AWOL!

But no fear... more updates to follow soon!

Torchwood - Children of Earth... it's all over!

So here's a bit of a look-back & review...

Episode 1...

 

Absolutely f*****g EXCELLENT... AWESOME BEYOND BELIEF!!! 

We do know how to make great TV here in Wales!!! Torchwood - 

the BEST EVER EPISODE BY FAR... I just can't wait until tomorrow

for Episode 2!!!

Already totally excited about Torchwood tonight, but worried 

sick about Jack, who I don't want to end up as some living

head on a machine or worse. Seems a bit grim.

I'm assured that Captain Jack does not end up as a living head

in a bowl of chemicals - and that he does appear in the rest 

of the series. UPDATE: Chris Chibnall & the BBC 'delighted' with

Monday's viewing figures - 5.9 million, excluding repeats this week

on BBC2 & 3. Awesome news, addding significantly to the argument

for more TW beyond the current mini-series!

Ready for Day 2...

NEWS: I asked Chris Chibnall (TW writer) if he was happy with last 

night's viewing figures: "It's a *great* number, (5.9m) esp in summer & "genre". Other new BBC1 dramas getting c. 4-5m. I bet the team are

ecstatic!" Will there be any more Torchwood? "I'd *guess*: too early

to say. Takes 'em a long time to decide, once whole week's figures are in. Need lots of patience..."

Day 2...

I was told by a Torchwood insider that tonight's show 

would be 'even better' than Monday's masterpiece. I didn't believe 

him - as Monday was indescribably awesome. 

Tonight - F****NG EXCELLENT!! What a show - unbelievable... 

I don't have the language to convey my thoughts adequately!! 

Amazing!

Torchwood **UPDATE** Last night's explosive episode was 

watched by 5.6 million people, making it the most watched

program on Tuesday evening - an amazing success for the 

TW team. Tonight's show promises to be even more exciting

still, with high-octane action and the arrival of 'them'! 

Can't wait - it's gonna be AWESOME!... 

Bloody fantastic... the dog's b*****ks! Phew!

Going into exile mode... hot choc made & ready to drink... 

lights low... HDTV on... Surround sound switched on & bass 

boosted... phones off... door locked! Must be time for 

TORCHWOOD! Watch out for a THRILLING show - and a 

SPECTACULAR, high-thrills, cliff-hanging ending!! Enjoy! 

(TW-CF OUT!!)

Day 3...

Yet another AWESOME episode of Torchwood tonight - not 

as explosive as Monday & Tuesday's offering, but terrifyingly

cold, tense and shockingly unexpected! Turns out that Jack 

may be the key to all of this - and those creatured look pretty

bloody hideous too. Hate the projectile

vomit!!

**UPDATE: 5.9m watched TW this shlow!!** Penultimate

TW tonite: can't wait - it's gonna be AWESOME!!

QUOTE from a TW writer / producer: "I think tonight's is

my favorite episode of Torchwood Children of Earth - 

one scene in particular I've watched over & over again!" 

Well, what more can I add to that!!! So much looking

forward to the show - but feeling a bit ropey with a fever...

Day 4...

Terrible, terrible show. Ianto is dead - the future of the 

world is totally bleak & I'm crying like a baboon after 

Torchwood tonight. So deep, dark & depressing. Totally 

chilling and very frightening. The air of menace was palpable - 

and I can't see a way out. The look on Jack's face when 

Ianto died just set me off. 10/10 for the show - the best

I've ever seen, but so, so bleak.. ... Tissues!

Now I've stopped howling... TW tonight was, without bias,

the BEST TV show I've ever, ever seen. The depth, the 

quality of writing & production really was at the pinnacle 

of excellence, & far ahead of what many of us expected

from our favorite TV show. The mood was black - and bleak,

hopeless perhaps, and evil without precedent, and I was left

genuinely gutted and shocked by the outcome. Great, but sad

TV from Wales.

Spoke to TW: My usual sources are totally tight lipped - 

not even air is escaping. Can't believe CF Bay is destroyed

& Ianto dead: convinced there'll be a major turnaround 

somehow. The Doctor comes back? The Rift has some

'hiccup' & the past is restored? Jack pulls a flanker? 

Another species of aliens help? We'll find out tonight - 

but what suspense!

Torchwood's over. Awesome TV and an absolutely

fantastic show, but very, very depressing - what Jack

did to his grandson & daughter beggars belief, and the

cold finality of the last scenes were not what I wanted

- or expected. I don't expect to see it back - that was

too final, and it looks as though ratings of 6M plus 

stand for nothing.

Still cooling down & crawling out of my depressive 

pit after the end of Day 5. A total masterpiece, 

genuine 9.5/10 quality TV, with fantastic action, 

story and overall plot. Menace was massive and 

tension & stress was present thru'out. Only the 

lack of cheer lost it a 10: I was left genuinely 

numb as the credits rolled. As for the future - 

I'm not sure if RTD will do it again. Time will tell!

