | 4 | "Escape to L.A." | Billy Gierhart | Jim Gray & John Shiban | 29 July 2011 | 404 | 0.94 / 5.19 |
36 | 5 | "The Categories of Life" | Guy Ferland | Jane Espenson | 5 August 2011 | 405 | 1.02 / 5.17 |
37 | 6 | "The Middle Men" | Guy Ferland | John Shiban | 12 August 2011 | 406 | 0.88 / 4.60 |
38 | 7 | "Immortal Sins" | Gwyneth Horder-Payton | Jane Espenson | 19 August 2011 | 407 | 0.92 / 4.48 |
39 | 8 | "End of the Road" | Gwyneth Horder-Payton | Jane Espenson & Ryan Scott | 26 August 2011 | 408 | 1.17 / 4.64 |
40 | 9 | "The Gathering" | Guy Ferland | John Fay | 2 September 2011 | 409 | 1.05 / 4.63 |
41 | 10 | "The Blood Line" | Billy Gierhart | Russell T Davies & Jane Espenson | 9 September 2011 | 410 | 0.95 / 5.13 |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Series | Episode number | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ||
1 | 2.52 | 2.50 | 1.77 | 1.39 | 1.26 | 1.22 | 1.31 | 1.12 | 1.08 | 1.03 | 0.83 | 1.23 | 1.23 | |
2 | 4.22 | 3.78 | 3.51 | 3.28 | 3.79 | 4.07 | 4.32 | 4.26 | 3.75 | 3.85 | 3.49 | 3.69 | 3.13 | |
3 | 6.47 | 6.14 | 6.40 | 6.76 | 6.58 | – | ||||||||
4 | 6.59 | 5.75 | 5.49 | 5.19 | 5.17 | 4.60 | 4.48 | 4.64 | 4.63 | 5.13 | – |
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. The character first appears in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and subsequently features in the remaining episodes of the first series (2005) as a companion to the series' protagonist, the Doctor. Subsequent to this, Jack became the central character in the adult-themed Torchwood, which aired from 2006 to 2011. Barrowman reprised the role for appearances in Doctor Who in its third, fourth, and twelfth series, as well as specials "The End of Time", and "Revolution of the Daleks".
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from BBC Three to BBC Two to BBC One, and acquiring American financing in its fourth series when it became a co-production of BBC One and Starz. Torchwood is aimed at adults and older teenagers, in contrast to Doctor Who's target audience of both adults and children. As well as science fiction, the show explores a number of themes, including existentialism, LGBTQ+ sexuality, and human corruptibility.
Gwen Elizabeth Cooper is a fictional character portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles in the BBC science-fiction television programme Torchwood, a spin-off of the long-running series Doctor Who. The lead female character, Gwen featured in every episode of the show's 2006–2011 run, as well as two 2008 crossover episodes of Doctor Who. Gwen appears in Expanded Universe material such as the Torchwood novels and audiobooks, comic books and radio plays.
Dr Owen James Harper is a fictional character played by Burn Gorman, and a regular in the BBC television series Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character last appeared onscreen in the Series 2 finale, "Exit Wounds".
"Everything Changes" is the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 22 October 2006. The story was written by show creator and executive producer Russell T Davies as an introduction to the show's mythos. The episode re-introduces Captain Jack Harkness, who had proved popular in the first series of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, as the leader of Torchwood, a team of alien hunters.
"Day One" is the second episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Directed by Brian Kelly, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 22 October 2006 with the series pilot, "Everything Changes", and later repeated on terrestrial channel BBC Two on 25 October. It was the first work in the Doctor Who universe to be written by future Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall.
Ianto Jones is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who, played by Welsh actor Gareth David-Lloyd. A regular within the show, Ianto appears in every episode of the programme's first three series excluding the finale of series 3, as well as two crossover episodes of Torchwood's parent show, Doctor Who. Additionally, Ianto appears in Expanded Universe material such as the Torchwood novels and audiobooks, comic books and radio plays. Within the narrative of the series, Ianto begins as general support officer for Torchwood Three, a team of alien hunters stationed in Cardiff, and develops into an active field agent. Initially the regular character with the least screen time, Ianto's role expanded in response to growing cult appeal.
