From the people who brought you Flight Through Entirety.
On 26 August 2008, the BBC issued a press release announcing that filming was underway on Series 3 of Torchwood. This new series would premiere over five nights on BBC One some time in 2009. “[T]he series – called Torchwood: Children Of Earth – sees the team embarking on a single action-packed adventure as they battle for the future of the human race against the fiercest force they have encountered.”
Torchwood had always been wildly uneven — funny and scary at times, but often bleak, messy and unpleasant. But for one week in 2009, it became a massive television event, with about six million people tuning in for five consecutive nights in the middle of summer. And what they saw was a single complex story, played out on a global scale, with a massive guest cast. It was still funny and scary, but also clever, ambitious and well-acted. Angry and bleak as well — even downright upsetting.
In 500 Year Diary Season 4, we’ll be watching Torchwood: Children of Earth again. How does it land nearly seventeen years later?
Monday 6 July 2009
Torchwood: Children of Earth: Day One
Unearthly Children,
Episode 1
Saturday 14 March 2026
After 44 years, the 456 are coming back, but before they get here there’s a fair amount of setting up to do. First, remind us how scary and weird children are; second, introduce us to a troupe of amazing new actors; and third, blow up the entire show. Should be fun.