Dr Who News spoilers

jester1470 · October 17, 2005

From Ain't It Cool News.com;

Dafydd here, with a question for Doctor Who fans: fancy knowing what this seasons Bad Wolf could be?

Are you sure?

In that case, just remember one word.

Torchwood

Who or what is Torchwood? Youll get the first big clue in a couple of months when the Doctor Who holiday special, The Christmas Invasion debuts on BBC1. Youll find out the origin of Torchwood in episode two this spring in Tooth and Claw, and that name comes up again big-time in episodes 12 and 13, which begin filming here in South Wales in just a few weeks.

Production on Doctor Who: Series II (as the production is now numbered) began shooting in July, with David Tennant taking over the role from Christopher Eccleston, who jumped ship after just 13 episodes. Billie Piper returns as companion Rose Tyler, and by all accounts, the relationship between the two leads is reportedly a lot less prickly than it was last series.

Although the producers are doing their level best to keep the biggest revelations under wraps, its amazing what you can find out by rifling a few skips (thats dumpsters to you Yanks), buying a few rounds for the right crew people, and keeping ones ears open for a bit of news around Newport, where most of the interiors are shot. So without further ado, heres a quick recap of whats been happening over the last four months. Most of it has already appeared on other websites, and Ill do my best to avoid giving too much away. Even so, there are spoilers aplenty, so tread carefully.

Production has just wrapped on the first block, which includes the holiday special The Christmas Invasion, episode one New Earth (both of which are written by executive producer Russell T. Davies and episode four School Reunion by Toby Whithouse. Theyre directed by James Hawes, who helmed last years chilling two-parter, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. The Christmas Invasion features the return of Penelope Wilton as Harriet Jones, now the countrys prime minister, and a new race of aliens called the Sycorax. Also returning are Camille Coduri as Roses mum Jackie and Noel Clarke as her abandoned-back-on Earth boyfriend Mickey. BTW, both characters will be appearing in several episodes this series, and dont be surprised if one of them joins the TARDIS crew for several episodes.

Most of New Earth is set in a futuristic hospital and features the return of Zo Wanamaker as Cassandra, not to mention another familiar (ahem) face from last years The End of the World. Wanamaker also appears in a pre-stretched incarnation of her character, and keep an eye out for a scene-stealing turn from Sean Gallagher as Cassandras long-suffering assistant, Chip.

The biggest crowd-pleaser though, is the return of Elisabeth Sladen as former companion Sarah Jane Smith and much-loved or oft-reviled (take your pick) robot dog, K9. I dont want to give away too much about this episode, but Im prepared to go out on a limb right now and predict that this will be one of the high points of the series. Oh, and Anthony Stewart Head does not, I repeat, DOES NOT appear as the Master in this episode! He plays Headmaster Finch, which is probably where the rumour came from.

If you dont think School Reunion is going to rule, ask yourself two questions. Number one, what if you were one of the Doctors former companions, now middle-aged, and youve not only got to cope with the return of a young-looking Doctor, but also his young and beautiful current companion? And if you were the actress who once played that companion, what would it be like to come back in a situation where life imitated art? Something to think about over the coming months.

Right now, production is underway on block two, directed by Euros Lyn (The End of the World, The Unquiet Dead). The Doctor and Rose travel back to Victorian times in Tooth and Claw, a period werewolf story with a big twist. There have been rumours that this episode features a race of cat people, but somebody has been confusing it with New Earth, which does have some feline creatures. What it does feature is actress Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine) playing Queen Victoria, who is not amused by the events of this episode. Long-time fans will remember that its actually Collins second appearance in Doctor Who, having appeared in The Faceless Ones opposite Patrick Troughton in the mid-sixties.

The other episode now being filmed is The Girl in the Fireplace, by Steven Moffat, formerly titled Madame du Pompadour. Dont be surprise if theres another name change before airtime, when the producers realise that an episode of the kid-friendly Doctor Who maybe shouldnt be named after a girl in a fireplace. The madam in question is played by Sophia Myles, better known for her recent appearance as Lady Penelope in the feature film version of Thunderbirds. Granted the movie sucked big-time, but maybe Myles will have better luck in her latest genre appearance. In terms of the storyline for Girl, its sort of a spaceship story crossed with a period tale set in 18th century France.