"Countrycide" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was originally broadcast on the digital television channel BBC Three on 19 November 2006.
"Cyberwoman" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Strong, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 5 November 2006, and later repeated on terrestrial channel BBC Two on 8 November.
"End of Days" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It originally aired on the digital television channel BBC Three on 1 January 2007, alongside the previous episode, "Captain Jack Harkness". The episode was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Ashley Way.
"Meat" is the fourth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was first broadcast on BBC Two on 6 February 2008. It was written by Catherine Tregenna, who had previously written episodes for the first series of the show, directed by Colin Teague and produced by Richard Stokes. The episode featured the five initial series regulars John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David Lloyd plus recurring actor Kai Owen in a central role.
"Fragments" is the twelfth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on BBC Three on 21 March 2008.
"Exit Wounds" is the thirteenth and final episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood, and was broadcast on BBC Two on 4 April 2008. It marked the final appearance of Burn Gorman as Owen Harper and Naoko Mori as Toshiko Sato, with both characters being killed off at the end of the episode. It is also the final Torchwood episode in its original format.
Children of Earth is the banner title of the third and penultimate series of the British television science fiction programme Torchwood, which broadcast for five episodes on BBC One from 6 to 10 July 2009. The series had new producer Peter Bennett and was directed by Euros Lyn, who had considerable experience on the revived Doctor Who, Torchwood's parent show. The eponymous series is about an organization known as Torchwood which defends the Earth against alien threats. The plot of Children of Earth deals with aliens demanding 10% of the Earth's children, and a related earlier conspiracy 40 years ago; as such, Torchwood is pitted against the British government when the government attempts to conceal its past actions and accede to the present-day aliens' demands. The first, third, and fifth episodes of the serial were written by executive producer Russell T Davies, who also conceived its overall storyline. The third episode was co-written by James Moran whilst the second and fourth were penned by newcomer John Fay.
Andy Davidson is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, portrayed by Tom Price, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. Andy, an officer with the South Wales Police, is a supporting character who first appears in Torchwood's premiere episode "Everything Changes" and recurs regularly from thereon. Though initially only credited as 'PC Andy', the character's surname 'Davidson' was given in novels and online media and eventually confirmed by dialogue in Children of Earth, "Day Three" (2009). Like Gwen's partner, Rhys, Andy is used by the production team as an everyman character who grounds the series in a recognisable real-world setting. The character had originally been slated to be killed off in the first series, though the production team had a change of heart, believing him to work well as a supporting character. Both cast and crew, as well as professional reviewers have spoken of the character's role in providing comic relief and an outsider's perspective on the Torchwood Institute.
"The Dead Line" is the last of four radio dramas released prior to the third series of Torchwood, a British science fiction television series which airs on the BBC. "The Dead Line" aired as BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play on 3 July 2009 and features the series' regular cast.
Rhys Alun Williams, portrayed by Kai Owen, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co-habiting boyfriend of the principal character Gwen Cooper. Initially a recurring character, Rhys' role is increased after the second series; actor Kai Owen is given star billing from the show's third series — a five-part serial subtitled Torchwood: Children of Earth — onwards. The character has gone on to appear in expanded universe material such as the Torchwood novels and audiobooks, comic books and radio plays.
Torchwood: Miracle Day is the fourth and final series of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running show Doctor Who. In contrast to the first three series, which were produced by the BBC, the fourth series was a British–American co-production involving the BBC's drama production house BBC Cymru Wales for BBC Worldwide and the US premium network Starz. It was broadcast in ten episodes beginning on 8 July 2011 (U.S.) and 14 July 2011 (UK).
"The New World" is the first episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth and final series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was first broadcast in the United States on Starz on 8 July 2011, in Canada on Space on 9 July 2011, and in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 14 July 2011. It introduced Rex Matheson, Esther Drummond and Oswald Danes to the cast.