The new five-part series of Torchwood, collectively called “Children of Earth,” airs this week on BBC America 10:00PM. One episode airs each night, Monday through Friday. Pop Culture Zoo takes a two-part look at the the new season along with comments from Gareth David-Lloyd, who plays the character Ianto Jones. In part one we set things up and preview Day One with the first seven minutes below.
Series two of Torchwood was pretty dark, not only seeing our heroes face tough decisions, but things ended with the deaths of two of the main characters, Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato. Where does that leave the survivors, Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones, going into this new series?
“They are still mourning,” says Gareth David-Lloyd, “but Tosh and Owen are still very much a presence. There’s a great scene in episode one where Gwen comes in and says good morning to a photograph of Tosh and Owen.”
One thing that has changed over the first two years is Ianto’s role amongst the group. He started out as essentially a glorified butler, or as Gareth says “All-purpose support!” and has developed into more of a man of action. Going into “Children of Earth,” Gareth tells us that “We get to see Ianto much more in the thick of things in this series.” Great news for Ianto fans!
A major cornerstone of the show has been the romantic relationship between Jack Harkness and Gareth’s Ianto. During the course of investigating the central mystery of series three Ianto also has a conversation with his sister where he reveals to her his relationship with Jack. It seems as if the talk is more him trying to figure out things himself. He specifically says he isn’t attracted to men, but is specifically in love with Jack. That, along with constantly trying to get Jack to recognize that they are a couple makes me wonder if Ianto is beginning to doubt what he feels. “No, I don’t think he’s doubting,” Gareth corrects me, “he’s just trying to get Jack to recognize that they are a couple. Between losing his father and losing friends and other relationships, Jack has sort of become his family.”
Between seasons the remaining Torchwood not only recorded four in-continuity radio plays, but also assisted the Doctor fight the Daleks in the fourth series finale of Doctor Who. Concerning the latter, Gareth says, “It was a dream come true to get to go up against an icon like the Daleks.” Likewise, he seems to have greatly enjoyed the radio episodes. “Recording them you have to use your imagination, but I like using my imagination so it was a lot of fun. The audio plays are very fun. There isn’t any extra information in them leading up to children of earth, but they are definitely fun to listen to.”
Tune in tonight at 10:00PM to BBC America to catch the first part of the action-packed roller coaster ride that is Torchwood: Children of Earth. All five episodes contain more twists, surprises and action than you can imagine, but, most importantly, there are significant developments concerning Captain Jack, Gwen and Ianto. You will not want to miss this. And come back Friday morning to see our preview of the finale along with more comments from Gareth David-Lloyd! As a teaser, here is the first seven minutes of episode one:
Torchwood: Children of Earth airs five days, Monday, July 20th through Friday, July 24th at 10:00PM on BBC America. The series stars John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd and Kai Owen.
