Welcome back to my final set of reviews for Doctor Who’s adult spin-off Torchwood, starring John Barrowman as the wonderful Captain Jack Harkness. I’ve already reviewed Series 1 and Series 2, but these later series are rather different.
Whereas the previous 2 series each had 13 episodes covering a variety of different storylines, Children Of Earth and Miracle Day each revolve around a single epic story that plays out across the entire series, with 5 episodes in the former and 10 in the latter. Children Of Earth is easily the best, and is where Torchwood really peaks, while Miracle Day is the weakest of all 4 series, but still has plenty to enjoy as long as you relax your expectations a bit.
So this is my review of both of those series, including the Blu-ray extras, and I hope you enjoy!
Contents
Children Of Earth
Introduction
The 5 episodes in Children Of Earth were first shown on consecutive nights on BBC One from 6-10 July 2009, and are each an hour long, unlike the 45-50 minute episodes of the first 2 series. It also marked a big promotion for the programme, as the earlier series had been broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Three. That may not sound like a big difference, but in the UK getting your show moved up to the nation’s primary channel is a huge deal.
All of the episodes are on BBC iPlayer of course, with audio description and subtitles (so it’s a shame the AD isn’t on the Blu-ray again). And the writing of the episodes was shared between Russell T Davies, John Fay and James Moran.
In the Blu-ray set, Disc 1 contains episodes 1-3 along with the same HD setup guide that was in the Series 2 release, while Disc 2 has episodes 4-5 plus the extra features. The front cover shows the 3 remaining members of the Torchwood team, while the back cover has some photos from the episodes. The main menu cycles through imagery from the series, with a blue tint to it, as some of the unsettling audio from the story plays. It certainly helps to set the tone before you start watching.
In terms of the cast, Captain Jack is again ably assisted by Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), after Tosh and Owen were killed off at the end of the last series (and Gwen has a photo of them at her workstation, which is a nice touch). Jack and Ianto are in a relationship, which Ianto is still trying to wrap his head around as Jack’s the only man he’s ever fancied, while Gwen is married to Rhys of course (Kai Owen), and I’m pleased that he becomes more heavily involved in this series.
We also meet Jack’s adult daughter Alice Carter (Lucy Cohu) and his young grandson Steven (Bear McCausland), along with Ianto’s sister Rhiannon (played by Katy Wix in a very different role to ditzy Daisy from the sitcom Not Going Out)) and brother-in-law Johnny (Rhodri Lewis). Plus there’s the return of Andy Davidson (Tom Price), Gwen’s friend from her days in the police, who always adds a good bit of light humour while still playing more serious moments very well.
Regarding the various guest stars, by far the most significant is the brilliant Peter Capaldi, who had previously appeared in Doctor Who in the Series 4 episode The Fires Of Pompeii, and of course later played the Doctor himself from 2014-2017. I’ll mention a few of the other actors as I go through the plot below.
As for music, Ben Foster delivers an excellent soundtrack once again, for which he also released an accompanying album, with the various tracks presented in order of the episodes in which they’re first heard, apart from the last couple that are used across the series. It’s also notable that the opening theme tune isn’t used in this series, just the Torchwood sound motif over a bright white title screen, but we still get the familiar ending music over the closing credits. I’ve mentioned a few of my favourite tracks during my review below, but there are several others that I really like as well.
Story
- Episodes – BBC / Tardis Wiki
Jack, Gwen and Ianto investigate a strange phenomenon whereby children all over the world are being frozen to the spot at exactly the same time for a few moments, before suddenly being released from their trance and behaving normally again. But each time it happens there’s a new development, with every child either screaming loudly, or chanting a message that something is coming. Every child is saying the same words in English, even if it’s not their native language, and the timings are centred around those most convenient for the UK.
No adults are affected by this, except for one – a man called Clement McDonald (Paul Copley) at a psychiatric facility. Back in 1965 he had been with a group of children in Scotland who were taken to a remote spot and abducted by aliens, but he had managed to run away before they could get him as well. So Gwen is able to form a friendly connection with him – although not only can he detect that the aliens are returning, but he also tells her that she’s pregnant, which a scan later confirms, much to her surprise!
