Torchwood, Scheduling, BBC One
Publication date: 8 July 2011

Complaint

We received complaints from viewers unhappy that the new series of Torchwood will be broadcast in America before the UK.

The BBC's Response

We are pleased to announce that Torchwood will return to BBC One at 21.00 on Thursday 14 July.

Starz in the US have the contractual right to the World Premiere, that relates to the deal that was done and ultimately this has created better value for licence fee payers.

Contractually, the broadcasters in other territories can transmit from the next day onwards but being as close to the transmission in the US is not the only factor in the scheduling decision. We have identified what we think is the best slot for BBC One viewers and have also ensured that it's within a week of transmission in the US.

THR: We’re sure you’ve heard the rancor out of the UK about BBC’s delayed premiere of the show. What would you like to say to those fans?

Myles: We never, ever, ever wanted to take this show away from the original fans. What we always wanted to do with the show was give them a gift every year, something wonderful, a big, big present. And if that present isn’t good enough, we aren’t going to give it to you. We’ve made you the best, best series yet. And it works out that it will be a week after the U.S. showing. And obviously we have nothing to do with that -- me nor John [Barrowman] or [showrunners Russel T. Davies and Julie Gardner]. But, just hold on tight. I’d just like to remind them that they’re our fans. We want them to sit back and enjoy it, be proud of it like we are, and to stick with us. If it was up to me and John, we’d have it to them straight away. But, it’s not.

THR: So, do you understand where they’re coming from?

Myles: Oh my God, of course I do. I was the biggest Six Feet Under fan in the world. And if that had happened, it went out there first and it didn’t come out here. That did happen with the first series. It went out there and we had to wait. And the reason why I was so frustrated and kind of pissed off about it is because I couldn’t wait to see it. I was so excited about seeing it. You just want to get to see it, don’t you? I mean fair play. These people have waited just over two years for this next season. You know, they’ve waited long enough. I wish I had the ten episodes here and I can invite them to my house and we could all watch them together. You know, tonight. Unfortunately, my house isn’t big enough and I only have one [episode] myself [she laughs]. Yeah, I’d like to say that if I had something to do with it that this wouldn’t be happening. But, sit tight, because it is a fantastic ride.

The secret of immortality revealed? Find out in "Torchwood: Web of Lies", a unique 10 part companion to the new Russell T Davies series "Torchwood: Miracle Day." This completely original episodic interactive experience fuses together incredible motion comic graphics and gameplay to tell a digital-exclusive Torchwood story.

Players participate in a parallel narrative to the "Torchwood: Miracle Day" that delves deeper into the dramatic events which unfold in the TV series. "Torchwood: Web of Lies" includes lead characters Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper – voiced by John Barrowman and Eve Myles – AND introduces Eliza Dushku as the voice of Holly, a young woman intent on finding out what has happened to her brother and the world.

Immerse yourself in the exciting world of Torchwood like never before as you crack codes, break locks and race across landscapes in search of the real truth behind Miracle Day.

What happened to Jack and Gwen on that "missing day" back in 2007 - the day that neither remembers? Is it possible that a young, paranoid conspiracy theorist actually stumbled into the chilling truth and what it means for Miracle Day? The ONLY place to find out is in "Torchwood: Web of Lies."

Torchwood: Web of Lies is written by HUGO award winner Jane Espenson and Ryan Scott and Executive Produced by Russell T Davies.

This first FREE download gives you Episode 1 of Torchwood: Web of Lies. Then watch Torchwood: Miracle Day every week and return to the app the DAY AFTER for an opportunity to get a new episode of Web of Lies. Every episode includes more original story told through motion graphics AND new gameplay, culminating in a thrilling interactive finale in Episode 10.

This application is made by BBC Worldwide. BBC Worldwide is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC. The profits BBC Worldwide make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes.

Jack's relationship with Gwen is – he is very fond of her, but it's more than that. He is very protective of her. Gwen was always the heart of the group, but she has evolved herself. She's still the heart, but now is a bit of the muscle. And Jack, through the process of them being together, has taught her the art of fighting, gun slinging and all that stuff. She has come a very long way. But their relationship is funny, because it's almost like a brother and sister relationship and it's almost like a husband and wife relationship. But there's nothing sexual between them, it's the type of thing where she might finish one of his sentences or vice versa because they know each other so well. And, between Jack and Gwen, if they're in a sticky situation, all it needs is a look from one of them and then they know exactly what they're thinking.

At the end of Children Of Earth, both Jack and Gwen went their separate ways. Jack went off somewhere and Gwen moved to a very quiet part of the country into hiding because she was being hunted. She's been wanted because she's the last remaining member of Torchwood. She goes away and has a baby and lives there with her husband, and they've got quite a perfect, chocolate box kind of cottage, and it's idyllic.

