Torchwood/Barrowman article round-up....
TV Reviews
Torchwood: Children of Earth - BBC One Monday, July 6 - Friday, July 10 9pm-10pm
09:46 - 01 July 2009
JOHN Barrowman returns as Captain Jack Harkness in a new five-part series of the sassy sci-fi drama, Torchwood.
Captain Jack is joined by his loyal companions, Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd)
Entitled, Children of Earth the new series sees the alien fighting taskforce prompted into action after every single child in the world stops.
A haunting message is then sent to the governments of Earth saying: 'We are coming'.
With Captain Jack and his team being forced underground by the UK government, events escalate to such a degree that mankind faces extinction.
source: http://www.saffronwaldenreporter.co.uk/content/cambs24/entertainment/story.aspx?brand=Cambs24&category=--WhatsonReviewTV&tBrand=HertsCambsOnline&tCategory=entertainmentALL&itemid=WEED01%20Jul%202009%2009%3A48%3A22%3A400
BBC America Comic Con 2009 Schedule
Doctor Who - Planet of the Dead
For those of you attending Comic Con later this month, I thought you might be interested to know that some of BBC America's shows will have panels, including Doctor Who, Torchwood, Being Human, and The Mighty Boosh.
Check out the BBC AMERICA Comic-Con Panel and Signing Schedule below:
Friday, July 24
4:45-5:45pm The Mighty Boosh: creators-stars Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding along with actors Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher and Dave Brown will be on stage to discuss the magical, bizarre and exciting world of The Boosh, currently airing on Adult Swim and released on DVD by the BBC two days before the convention begins. The San Jose Mercury News describes the show as "an acid-trip fantasy-comedy [that] is seriously deranged and seriously funny." Room 6A
3:30-4:30pm The Mighty Boosh signing in the Autograph Area.
Saturday, July 25
3:00-4:00pm Being Human: creator Toby Whithouse and actors Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner signing at the BBC AMERICA booth (#3629).
7:30-10:00pm Torchwood/Doctor Who: Key talent from both shows introduce the last episode of the five part series Torchwood: Children of Earth and an advance viewing of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first of four specials starring David Tennant. Room 6A
Sunday, July 26
10:00-11:00am Doctor Who: actor David Tennant, writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, director Euros Lyn and executive producer Julie Gardner discuss their creative process and experiences working on BBC AMERICA's Doctor Who with exclusive clips and a Q&A session. Ballroom 20
2:15-3:45pm Being Human/Torchwood: Being Human creator Toby Whithouse and cast members Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner, are on stage to give an inside look at BBC AMERICA's U.S. premiere sci-fi drama about the lives of three twenty-somethings and their secret double-lives - as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. Following that actor John Barrowman, creator/writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn talk about the making of the epic five-night television event Torchwood: Children of Earth as well as take questions from the fans. Room 6BCF
source: http://www.daemonstv.com/2009/07/01/bbc-america-comic-con-2009-schedule/
Exclusive - Torchwood's Ianto speaks!
Wednesday, July 1 2009, 9:04am EDT
By Neil Wilkes, Editor
After two series spent as the fifth fiddle, Ianto Jones has now been upgraded to third fiddle in the Torchwood team.
This series Ianto is called upon more than ever before in the face of Torchwood's greatest threat to date. How does he cope with events? And what's the latest with Ianto and Jack? We caught up with the very softly-spoken Gareth David-Lloyd to find out. (Suggestion: turn your volume up)
direct link to video: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid20170988001?bctid=25018448001
source: http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a162570/exclusive-torchwoods-ianto-speaks.html
John Barrowman reveals Torchwood's new secrets
Jun 30, 2009
John Barrowman returns as Captain Jack Harkness in five new episodes of Torchwood to be shown over one week. Here he tells What's On TV what we can expect in the latest adventure, Children Of Earth...
Can you set the scene for the first episode?