Meanwhile, over in London, John Frobisher (Peter Capaldi) – the Permanent Secretary to the Home Office – is particularly anxious about the situation, having played a part in the previous visit of the aliens. He and a select few others in the know refer to them as the 456, because of the frequency they communicate on. And now he has to follow their exact instructions, by arranging for a special tank to be built for when they arrive.
So the last thing he needs are Torchwood sniffing around, and he arranges for them to be dealt with, using a team led by a very determined Agent Johnson (Liz May Brice) back in Cardiff. Knowing that Jack is immortal, they trick him into a situation where they can shoot him dead for long enough to implant a bomb in his chest before he reawakens. They then set it to explode when he’s back at base, destroying the Torchwood hub in the process. That’s quite some way to close out the first episode, with the Countdown To Destruction music making it all the more epic. Yet even that isn’t enough to stop him, as his body soon starts rebuilding, so they make sure they contain him instead, by chaining him in a small cell and filling it with concrete.
As for Gwen and Ianto, Jack had been able to get them out of the hub just in time before the explosion, so after fending off further assassination attempts they go into hiding. Gwen forces Rhys to leave home with her, knowing they’ll target him as well, and they head for London, while Ianto gets help from his family before seeking out his colleagues in the capital. Gwen tries to contact John Frobisher, but ends up meeting Lois Habiba (Cush Jumbo), a personal assistant from his office who goes behind her boss’s back to give Gwen vital intel, due to her concerns about everything that’s happening.
Gwen and Rhys then find a way to get into the compound where Jack is being held, and they’re reunited with Ianto, who uses a forklift to remove Jack’s cell and drop it off a cliff, breaking the concrete so he can get free. Thankfully he’s not smashed to pieces as well in the fall – although even if he had been, it’s already been established that he’d pull himself back together anyway. The whole rescue is one of my favourite set pieces in all 4 series, with its heroic action, big stunts and a great soundtrack (called Here Comes Torchwood), plus it finishes with Jack naked – what more could you want? It’s one of a small number of scenes that have vividly stuck in my mind over the years since I first watched it, and it’s the sort of thing only this show could do because of its immortal lead character.
With the gang back together – Jack, Gwen and Ianto, accompanied by Rhys – they find an abandoned building in which to base themselves, and Gwen uses her police experience to teach them how to steal the things they need, as they don’t have any money to use. And once they have access to all the necessary computer systems again, they’re able to uncover more important information.
Gwen also has to rescue Clement from a police station when he gets arrested, and brings him back to the base as well. But he’s horrified to recognise Jack, who it turns out was responsible for leading the children to their abduction in 1965. A dozen children were gifted to the 456 in exchange for a cure for a serious strain of influenza that would have killed tens of millions of people if left untreated, and the country had no other choice. So that’s haunted Jack for years as well as Clement, although Jack has his own offspring to worry about now, as the hit team have captured his daughter and grandson to use as leverage.
Back at Thames House, and the unseen 456 alien (voiced by Simon Poland) arrives in the gas-filled chamber prepared for it, and John Frobisher has to talk to them on the world’s behalf. After a tense exchange, the 456 demand 10% of all the world’s children, otherwise they’ll wipe out the human race, and they refuse a lower offer. So that leads to understandably heated discussions between government officials about how best to choose a tenth of the planet’s kids, even though they have no idea what the 456 will actually do to the children. They also try to figure out how to explain the situation to the public – and their spin doctor Rick Yates is played by Nicholas Briggs, who is better known for audio roles, particularly playing the voice of the Daleks and Cybermen in Doctor Who, so it’s great to see him acting on screen for a change.
However, Lois then throws a spanner in the works by revealing that Torchwood have recorded the exchanges with the 456 and the government meetings. Gwen had earlier given her some high-tech contact lenses that record everything she sees, as well as allowing Torchwood to communicate with her. So the government are blackmailed into allowing Jack to face the 456 directly, otherwise the truth will be revealed to the public.
So Jack talks to the 456, with Ianto by his side – but it doesn’t go their way, as the 456 show their power by locking down the building and releasing a deadly virus, as well as transmitting a signal that kills Clement back at the Torchwood base. Jack is able to survive of course, but Ianto isn’t so lucky and dies in Jack’s arms (scored by the beautiful Ballad Of Ianto Jones). It’s a real shame to lose him, just like it was with Tosh and Owen in the previous series, as he’s a great guy and a wonderful asset to the team, and it’s a very moving final scene between him and Jack.