That brings us to the third block of filming, which is in pre-production right now. Block three consists of episodes five and six as well as twelve and thirteen, which will wrap up the series. All four episodes are being directed by Graeme Harper, the first director from the original series to sign on for the new Who, and by all his accounts, hes going to have his hands full with some very heavy-duty episodes. Episodes five and six form the Parallel World two-parter written by Tom MacRae. Its already no secret that they feature the return of the Cybermen, but as the title suggests, this is a very different Cybermen story. Auditions are being held right now for a group of cyber-actors, who will likely be called upon to work in several episodes.

And what about episodes twelve and thirteen? Well, the producers are desperately trying to keep them under wraps, but at least one website has already spilled the biggest surprise, much to their disappointment. I dont want to reveal it here on AICN, because it would confirm what is still being kicked around as a rumour. Suffice to say, if you were blown away by last years season-ender, this one is ten times bigger.

Okay, heres a clue, but thats all you get: if you can track down the title for episode twelve, theyre not what the title says they are!

Hopefully thats enough to whet everybodys appetite for season two. Thanks to my network of spies here in South Wales, who will doubtless demand quite a number of free pints to demonstrate my gratitude. As for me, its time to go back underground with the other night-dwellers, but Ill try to report back later in the season.

Your friend,

Dafydd, The Only Fan in the Village

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 most famous 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.

Stuart Murphy, the controller of BBC3, described Davies as an "absolute genius" and described Torchwood as "a massive coup".

He said: "We had never done sci fi before and it is a genre which people treat in a certain way. You look at what he has done with Dr Who and we said to Russell what would you do with a post-watershed sci fi?"

Mr Murphy said he hoped that Davies would bring to the new series a similar quirky humour that the writer deployed in the period drama Casanova, which was also shown on BBC3 before moving to BBC1.

"Each episode of Torchwood will be a one-off story and will be funny in a way that Casanova brought humour to period drama," he said.

Captain Jack has been described as Doctor Who's "first openly gay companion" and a "hunky bisexual".

Davies told Doctor Who magazine earlier this year: "It wasn't me sort of dying to get a bisexual character on screen. Yes, I'm a gay writer, but I was thinking: Jack's from the 51st century so of course he's going to go out with men and women. To get hung up on it is almost too sad for words, frankly."

Torchwood will allow Davies to explore relationships a little further. Mr Murphy said of the new series: "The people have affairs with one another. There will be sex and swearing, I assume. I'm quite relaxed about that, it will be post-watershed and Russell can do it in a funny and sexy way."

Describing the idea behind the new show, the BBC controller said: "It's a renegade bunch of investigators who investigate real-life, normal crimes. They also look into alien happenings. They have been charged by the British government to find alien technology that has fallen to Earth and they need to do it without the FBI and UN knowing."

Mr Murphy said the new series would have a distinctly Welsh feel, reflecting Davies's Swansea roots. "It's set in modern-day Cardiff. Unlike Doctor Who, which made Cardiff look like Dickensian London, this will look like Cardiff."

Davies said he was especially pleased to have secured the services of the "fantastic" Barrowman and said that Torchwood "gives us the chance to further develop exceptional talent from Doctor Who".

Barrowman, who as Captain Jack is part of the Doctor's Tardis crew, was born in Glasgow but grew up in Illinois. He first came to prominence as a children's television presenter on the show Live and Kicking, where he worked alongside Emma Forbes and Andy Peters.

BBC3 hopes to begin screening Torchwood at the end of the next series of Doctor Who adventures, in which the Doctor will be played by David Tennant.

Torchwood is the latest morphing of one of the BBC's most famous shows, which first reached the screens in 1963, although the programme will be distinct from Doctor Who and no stories will directly cross over between the two projects.