"I don't want to give too much away. But Torchwood is confronted with an awful situation - children are stopping in their tracks all over the world, making freaky noises. The frozen children start chanting 'We are coming' in unison and it's Torchwood's job to find out what's going on. The childrens' parents are beside themselves of course and it becomes us-and-them situation with the government."
How is this series different from previous series of Torchwood?
"For series one we were a newborn learning to crawl, in the second we were walking, but in this third series we're running. We've really found our feet. We still have the alien intervention, but we're more of a thriller drama and a lot darker."
The time we see a side to Jack that we hadn't been aware of before…
"That's right. Jack has a daughter and a grandson. That's really all I can say as it adds more depth to Jack and makes his decisions feel more weighty."
Bearing in mind Jack is a sci-fi character that can't die - how does it affect him meeting his daughter and grandson?
"One thing we know about Jack from previous episodes is that he watched his wife die. He watches people he loves get taken from him and that's really hard for him. Gwen has given him a reason to go on. But no one wants to outlive their children, do they? So to play the scene with my daughter was great, but I've had other stories where Jack's met people that have aged when he hasn't."
Did you play Jack any differently this time?
"No. I'm not one of those actors who mulls over things. I'm a huge science fiction fan anyway, so it's easy for me to escape into a fantasy role in any way that's needed. When I put on that coat and boots I'm Jack, not John."
Is there a ruthless side to Jack?
"Absolutely! I've said this from day one, the wonderful thing is that Jack is so determined, ruthless and focused. His objective is to save the planet. So if there's an evil alien inside you, I would shoot you. Gwen makes him see the other side - for example if a human has been taken over by an alien, she wants him to remember that."
How did you feel when you read that the beloved Torchwood base gets blown up?
"I really wanted to turn the page of my script to see what happens! But I can't tell you the secret behind it."
There were only three members of Torchwood this time - was that strange for you?
"With just three of us it's a new look at the team and that's exciting, but we do miss the others - Tosh and Owen - who died in the last series."
Is this your dream job?
"I love what I do, I get a thrill out of it. It's being a little boy living out his fantasy dream. This year my family will be over from the US watching it with me - that's what it is - family event television. I'm so excited."
Do you like Jack's outfits?
"I love them and have my own Captain Jack outfit that I wear around Cardiff. I'm not kidding!"
Being only five episodes long, has this series given you more time for other projects?
"Not really. Last year I got offered two series for American shows, but I turned them down because of my commitments here. It's gone to five because it has to make an impact on BBC1. It has to be an event. We're so happy with this, it's a brilliant piece of TV.
Torchwood will be shown on BBC1 every evening at 9pm from Monday July 6 until Friday July 10.
source: http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/drama/torchwood-2009/interviews/john-barrowman-reveals-torchwoods-new-secrets/6181
John Barrowman talks Torchwood: Children of Earth and why the it may not be over (new video)
July 1, 5:34 PM
John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness
The long awaited return of Torchwood will be over when Torchwood: Children of Earth airs on BBC America in a five-episode mini-season. John Barrowman, who plays Capt. Jack Harkness, promises it will be worth the wait when the series returns on July 20 for five consecutive nights. And word is, if it does well, we could expect more.
"The story, without giving any inkling of what happened, the story is incredible," Barrowman said. "It's darker. It's filled with a lot more action. There's revelations about Jack that are just going to make people, ... let's say, ... crap themselves because they're so shocking. There's things that happen to each and every one of the team that will just blow your mind. It is a huge, big roller coaster, and there's one thing ... [producer] Russell [T. Davies] said this the other day in the panel, so I'm not saying, I think, anything that is out of line. But he said, 'It shows you how things in our life can be disposable.' And he's not just talking about trash. He's talking about individuals."
In the first episode, all the children on the Earth suddenly stop. Torchwood soon discovers an alien threat is behind it all. Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), Rhys (Kai Owen) and PC Andy (Tom Price) all return for the third season. Torchwood: Children of Earth will be the first series on BBC America to be simulcast in HD.
But will there be more Torchwood?
