TV

Press Release:
WE ARE COMING

BBC AMERICA’s top-rated series, Torchwood, returns for an epic television event over five consecutive nights with the U.S. premiere of Torchwood: Children of Earth. Created by Russell T Davies, the series which will launch BBC AMERICA HD, has the Torchwood team facing their fiercest threat to date – one which throws the future of Torchwood and the entire human race spiraling into danger. Torchwood: Children of Earth premieres on Monday, July 20, 9:00 – 10:15 p.m. ET/PT. A new episode premieres each night from Monday, July 20 through Friday, July 24, 9:00 – 10:15 p.m. ET/PT. The previous night’s episode will encore at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Creator, lead writer and executive producer Russell T Davies on the concept of Torchwood: Children of Earth: “I wanted to tell a story in which civilization snaps, in which we turn on ourselves, in which nothing is safe. Plenty of people live like that, on this planet. In this story, it’s Britain’s turn.”

An ordinary day becomes a world of terror, as every child in the world stops. Stops playing. Stops laughing. Stops everything. Then, as one, they begin to speak with the same voice, announcing to the governments of Earth: “We are coming.”

As Torchwood investigates, a trap closes around Captain Jack (John Barrowman) and sins of the past return as long-forgotten events from 1965 threaten to reveal an awful truth.

Torchwood is forced underground, as the government takes swift and brutal action. With members of the team being hunted down, Britain risks becoming a rogue state, with the mysterious and powerful 456 drawing ever closer.

Captain Jack, Gwen (Eve Myles) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) are helpless, as events escalate until humankind faces the end of civilization itself. As they battle against the odds, do they stand a chance of saving humankind?

Special guests are Peter Capaldi (In The Loop, The Thick Of It, Skins), as Mr. Frobisher – a government official hiding a terrible secret, Paul Coply (Coronation Street, The Bill) as Clem – a survivor still haunted by his past, and Liz May Brice (Bad Girls, The Bill) as Johnson – the cynical covert government agent determined to expose Torchwood. The new season promises to be Torchwood’s most disturbing and intense adventure to date.

Leading into the Torchwood: Children of Earth U.S. premiere, Torchwood: Inside the Hub, an exclusive BBC AMERICA original, premieres Monday, July 20, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. The program features everything there is to know about Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and the rest of the Torchwood team and gives a sneak peek at what Torchwood: Children of Earth has in store.

Torchwood week continues as the hit series returns to Comic-Con with a screening of the finale on Saturday, July 25, 7:30 p.m. PT and a panel featuring John Barrowman, Russell T Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn, Sunday, July 26, 2:15-3:45 p.m. PT.
Torchwood: Children of Earth hits stores on Blu-ray and DVD July 28, 2009 – just four days after its dramatic finale on BBC AMERICA.

ABOUT TORCHWOOD
• Torchwood is separate from the Government, outside the Police, beyond the United Nations. More secret than MI5 or MI6, not even the Government is supposed to know about them.

• The Torchwood hub is situated deep beneath the Cardiff Millennium Center.

• Torchwood was formed in 1879 by the Royal decree of Queen Victoria as a result of her experiences in Doctor Who: Series 2: Tooth & Claw.

• Torchwood is an anagram of Doctor Who. When the first season of the new Doctor Who (2005) was being made, television pirates were desperate to acquire the preview tapes. One of the people in the office had the idea of labeling the tapes with the anagram ‘Torchwood’ rather than Doctor Who, as a security measure to disguise the tapes when they were delivered from Cardiff to London. Writer Russell T Davies liked this idea so much that it later inspired him to use it as a title when creating this spin-off series.

• John Barrowman first appeared as Captain Jack Harness in Episode 9 (The Empty Child) of the first season of Doctor Who. He also appeared in The Doctor Dances, Boom Town, Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways in the same season, and again in the episodes Army of Ghosts and Doomsday in the second season.

• The part of Gwen in Torchwood was written specially for Eve Myles. She first appeared as Gwyneth in Episode 3 (The Unquiet Dead) of the first season of Doctor Who.

• Gareth David-Lloyd’s character, Ianto Jones, began as the team’s assistant who always sports a fine tailored suit while ensuring the rest of the team has everything it needs. Ianto has now grown to be an integral part of the team, especially after the loss of Tosh (Naoko Mori) and Owen (Burn Gorman) in season two.

TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH – INTERVIEWS
CREATOR AND LEAD WRITER RUSSELL T DAVIES
Do people need to know the back story to Torchwood to be able to enjoy this new series?

“No, not at all – there are fleeting references to the past, but from the moment it starts, we’re telling a brand new story. It’s been deliberately written so that no one will be lost – and at the same time, the faithful viewer will discover so much more about the members of the Torchwood team. There are plenty of rewards for the long-term fan.”

How did you come up with the concept for this new series?

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