Doctor Who spin-off for Captain Jack
19/10/2005 . Source: Jessica Martin 
Russell T Davies is to write what he describes as a paranoid science fiction thriller in a major new drama commission for BBC 3, Stuart Murphy, Controller of BBC 3, told SFcrowsnest.com. Buy Torchwood in the USA - or Buy Torchwood in the UK  Torchwood is a 13-part drama series aimed at a post-watershed audience and has an organic link to Doctor Who.
"Torchwood is a British sci-fi paranoid thriller, a cop show with a sense of humour," Davies told us. "It's dark, wild and sexy, it's the X Files meets This Life. It's a stand-alone series for adult audiences which will have its own unique identity. I have just begun working on the scripts with a team of writers and cannot wait to see the results."
Set in modern-day Cardiff, Torchwood stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack from Doctor Who; it's in the Christmas special and second series of Doctor Who that the story of Torchwood - a renegade group of investigators - is seeded.
However, no stories will cross over between Torchwood and Doctor Who. The drama series is produced by BBC Wales and will be transmitted later next year.
"The renegades investigate human and alien crime, as well as alien technology that has fallen to Earth," said Murphy. Torchwood is sinister and psychological - Russell was really keen to play with your head - as well as being very British and modern and real.
"But at the centre of the drama are warm, human relationships and the overcoming of adversity. I'm absolutely thrilled about Torchwood," commented John Barrowman. "It's going to be a dark, wild and sexy roller-coaster ride. Working again with Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and the BBC is like hooking up with family again. I can't wait to explore Captain Jack even more."
"Torchwood is a massive coup for BBC Three, and a major commitment - it's the biggest drama we've ever had on the channel," added Murphy. "It introduces a different tone into our drama, just as Russell's Casanova earlier this year brought warmth and humour. He's an absolute genius - you look at what he has done with Doctor Who - we said to him, 'What would you do with a post-watershed sci-fi?' Its subject and tone is a perfect fit for BBC Three."
Filming on the 13 self-contained episodes will begin early next year in Cardiff; other writers so far confirmed include Chris Chibnall and PJ Hammond. The executive producers are Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner, Head of Drama in BBC Wales.
Torchwood follows the success of Casanova (which attracted a record audience for a drama on the channel), Bodies, Conviction and Outlaws, with which the channel has begun to establish a reputation for cutting-edge British drama.
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