Torchwood series three

[Mr Pointy]

I came across this while browsing around...

...scripts for Season 3 are currently being developed and filming should start in the middle of August for airing on BBC1 in the spring of 2009. Best news of all, John Barrowman will return as the dashing bi-sexual adventurer. Though keeping more details close to the vest, executive producer Julie Gardner vows that fans "will be pleased with the casting."...

Fans, however, may not be so happy with the mere five hours slated for next season. "We've decided to do a five-part mini-series, one big story that will run during one week," says Gardner, adding, "I wanted to make a really big noise about the show."

So far, the BBC has only green lit these five hours, but there could be more, we're told. When (or even whether) BBC America will run the mini-series has yet to be decided.

Torchwood Season 3 preview - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com (http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Torchwood-Season-3/800040744)

I'm not entirely sure how credible this report is but it sounds reasonable. I'm not ever so sure whether or not this will be a good or bad thing.

edit - after more browsing around I came across this little gem that I really must listen out for...
A one-off special of Torchwood is being made to air on BBC Radio 4 in the summer.

The 45-minute show is written by Joseph Lidster, who penned a recent television episode and is behind much of the BBC's online Doctor Who content.

Stars including John Barrowman will feature and the Torchwood team will produce along with BBC Wales's Kate McAll.

Airing as Radio 4's Afternoon Play, it has been planned to coincide with the opening of the world's biggest particle accelerator in Switzerland.

Lidster is working the story around a particle accelerator, according to Broadcast.

Cult - News - Radio 4 to air one-off 'Torchwood' - Digital Spy (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a92371/radio-4-to-air-one-off-torchwood.html)

The opening of the LHC is something that both interests and concerns me...we might end up with a black hole in Switzerland and then it's "bye-bye world"...
Large Hadron Collider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider)

[edb]

Cut to only 5 hours...that's not sounding very good for the future of the show. :(

I'd heard rumours that it may not be coming back for a thrid season, so am at least glad that it is coming back, although I'll reserve judgement to see how well only 5 hours work out.

Thanks for the info though! :)

[Bored of the Dead]

Let us assume that the information is accurate.

OK, well being that the show hasn't been given a definite date slot in the two years it has been on AND that Russell is leaving Dr Who, and that there won't be a Doctor Who series in 2009, I don't necessarily see this as bad news.

Maybe they are setting it up for it to take over the Dr Who phenom in 2009(not that it could) or maybe Russell is leaving the verse completely and no one has stepped up yet.

Meh, no issue.

Now, again on the assumption it is accurate

"will be pleased with the casting."...
Anyone want to chant with me

Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman and James Marsters
Please be Freema Agyeman... you get the point

[Mr Pointy]

There was a throwaway comment from RTD in tonight's Confidential which might put the kybosh on the James and Freema dream ticket.

He was talking about cross-overs in the new Whoniverse and mentioned that all the main companions except Sarah Jane had worked for Torchwood in some way. A clip from SJA showed her explaining how she didn't trust the methods of such organisations. He then said something along the lines of how her attitude would soon be changing, with a little wink in his speech. I wonder if Ms Smith will be appearing in the TW mini-series...that certainly would explain Julie Gardner's comment about fans being pleased with the casting.

BTW - in case anyone was wondering - Jack runs TW Cardiff, Rose works for TW on Alternate Earth, Donna worked for a wholly-owned subsiduary of TW and Martha was on secondment to TW from UNIT.

[N4H]

Sarah Jane might be fun, but mostly because I'm assuming she'd come with K-9.

I never noticed that before about all the companions having Torchwood connections. Cool.

[Mr Pointy]

A little more TW S3 news from Dreamwatch -
Russell T Davies has revealed the title of series three's arc story exclusively to Torchwood magazine. Torchwood: Children Of Earth is the tantalising name of the five-part story, set for broadcast over one week on BBC1 in spring 2009.

Russell outlined his vision for the new series at a top secret 'tone meeting' last month, where writers, producers and key crew get together to thrash out the details of the script before production begins. "I usually give you all one or two tone words when we have a meeting like this," the executive producer told the assembled team, "but if I were to give you two words this time, they would be 'Euros Lyn'. More than ever before, this series of Torchwood will be director-led, and it will look absolutely amazing."

Euros Lyn is known to Doctor Who fans for directing such varied stories as The End Of The World and The Girl In The Fireplace. Most recently, he oversaw the Steven Moffat two-parter Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead. Children Of Earth will be his first foray into the world of Torchwood, but promises to be every bit as ambitious in its scope.

Principal photography on series three began on August 18, and is set to continue until November – in Cardiff and beyond.