Barrowman said, "That could happen. In fact, I had a discussion the other day with Russell. We were doing a panel, ... showed the first episode at the National Film Theater here in London with an audience of viewers and what we call punters, and we did a panel question thing afterwards. One of the things we came up with, we said, "If this does well, we could come back for [season] four," which I would love and hope that we do. I said-and as Russell said-it could be two events, three events, but done in what we find the stories work over this five-day period as a one-off thing, but we could do maybe two events or three. So then you would get the full amount of episodes."
This is great news to me and all other who love Torchwood. Give us lots more!
Following is a new extended trailer for the mini-series.
direct link to video: http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/262/torchwood-video.jsp?bclid=24196539001
source: http://www.examiner.com/x-5903-Orlando-SciFi-Examiner~y2009m7d1-John-Barrowman-talks-Torchwood-Children-of-Earth-and-why-the-it-may-not-be-over-new-video
Eve on Torchwood Gwen's fast life
1 day ago
Torchwood beauty Eve Myles has said her character Gwen has no time to stop and think in the new action-packed five-part series.
The Welsh actress, who stars alongside John Barrowman in the hit sci-fi drama, said her character Gwen faces "life and death every minute of the day".
She said: "She's constantly evolving in this and there is no time to have second thoughts, it moves so quickly."
She continued: "She's a massive decision maker this year and the first decision is the one she always goes with because there's no time for a plan b, c or d, it's plan a and she goes for it."
Eve added that she would love for the show to have another series but its future depends on the success of the upcoming shows.
"I would love to be able to say 'Yes I've been booked for 55 years,' but I have no idea. We've got amazing fans and people who support and follow it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed."
:: Torchwood: Children Of Earth, a new five-part series for BBC runs every night next week starting Monday at 9pm.
Copyright © 2009 The Press Association.
source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iBxwiD_y9IsdaeBH5QMK85KcazYw
Young actress's excitement over Torchwood role
Thursday, July 02, 2009, 12:46
IT'S not every day that a seven-year-old girl gets caught up in an alien invasion.
But that's exactly what happened to Gorseinon schoolgirl Aimee Davies when she was snapped up to appear in Torchwood.
The latest run of Swansea writer Russell T Davies's smash-hit sci-fi series will be shown over five consecutive nights next week.
And Aimee, who attends Gorseinon Infants School, will be seen in all five of them.
She plays Mica Davies, the niece of regular series character Ianto Jones, filming her scenes with actor Gareth Lloyd Jones, who plays Ianto, and Eve Myles, from Ystradgynlais, who plays Gwen Cooper.
Aimee is a member of the Mark Jermin Stage School. Her mum Sarah Davies said she would be allowed to watch it. "If I see anything I think is unsuitable, I will switch it over quickly," said Sarah. "But Aimee does know it's all make-believe, and it does look such an amazing story."
source: http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Young-actress-s-excitement-Torchwood-role/article-1131665-detail/article.html
Torchwood coming to Comic-Con
July 2, 9:36 AM
The Torchwood universe spans DVDs, CDs, and books. Photo by Karen Sweeny-Justice.
Two years ago, BBC television introduced Torchwood to a not-quite filled room at Comic-Con. That panel event introduced the show -- a spin-off from the popular Doctor Who series -- and featured the writers, who showed clips of the soon-to-air in the United States sci-fi program. This year, Comic-Con attendees can attend a panel discussion that features John Barrowman, star of the hit show. Other panelists include writer/producer Russell T. Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn.
The Torchwood panel discussion will be on July 26 at 2:15 p.m. It comes on the heels of the airing of the third -- abbreviated -- season of Torchwood on BBCAmerica. The five-night event/mini-series airs the week of Comic-Con. (Check local listings.)
Barrowman has gone on record that he felt that the BBC had short-changed Torchwood, one of its most popular series. The show moved from BBC3 to BBC2 and landed on BBC1 for the mini-series. In doing so, it went from a season of 13 episodes to the five that will air this month.
