Guide Note

Torchwood is a British science fiction television show spun off from Doctor Who. It focuses on the Torchwood Institute, an organization based in Cardiff, Wales that investigates supernatural and extraterrestrial beings, events and occurences. They also keep a collection of oddities, including a pterodactyl, many aliens, and a severed hand in a jar. The show began airing in the United States in September, 2007.

Fast Facts

1. Network: BBC Two (BBC America and the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States)
2. Current Season: 2
3. First Aired: October 22, 2006
4. Starring: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, Gareth David-Lloyd

In 2002, Queer as Folk producer Russell T. Davies was asked by the BBC to produce a television show similar to the United States' Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Davies' concept, Excalibur, focused on an agency that investigated the supernatural and alien. The concept was shelved. In 2005, the network again asked Davies to develop a new science-fiction series. Davies began placing mentions of a morally ambiguous Earth organization called the Torchwood Institute in the series Doctor Who. Davies has made a nod to the series' roots by casting Buffy and Angel regular James Marsters as a recurring nemesis of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman)

The series takes place in the present day, where Captain Jack Harkness is leader of Torchwood. Harkness was born in the 51st Century, and was a Time Agent. He fled the service and became a con artist. He was working on a money-making scheme in London, during World War II's Blitz, when he met The Doctor and Rose and joined them on their adventures. He was killed while defending the Earth, resurrected, and now cannot die. Harkness is openly bisexual, and his sexual promiscuity is a feature of Torchwood.

Torchwood is much darker than Doctor Who, with themes of loneliness pervading many episodes. Like its inspiration Angel, it often focuses on doing the right thing even when the outcome seems to be hopeless and there is no reward in it. The show also deals with lesbian, gay and bisexual themes. Harkness has entanglements with humans of both genders, and has hinted that he's had relations with aliens of indeterminate gender. Other characters have also had relationships with people of both genders. The often sexual nature of the show has brought it both fans and criticism.