web counter
 

Captain Jack Finds a Home

By Cindy Davis | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (28)

torchwood-jack-harkness.jpg

Captain Jack is back in the building and thank you Jesopus! Unfortunately he’s on the slow elevator, so it’s going to be a while before we actually bump into him. After a roller coaster of claims that Torchwood, Season 4 was (going to be) picked up, there is finally news. The ten-episode series will be simultaneously broadcast by cable network Starz and BBC One, summer 2011. Yes, you read that correctly.

Though the wait is lengthy, the important elements remain: Russell T. Davies as show-runner and executive producer along with Julie Gardner, and of course the two remaining core characters Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Eve Myles (Gewn Cooper). There does seem to be at least one interesting setting note according the press release :

“Torchwood has to date been located primarily in Cardiff, Wales. The new series will allow Davies and his writing team to tell a more explosive and global story…”

“Torchwood will burst back onto the screen with a shocking and moving story with global stakes and locations that will make it feel bigger and bolder than ever.”

I’m not so concerned with where Captain Jack’s home base is as I am with having the same core group running the show. Since they pretty much had to bring on most of a new team anyway after Children of Earth, Jack and Gwen are really the only essential characters. (Other key cast will be announced soon.) So roam if you want to, Jack Harkness, roam around the world.









Each Time You Like, Share, Tweet or Stumble a Pajiba Post, An Angel Does the Paul Rudd Dance

← The New iPhone WILL NOT Perform Your Husbandly Duties | Whippits (Or News That Will Razz Your Berries) | Wherein I Ramble About Comics | More About A "Preacher" Movie →









Comments

It's not even summer 2010 yet!

Posted by: Todd at June 7, 2010 5:27 PM

I'd like to see a story set in Winnipeg.

Posted by: greg at June 7, 2010 5:36 PM

I am SO READY for this.

Also PC Andy's actor tweeted in such a way as to hint his character's return to the show so I am doubly excited. They bring back Captain John and I am sold.

Posted by: teacupnosaucer at June 7, 2010 5:37 PM

Liveblogging the Torchwood post:

4:26: Pajiba Homepage. CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS! Incoherent babbling.

4:26:30: Header pic. Can't look away. Ever. Please stay with me for all eternity, John Barrowman.

4:27: Must read. He's back! GASP! Look around office, pretend gasp was yawn.

4:28: Read on. Russel T. Davies! Thank you, Athiesm (because it's Torchwood, naturally we have to be heathens)! John Barrowman! Yes! Dance excitedly under table. Erm...just my legs, that is. Not my whole body. I'm not actually crouching under the table dancing.

4:28:15: Eve Myles. NOOOOOOOOOOO! Not Ole Gap-Toothed Gwen! Not Rhys! Urgh. Oh well, suppose it can't be helped. Revisit header pic. Dance a little more.

4:28:30: Someone walks by. Pretend to be working and definitely not dancing.

4:29: So roam if you want to, Jack Harkness... Yes! Please! Roam here! Roam anywhere! Roam so that I may roam with you, following your crazy yet often predictable plot twists and your gorgeous "I am sad to do this but I must" face. And maybe, just maybe, bring Ianto back to life (or not, if you find someone equally hot/loveable to kiss on camera)

4:30: Go to bathroom. DANCE!

Posted by: esme at June 7, 2010 5:38 PM

I'd like to see a story set in Winnipeg.

Posted by: greg at June 7, 2010 5:36 PM

OMG Torchwood vs. the Wendigo

SCARIEST EP EVER.

Posted by: teacupnosaucer at June 7, 2010 5:38 PM

I lurv P.C. Andy!!!

Posted by: coveredinbees at June 7, 2010 5:42 PM

So no BBCA? We have to buy a subscription to Starz if we want to see any more Torchwood? That sucks.

Posted by: PaddyDog at June 7, 2010 5:50 PM

I've read other Gwen hate on Pajiba and I don't understand it. She's beautiful, courageous, intelligent and she kicks ass. I like women that kick ass, we need more of them. They canceled "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" so I don't get to see Summer Glau beating up men twice her size, so I'll be happy with Gwen ripping aliens apart.