"The five episodes, the mini-series as I call it, are incredible - I have no doubt about that - but personally, I felt like we were being punished," Barrowman told The Radio Times, a BBC magazine. "Other shows move from BBC3 and 2 to 1, and they don't get cut. So why are we? It felt like every time we moved we had to prove ourselves."
While it might have changed channels in the United Kingdom, Torchwood has successfully made the transition to DVD, has spun off a series of BBC Books, has a soundtrack CD, and is now being done as a series of radio plays.
source: http://www.examiner.com/x-14897-ComicCon-Examiner~y2009m7d2-Torchwood-coming-to-ComicCon
Celebrity gossip by Sam Peeps
John Barrowman
Torchwood star John Barrowman is due to return to our TV screens shortly, but when it comes to learning his lines, he has simple way of doing it...
He told me: "I don't read it way ahead. I read it, I learn the lines and we do it. In the read-through I usually am reading it for the first time."
That's either acting John, or just being plain lazy. Get your homework done, and learn those lines!
source: http://www.teletext.co.uk/entertainment/showbiz-spy/c9e65d45111313e212644dedaaeb19ee/Celebrity+gossip+by+Sam+Peeps.aspx
Exclusive - Torchwood's Gwen speaks!
Thursday, July 2 2009, 9:47am EDT
By Neil Wilkes, Editor
On the penultimate day of Torchwood Week, we catch up with the delightful Eve Myles to get her take on the events of Children Of Earth.
This series Gwen is forced to step up to the plate and take control after a devastating event rocks her world. She also has a very large personal revelation to contend with - and an awful lot of running to do. Click 'play' below to see:
direct link to video: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid20170988001?bctid=24889817001
Additional reporting by Chris Allen
source: http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a162573/exclusive-torchwoods-gwen-speaks.html
Torchwood star to open summer fete
8:40am Friday 3rd July 2009
ACTOR John Barrowman will officially open Sully School's Summer Fete this Saturday (July 4).
The 42-year-old star, who plays Captain Jack Harkness in BBC sci-fi hit Torchwood, will get proceedings underway at the school on Burnham Avenue, from 2pm.
Mr Barrowman recently bought a home in the village, following repeated visits to south Wales for filming.
Fete organiser Chris Fletcher says he was pleasantly surprised to secure such a big name.
"It's great of John Barrowman to come and open the fete," he said.
"I've seen him in Sully a few times so thought I'd be cheeky and put a note through his front door.
"I was quite shocked when his agent called saying he'd be delighted to get involved!"
The fete will have a red, blue and white theme as it takes place on American Independence Day. There will be music, displays from South Wales Fire and Rescue, vintage bus rides, tug-of-war, raffle and barbecue and other fair favourites. Entry is 50p.
source: http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/latestnews/4468862.Torchwood_star_to_open_summer_fete/
Torchwood Week: Square Eyes Special Preview
By Mark Wright on July 2, 2009 4:41 PM
Torchwood: Children of Earth - Day One
I've had a somewhat uneven history with Torchwood. The first season, broadcast in 2006, didn't do much for me. It started well enough, but within a few episodes had descended into a juvenile mess that really didn't become the pedigree of the people making it. Cyberwoman still ranks as one of my most hated 45 minutes of drama ever made (which makes me feel bad now, with writer Chris Chibnall doing some sterling work on the recently recommissioned Law and Order: UK). I think it was a problem with identity, and early Torchwood was trying on different hats to see what fit.
By the end of the first season, things had settled down somewhat, with the final two episodes of the season showing some of the promise that was to come.
Season two was a stellar leap forward in terms of style and consistency. The tone was less forced and the writers knew the characters better. There was less emphasis on bolting on self-conscious adult content and it got on with telling good stories - Owen's journey throughout the season being particularly well thought out. There were some stumbles, but nothing's perfect, and this season finished with a brace of episodes that were action-packed and shocking in places - even if the lad playing Jack's brother had more wood than Epping Forest.
And now we come to Children of Earth, effectively being Torchwood's coming of age - it's in the big league now, playing out on BBC1 over five nights. Many Torchwood fans are seeing this as a slight to the show, some kind of punishment and that it's a sure sign of the BBC wanting to kill it off. Which is, obviously, nonsense (although star John Barrowman takes a different view).