Following this show of strength by the 456, the government are left with no choice but to arrange for the army to take the required number of children to the rendezvous points. They tell the public that the kids are being taken to have special inoculations, because the truth is far more horrifying, with the 456 admitting to Colonel Oduya from UNIT (Charles Abomeli) that they only want the children because they get high from the chemicals they give off. It’s basically the alien version of a drug trafficking operation – a disturbing concept, which means it’s perfect for the style of this series.
A lot of parents are angry and suspicious of course, which leads to confrontations with the army at schools and at people’s homes. Ianto’s sister Rhiannon is looking after a large group of children whose parents have refused to send them to school, so when Gwen and Rhys arrive to pick up Ianto’s niece and nephew at Jack’s request, they’re faced with a much larger group they have to look after. It’s a close call as they sneak the children away, with help from brother-in-law Johnny, PC Andy and the neighbours distracting the soldiers. Meanwhile John Frobisher is told by the Prime Minister (Nicholas Farrell) that his children will also be part of the sacrifice, to show the public that the government are victims too. But he kills his family and then himself to ensure that doesn’t happen.
In a last act of desperation to save the world, Agent Johnson summons Jack to join her, as she’s been looking after his daughter Alice and grandson Steven, and now accepts that he’s one of the good guys. They give Jack everything he needs, and he works out that he can use the 456’s methods against them, by getting all the children around the world to make a specific frequency noise that will kill the aliens. The trouble is, he needs a child to transmit the signal, who won’t survive the intensity of the operation, and there’s only one in the building – his grandson Steven. It’s him or the human race though, and there’s no time to even consider if there might be other options. Jack has no choice, and it’s devastating for him.
So while it does work, and the 456 flee, it comes at an enormous cost. With Ianto and Steven dead because of his actions, and Alice no longer talking to him out of understandable fury, along with the guilt he’s carried over being involved in the 1965 operation, Jack is a broken man, and you do feel incredibly sorry for him. So he sets off travelling to get away from it all, only returning 6 months later to say a proper farewell to Gwen and Rhys before disappearing again.
There’s a lot more to the plot than I’ve outlined above of course, all of which is interesting and entertaining, but those are the most significant aspects. Altogether it’s an epic story that comes to a powerful ending, and has a lot of exciting and emotional moments along the way. It’s paced well, ranging from big action-packed set pieces to slower scenes full of tension and emotion, with several twists thrown in, and there’s little bits of humour throughout too. So I really enjoyed watching it again, it still holds up very well indeed.
Extras
Apart from a HD setup guide on Disc 1, which was also in the Series 2 set, there are just a couple of extra features on the second disc for this mini series:
- Torchwood Declassified – A very interesting half-hour documentary about the making of the series, as they go behind the scenes of some of the biggest moments and have general discussions about the storyline. There isn’t a separate edition for each episode like there had been over the previous 2 series.
- Audiobook Preview – A 5-minute clip from Torchwood In The Shadows by Joseph Lidster, read by Gwen actress Eve Myles. This was one of the BBC’s audiobooks relating to the series. I haven’t listened to any of those, nor the Big Finish audiobooks that are still keeping the Torchwood brand alive to this day, including some of the stars from the series. But at some point in the future I would like to work my way through some of the Doctor Who-related audiobooks.
Miracle Day
Introduction
Miracle Day is the final series of Torchwood, and the least well received, with some fans of the show hating it. My memory hasn’t been particularly kind to it either, but rewatching it now after all this time, it’s better than I remember. It’s not on a par with the previous 3 series by any means, but it has a good story underpinning it, along with some great action sequences, emotional moments, interesting characters and plot twists. It’s just a bit too long and padded out in places, it doesn’t have quite the same feel as the earlier series, and the ending feels a bit weak after the extensive build-up to it.
Its differences are down to the fact that it was co-produced with an American network called Starz. Showrunner Russell T Davies was still overseeing things, and was involved with the writing of the opening and closing episodes, while his British colleague John Fay wrote the penultimate episode. But the other writers came from American TV, including Jane Espenson, John Shiban and Doris Egan. They have big shows like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The X-Files and Smallville to their names, among many other productions. There are also a lot of American actors in the series, inevitably, and it was mainly shot in Los Angeles, although some parts were still filmed in Wales.