Posted by: snapnhiss at June 7, 2010 5:51 PM

Agreed snapnhiss. Many Pajibans become irrationally upset when any fat comments are made but it's open season on any teeth that aren't Hollywood perfect. What's wrong with a little dental diversity I ask?

Posted by: PaddyDog at June 7, 2010 5:57 PM

Can they kill Gwen in episode one? Please? I promise I'll watch all 10 episodes live if they do.

I just can't stand the smug bitch. Oh, look at me. I never get hurt, am loved by everybody, and have an adorable caring husband who loves me unconditionally even though I'm a raging knowitall bitch. Fuck. I'd prefer Ianto's sister coming back to join the force over more Gwen.

If they can bring Owen back from the dead for a few episodes, they can at least implant Tosh's brain in a robot body and make the cast bearable again. Now that was a smart, beautiful, kick-ass lady on a TV show.

Posted by: Robert at June 7, 2010 5:57 PM

I wasn't thinking of that, but for those wondering, this is the Wendigo.

Posted by: greg at June 7, 2010 6:09 PM

Whoop, it ate the image. Try this.

Posted by: greg at June 7, 2010 6:11 PM

Posted by: greg at June 7, 2010 6:12 PM

As long as Ianto stays dead, I'm in. Or, if they bring him back for one episode and kill him in a horrible fashion. That will work too.

Posted by: stardust at June 7, 2010 6:18 PM

Robert: YES.

I had two main problems with Gwen. I will try to discuss them in a respectful way so as not to upset you raging idiots Gwen fans.

1. She was never, ever, ever rational. You know how on Bones that lady is often way annoying because she's so awkward and overly sensible that you think, "I know it's the character, but really! Nobody is like this!" Gwen is the opposite. She is clearly meant to be impulsive and passionate (two words that I hate, because they usually are code for "bad at planning" and "stupid"), but the woman could use some common sense. She rarely stops to consider plans unless they are her own (clearly flawed) ones. She is not remotely intelligent. She's just the "feelings one." And she can get away with everything, because her feelings have to come first. Because god knows we can't take the smart route and assume Susie, who TRIED TO KILL US, will do so again. We have to go with the crying and the hugging and the brush with death. Also, she's not really that ass-kicking. She occasionally starts to beat something/someone up, but mostly it's her being a damsel in distress while Jack rescues her and then they moon over each other.

2. Rhys. I classify him with her because he's basically her tag-along. First of all, their relationship is implausible. They take the "love overcomes all" approach and disregard Gwen's horrible job, her cheating, her lying, her giving him an amnesia pill, and the clear difference in their levels of attractiveness (that one I could maybe buy, were it not for the others). Then there's the matter of the two of them being the stupidest couple ever. Their babies won't be able to make it past the third grade. Between them, they have maybe enough brain cells to give a newt consciousness. Oh, sorry, I said I'd be nice.

That's not even getting into how awful she was to Tosh, how everyone fawns over her, how obviously smug and superior she is, and how she is SO STUPID (oh wait, we covered that). Martha Jones: ass-kicking. River Tam and Zoe: ass-kicking. Buffy, Willow, Anya, and Faith: ass-kicking. Maeby Funke: ass-kicking. Tosh: Definitely ass-kicking. Gwen? Simpering.

Posted by: esme at June 7, 2010 6:28 PM

You've convinced me, esme. I just needed some sense pounded into my idiot head.

Posted by: snapnhiss at June 7, 2010 6:34 PM

I also don't understand the Gwen hate. I like her. Now of course if they could find a way to bring my Ianto back, I'd sacrifice her in a heartbeat. Oh Ianto...

Posted by: joker at June 7, 2010 6:49 PM

I forgot another reason to hate Gwen: she's the conservative one. Every other member of Torchwood swung both ways but her. It was exciting in the cheap harlequin romance way it was intended. Tosh had the alien chick, Ianto had the cyborg, even Fish Face had the threesome at the bar in the pilot. But Gwen? She dreaded being kissed by a woman the one time it came up. Sure, it was that explode-you-with-sex alien, but still. She never went at it. That's the closest she's come. Boring. When the leading man is an omnisexual, you can't just have the leading lady be a monogamous bore.