Russell T Davies reveals "Children Of Earth" is title for Torchwood series 3 story arc News - Total Sci Fi (http://www.dwscifi.com/news/2354-russell-t-davies-reveals-children-of-earth-is-title-for-torchwood-series-3-story-arc)


Another rumour I read recently (from an unreliable original source - The Sun newspaper) is that Freema will not now be appearing in TW S3 as Martha because she has signed up to work with the BBC's rival broadcaster ITV on something which would conflict with the TW schedule. Apparently the TW production team were not amused with the resulting re-writes etc.

Cult - News - Agyeman chooses ITV over 'Torchwood'? - Digital Spy (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a115019/agyeman-chooses-itv-over-torchwood.html)

I'm not sure how that will affect the TW radio play, which is due in September to coincide with the Large Hadron Collider going online in Switzerland. The BBC press release says that Martha is in it.
Afternoon Play: Torchwood: Lost Souls
2.15pm, Wednesday 10 September

"Somewhere out there in that chaos of darkness and light, of science and protons, of gods and stars and death... somewhere there's an answer."

The Torchwood Institute was founded by Queen Victoria in 1879 to protect the British Empire against the threat of alien invasion. By 2008, all that remains of the organisation is a small team based in Cardiff. And now, following the tragic deaths of two of their colleagues, the remaining three – Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones – have to protect the human race against another unknown force from the darkness.

Martha Jones, ex-time traveller and now working as a doctor for a UN task force, has been called to CERN – the world's largest particle physics laboratory in Geneva – where they're about to activate the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

The LHC is a particle accelerator which has been built deep underground in a 27km tunnel under Switzerland and France. Once activated, the collider will fire beams of protons together, recreating conditions a billionth of a second after the Big Bang – and potentially allowing the human race a greater insight into what the Universe is made of.

But so much could go wrong – it could open a gateway to a parallel dimension, or create a black hole – and now voices from the past are calling out to people and scientists have started to disappear...

Where have the missing scientists gone? What is the secret of the glowing man? What is lurking in the underground tunnel? And do the dead ever really stay dead?

Torchwood is a spin-off from the award-winning BBC Wales TV production Torchwood. Written by Joseph Lidster, it stars John Barrowman, Freema Agyeman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Lucy Montgomery (of Tittybangbang) and Stephen Critchlow.
BBC - Press Office - Radio 4: Big Bang experiment programmes (http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/08_august/07/cern2.shtml)

Phew! How's that for a Torchwood news splurge? :)

[Gollanth]

Oh boy, oh boy! I can't wait. :totallyou

[N4H]

I'm wondering if the fact no new cast members have been announced yet is a clue to who the new Torchwood crew might be.

My impression from watching the TW, and DW news is the spoilers generally pop up when somebody new signs a contract. So assuming there are new Torchwood members you'd think they'd have to have an existing contract. Would the guy who plays Mickey have one of those? Would James Marsters? Freema would you'd think, but the rumour is she's going to that ITV, Law and Order: England thing.

I found it interesting that Naoki Mori who played Tosh was at the comic con convention in San Diego, with the Torchwood panel, and she started talking about Tosh in the present tense. She had to be corrected by the Torchwood production person who also was on the panel. "She's dead", she said.

Here's a link to the comic-con stuff.

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: CCI: Torchwood (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17561)

[Vilandra]

Veeerrrryyyyyy interesting... :D

[Mr Pointy]

Just a reminder :)
Afternoon Play: Big Bang Day: Torchwood: Lost Souls
Wednesday 10 September
2:15pm - 3:00pm
BBC Radio 4

By Joseph Lidster. The Torchwood team go to Geneva, where former time-traveller Martha Jones is now working as a doctor at the world's biggest physics laboratory, CERN. Deep in an underground tunnel, a giant particle accelerator is about to be activated. But something strange is happening. Scientists are hearing voices and collapsing with a strange illness. Is something lurking in the tunnel? With John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Freema Agyeman. Directed by Kate McAll.
http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=55&programmeId=84505893&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp

Freema is in this one but it looks like the unreliable source was right...I read in today's paper that Freema was in the UK version of Law and Order but not TW.

BTW - UK listeners will be able to pick it up on the BBC i-Player if they miss it and I'm sure everyone else will be able to find it somewhere;) I only hope that I remember to set it to record before I go to work tomorrow :)

[Velvet Sky]

I'm excited for this. I've spent the last month watching the first two seasons of Torchwood, and the first three seasons of Dr Who which we found available to rent at a local video store. Really enjoyed it all. :)

[NIX]

I really need torchwood back on Tv :( I miss it, it rocked so much :) mmm capt jack is just so yummy :)