There’s nothing wrong with all of that American input, as everyone involved is great at what they do. But it does mean that it feels different and a bit jarring when you’re so used to the British style of the show. And you can tell it’s been adjusted to welcome in an American audience, many of whom will never have seen Series 1-3.
The music is different as well, because Doctor Who composer Murray Gold provided the score rather than Ben Foster. So it’s still good, although it’s a shame we don’t get the traditional opening or closing Torchwood themes from the previous series. The instantly recognisable Torchwood sound motif is still present though, so the opening titles focus on that along with sounds of a heart monitor. And it’s also incorporated into the closing theme, which has the same kind of rhythm to the melody as the original credits music but it’s much slower and, like the series as a whole, just doesn’t pack quite the same punch. Sadly there was no soundtrack album released for this series, but some online fans have ripped the music from the episodes as best they can (e.g. Doctor Who Unreleased Music and EMS Productions).
Contemporary songs are occasionally used as well, such as Robbin’ A Bank by Hot Live Guys in Episode 3, when Rex leaves his colleagues in an alley. But unlike the earlier series, they’re very few and far between, there aren’t any that I know, and they don’t strike me as particularly worth mentioning.
There are 10 episodes altogether, and they were shown between July and September 2011 on the BBC in the UK, and July to October on Starz in the US. Each episode is 50-55 minutes long, which would have become an hour with adverts across the pond. They’re all on iPlayer, naturally. The first episode actually ends with a long trailer for the rest of the series, purely because it was running far too short for its slot on BBC One, so they had to fill the gap with something, as Russell explains in the audio commentary.
On the Blu-ray the episodes are spread across 4 discs, with 3 on each of the first couple of discs and 2 each on the remainder. Episode 3 also includes some footage that wasn’t on TV according to the cover, which I’m guessing might relate to a sex scene that was slightly cut down on the UK broadcast, but I don’t know for sure. I’m not going to waste my time trying to compare the Blu-ray and iPlayer versions for something that probably isn’t vital.
What’s more, unlike the previous 3 series, they actually have audio description available on this release, along with audio navigation on the menus, which is fantastic for those who need it. The audio menus have a static design with large text, whereas the standard menu shows a rotating triangle, over the top of which are animated visuals like a heart rate monitor, the growing count of the world’s population, and the title of the show, with sound effects playing.
The front cover of the Blu-ray shows the 3 main characters – Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), who are the only surviving members of Torchwood, plus officer Rex Matheson from the CIA (Mekhi Phifer). The back cover also features those 3 characters, along with Rex’s CIA colleague Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins) and the child murderer Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman). The series also continues to feature Gwen’s husband Rhys (Kai Owen) in a significant way, and there are several appearances by her policeman friend Andy Davidson (Tom Price), who has now been promoted to Sergeant.
Story
- Episodes – BBC / Tardis Wiki
The basic premise is very simple but has huge ramifications – people suddenly stop dying all over the world. It doesn’t matter whether they were meant to die of old age or illness, or have had any kind of injury, they all remain living. Which sounds good in theory, but if the population continues to grow without anyone passing away, there won’t be enough food or space for everybody, and germs will incubate and spread more easily.
In America, for instance, CIA officer Rex survives what would have been a fatal car accident, while the murderous paedophile Oswald becomes a notorious celebrity after surviving his execution. There are also panels of doctors who get together to try and figure out how to deal with the new challenges this miracle presents.
On top of that, the name Torchwood flashes up on screens in the CIA office as soon as the miracle begins – which is what brings Jack back to Earth, because he quickly wipes all record of the organisation again, as it was closed down at the end of the last series. But Esther is very curious about what it means and discovers information about them deep in a paper archive. Jack then appears, and once they’ve escaped a suicide bomber (which gives him a heroic entrance to the series), he tells her who Torchwood are, before slipping her an amnesia drug to make her forget it all. However, he also discovers that the miracle’s had the opposite effect on him, so he’s no longer immortal and can be injured like a normal human being – which is a nice twist for this series to put him in more jeopardy, as being immortal does mean you’re not too worried about him getting hurt.
