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Storyline
At 8.40am, every child in the world suddenly stops, chanting the words "we are coming" again and again. Whilst investigating, the remaining Torchwood team face greater personal and professional challenges than ever before, having to work with their numbers depleted. Written by
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Gwen disparagingly calls Jack and Ianto "the Chuckle brothers". This is a BBC children's slapstick comedy for which writer
Russell T. Davies wrote 3 episodes early in his career.
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Goofs
The Government Information Network page on Torchwood refers to "HRH Queen Victoria". The Queen is referred to as Her Majesty (HM), not Her Royal Highness (HRH).
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Quotes
[
repeated line]
Children of Earth:
[
chanting in unison]
We are coming.
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As a piece of sci-fi, 'Torchwood' is pitched at a slightly more adult audience than 'Doctor Who' although there have been crossovers of character and plot between the two.
'Children of Earth' is a new departure for the series - a five-part story developing on BBC1, the UK channel with the biggest ratings. Therefore the production values have gone up a notch and the plot feels tighter than in some of the earlier editions.
The plot is, on the face of it, simple. At 8.45 GMT, every child in the world stopped whatever they were doing, sat or stood still, and there was a deathly quiet - later, the same stopping happens again with the children chanting in unison 'we are coming'. But who is coming, why are the Home Office so interested, and who is the solitary man also affected by the same force that is affecting the children? Captain Jack and his team at Torchwood intend to find out. The plot opener deals with past secrets, family backgrounds, and - the weakest aspect of the episode IMO - the developing relationship between Jack and Ianto. There's also a weird angle involving the NHS, and some revelations which weren't flagged up in previous series.
In look and feel this new episode of Torchwood feels like a film (although seeing it on a big screen in high definition probably helps reinforce that impression) rather than a run of the mill TV production. Clearly made with bigger things in mind than prime time TV, it remains to be seen whether the story will develop and grip in the same way that this opener will to Torchwood fanatics and general followers of sci-fi alike.