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Torchwood series 4 details

Am worried about TW becoming less and less british.

Me too!

I think it's a given that Series Four won't be as British as the first three series, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. RTD's work on Doctor Who and Torchwood have always been about, amongst other things, British patriotism -- appreciating British culture and history, appreciating the diversity that exists within the United Kingdom, celebrating the accomplishments of Britons throughout history, and examining the behavior of the British government.

And here and there throughout his work, there have been hints about the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. Much of it has wobbled between appreciation and skepticism or even rivalry -- Captain Jack is clearly based upon the archetypes of American action heroes and he's generally seen in a positive light, America was depicted as having every intention to send vital humanitarian aide to Britain after the London detonation in "Turn Left" before being devastated by its own national mass murder, and certainly Barack Obama was depicted in a positive light in "The End of Time, Part One."

But, on the other hand, you also have the "He's not my boss" bit from "The Christmas Invasion," the U.S. President-elect being depicted as a jackass for taking control of first contact with the Toclafane away from the British (and for putting the U.S. seal of office on the related documents and broadcasts rather than the U.N. seal, even though the Valiant was a U.N.I.T. vessel), the reference to a future war between Europe and America in "Voyage of the Damned," and the overbearing American military seizing control of the British government in the final episodes of Children of Earth.

So what I'm looking forward to -- and what I think will be interesting, with American writers aboard -- is seeing The New World explore more of the relationship between Britain and America in the Whoniverse. Is America a friend or foe, heroic or villainous, as embodied in the relationship between the C.I.A. and Torchwood? The C.I.A., of course, has been involved in a lot of shady stuff throughout its history and isn't necessarily a good reflection of America overall -- but then, that's true of the Torchwood Institute, which of course was depicted as an antagonist of the Doctor's throughout Series Two.

So, yeah, The New World won't be quite as British, but I think that by examining the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, that may be a good thing. Being less British doesn't mean that it will be Americanized.

ETA:

I wonder why there's no Chibnall. He's the veteran TW writer, surely.

He's probably busy with Law & Order: U.K. RTD is bringing a British show to America, and Chibnall is bringing an American show to Britain! Isn't syncretism fun?
 
Bones naysaying. wow. i. am. so. shocked.
[/sarcasm]
Captcalhoun posting with no real point to make. I'm not shocked at all.
Bones naysaying. wow. i. am. so. shocked.
[/sarcasm]

People calling Bones on expressing his opinion. wow. i. am. so. shocked.

I have a low opinion of RTD and Barrowman too, as low as, if not lower than Bones'. Can I be mocked too please? Pretty please?
Love you mate. :)
...






So, I think Torchwood series 4 will be shit. Anyone else have any predictions?
What a surprise.:rolleyes:
If you do not like the first episode will you stop watching, or will you watch the whole series just so you can post how shit it is.
I didn't bother watching most of the first two series. Only gave CoE a watch after hearing so many glowing recommendations.

And before anyone else decides to have a go, remember I probably liked The Beast Below more than you did. You haters.
 
And before anyone else decides to have a go, remember I probably liked The Beast Below more than you did. You haters.

You're set for life with that comeback! :lol:

Right now I'm contemplating if it's possible Josan really does have a lower opinion of RTD than you do. It seems unlikely, so can you two have an RTD Hate-Off to establish it please? I reckon you'd win based on superior ability to shoehorn your hate in at any opportunity though.
 
And before anyone else decides to have a go, remember I probably liked The Beast Below more than you did. You haters.

You're set for life with that comeback! :lol:

Right now I'm contemplating if it's possible Josan really does have a lower opinion of RTD than you do. It seems unlikely, so can you two have an RTD Hate-Off to establish it please? I reckon you'd win based on superior ability to shoehorn your hate in at any opportunity though.

Not a fan of TV Burp, but anyway:

HarryHill_fight.jpg
 
I think it's a given that Series Four won't be as British as the first three series, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

Is Torchwood really British-centric though? I can definitely see it with Doctor Who but I'm not so sure about TW. Of course, it is British by virtue that the stories take place there but I can't really think of anything that really depends on it being so.
 
I guess was always more about Cardiff, so maybe we should worry about it become less Welsh ;)

that said most of Children of Earth took place in London, and the hub destoryed, so the show had left Cardiff already.
 
I think it's a given that Series Four won't be as British as the first three series, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

Is Torchwood really British-centric though? I can definitely see it with Doctor Who but I'm not so sure about TW. Of course, it is British by virtue that the stories take place there but I can't really think of anything that really depends on it being so.

I suppose it depends on how you interpret the first two series. But considering how heavily Children of Earth focused on the entire apparatus of the British state responding to the 4-5-6 Crisis -- everything from the Prime Minister's office, the Cabinet, the Civil Service, the Army, average Britons, and Torchwood itself -- I'd definitely say that Children of Earth was very much about Britain and how Britain responded to something so beyond human control. Really, the only thing missing was the Queen herself.
 
I think it's a given that Series Four won't be as British as the first three series, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

Is Torchwood really British-centric though? I can definitely see it with Doctor Who but I'm not so sure about TW. Of course, it is British by virtue that the stories take place there but I can't really think of anything that really depends on it being so.

I suppose it depends on how you interpret the first two series. But considering how heavily Children of Earth focused on the entire apparatus of the British state responding to the 4-5-6 Crisis -- everything from the Prime Minister's office, the Cabinet, the Civil Service, the Army, average Britons, and Torchwood itself -- I'd definitely say that Children of Earth was very much about Britain and how Britain responded to something so beyond human control. Really, the only thing missing was the Queen herself.

I can see that, I really need to watch CoE again, it's odd how transcendent that was from what had come before it.
 
So, I'm already familiar with Doris Egan's work via House MD, but hadn't heard of the other writers hired to do TW 4.

Well, my roomie's got me watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer from the beginning. Last night we got to Jane Espenson's episode "Band Candy." OMG, I loved it so much! And I just looked her up on IMDb and saw she also wrote Firefly's "Shindig." So now I'm excited about her being on the writing team, too.

As for John Shiban, well, I know I've seen his Enterprise eps, but I've not seen any ENT eps since the show went off the air, so I don't actually recall the eps that are listed on his IMDb page.

John Fay, well, he wrote two eps of COE, so I'm all for that!!!

All in all, this writing team makes me very, very excited for TW season 4!
 
^^Interesting their description of Jack says he's been around for thousands of years and indicates there's evidence of him dating back to the 18th century. Even though according to his back story, Jack's only been on Earth since the 19th. True, he did spend a thousand years buried beneath Cardiff in the S2 finale, but that wouldn't leave records of him in the 18th century.

A few weeks back RTD or Julie Gardner referred to this series as a reboot. Although everything else seems consistent with Torchwood that has already aired, is it possible that some facts are going to be altered so as to serve this story? Things like Jack's origins?

Or am I overreacting to a typo?
 
I wonder if "New World" isn't a mesh of their original American "Torchwood" series idea that was axed by Fox and something new that RTD has come up with. The first episode is going to be very interesting to see indeed. Can't wait.
 
I wonder if "New World" isn't a mesh of their original American "Torchwood" series idea that was axed by Fox and something new that RTD has come up with. The first episode is going to be very interesting to see indeed. Can't wait.

What makes you think that The New World is anything other than the exact same story that Russell T. Davies was planning with Fox?
 
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