Mary McNamara

ComiCon: Crowds Go for Torchwood
July 27, 2007

Yesterday’s BBC America ComicCon panel celebrating the U.S. launch of Torchwood, the Dr. Who spin-off, attracted a capacity/SRO crowd in the 1500 seat room. Lines formed 90 minutes before the presentation's start and snaked down and around the hallways.

Once seated, fans were treated to lengthy clips from the pilot episode. They cheered loudly when star John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) appeared on screen. The panelists took the stage and the moderator slogged through the required softening up questions like (paraphrasing) “were you nervous about doing a spin-off of an iconic series” and “was it intimidating?”

However, the panelists - Torchwood producers and writers -- were a tough group to crack. While unfailingly polite, they steadfastly resisted handing out spoilers and/or other details of consequence.

Lead writer Chris Chibnall praised Barrowman in a lighthearted manner.

“We knew we had John Barrowman -- we knew it had to be fun, it had to be outrageous, it had to be dramatic, we had to build a team around him.” said Chibnall. Then, quoting someone else's remark, “‘I can’t imagine any other actor in the world [playing the part]...it’s just the perfect fusion of actor and part.’ He’s a proper hero, a proper leading man. The kids love him. The adults love him.”

Chibnall finished up brightly. “He’s an omni-sexual 51st Century guy. That’s how we like our heroes in Britain these days.”

Then producer Richard Stokes broke in. Stokes wasn’t speaking into the mic consistently so his remarks were garbled in a few spots but I believe he was talking about Eve Myles who plays Gwen Cooper.

“He [Russell T. Davies] also knew he wanted Eve [garbled] who is one of the most talented tv actors I've EVER worked with," Stokes gushed like a firehose, “she’s absolutely extraordinary [garbled] In every thing she does...she’s absolutely extraordinary. And Russell knew and so wrote the part for her.”

Thankfully, the fans took the mic and asked the hard questions. One wondered if British television series would ever launch simultaneously in the U.S. Another solicited comment on whether or not persons of color were treated fairly in terms of character development (apparently a subject of debate on the Internet) on Dr. Who. Audience members thanked the writers for developing bi-sexual characters in a complex manner. One said she read that Torchwood - a more adult show that airs in Great Britain at a later hour in the evening than Dr. Who - was heavily censored for U.S. consumption. Chibnall adamantly denied the charge and asserted that only two to three minutes had been sliced from the running time of each episode.

Chibnall’s assertion closely syncs with what the press was told during the TCA/BBC America Tochwood panel. (See my TCA/Torchwood post.) Many in the ComicCon audience had already accessed the British version so fans will surely be keeping close tabs on the BBC America edits.

Another audience member observed that Torchwood is “not your typical spin-off” and wondered if there was a “partnership between the two shows.” He called Torchwood more of a “sister show.” The writers confirmed the observation and said there was a “fantastically collaborative spirit” between the Torchwood and Dr. Who. Much like the Vancouver-based Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, the productions share writers, directors and, sometimes, actors. Torchwood and Dr. Who share one unit base because it was the only studio tall enough to accommodate both sets, according to the panelists.

Posted by Mary McNamara on July 27, 2007 | Comments (0)