But she is so bored. She's in limbo land and she never switches off. She's constantly in Torchwood mode and always on alert. So when this particular event happens and Captain Jack turns up, he couldn't have turned up at a better time for her, because she was lost.

I wouldn't describe Rex as arrogant but I think he's certainly set in his ways. There's a certain amount of edge to him. I think he's determined and strong and focused. And I think once he has it set in his mind that he wants to do something, that's what he goes out and does. He just goes out and makes it happen, He's very much a black or white person – he's not a grey area guy.

When Rex first meets Captain Jack, they just flat out don't like each other. John's a great guy in person – really funny – loves life. And he's always singing and dancing around and saying crazy things, so I just love the guy. But our characters, definitely in the beginning, clash, there's no question about that. We definitely have different approaches to things. And I haven't figured him out yet.

Coming to the US for Torchwood (the organisation) is like another case. They've dealt with galaxies and universes, so another country is not that big of a deal. It is, however, a big deal for Gwen. She's separated from her husband and from her child. She's arrested and taken to America, so it's heartbreaking on that level. But for Jack, he hits the ground running. For many years Torchwood (the series) has had an American actor in the lead role, so in that sense it feels entirely natural. For the show to hit America, I think it's a new start without being a reboot. That's what's exciting about it. This is simply a new horizon. We have different producing partners, and it has added a new influx of imagination, and frankly, a bigger budget as well.

If you haven't watched Torchwood before, the first important thing to say is – don't be afraid. You don't have to know anything about the show or its history. Everything is explained from the beginning. In that way, it's a completely welcoming new show for a brand new audience. And you should watch because it should be a lot of fun. It's a thriller that is properly answered in 10 episodes. It's not the type of show where you have to hang on for five years and at the end of that you're weeping trying to understand who everyone is and how stories have properly been tied together.

Working with Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger and Matt Smith on the last two series of Doctor Who has been the most fantastic experience and I will miss them hugely... The plans taking shape for the next series of Doctor Who and for the 50th Anniversary are beyond exciting - and with Steven Moffat at the helm, this incredibly special time for the show is in very safe hands.

Much of its current success is down to her vision and ambition for the show. She has been an inspiring and instrumental force and I know will be much missed by all of us, and especially Matt Smith and Steven Moffat.

We couldn’t keep her forever, though God knows I tried. She is off to be brave and brilliant in brand new ways, and the sad news for Doctor Who is that it will be somewhere else.

I’m chuffed to bits to be welcoming her back to Kudos, where her creative instincts and no-nonsense work ethic will make her a force to be reckoned with in the drama world.

Matt Smith (The Doctor) and Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) will be at Amoeba Music to celebrate the release of Doctor Who: Series Six, Part 1 (on DVD and Blu-Ray). Limited to 200 purchasers of Doctor Who: Series Six, Part 1 (available for purchase starting July 19th at Amoeba). Fans can get ONE item of their choice signed as long as they have purchased Series Six, Part 1 on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Doctor Who DVD Signing
Tuesday July 26th 7pm - Hollywood

6400 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028

---

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan make their triumphant return as the Doctor and his companion in an all-new series of Doctor Who! In Part 1, the Doctor, Amy and Rory find themselves in Sixties America, battling the invasion the world forgot, then journey on the high seas of 1696 aboard a pirate ship, to solve the mystery of the Siren. In a bubble universe at the very edge of reality, the Doctor meets an old friend with a new face, and in a monastery on a remote island in the near future, an industrial accident takes on a terrible human shape. And waiting for them, at the end of all this, is the battle of Demon's Run, and the Doctor's darkest hour. Can even the truth about River Song save the Time Lord's soul? Only two things are certain. Silence will fall. And a good man is going to die...

Part 1 of the new season delivered record ratings on BBC AMERICA, earned rave reviews including an “A” and a spot “The Must List” from Entertainment Weekly, and was featured on NBC’s Today show and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

DVD Description
One day, nobody dies. All across the world, nobody dies. And then the next day, and the next, and the next, people keep ageing - they get hurt and sick - but they never die. The result: a population boom, overnight.

With all the extra people, resources are finite. It’s said that in four month's time, the human race will cease to be viable. But this can’t be a natural event – someone’s got to be behind it. It’s a race against time as C.I.A. agent Rex Matheson investigates a global conspiracy. The answers lie within an old, secret British institute. As Rex keeps asking “What is Torchwood?" he’s drawn into a world of adventure, and a threat to change what it means to be human, forever.

Special Features
Magical FX on Miracle Day Special
Behind the Scenes
Motion Comic
Art Dept Tour
Audio Nav & Description