Torchwood Fun Facts EveryJoe

Do you know when Torchwood was founded? Where its located (come on, that one’s easy), or the origin of the name? If you don’t know the answers, you will after you read these Torchwood Fun Facts from BBC America!

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— 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 episodes 11-13 of series 3 (Utopia, Sound of the Drums, & Last of the Time Lords). He was also in episodes 12 & 13 of series 4 (The Stolen Earth & Journey’s End). (SEE NOTE AT END)

— 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.

NOTE: Several people have left comments correcting the material above – the funny thing is — the original material came straight from BBC America, but it does appear that the commenters are correct, so I changed the above to reflect that info. Any corrections on the corrections?

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.

Graphic: BBC America

Courtney

Just a note: John Barrowman didn’t appear in series 2 of Doctor Who. He did appear in episodes 11-13 of series 3 however: Episodes: ‘Utopia’, ‘Sound of the Drums’, & ‘Last of the Time Lords’. He was also in episodes 12 & 13 of series 4, ‘The Stolen Earth’ & ‘Journey’s End’.

As for where Torchwood is located: That depends on which one you’re referring to: One was in London, Two is in Glasgow, Three is in Cardiff, & no one’s really sure where Four is….they haven’t heard from them in years…..
Pam in Cincinnati

Nice article! Can’t wait for the new season, and I’m really glad to see your listing shows that the run time will include the full episode. As a devoted American Torchwood fan, I was worried that the version we’d get in America would be cut down to fit into the time slot. (Though it’s odd that the encore episodes will only be an hour long…)

Just to be an ubernerd (and please feel free to read this in your best “geek with no life” voice), John Barrowman actually reprised the role of Jack Harkness, not in the second season of Doctor Who, but in its third and fourth seasons’ climactic episodes. In the third season, the episodes were “Utopia”, “The Sound of Drums”, and “The Last of the Time Lords”; in the fourth season, the episodes were “The Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End”.
Courtney

Cynthia, be that as it may, you’d think they’d get the information right, and not have to be corrected by fans!

Makes me wonder who actually writes those things, since true fans can spot the mistakes quite easily and quickly…..

Either way though, I’m glad to see something like this from BBC America. I can’t wait to see the new series when it airs next month…..
Melissa

I just finished watching “Day 5″ of The Children of Earth mini-series. I have been searching the web to have a question answered, which led me here.
Is this it? – Is Torchwood cancelled and over with? The ending of Day 5 kind of wrapped it all up, tying up loose ends and killing off most of the main characters… Hopefully someone out there has the answer, and I hope I am wrong and there is a new season around the cornor…b/c I totally love Torchwood – (and Dr. Who!).

an American Sci-Fi fan – who happens to love the BBC channel!
Rock

I like the smooth acting between black and whites and their voices kill me . now if only america could do the same instead of just a token black guy every now and then.the kissing stuff is a little well…hey I am straight…:)
Ed Marini

Torchwood is an amazing show and I love how uninhibited the Brits are. America is so uptight with showing affection between two men not to mention how blacks and whites get along. I lost my black mate from pancreatic cancer here in New Mexico and when I discovered Torchwood I was bowled over. The openness between the characters is incredible! I wish my mate had lived long enough to see the show. He would have loved it. I plan to name my ten acre plot of land Torchwood out of respect for the show. Also I love African Brits they are totally incredible must be the accent!
To all you other fans out there, Live Long and Prosper!
Cynthia

Courtney and Pam — right as you may be — the information posted came straight from BBC America! LOL.
Cynthia

Torchwood wasn’t “cancelled” – but it’s no longer running as a regular series. At Comic Con this weekend, they talked about the fact that the mini series was so popular the BBC is likely to ask them to do it again and if they do, it will mostly likely be in that same miniseries format.