Someone else in the office then mentions Torchwood to Esther again, and this time she works with Rex – who has discharged himself from hospital – to try and find them. They manage to track down Gwen in Wales, who is living with Rhys and their baby in a remote house on some cliffs, far away from anybody. So Rex flies over there, where Jack appears again, having sworn to protect Gwen. However, they all have to flee a helicopter assault (with Gwen’s baby smiling adorably while Mummy shoots the bad guys!), resulting in a fun chase sequence along the beach. So with that and the earlier suicide bomber, clearly someone wants Torchwood out of action!
Rex then uses his CIA powers to extradite Jack and Gwen to the States to help them out, leaving Rhys and the baby behind. But while they’re on the plane, Rex’s colleague Lyn Peterfield (Dichen Lachman) poisons Jack – under orders from her CIA boss Brian Friedkin (Wayne Knight). It’s only by calling Dr Vera Juarez (Arlene Tur), who Rex met at the hospital, that they figure out how to save Jack using items on the plane. They then have to make their escape from Lyn and the security team after landing, thanks to a warning from Esther who meets them at the airport in a getaway car.
And thus the team for the series is born – Jack, Gwen, Rex and Esther – as they hide out together. There are naturally some arguments over their different methods of working, especially as Torchwood are quite an unorthodox organisation, but they gel nicely as a team as the story goes on, and learn a lot about each other. Rex and Esther are no substitute for Owen, Ianto and Tosh, and we don’t find out a lot about their lives outside the CIA other than fleeting subplots involving family members who never get mentioned again. But they are good characters who bring useful skills to the group.
As they begin investigating the miracle, a pharmaceutical company called PhiCorp gets their attention, as they seem to be remarkably well prepared for this seemingly unexpected miracle. So the team carry out a very elaborate plan to gain access to one of PhiCorp’s servers, where Jack and Gwen encounter a member of the mystery organisation that’s still after them, and Rex has to rescue them.
We also learn that a PR lady called Jilly Kitzinger (Lauren Ambrose) works for PhiCorp, and during the first half of the series she’s keen to take Oswald under her wing as well as inviting Vera to visit the company. And because Oswald is proving rather useful for the bad guys with his publicity, politician Ellis Hartley Monroe (Mare Winningham) is deemed to be disposable, and is crushed in a car compactor, yet remains alive due to the miracle whilst unable to scream. It’s one of the more unusual ‘deaths’ in the series, and the image of a solitary eye looking around amongst the car components is quite unsettling. Oswald is then invited to address the crowd at a big Miracle Rally, where Jack tries to persuade him to expose what’s really happening to the worldwide audience, but he says what Jilly and PhiCorp want him to say.
Governments around the world then agree on three new categories of life – with Category 1 for people who are close to death or would be dead in normal circumstances, Category 3 for the healthy and uninjured, and Category 2 being everyone in between. Those in Categories 1 & 2 are sent to overflow camps run by PhiCorp to take pressure off the hospitals – including Gwen’s father, so she flies back to Wales and joins her husband Rhys to try and get her dad out. Vera is also furious about the camps and joins the fight with Torchwood, accompanying Rex and Esther as they go undercover at an American facility.
They all discover, to their horror, that each camp has a building called a ‘Module’, which is an incinerator oven to dispose of Category 1’s, regardless of whether they have any prospect of recovery. But it’s deliberately hidden from online maps to avoid causing alarm to the public. Poor Vera gets to experience this first hand, after being shot and locked in one of them by the camp’s director Colin Maloney (Marc Vann). Rex and Esther then end up being attacked by Colin as well, but they have better fortune and are able to get away. Meanwhile Gwen and Rhys are able to rescue her father, and she blows up the camp as she leaves, which is a very cool moment, and shows just how far she’s come since she joined Torchwood in the very first series.
Away from the camps, meanwhile, Jack finds a way to approach PhiCorp’s CEO Stuart Owens (Ernie Hudson), to question him about the company’s role in all this. However, he learns that there’s a much bigger conspiracy at play, with PhiCorp themselves having been manipulated over a lengthy period of time to prepare for the miracle without realising it. Stuart has been trying to investigate it as well, and we see him contact an agent in China, who goes to look inside a building owned by PhiCorp, and upon seeing what Jack learns is called the Blessing, the agent jumps off a skyscraper.