Children of Earth: Day One, is a calm, considered, intelligently played and chilling piece of drama that sets up things for coming four episodes. It helps that this marks Russell T Davies's return to Torchwood, a series he created, as scriptwriter for the first time since Everything Changes. And it shows…
On Doctor Who, Davies is often forced to play to the crowd, sometimes keeping Doctor Who's legacy in mind, and that, personally speaking, sometimes takes away the subtlety that his writing can so effortlessly deliver. With Children of Earth, after nearly five years' marathon running on Doctor Who (read The Writer's Tale, and you'll wonder how the man is still standing), he is clearly delighting in the gear change. There's no plot to resolve in 45 minutes or less here, there's another four episodes to follow. If anything, the sometimes-sedate pace of the first 50 minutes or so might work against it.
But after 26 episodes of Torchwood that ran at break neck speed, this is lovely stuff. This first episode is full of great character moments as the central mystery is established - just why did children all across the earth just stop - literally stop - between 8.40 and 8.41 (British time)? Who are the 456? Are Ianto and Jack an item? There's a great little scene between Gwen and Dr Rupesh, a character who is slowly being drawn into Torchwood's world, about how suicide rates have doubled since the first contact with aliens. It's as poetic a piece of writing as we've had from Davies in anything he's written.
The action switches between Cardiff and London, as it becomes clear that somebody in Westminster knows more about why the children are being affected and why they're now chanting "We are coming" in spooky unison. But take a moment to readjust to seeing Peter Capaldi (brilliant as civil servant John Frobisher) against a political backdrop without a tirade of creative swearing. I swear he walks up the same flight of stairs that Malcolm Tucker does in In the Loop.
There's a very tasty cast here - Capaldi, Nicholas Farrell, Lucy Cohu, amongst others. But it's Paul Copley (surely one of our most underrated actors) as Clement McDonald who steals the show, with a delightfully twitchy performance - again, a scene with Gwen is one of the highlights of the episode.
And then, after all this layering, all this set up, the pace ups dramatically - with the gunshot that starts it practically acting like a starting pistol. As the credits run, you're left blinking at the breakneck speed in which the last 10 minutes unfolds, ending with a cliffhanger that ensures you'll be back the following night.
On the basis of this first episode, Torchwood: Children of Earth deserves to be a big success. It's an intelligent sci-fi drama with a good cast and an engaging story that is a million miles away from where this Doctor Who spin-off began. And not a Cyberwoman in sight.
source: http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2009/07/torchwood-week-square-eyes-special-preview/
Kai: There has to be more Torchwood
5 hours ago
Kai Owen says the final episode of the new Torchwood mini-series is so "phenomenal" there has to be another round of the programme.
The Welsh actor, who plays Gwen's love interest Rhys, said the cast are just waiting for the go-ahead.
"Waiting for the nod, hopefully it will be happening - nothing has been confirmed yet but I'd do it forever, it's a brilliant job," he said.
Kai continued: "I mean, it gets better after that first episode as well, it makes you want to watch the other four and they get better and better and better, episode five is so phenomenal, so it's got to happen again."
Talking about the new series, which airs next week, he said: "It was just lovely to work on one big storyline all the way through it.
"I loved that part about it really, because we all knew what was happening and we were all excited to see how it was gonna end because we knew it was all gonna tie in."
:: Torchwood: Children Of Earth, a new five-part series for the BBC, runs every night next week starting on Monday at 9pm.
Copyright © 2009 The Press Association.
source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iVQMeGaTcANMKgXwlHJr6-56mfQg
Young Barry star Luke (12) takes feature role in new series of BBC's Torchwood
Friday, 03 July 2009
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REPORT by TIM CHAPMAN
ONE of the most eagerly-anticipated television events of this summer is the latest BBC series of Torchwood, a five-part story on successive evenings starting on July 6 - and one of the stars is a youngster from Barry!
