After 14 years, we want to see this underrated British sci-fi series, a spinoff of Doctor Who, back on our screens. Showrunner Russell T. Davies didn’t just revive Doctor Who in 2005 after a 16-year hiatus, but he expanded the Whoniverse into places it had never been before. The development of spinoffs allowed new stories to be told alongside the parent show, but Doctor Who’s spinoffs have seen a huge drop-off. Along with the likes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Class, and the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea, we want another iconic spinoff to be revived.
Doctor Who’s first spinoff following the series’ revival in 2005 was Torchwood, a more mature and grounded series which released post-watershed on BBC Three. Following the adventures of a team of experts and specialists in Cardiff who deal with “flotsam and jetsam” falling through an interdimensional rift in time and space, Torchwood released four seasons, including the event seasons Children of Earth and Miracle Day, between 2006 and 2011, but has been absent from our screens for 14 years. Despite controversy, Torchwood deserves to get a live-action revival to bring it back to our screens.
Why Torchwood is the Best Doctor Who Spinoff & Deserves to Be Revived
Torchwood first hit our screens in October 2006, and saw Welsh police officer Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) act as our eyes and ears as she is introduced to the Torchwood team, who investigate and manage extraterrestrial threats on Earth. The series explored themes that were too mature and divisive for the family-friendly Doctor Who, including those involving gender and sexuality, LGBTQ+ representation, existentialism, life and death, and human corruptibility. This made the series more approachable for adult audiences, and made it more believable, relatable, and emotionally deep than its parent show.
It would be fantastic to see a Torchwood revival continue to examine these themes in today’s climate, though perhaps not with John Barrowman returning as Captain Jack Harkness. Harkness was the immortal leader of the Torchwood team in Cardiff who had previously traveled with the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). John Barrowman has been the subject of controversy since 2008 concerning complaints and misconduct allegations which regard him exposing himself on-set. This behavior and the subsequent complaints mean Barrowman would surely not return for a Torchwood revival, but the series could still continue without Jack Harkness.
We could imagine Torchwood returning with Gwen Cooper as a new team’s leader, balancing her personal and professional life after Miracle Day. Alternatively, we’d love to see former Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) back in action, and after leaving UNIT, we could see her joining Torchwood. Doctor Who’s Rogue (Jonathan Groff) — who some considered a replacement for Jack Harkness opposite the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) — could also find himself on Earth taking over Torchwood. Whatever the case, we are desperate to see Torchwood get the revival it has deserved for a decade and a half.
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