Gwen then flies back to America to help with the ongoing investigation, only to learn that her mother, husband and child have been kidnapped in the UK, who will be released in exchange for Jack. So she tasers Jack, restrains him and drives him to the designated meeting point. And this forms one of two alternating story strands in the 7th episode, where the tense conversation between the two of them during the car journey is interspersed with a story from 1927, where Jack forms a close companionship with a guy called Angelo (Daniele Favilli). They start off very well, but seeing Jack recover from being shot is so alarming to Angelo that he assumes Jack must be the devil. And so Jack ends up becoming a freak show, tied up for people to attack his body and kill him over and over again to see the proof that he is indeed immortal.
The whole Angelo story is relevant because he’s still alive in the present day, albeit a very poorly old man, and the summons was for Jack to see him. Rex and Esther also tag along, having first ensured that Gwen’s family are safe back in the UK. Angelo isn’t able to communicate, but the woman who met them, his granddaughter Olivia (Nana Visitor), is able to enlighten them a bit about the ‘Three Families’, as they’re referred to in the series. They had formed an alliance to try and find the gift of resurrection, yet there’s no traces of their names on any system, as they’ve covered their tracks. Unbeknownst to him at the time, Jack had seen the leading men of these families make a deal together when he was being tortured in the 1920s, as they were inspired by his immortality and took some of his blood. Angelo had also tried and failed to work out how to live forever after seeing Jack coming back to life, and even quietly followed Jack’s life without him realising.
Brian Friedkin and his CIA crew then burst in, with Brian taking Rex to a private spot to address him threateningly. But thanks to Rex’s forward thinking, he uses the high tech contact lenses to transmit Brian’s threats and confessions to some nearby monitors, which leads to Brian blowing himself up in a car with Olivia and a CIA lady shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, back in the house, Angelo actually dies – the only person to pass away since the miracle began, not counting the people who have been burnt alive or blown to smithereens. When Jack is talking to him in his last moments, he talks about Ianto, which is sweet.
Allen Shapiro (John de Lancie) then takes charge, ordering the Torchwood crew to work with the CIA, but arranging for Gwen to be deported back to the UK as he doesn’t like her very much. She certainly goes back and forth a lot in this series!
They also find a big contraption under the floor, which Jack realises is a transmitter relating to the morphic fields he’s been talking about all series, and is perhaps what stopped the miracle affecting Angelo. He also knows that it must have come from the ruins of the Torchwood hub, and that it can emit a special field that cancels out sound to those nearby. So he, Rex and Esther crouch inside the invisible field to talk without anybody else hearing them, with Jack begging Esther and a reluctant Rex to get him out of there. They attempt to, but Jack gets shot, so Rex stays behind to keep his CIA friends busy while Esther goes on the run, driving Jack far away to get him some help.
The story then jumps ahead by 2 months, with Russell T Davies himself playing a radio announcer to set the scene as episode 9 opens, the first time he’s had an acting role in the Whoniverse. Society has basically collapsed and the world is in a big depression, where it’s normal for Category 1’s to be burnt every day. Gwen and Rhys are therefore hiding their father from the authorities in Wales who occasionally search the house. with Gwen stealing painkillers from local pharmacies whenever she can. Eventually the police do get hold of her dad though and take him away, much to her distress.
An even more unwelcome visitor to their house, however, is Oswald Danes of all people. He’s looking for Jack who, thanks to a message from Gwen, turns up with Esther, the two of them having been hiding away in Scotland while she treats him for his gunshot wound. And thanks to Oswald, plus a bit of help from Rex over the phone, the team learn that the Three Families have been using subtle and clever methods of mistranslation as part of their methods to influence people and events for a very long time. Rex also makes an important discovery during his own investigations at the CIA offices, finding an old story about an immortal man, which gives him some useful leads – although his colleague Charlotte Wills (Marina Benedict) is keeping a close eye on him, as she’s also a mole for the Three Families.
The team then figure out that they need to go to cities on the opposite sides of the world, with Rex and Esther travelling to Buenos Aires, while Jack and Gwen go to Shanghai with Oswald in tow. Jack and Rex then notice that drops of blood from their wounds are drawn like a magnet towards a particular point – the Blessing. So they try to track down the relevant buildings in both countries. Along the way, Gwen stays in touch with Rhys, knowing that if they fix the miracle her father will die. And after calling their CIA colleagues for assistance, Rex and Esther are nearly caught up in a helicopter explosion that was meant for them, and Charlotte stops others in the CIA office from discovering she’s the mole by blowing it up.