Luke Perry, aged 12, a pupil at Ysgol Gyfun Bro Morgannwg, was already an experienced performer by the time he landed the role of David in Torchwood: Children of the Earth.
Luke told The GEM: "I started getting involved in amateur dramatics when I was six years old.
"At the age of seven, I joined Anita's Theatre School and then, because my mother Lisa belonged to the adult section of Billboard Ensemble Theatre Group, I decided to audition for the junior section and was accepted."
Luke's big break came when he appeared as the body double of the ‘Empty Child' in Dr Who.
"I was then taken on at The Workshop run by the Cardiff agent Peter Wooldridge and since then I've appeared in theatre and TV productions."
In a stage production of Peter Pan, he played the part of Michael Darling, acting alongside Paul Nicholas who took the role of Captain Hook; and in A Christmas Carol, swift costume changes enabled him to play four children's parts opposite Ron Moody.
Until Torchwood, his most prominent TV part was as the son of a farmer in an episode of Casualty.
Torchwood is one of the BBC's most successful shows in recent years and has quickly acquired a cult following.
So how did he land his latest role?
"I was chosen at an audition last summer. In August I had my first read through - Russell T Davies, the producer walked in, then John Barrowman, and then Eve Myles!
"I was very nervous. I even had to read a second part on top of my own because one boy hadn't turned up to the read through.
"In Children of Earth, David is Ianto's nephew, and I appear in each of the five episodes.
"I acted with Eve Myles more than John Barrowman, and she was great - so nice and funny. The filming took nine days in and around Cardiff, some of it in a studio.
"At the end of filming, I was even invited to the wrap-up party at John Barrowman's house!"
Luke's enthusiasm for performing is stronger than ever.
"In the future, I'd like to do a comedy. One of my favourite actors is Lee Evans."
For Luke's mum Lisa, his acting ambitions have meant quite a bit of running around.
Lisa explained: "On Tuesday it's Billboard, Wednesday, The Acting Workshop, Thursday, singing lessons, and Friday, The Lorri Guppy School of Dance, so it's hard work for a parent!
"Luke and Jay Ruckley (Luke's friend who stars in BBC's Grandpa in My Pocket) are proof that youngsters from south Wales can make it into productions on national television.
"One of the nice things about Torchwood was that a lot of the stars speak Welsh, so Luke was able to talk to them in Welsh."
Torchwood: Children of Earth starts on Monday, July 6 at 9pm on BBC1.
source: http://www.barry-today.co.uk/tn/news.cfm?id=26457&headline=Young%20Barry%20star%20Luke%20(12)%20takes%20feature%20role%20in%20new%20series%20of%20BBC%E2%80%99s%20Torchwood
Torchwood Week: John Barrowman
By Scott Matthewman on July 3, 2009 1:31 PM
John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness
Torchwood week on TV Today
And so Torchwood Week starts to draw to a close here on TV Today, with the last of our interviews. After yesterday's talk with Eve Myles, Wednesday's conversation with Gareth David-Lloyd and our two-part interview with Russell T Davies on Monday and Tuesday, we've saved the biggest, brashest player till last: John Barrowman.
As before, expect some spoilers ahead. And, as before, the questioning took place a few weeks ago after the press screening of Children of Earth: Day One - hence why there are no questions about his comments to the Radio Times.
So for readers coming fresh to Children of Earth, can you set the scene for us?
I don't want to give too much away, but in episode 1 what you get is Torchwood confronted with a situation of children stopping in their tracks all over the world, making freaky noises. Torchwood is trying to work out what's going on. Normally, Torchwood would be working together with the government, although the government thinks that Torchwood is a pain in the ass.
You've got this new kind of structure going on where the government aren't really helping with Torchwood. So it becomes about us and them. And then you've got the 456, who are an alien race named after the frequency they used to contact Earth in the 1960s. And the past is coming back to haunt.
When you started work on this series, did you get a sense that it was a different show? It's quite a different set up to the previous seasons.
