The return of Torchwood

Here's an excerpt about John Barrowman and Torchwood from an interview with the show's producer Peter Bennett:

As you'll no doubt be aware, the third series brings with it some mighty changes. Not only has the show been upgraded from BBC Two to primetime BBC One, but for the first time the team will contend with one major storyline over the course of the series. The run has been shortened from 13 to just five episodes, but in a major gift to fans the entire series will be stripped across five consecutive days.

That's not to mention a few casting changes too! Torchwood producer Peter Bennett gives us a preview of what else series three - codenamed Torchwood: Children of Earth - has in store.

The title for this series is somewhat intriguing. What does it mean?
"Basically from a concept, we wanted to go down the children dilemma route. Because this storyline is a subject that's going to affect all the children of Earth, it was a natural title to come up with."

What's the plotline of this series?
"It's different to every other year. It's not a story about spaceships, but it's about a government that did a deal with aliens back in the '60s, and they're now dealing with the consequences of that deal when the sins of their past come back to haunt them."

What was the thinking behind switching to doing a five-episode serial?
"Having done 26 standalone stories, we kind of wanted to take this series to another level and by making it one story over five nights, we feel we've done that. It's big, it's epic, and it's very different."

It's also changed channels. How has the move to BBC One affected the tone of the show?
"Taking over a week of primetime BBC One is a big responsibility, and something none of us have done before. So we had to approach everything differently, from the way we storylined the series, to the scripting and filming, then right through to the editing. The script has a big cliffhanger and a few unexpected twists along the way. Telling one story has also given us the opportunity to have one director across the whole series, Euros Lyn, who's been incredible and taken the show to a new level."

It's been previously remarked that this new format represents a "resetting" of the show. Is that accurate?
"I guess so. This series takes Torchwood on a much darker journey, but it's still Torchwood. It's exciting, action-packed, and we've still got a lot of fun running through it."

John Barrowman has previously hinted that he might quit the show after this series. Do you think that's true? What do you think Torchwood would be like without Captain Jack?
"I think it would be very difficult without John. I've not heard him say he wouldn't want to stick around after a third series, so I'm not sure where that's come from. But he certainly never mentioned it to us or on set. It wouldn't be the same without him obviously. Captain Jack is a star in his own right!"

I'm still getting over David Tennant leaving Doctor Who so I do not even want to imagine Torchwood without John Barrowman. You can go here for the rest of the interview.

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