When Jack, Gwen and Oswald do find the right building in Shanghai, they are held at gunpoint on the orders of the lady in charge, known only as the Mother (Frances Fisher). Plus they discover that Jilly is already there, having been given a role by the Three Families because of her PR skills. Likewise Rex and Esther are also held captive in Buenos Aires. Jack soon takes control though, aided by Oswald who has explosives strapped to his body, which he’s perfectly prepared to set off given that he has nothing to lose.
So they all get to look at the Blessing, a gap in the rock that goes all the way through the planet, from one side to the other. It doesn’t look very exciting, but it gives off an energy that has a powerful mental effect on people who see it directly. It’s also been regulating life on Earth, ensuring that the average life expectancy matches that of the local area in Shanghai, which it’s always used as its template. But after being fed with Jack’s stolen blood, its template changed, hence everyone became immortal, except for Jack.
So with Jack now the only mortal being, all he needs to do is let his blood be pulled into the Blessing to restore the original template, as it clearly wants it. But it needs to happen on both sides of the world at the same time, which the Families know is impossible – or so they think. Rex and Esther’s forward planning once again proves invaluable, as they also had a stock of Jack’s blood that they had been keeping safe, and had transfused some of it into Rex before finding the Blessing.
So there’s a tense stand-off as the Mother tries to stop them, during which Esther is shot, but ultimately Jack and Rex do stop the miracle with their blood, and finally death is restored around the world. Jack’s immortality is also restored, so he comes back to life and heals quickly like he used to, and Rex gets prompt treatment to recover from his blood loss.
So there’s no big alien like in previous series and no big battle. The Blessing is just a big hole, which is reset with some drops of blood floating into it, which feels a bit underwhelming after everything that’s gone before. That said, there is a huge explosion soon after, as Oswald grabs hold of the Mother and gives Jack, Gwen and Jilly time to get away from the building before blowing it up. Jilly is then persuaded to rejoin the Three Families to help them work on Plan B.
The series then ends with Esther’s funeral, at which Rex discovers that Charlotte was the mole in the CIA. She shoots him dead, and she’s also killed as a result. But then Rex comes back to life, with his wound healing rapidly, just like Jack, catching them all by surprise. There’s a nice nod to the Tenth Doctor here, even if it’s not intentional, with the multiple “What?” responses.
So altogether it’s a good series, but not on a par with the three that came before it. It has several great moments, and it’s understandable that the story spans 10 episodes to show how well hidden the Blessing is. But it is still a bit too long really, and when we actually get to the big reveal and resolution, it’s not as thrilling as you might want it to be after all the build-up.
And for long-term viewers of Torchwood, while Miracle Day feels quite different to what came before, it’s nice that there are several callbacks to earlier series, including mentions of the former team members, the involvement of Gwen’s husband Rhys and her policeman friend Andy, a brief visit to the location of the old hub, the use of the high-tech contact lenses, and the fact that information about Torchwood is classified under the 456 regulations.
Extras
There’s quite a generous selection of extras on the Blu-ray for this final series, although some aren’t particularly interesting. They’re spread across the 4 discs though, which makes sense for the episode-specific commentaries and intros, but for the rest it’s a bit frustrating if you want to watch them all in one go after completing all the episodes. For instance, it would have made more sense to have the behind the scenes and special effects features on the last disc, rather than on discs 2 & 3, as they cover the whole series. But given the way they’ve split the episodes as evenly as possible across the set, there wasn’t room to do that I suppose.
In any case, here’s what you get:
- Audio Commentaries – Only the first and last episodes have commentaries, delivered by executive producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner. It’s a shame none of the cast were involved, but Russell and Julie are always good to listen to. Naturally they talk about their favourite moments, the development of the series and the storyline, what it was like to film in Wales and Los Angeles, how they cast some of the actors, and so on. But while they are very proud of the series overall, they’re also honest in highlighting a few bits and pieces they’re not entirely happy with, and would have improved if they’d had the time and resources, such as Russell being self-critical about his own writing, how certain scenes were filmed or edited, the impact of running out of budget, etc. So it’s a very insightful pair of commentaries.