Yes. In series one, we were like a newborn, learning to crawl. Series 2, we were learning to walk. And now, in Series 3, we're running. We've found our feet and what we're about. We still have the alien intervention, in a way. We're more of a thriller, and a lot darker, which is what Russell wanted Torchwood to be in the first place - but we tried different things and now we've finally landed, in a sense.
But you've also got the family aspects that Captain Jack hasn't had before.
Yeah. Which is nice. And it's how and where that goes. Jack has a daughter and a grandson, and that's really all I can say about that. It adds a whole new, it adds more depth to Jack and it makes his decisions feel more weighty.
How early on in the process did you find out you were getting a daughter who looked your age, if not older?
When I read the script. The one thing I don't interfere with is asking what we would like or how this would be done. I like to be surprised like the rest of us. And that's happened since I've been in Doctor Who, finding out that Jack's the Face of Boe, and things with Torchwood… That's what makes it exciting for me to go to work as an actor. When I read it, I go, "Right, how am I going to play this?"
So I knew about it when that script landed in front of me.
How do you go about playing those scenes with Jack and his daughter? Because it's an odd scenario. Do you visualise her as being much younger than you?
No. I'm not one of those actors who mulls over things like that, I'll be totally honest with you. I get up and I do it. For me, it's easy to take myself out of who I am and go into this fantasy role and believe, because I'm a huge science fiction fan. Watching science fiction, I take myself out of reality and put myself into their reality. So it's very easy for me to do that. When I'm in that coat and in that outfit, I'm Jack. I don't think of myself os John. When I look at that guy on screen, I don't see John. I see Jack.
And we've met people from Jack's past before, such as the fairy episode (Series 1's Small World) where we met a woman he was in a relationship with who was now in her eighties. But it's all about relationships, and for me they are easy to play. I've said this, even going back to musical theatre, you have to make yourself, or allow yourself, to fall in love with the person in order to have a relationship with them. And I find that quite easy to do.
Bearing in mind that Jack is this larger than life sci-fi character who can never die, how does giving him a family change him?
The obvious things. You know that his wife has died, he's watched her die. That's one thing you know about Jack from other episodes, that he watches people he loves go and that's really hard for him. His outlook has completely changed: in season 1, he wanted to die, as he had no reason for living - and Gwen showed him that. In season 2, he was using his ability to help save the world.
But no-one wants to outlive his children.
As well as the bond between them, we also see a bit of Jack's ruthless side.
Absolutely. That's Jack. I've said this from day one, and it's the wonderful thing that Russell has done, Jack is so determined with his objective and his focus. Even I talk about this often when we're together as Jack and Gwen, and we're looking at stuff. We've just done the Torchwood radio plays. We were reading it and something didn't work and we said, "Jack wouldn't say that, Gwen would say that and Jack would just barrel ahead." So we switched the lines.
But yeah, he is focussed, he is ruthless. His objective is to save the planet, and if that means shooting you because you have an alien inside you, he'll shoot you.
That's what Gwen is there for. Gwen is trying to make him see the other side, you know, for instance if it is a human being taken over by an alien. I mean, that was in Series 2's Sleeper. Jack just wanted to kill them, but Gwen was like, you've got to see the human side of this.
And it turns out that they were just going to destroy people and kill people, so we had to kill them.
How does the team dynamic feel now that you've lost Naoko Mori and Burn Gorman?
Eve, Gareth and I will always miss them. That's one thing we wanted to make sure in the show, that we have a little moment. Because they were there with us since day one, and they were part of of the beginning of Torchwood, and they'll always be part of Torchwood. Although they're not there physically, they are there in spirit. And they do get mentioned at times throughout. Just as at the end of the last series of Doctor Who, where it was Tosh who had created the time bubble to save Gwen and Ianto. So there are little bits like that all the time.
It's kind of like a new start for Torchwood.
It is a new start. It's a new look at the team. We're tighter, just the three of us. That's not to say that some others don't get involved.
Do you like the fact that the Torchwood team is more vulnerable this series?
