Torchwood is ready...

As I'm a little bit obsessed with Torchwood at the moment, I thought I'd do another mini-guide, akin to my recent 'Being Human' one, on Doctor Who's rebellious older brother spin-off show...

Starring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd

	"Torchwood - outside the government, beyond the police, tracking down alien life on Earth, arming the human race against the future. The 21st century is when everything changes - and Torchwood is ready..."

                                                                                Captain Jack Harkness

What is Torchwood?

After her terrifying experience with the Werewolf in the Scottish Highlands, Queen Victoria set up the Torchwood Institute, named after the house at which the event took place, to counter alien threats to the British Empire. Specifically, that eternal wanderer, the Doctor, who brings destruction in his wake.

Three Torchwood bases were set up: Torchwood One in London, Torchwood Two somewhere in Scotland and Torchwood Three in Cardiff, Wales. The last of these is this series' setting.

Situated above a rift in time and space, Torchwood Three is tasked with dealing with the alien creatures and technology which comes through the rift from anywhere in the universe to Cardiff.

After the Battle of Canary Wharf between the Daleks and the Cybermen (in Doctor Who: Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday) wiped out Torchwood Three became head office and reformed the Torchwood institute. Guided by a heroic captain...

The Characters

Captain Jack Harkness is dashing and charismatic leader of Torchwood. Made immortal by the Bad Wolf (the Doctors companion, Rose, consumed by the Time Vortex), Jack can never die. Which is sort of useful in his line of work.

Jack has worked for Torchwood for over a hundred years once he had arrived on earth to find the Doctor. He rose in position over the years before becoming head in the 2000s. He built his team from the best people he could find and together they have saved the world so many times, even at terrible costs.

For a more information on Captain Jack click here.

Gwen Cooper, a former police officer, is Jack's second in command. She joined Torchwood more by her own will than any former recruitment after she witnessed Torchwood investigating a murder and pursued them to their Hub. With brave, caring and gutsy nature, Gwen will stop at nothing to do what is right.

For more information on Gwen see here.

The dependable Ianto Jones is the man who keeps the team running. No one knows more about Torchwood than Ianto.

A survivor of the Battle of Canary Wharf, Ianto's first role in Torchwood Three was as little more than a butler but he soon took a more active role in the team. Eventually, he would enter into a relationship with Jack until his untimely demise at the hands of the monstrous 456.

For more information on Ianto see here.

Dr Owen Harper was Torchwood Three's medic upon his recruitment after the death of his fiancee at the hands of an alien parasite. Abrasive, regularly rude and highly flirtatious, Owen was sometimes a difficult man to work with but his hard personality covered a deeply caring soul.

After he was killed saving Martha Jones from a gun shot, Jack brought Owen back to life with the Resurrection Gauntlet, a mysterious piece of alien tech. However, he was only half-alive as he had no heart beat or blood flow until he suffered a final death in a radiation plant during a meltdown.

For more information on Owen click here.

Toshiko Sato was Torchwood Three's tech expert and all-round genius. Never comfortable with her emotions, Tosh had a long-running love for Owen which he never reciprocated and she was repeatedly heart-broken when he would have affairs with other female team members (e.g. Gwen) but never herself.
She died after being shot by Jack's vengeful brother Gray and her final moments were spent speaking to Owen as they faced death together.

 For more information on Tosh click here.


And finally, for anyone who was interested by this concise guide to Torchwood and wants to catch the show on television or if you're already a Torchwood fan (or 'Woodie' as John Barrowman calls 'em), Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth series, airs this July. See you there!