Am I right? Am I just too depressive & too emo?? 

Is Torchwood genuinely dead in the water - or will it

be back?

Well, time will tell... I'll post if I hear anything!

Ashes to Ashes: UPDATE!

Spoke to Kudos Productions this afternoon. I can officially confirm that Gene Hunt, Alex Drake & all of the Ashes to Ashes crew will be back in a BRAND NEW SERIES to be aired some time in late 2010 / early 2011 on BBC Wales, BBC 1 and BBC HD. The series will be in two parts, each comprising 8 episodes.

The new show will focus around Gene Hunt, who in 1982 falls under suspicion of shooting Alex Drake, who is now critically ill & near to death. Alex is the only one who can clear Alex's name, as corrupt coppers are keen to see Hunt go down and have well & truly framed him - 'Stitched me up like a kipper' as we will hear Hunt say!

Hunt goes on the run - but somehow manages to visit Alex, who's wired up in hospital and in a deep, unsurvivable coma. He tries to get thru to her - but he can't - she's too far gone!
 

Meanwhile, in 2010, Alex is spending time with her daughter and getting used to her 'real; life, but things aren't right. She sees Gene where ever she goes, and she knows he's in big trouble. somehow, she has to get back to 1982 to save him. After all, if she could have done... she would have done!

Alex becomes unsure of what reality is - is she really from 1982, or 2010, and who, or what is Gene Hunt? And how can she get back to 1982 without risking everything she has in 2010?

Well, I don't know... and we'll have to wait for the new series to find out. The show may be called 'Hunt!' or 'Hunt on the run!', but this has far from been decided.

Watch this space - you'll hear it first here!

Ashes to Ashes... Letter to Kudos Production Team

To Kudos & BBC Cymru (named contacts):

I never initially liked 'Ashes to Ashes' - I think I'd been spoiled by the totally excellent 'Life on Mars' and the amazing John Simm. It took me a while to get used to Alex Drake - and I hated her tongue-in-cheek approach to 'life' in the 80's which we saw thru much of Series 1.

However, just like with LOM, I got totally adicted by the show - as indeed has everyone I know. I've never heard so much discussion & comment on a drama production before, much of it almost at a 'spiritual' level. Fantastic show, fantastic production, great characterization and a totally innovative idea.

Thanks for LOM & A2A... genuinely great TV which gave so many of us so much pleasure!

The ending of LOM I never fully understood, but A2A was different. We now have a paradox: Alex Drake permanently existing in either 'life' or 'coma' modes, with two real 'realities' existing independently.

It's totally clear to me that there's so much scope for another show. Hunt's such a popular character - and the only TV character who can get away with anything, due to the unique nature of his role. He's now a fugitive in 1982 - his only hope of being cleared is Alex Drake, who lies in a coma, and yet if she recovers, she leaves 2009, perhaps for good.

A great show 'Hunt on the run' or similar... great 80's action, lots of very funny non-PC stuff (love it!) - and our favorite characters back in action.

So, to cut to the chase, do you / BBC Cymru have any plans for a new show? If not, are discussions planned, and when would any commissioning decisions be made? Let's have more. There's scope. There's more mileage. There's so much more to discover & see!

Please advise & put me out of my misery - preferably with a 'YES' or at least, a 'MAYBE'!

Best wishes,

Chris T

Ashes to Ashes concludes! Bring on Gene Hunt!

Wow! What a show!!

Ashes to Ashes, Series 2 concluded tonight in the UK. As I 'predicted' and revealed earlier, there WAS a massive twist tin the plot, but my 'snout' had not given me the exact story-line, surprise surprise!

After 8 superb episodes in which Alex Drake really established herself as a credible character in this off-the-wall 1980's police drama, we finally reach a conclusion, of sorts. I'll not go into the detail in case you haven't yet watched it, but Alex has her wish - and returns to 2009 as a result of being shot in 1982.

As she recovers, she is delighted and clearly emotional to be reunited with her daughter and the team of surgeons who saved her. But something feels wrong, and she's edgy. Shockingly, the hospital monitor crackles & jumps into action, and on the screen is...
 

GENE HUNT!

Gene is still back in 1982, but is a real person. He is by Alex's bedside in the HDU. Alex is... in a coma. The Police think Gene shot her > and they're after him. He's on the run. Gene begs her to wake up. She can't > she's in a deep coma. Gene shakes her. He's visibly on every TV, every monitor, every PC in Alex's world. Alex leaves the 2009 hospital in a shocked panic. She doesn't know what's real... 2009, or 1982.

There's clearly MUCH scope for a new series, which will explore Hunt on the Run. We'll discover more about Gene, and who.. or what he really is!

I'll be speaking to Kudos tomorrow. I'll keep you posted >> but what a series finale!!

Destiny?