Um. We don't know that yet, because you don't know what's yet to come. At the end of episode 1, yes, things happen. But put it this way, do you think that Jack has not stashed stuff? He might have, he might not…
That's one of the interesting things to watch: where they go from that point. And I really don't want to say more, because it's exciting for the audience. You'll enjoy watching it. That's why I haven't watched the rest of the episodes yet. Obviously I filmed them, so I know what happens, but I want to wait until they air to watch them.
I love sitting and watching. And like I said, these are characters that are heroes, and I love watching the show! I enjoy it. I totally detach myself. I'm not one of those actors who goes, "I can't watch myself." That's bullshit. Don't agree with it. Why are you doing it if you can't watch yourself? And it's not like any psychological thing. I know it's me, but I see him as Captain Jack. I can detach from it.
Normally, what we've done in the past - and I have pictures of this in my book - I have everybody around and we watch on the big screen. Then when each of comes on screen, we take a picture of each other in front of the screen. So that's one thing.
I absolutely love what I do, I get a real thrill out of it. It's being the little boy, living his little fantasy dream. But this year, I will be in Wales watching it on television.
So you will be having a party all five nights?
We might! My family will be there this time because they are coming over from the States. So we're going to sit down and make it what it is: a family event television. Although we don't have any kids in the family any more - they're all old enough to watch it.
So not to labour the point, but does that mean you stay away from seeing rushes and things like that?
I don't see rushes. I don't think there's a need. You know, Russell's the producer and writer. We hire editors and directors. They're doing their job. As an actor you should trust in those people, and know that they are doing their job brilliantly. I know that they wouldn't hire anybody crap. So why do I need to see rushes?
That's not a flippant answer, that's good sense.
I like to sit and watch it as someone to be entertained by it. I think it's awesome. It moves like lightning. There's a lot of information to give the viewer, especially those who are going to join us for the first time on BBC1.
There are rumours that you've been filming some scenes for David Tennant's final episodes of Doctor Who.
Why would you ask that? [smiles]
There have been photos.
I have a confession: I have my own Captain Jack outfit and I wear it around Cardiff. You think I'm lying? I think they caught me coming out of Tesco and running to the car…
Coming back to Torchwood. Was the shooting schedule different as a result of the five-episode storyline?
It wasn't as long, it was tighter. A lot of us had busy schedules - Eve, Gareth and I are all doing other things so we had to work around that. And we had other cast members, so they were able to film scenes with other characters while we were finishing up what we were doing. So yeah, it was a bit different.
Did you film episode by episode?
No, it was all completely out of sequence. One day we might film something from episode 5, then go back to something from episode 3. And that was unique for us as actors, because normally we film each episode and then move to the next. So we were learning as we went. Euros Lyn, our director, was great. Also, our continuity woman helped. We would say, "Right, where are we? Where have we come from, where are we going?" On a daily basis, you job as an actor is to know the lines you have in the scenes coming up, but you sometimes don't have the knowledge of what's just happened.
So how would you like the series to progress from here?
Again, I don't think of those things. I'll leave that up to the writers. If we do come back for a fourth series, I'd like to see more episodes, though.
So with the reduced filming schedule this year, has that opened up your diary for other work?
Yes and no. If we did a series 4, we'd have to start pencilling it in right away because of other things I've got to do. Last year, BBC America offered me two series for American television, and I turned them down because of my commitments here. And I've always said that I would come back here. So yes it does open everything up, but that's not why we have a shorter series this time. It's not because of me!
At the launch of series 2, you seemed a bit battered by the rigours of the production schedule. Did that have any bearing on the reduced length?
Yeah, I was, but that wasn't the reason. We needed to make an impact on BBC1, we have to have an event to bring that BBC1 audience in, although we're bringing the audience we already have along. That's why I think it was done, but that's a question you'll have to direct to other people and not to myself.
But we're so happy with this. It's going to be a brilliant piece of television, and it works. But if there's a future for Torchwood, I'd just like more! Who wouldn't?
source: http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2009/07/torchwood-week-john-barrowman/