Torchwood Creator Walking Away From Sci-Fi

Logan Westbrook

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Feb 21, 2008
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Torchwood Creator Walking Away From Sci-Fi

Russell T. Davies says that he wants to leave Torchwood in good health before he moves on to his next project.

Davies, creator of Doctor Who spin-off show, Torchwood, says that he's pretty much done with sci-fi, and his next project will be something more down-to-earth. Davies' association with the science-fiction genre stretches back nearly 20 years, but he's also written a number of acclaimed, non-sci-fi shows, like Queer as Folk and Casanova.

In an interview with the BBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12338396], Davies said that he had destroyed, and saved, the world a few too many times, and that it was time to do something different. He hoped to leave Torchwood in good health for whoever would step into his role after him. The new season of Torchwood moves away from the show's usual home in Cardiff, Wales, but Davies said that the Welsh elements of the show never leave it. The ten-episode season, subtitled "Miracle Day," will pose the question of what would happen if no one on Earth died, and will see the team travel to places like Los Angeles, Washington and Buenos Aires.

Davies also talked about his decision to leave Doctor Who. He said that he didn't regret his choice, and in many ways was relieved, as it meant he didn't have to keep coming up with the material. He still watched the show, however, calling it "literally the best show in the world," and thought that his insider knowledge meant that he enjoyed it all the more.

Torchwood: Miracle Day will start its run in the summer. The producers hope to keep the US and UK runs of the show, which is a co-production with the American network Starz, as close together as possible.

Source: via Blastr [http://blastr.com/2011/02/torchwoods-russell-t-davi.php]


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Ubermetalhed

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Thank god, Davies is terrible at writing and directing science fiction.

Casablanca and Queer as folk on the other hand were great, he should stick to that kind of thing permanently.
 

Erja_Perttu

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Ubermetalhed said:
Thank god, Davies is terrible at writing and directing science fiction.

Casablanca and Queer as folk on the other hand were great, he should stick to that kind of thing permanently.
You know, I've never seen Queer as Folk or Casablanca, but based on the work he's done for Doctor Who and Torchwood, I'd never look him up.

I don't rate him, without fail all of my favourite Doctor Who episodes were written by other people, Stephen Moffat in particular, and considering his comments about why he killed off most of the Torchwood cast, I can't say I'll miss him.
 

Reed Spacer

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I never liked Torchwood; it's like they stop every ten minutes to remind the viewers they're gay or bi, like that's some sort of status symbol.

Okay; most of you like it both ways. We get it. Have fun with that. Really.


If you're trying to shock or surprise, you should have tried ten years ago; nowadays, people will look at that and say "Okay. So?".
 

Rallion

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Erja_Perttu said:
I don't rate him, without fail all of my favourite Doctor Who episodes were written by other people, Stephen Moffat in particular, and considering his comments about why he killed off most of the Torchwood cast, I can't say I'll miss him.
Indeed, Moffat taking over as head writer for Doctor Who was great news.
 

Erja_Perttu

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Rallion said:
Erja_Perttu said:
I don't rate him, without fail all of my favourite Doctor Who episodes were written by other people, Stephen Moffat in particular, and considering his comments about why he killed off most of the Torchwood cast, I can't say I'll miss him.
Indeed, Moffat taking over as head writer for Doctor Who was great news.
Yeah, I think so. Whilst the last series had it's good, bad and ugly moments, I definitely loved the freshness of the new cast. Tennant's last outings were getting so formulaic and dull I stopped enjoying them, so I'm all for Matt Smith, Karen Gillen and Arthur Darvill getting their groove on.
 

i7omahawki

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Yeahh, this guy may have been working in sci-fi for a while, but he sure doesn't know how to handle it. Full of deus-ex machina, forced lovey-dovey dialogue, Mary Sue protagonist, it has all the ingredients for bad fan-fiction.

On buying a new edition of Hitchhikers Guide, I saw it had a foreword by RTD, and cringed.

That said, this guy did bring Doctor Who back, and while I couldn't stand what he did with it, now that it's in Moffat's hands I find myself able to enjoy it.

In short, good, leave sci-fi behind, you're really not too great at it. Try something else now.
 

TimeLord

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Yay! All the best RTD era Doctor Who episodes were written by Steven Moffat anyway!
 

Trogdor1138

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I bet he'll probably find a way to bring Rose back even in a completely separate show...
 

Hungry Donner

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Reed Spacer said:
I never liked Torchwood; it's like they stop every ten minutes to remind the viewers they're gay or bi, like that's some sort of status symbol.

Okay; most of you like it both ways. We get it. Have fun with that. Really.


If you're trying to shock or surprise, you should have tried ten years ago; nowadays, people will look at that and say "Okay. So?".
Agreed, although in this regard it did improve considerably after the first season. Funny enough when Harkness was introduced I found the low key introduction of his sexuality to be great - it was nice to see these elements added without making a big deal of them, or making them the most visible part of his characterization. Then Davies turned around and unraveled all of that, it was disappointing.

I wasn't sad to see him leave Doctor Who and I can't say I'm sad to see him leaving science fiction, but I still appreciate him bringing Doctor Who back.
 

Fiz_The_Toaster

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I had high hopes for Torchwood when it first came out, but then it was sufficiently crushed the minute I started watching it. I also didn't like the fact that the main character's sexuality was brought up almost EVERY TIME!

I wasn't sad when he left Doctor Who and I'm not sad now, nor is it gonna make me watch Torchwood to see if it changed.
 

DoctorM

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The thought of no more Davies on Doctor Who or Torchwood has me doing a happy dance. He will not be missed. (I'll probably be skipping the upcoming season of Torchwood after that terrible Children of Earth crap. (Not to mention the terrible final episodes of Doctor Who that he wrote.))

You can praise RTD for the creation of Captain Jack and Torchwood, but do not forget that Harkness was introduced (and probably created) by Steven Moffat in the amazing 2-parter 'Empty Child'/'Doctor Dances'.

Yeah, but Davies gets the credit and all the cash for the spin-off.
 

Shadu

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Eh, what ever floats his boat. I wish him happiness in whatever he does.
 

Just_A_Glitch

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I'm okay with this, because honestly, Torchwood is... Well, kind of shit.

As addicted as I am to Doctor Who, I just can't get into the spin off series. I thought Torchwood would be perfect for too, with how much I love Captain Jack. But they ruined his character, and the new ones they introduced were all so bland and boring. Really disappointing.
 

Johnlives

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Torchwood hasnt been in good health since it beegan. Just trying to ride the Doctor Who popularity bandwagon.
 

Ubermetalhed

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Erja_Perttu said:
Ubermetalhed said:
Thank god, Davies is terrible at writing and directing science fiction.

Casablanca and Queer as folk on the other hand were great, he should stick to that kind of thing permanently.
You know, I've never seen Queer as Folk or Casablanca, but based on the work he's done for Doctor Who and Torchwood, I'd never look him up.

I don't rate him, without fail all of my favourite Doctor Who episodes were written by other people, Stephen Moffat in particular, and considering his comments about why he killed off most of the Torchwood cast, I can't say I'll miss him.
I agree the only 'New Who' episodes that were good were written by others, the ones he wrote were diabolical and more often than not fucked up the whole Doctor Who mythos.

I'm glad Moffat (he actually knows his Doctor Who) and others have taken control, the last series was at times exceptional and has restored my faith in the series. Also thankgod we've finally got someone who feels like a Doctor, sorry Tennant you felt like you belonged somewhere else.