Posted by: Robert at June 7, 2010 6:58 PM

TEAM KILL GWEN!

/make it bloody

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at June 7, 2010 7:03 PM

I, too, do not see the Gwen hate. I loves me some Gwen Cooper.

I'll just put my fingers in my ears...

Lalalalalala

Posted by: Uncle JR at June 7, 2010 7:03 PM

So what I infer from most comments is that we could dispense with Gwen, Ianto (for some people) and stories with actual plots and just have an hour of Captain Jack looking hot and that would make the majority viewership just as happy? Should make it a lot easier for Davies and co.

Posted by: PaddyDog at June 7, 2010 7:39 PM

Whoa. Where did we we want plotless Torchwood? No. We want Torchwood with a compelling ensemble, not a compelling ensemble and a wet blanket. You know my favorite episode? "Captain Jack Harkness." A mostly Gwen-less episode focusing on Captain Jack's past with a subtle "oh shit I'm going to die because of my ancestry" performance from Tosh. There was a plot, there was characterization, there was a great sense of style, and there was no wet blanket making everything about her feelings and her fiance and her lost friendships.

Another great one? "Meat." It wasn't Gwenless, but it focused on expanding Fish Face's character and making him a bearable human being before the unpleasant let's start killing everyone business started. Sure, the CGI alien whale monster looked awful, but the episode had a lot of heart and a clear narrative.

To summarize: Gwen? No thank you. Plot? Yes please. Ensemble episodes? You betcha. Characterization? Sophisticated and ever-expanding.

As far as I'm concerned, the biggest mistake the show made was offing Susie in the first episode. She's still my favorite character on the show. I always ask why they couldn't have killed Gwen and saved Susie, instead. The whole "how do we handle a murderer" angle would have been a cool sideplot to the monster-of-the-week aspect of it all. They could have always killed her later and then brought in another agent. If they trained Gwen while trying to diffuse Susie, I might have grown to like her. As it stands: hate. Hate hate hate. Hate.

Posted by: Robert at June 7, 2010 8:01 PM

So what I infer from most comments is that we could dispense with Gwen, Ianto (for some people) and stories with actual plots and just have an hour of Captain Jack looking hot and that would make the majority viewership just as happy?


No, plot would be nice, but if that's too hard to come by I certainly wouldn't turn down the Hot Jack Happy Hour.

Posted by: RedRightAnkle at June 7, 2010 8:12 PM

The characters they need to bring back are Martha and Mickey. So I can discover what the FUCK happened to Martha's previous fiance and why the hell she married Mickey. I have an insatiable need to know. It seems stupid.

Posted by: redfeather at June 8, 2010 3:21 AM

Hmm....this still doesn't sit right with me, but at least they dont seem to be just remaking the whole thing.


The only thing is, apparently Gareth David Lloyd, Ianto?
Is all gross and fat now. Like, greasy hair and beard and beer belly fat.

That is far more depressing than like...so many things

Posted by: nadine at June 8, 2010 4:05 AM

That is actually really depressing. Iantoooooo! (shakes fist)

I've forgotten what eventually sort of won me over to Eve Myles side, but still really don't like Gwen. It seemed like she was supposed to be a poor woman's version of Rose. (Plus everything that Esme and Robert said) I also like the actor that plays Rhys. But, yes mostly I want to know what happened to Mickey and Martha to make them super bad-ass and married, like wtf, Rusty?

Posted by: Laura at June 8, 2010 4:44 AM

Why Starz? Why not BBC America? I do not have the money pick up a network for just one show!

Sigh...guess I'll have to wait for reruns, or look for the Pirate Bay copy. And they wonder why that happens....

Posted by: Chuck at June 8, 2010 11:28 AM

Nadine, I *will* fight you if you dare speak ill of GDL again. He is adorable, love-handles and all.

And I'll have you know that he got a haircut recently, SO THERE. (I only know this because the Ianto fangirls think this must mean he is coming back to TW again. . . because apparently there is no other reason for a man to cut his hair.)

Posted by: teacupnosaucer at June 8, 2010 1:36 PM