- Behind The Scenes – This is a great half-hour documentary providing a comprehensive insight into the making of the series, so is well worth a watch.
- FX Special – This 16-minute feature takes a deep dive into some of the most memorable stunts and effects to show how they were achieved, including Rex’s car crash, the rocket attack on Gwen’s cottage, the helicopter explosion on the beach, the blown-up soldier’s living corpse, Lyn’s twisted neck and the Blessing. So it’s also very interesting, and a great companion piece to the main documentary.
- iTunes Intros – Each episode on the Blu-ray begins with a special introduction by Russell T Davies and John Barrowman, lasting just under a minute, that had been filmed for the iTunes release. They basically just give teasing hints about what the episode involves and enthuse about how good it is, so it’s a bit pointless really and I just skip them. But I suspect it’s more for the benefit of American viewers, especially those who are new to the show.
- Character Profiles – A compilation of 5 profiles, each lasting 2 minutes, where the actors and producers talk about Jack, Gwen, Rex, Oswald and Rhys. They’re nice little introductions to each character that might be useful for new viewers, but for existing fans you don’t learn anything new.
- Deleted Scenes – A 7-minute compilation of five scenes that were removed or trimmed down in the series, including multiple takes of Esther pulling up to the airport. There’s nothing special here though, they’re not great losses.
- Web Of Lies – This was an animated story, running alongside the TV series, that was available in 10 instalments via an app on the iTunes store. It’s presented here as a full half-hour adventure, and has two parallel plotlines. Back in 2007, Jack is captured and has lots of his blood taken, until Gwen finally tracks him down and rescues him. But they’re poisoned with retcon gas before they leave, which makes them forget everything, so they’re unable to investigate any further. Meanwhile, in 2011, a man called Miles (Bob Harris) is shot but doesn’t die, and his sister Holly (Eliza Dushku) discovers that he knew the miracle was coming in advance. So she sets out to investigate further, with the help of FBI agent Joe (Heath Freeman), and as well as learning what Miles was up to, they also discover what happened to Jack’s blood. So it’s nice little extra for the sake of curiosity and completeness, but it’s not a particularly thrilling story and I’m not a big fan of the comic book style of animation.
Conclusion
As the series wasn’t renewed after Miracle Day, that seemed to be the end of Torchwood and Captain Jack on TV. But Jack eventually made a surprise return to Doctor Who, 10 years after his previous appearance on the show, in the 2020 episode Fugitive Of The Judoon. In that episode he meets the companions of Jodie Whittaker‘s Doctor (after mistaking each of them for the Time Lord at first) and gives them a message to pass on to her. He’s then finally reunited with her in the 2021 special Revolution Of The Daleks, when he breaks her out of prison, and helps her to defeat their old enemy.
Any possibility of further appearances was then dashed by the allegations about John’s behaviour during his earlier time on Doctor Who, which were either completely false or wildly misreported (as I mentioned in my Series 1 review). He has since returned to the stage in the theatre (as I’ll be talking about in my upcoming March Favourites post), so it would be wonderful to see him back in Doctor Who as well one day. But that seems rather unlikely at the moment, sadly.
Still, as I mentioned earlier, Torchwood has continued in audio form thanks to Big Finish, so hopefully I’ll get around to listening to some of those stories in the future, as well as the Doctor Who audio adventures.
John Barrowman and other stars have also regularly appeared at conventions over the years since the TV series ended, and John’s panels in particular are hilarious and interesting to watch. You can see several examples at the end of my Series 3-4 playlist on Youtube. That and my Series 1-2 playlist also include clips from the series, behind the scenes material, interviews, music tracks, audiobook trailers and more. It won’t be every single clip that’s out there, obviously, but it includes all of the important ones and more besides, so there’s more than enough for you to look through.
And with that, I’ve completed my binge of Torchwood, so I hope you’ve enjoyed my reviews of the series. It’s been great to go through the show again, having not done so for a while. It still packs a punch after all this time with lots of great stories, characters, music and memorable moments. And Captain Jack will always be one of my favourite characters in the Whoniverse.
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Well Eye Never 
incredible! 8Doctor Who Review – Torchwood – Series 3 & 4
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