QUOTE: An American Parascientist: "[most] humans are transparent, predictable, formulaic, ephemeral, full of self-interest & shallow beyond belief. To the point of being intensely tiresome, individual human actions are easy to forecast, and breaking of expected behavioral patterns occur rarely..."

 

"I once thought I was so totally wrong when I believed, as a youngster that life was a pre-programmed event, following pre-ordained routes & with fully-pre-defined outcomes. The more I experience, the more often I witness different humans following identical patterns, the more certain I am, sadly, that I was right.

What if free-will did not exist, and that individual humans on what we believe to be Earth were merely automatons, blindly following pre-programmed instructions, leading to the same outcomes, whatever they did, or whatever 'free' decisions they thought they were making?

What if they were pre-programmed units, existing in some kind of organic - or electronic matrix? They'd never know.. they'd just carry on living what they thought were their own lives as the cogs turned & they reached their pre-planned conclusions.

What if humans were alone - entirely - and everything they experience, their lives, their families, friends & actions were actually fabrications - only happening as part of a matrix or feigned reality?

Answer: They'd never know. And they never will; unless they're pre- programmed to discover, at some future point, for some unknown reason?

And who, or what would be mastering the puppetry, were this to be the case?"


               End of quoted article... Interesting viewpoint, or insanity?

Torchwood - Children of The Earth... Series 3... NEWS UPDATE!

Torchwood returns this summer, most likely in late June or early July. It will be filmed in HD, and shown on BBC 1 and BBC HD. The show will later be available on Blu-Ray & DVD, along with Series 1 & 2, which will be re-released.

 

 

Had a very detailed chat with BBC Commissioning guys in Cardiff and London tonight - great thing to do when stuck on the M4 in murderous traffic on the way home after work.

A couple of mysteries solved... Firstly, the reduction of episodes from 13 down to 5 was actually at Torchwood's request. Partly, there was need for a holiday, (coinciding with Doctor Who's 2009 downtime - both shows share a large number of production staff) - but mostly, as it was felt that a big-bang, all action, hard-hitting single story would have maximum impact, and would turbo charge the Torchwood brand big time. Producers & the Team really wanted a fast, pacey, detailed story in which lots could happen & characters could develop, rather than a longer series of largely unconnected shows.

I'm told Torchwood, Series 3, 'Children of the Earth' really does hit the high notes. A terrifying plot in which the Earth really is in imminent, mortal threat from an unknown attacker. The show will be seen every night at 9pm over one week, with some of the most shocking, nail-biting cliff hangers ever shown on TV in Wales & the UK. The show will be 'compelling beyond belief' - and we'll see the characters in a different light as the story progresses.

Screening has been delayed, originally it was due to air early spring. However, the production team were not happy with the original cut, and it's gone back to The Mill for a re-working, plus some recent re-shoots in Penarth, attended by yours' truly.

It's due to be finished soon, and will be on out screens 'within three weeks' of finalization. I'll keep uoi posted!

Rumors on the Internet are that the Torchwood Hub (home of TorchwoodCF) will be destroyed completely during Part 1 of this 5 part story. This is true. However, I'm told that 'normality will be revealed' and 'all will make sense' by the conclusion to the story. I understand from that that the Hub will be somehow restored.

Captain Jack, Gwen Cooper & Ianto will star in the story, but I got a tight lipped silence when I asked about Owen Harper. Owen 'died' in Series 2, but was brought back to a 'living death' by some kind of alien energy force from a mysterious glove. He then 'died' again by being vaporized within a nuclear reactor. I was given a pretty broad hint that he would reappear, but perhaps not in all of the 5 parts to the story.

Finally, and most importantly, there are STACKS of rumors & stories suggesting that the BBC plans to kill off Torchwood after Series 3. I'm assured by my BBC 'sources' that this is totally untrue. Series 1 & 2 were highly succesful, and a fantastic amount of money has been ploughed into making Series 3 'absolutely stunning', and a 'flagship show' for BBC 1.

DVD sales in Wales, the UK and globally are said to be awesome, and far stronger than expected. In fact, Series 1 was releases on Blu-Ray in response to massive international demand.

Though series 4 has not yet been commissioned, this is not unusual. BBC rarely re-commissions new series / stories until past series have aired, and viewer response has been measured. I was left in no doubt that Series 3 would be an absolute stunner, and there was a 'full expectation' that this would lead to future shows!

Just to conclude, all of the information above comes directly from BBC Wales Drama in Cardiff, and BBC Commissioning in London & Cardiff, and none of it is blind speculation. TorchwoodCF will keep you updated on any further news.. as I hear it!

 

John Barrowman will reprise his role as the pan-sexual Captain Jack Harkness, and Eve Myles re-appears as spirited valleys ex-cop, Gwen Cooper. As ever, Ianto remains Jack's eye candy & true love interest.
 

Take care,
Chris @ Torchwood CF