Series 3 (Torchwood)

The third series of Torchwood aired on BBC One in June 2009. It consisted of a single, five-episode story arc entitled Torchwood: Children of Earth, broadcast over five consecutive nights. The series had a new producer, Peter Bennett, and was directed by Euros Lyn, who had considerable experience on the revived Doctor Who.

The title card for Torchwood: Children of Earth

File:Torchwood Children of Earth Trailer - BBC One

The BBC One trailer

The first and fifth episodes were written by Russell T Davies, who also wrote the story arc. The third episode was co-written by Davies and James Moran whilst the second and fourth were by newcomer John Fay, though, according to Moran's blog, all three writers had input into the storyline. Freema Agyeman and Noel Clarke were originally scheduled to appear as Martha Jones and Mickey Smith, Agyeman appearing throughout the story arc and Clarke in the final two episodes. When Agyeman was signed to co-star in Law & Order: UK, her appearance was whittled down to a one-scene cameo, which was ultimately cut when she became completely unavailable. Clarke was forced to pull out at a later stage due to film commitments. (REF: Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter) and Nicholas Briggs, who has written and acted in many licensed-by-BBC and unlicensed Doctor Who franchise spin-offs since the 1980s, and who is the revived Doctor Who series' resident alien voice-over artist, makes his first on-screen appearance in a televised Who-franchise production. An appearance by the Tenth Doctor was speculated on but did not occur, although references to the character are made in dialogue (including a reference in Day Five that serves to cover the issue of why he isn't on Earth to combat the 456).

Production on this series began in August 2008. It was broadcast in July 2009 on BBC One. The series aired from Monday 6 July to Friday 10 July.

In 2010 the Television Critics Association nominated the series for Best TV Movie, Miniseries and Special.^[1] This series starred John Barrowman as Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones (in the first four episodes of the season) and Kai Owen as Rhys Williams.

Television stories

Episode Number	Title	Writer(s)	Director	Notes
1	Day One	Russell T Davies	Euros Lyn	First appearance of Clem, Lois Habiba, John Frobisher, Brian Green, Rhiannon Davies, Johnny Davies, Mr Dekker, Alice Carter, Steven Carter and Johnson. Destruction of the Torchwood Hub
2	Day Two	John Fay
3	Day Three	Russell T Davies & James Moran	Euros Lyn	First appearance of The 456
4	Day Four	John Fay	Euros Lyn	Death of Ianto Jones and Clem
5	Day Five	Russell T Davies	Euros Lyn	Final appearance of the 456. Death of Steven Carter and John Frobisher. Jack Harkness leaves Torchwood.

Cast

Main cast

From left to right: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper.

A promotional image for the series.

Secondary cast

Guest cast

Aliens and enemies

Radio

Notes

The audio stories were broadcast in early July on Radio 4 prior to the broadcast of Children of Earth, the CD was later released in September 2009

External links

Footnotes

↑ Modern Family, Glee, Lost and Clone Wars Get TV Critics Love. IGN (June 5, 2010). Retrieved on 11th February 2012.

[1] Modern Family, Glee, Lost and Clone Wars Get TV Critics Love. IGN (June 5, 2010). Retrieved on 11th February 2012.

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