- Image: Torchwood - Alacoolb
Torchwood: Miracle Day began showing, in Britain, Canada and the USA, in July 2011. Its inception was mired in controversy and the outbursts of furious fans. Ten episodes later, Series 4 finished, on September 15th 2011, with truly shocking and nail-biting final scenes. The weeks in between had been a sometimes uneasy mixture of Welsh and American storytelling, in an attempt to secure television audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Without American funding there would have been no Series 4 of Torchwood, but had the experiment worked?
Why were Torchwood Fans so Upset at the Start of Miracle Day?
Three interconnected points had upset fans of the cult Dr Who spin-off, Torchwood. The cash-strapped BBC had stripped funding from the series, leading its creator Russell T Davies to seek finance overseas. Until now, most of the cast were Welsh and, as with Dr Who, the film locations were almost completely confined to areas in Wales. That was all to change once Davies had struck a deal with American TV company, Starz.
The resultant Cymric-American show had to be reframed to engage a new audience in the USA, which led to most of the filming (and the action) taking place in the States. In order to facilitate this, events in the unexpectedly successful Torchwood: Children of the Earth conspired to kill off the majority of the existing cast, as well as reducing the iconic Cardiff based Torchwood hub to rubble.
Worst of all was the death of Ianto Jones. The slowly emerging romance, between Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood's administrator, had been a keystone theme of the storyline for three series. In the emotionally charged closing scene of Torchwood: Children of the Earth, Ianto dies in Jack's arms. This storytelling was perceived by many fans as simply a way to remove a homosexual relationship from the show before it was shown on American television.
The backlash saw episode writer James Moran pen a vitriolic blog accusing fans of over-reacting. When all of the show's creators received death threats, Gareth Lloyd-Davies, the actor who played Ianto, was called upon to condemn the action. On a positive note, campaigners behind the Save Ianto Jones website raised over £10,000 for the charity Children in Need.
It was against this background that series 4 began.
Was Torchwood: Miracle Day as Bad as Fans Feared?
By the opening titles of series four, Torchwood fan forums were bristling with negative comments. The terminology of the credits was distinctly American, declaring this to be a 'season' not a 'series'. The first episode set the scene firmly in the USA with a whole new cast of American actors. The surviving members of the Torchwood Institute, Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper, were reduced to mere cameo roles.
As the series went on, the pair resumed centre stage, with some lines and scenes obviously written to salve feelings amongst the Welsh and wider community of diehard Torchwood fans. When a rogue American CIA agent sneered at Gwen for being English, she replied, "I'm Welsh," then floored the agent with a single punch. In another scene, Captain Jack tearfully expresses his bereavement in a 'phone call to Gwen. He tells her (and the viewing public) how much he's missing Ianto, even while he's in bed with another man.
Yet the wrong notes continued. This reached its zenith when the South Wales Heddlu (police force) assisted in the rendition of Welsh citizens, under the direction of an American CIA agent. Rex Matheson even openly stated, in full earshot of the officers that he was taking them where he had the jurisdiction to deal with them. Yet no uniformed Heddlu spoke a word in protest. It felt like a metaphor for the whole hi-jacking of the series.
Torchwood: Miracle Day was also the first of the four series to break continuity with Dr Who. Russell T Davies had originally been in charge of both series, which kept the plot lines compatible with being in the same Sci-Fi universe. At various times, they even overlapped, with the entire Torchwood team appearing in the Dr Who episode Journey's End and Dr Who companion Martha Jones becoming a regular visitor to the hub in series two. But Miracle Day introduced a worldwide emergency state, which wasn't reflected in the comparable Dr Who timeline.
Torchwood: Miracle Day had Some Redeeming Features
The precept of the plot was engaging - a world where nobody died, thus the human population of the world soared into unsustainable levels. It explored the dark spectre of death camps and the cruelty of humankind against its own. As a storyline, it was Torchwood at its best, with a budget to really visualize it. The special effects were as stunning as any Hollywood movie, while the locations apparently spanned the world (in reality they were mostly filmed in Los Angeles, USA, with a couple of weeks in Swansea, South Wales).
Many fans had been worried that the adult themes of the programme would be toned down. In particular, that Captain Jack's bisexuality would disappear from view. This didn't happen. There were instances of Jack flirting with, or picking up, handsome men, as well as the mention of Ianto. Moreover, the genesis of Miracle Day was revealed, in a backstory, to revolve around Jack's earlier relationship with a man named Angelo. It was slightly telling that British viewers saw ten minutes more, per episode, than those in America and Canada. The omissions there were based on the need to include advertisements.
At the end of ten episodes, all of the new cast were known, which made the climactic scenes all the more poignant and gripping. Moreover, the storyline didn't permanently strand the Torchwood Institute in the USA. Captain Jack and Gwen looked poised to come home to Wales. Unfortunately, there are no confirmed plans for a fifth series.
Sources:
- BBC Press Release: International Partnership Secures New Series of Torchwood. (June 7th 2010.)
- BBC: Torchwood: Miracle Day.
- i09: Is Torchwood Homophobic? Fans Debate (July 17th, 2009.)
- Save Ianto Jones.
- Torchwood Forum.
- Wales Online: Fans react with threats to Ianto’s death in Torchwood. (August 2nd, 2009.)
- YouTube: Torchwood: Miracle Day - I'm Welsh! (Uploaded by jollieollie36 on July 23rd 2011.)
Jo Harrington - Jo has a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy and a MA in History. She has a book published on the history of Wicca.
