quinn222

Someone posted a transcipt of RTD's comments in the DVD extras, Let's interpret the RTD language!




“This series of Torchwood is bigger, and darker, and bolder. Big scale, which really puts Torchwood out of their depths. They’re fighting to survive."

So I had this other script that I kind of stole from Quatermass but I really wanted to make it. Had this Torchwood thing though so I stuffed the Torchwood cast into it. It's a rough fit but whatever.

“It was the first big decision right from the moment when they said they wanted a Torchwood 3, that no matter what shape it was in I thought, we’ve gotta destroy that Hub. Cause Torchwood isn’t about having all that equipment and technology. It’s the people."

Well the beeb was out of money and someone else needed the space at Upper Boat and the whole hub thing didn't fit with my quatermass inspired script so...

“It starts with a mystery in 1965. And we see what actually turns out to be Captain Jack who is taking a load of children to a bunch of aliens and it’s one of those themes of ‘sins of the past’ You know that Jack has had this long and extraordinary life and hasn’t always been a nice man."

OK, whatever, I'll give him that one,

“We have great big Parliament scenes where they discuss uh, how to give 10% of our children to the 456. Which is the most terrible, terrible thing to decide and yet it’s that or the whole population. Right from the start I wanted to show a government naturally and logically and deliberately deciding about a terrible, terrible policy because they have to. Because they believe it."

Because I forgot this is a character driven show and this way most of the show can actually be about people who aren't Torchwood and since this wasn't supposed to be Torchwood in the first place that's OK.

"We were so lucky to get Peter Capaldi. We hesitated for a second b/c he’d been in Doctor Who recently. He’d been uh Caecilius in 'The Fires of Pompeii.' I like to think that [Frobisher is] a long lost decendent of, over two thousand years, of the man that The Doctor saved from Pompeii. And actually this is just time catching up. Because, as we see, the whole family line gets killed. It took two thousand years but Caecilius’ relatives died in the end."

See? I love to kill everyone! This is forshadowing sorta kinda.

"Jack, of course, survives the explosion. I’d always wondered how he’d survived explosions. And things like that. And and *coughs* we finally got a chance to explore it here which is every cell that has been scattered across ten miles pulls back together slowly. Slowly, the whole body starts to come back together and then [Jack] comes back to life as a scarred version of himself which then generates into a complete version of himself so he’s literally indestructible."

This is actually interesting.


"We’ve stripped down Torchwood. We’ve blown up the Hub. We separate them. They have to act alone. Then there’s the great joy in the whole team coming back together then. I wanted Gwen to get pregnant um, in this, partly cause the story is called Children of Earth and it’s about the children so I wanted the character who’s really been the heart of Torchwood to carry the heart of the story with her. So Jack is there, which means that Jack has found out before Rhys has found out, which is part of the whole Jack-Gwen-Rhys relationship, who’s her favorite? Which, has been tumbling on for three years now. So, it’s just nice little extra beats on that part."

I'd translate this but I'm too busy gagging right now.

"There’s a theme throughout of family. Finding out that Jack’s got a family isn’t a shock I don’t think. It’s just deepens him."

Ok, the whole Jack family thing it out of left field and feels kind of forced but I needed a kid.

“There are other children out there. I absol[utely], well. I’m in charge. I say there are. *laughs* I was gonna say I bet you there are. I knowthere are [children] we could do stories with one day or we may not, having done this story with Alice and it ends so terribly. It’s just an interesting slant on a man who’s immortal which is that he may out [live] all his children. Which is terrible. It’s the worst thing that can happen to a parent and he must have to do it hundreds of times. So, it’s food for thought. It gives him, well, dimension.”

Since I can't be bothered thinking of a new story if I have to do this one again I'll just pretend he has other kids.

“It’s never easy reaching the decision to kill off a character, especially Ianto because we love the character, we love the actor. We love Gareth David-Lloyd. Um. But that’s what you have to do. You cannot have a threat to the earth that is this big on primetime BBC1 without there being consequences. I was gutted when I watched that episode. And horrified. And it’s so sad. And that’s just- drama’s not there to make you smile and 'isn’t everyone happy and all the people I like have survived' that’s just not, that’s just rubbish. The good drama does rip your guts out and does make you bleed. And make you remember Ianto forever."

I am a hack and it makes me gleeful to wreck my shows so no one else can play with them after I flee to America. It was Chibnall who made Torchwood not me, wonder how he feels about what I've done. Not that I really care. And of course I can't come up with a creative solution and the fans probably forgot about Owen and Tosh so I have to remind them people must die and God knows it can't be Gwen because she is THE HEART OF TORCHWOOD! Lying cheating self centered bitch that she is. Also Ianto was gay and everyone knows the gays have to die on TV.

“Jack is heartbroken by the death of Ianto. Literally, he’s destroyed. Gutted. And very ,very damaged and this then pushes him into the final cycle of the show where he is given the means to stop the 456. And does have a chance to do so, which means sacrificing the life of his own grandson. ..Massive dilemma. I don’t know if he could go through what he goes through with Steven if Ianto hadn’t died. I think there’s something damaged. Something dead. Something ruthless in him at the same time, that has to push him into that final action. Which is a terrible action, you can’t say he’s wrong to do it though. You can’t. When it came time to write [Day Five] I didn’t kill [Steven] in that very first draft because it seemed so terrible. I handed that script in and they just threw it back at me going, ‘you soft Welshman. Of course that child’s got to die.' Which, I absolutely accepted. If I wanted to fight in my corner I would have done but it’s right there have to be [consequences]. Again, there has to be a price to pay. You don’t save the whole world in a series like this without there being a terrible, terrible price and it horrible, it’s an awful thing to watch. Um. But that’s the point. It’s so, terrible it drives Jack away.”

Because of course we've never seen Jack sacrifice the one to save the many before. And I had to get Jack onto Who and I couldn't figure out how because I'm just not very creative.

“These terrible things had to happen. But. as [Jack} questions himself on that hillside, what has he become? We couldn’t just have him sitting in a chair saying ‘Right. Back to work. Let’s rebuild the Hub.’ That would be mocking what happened to Ianto, and certainly what happens to Steven. It’s like we simply couldn’t. He had to be pushed off the planet by the strength of his own actions."

See above.

I’m not saying there is no more. I think [Jack] might have more in him. But, for this story it’s the only ending possible.

Because I had to make it fit my stolen idea and I had to get Jack off planet and couldn't come up with anything better! Also I am leaving for the US and don't want anyone else to play with my toys while I am gone.