Doctor Who Spin-Off News: Torchwood: Season 5 – Coming Soon!
By James Aggas
Torchwood is back! But probably not in the way you were expecting…
Last Saturday at the DWAS Capitol II convention, an announcement was finally made that we’ve all be waiting for. We finally got some news about the fifth season of Torchwood. It has been more than five years since the fourth and last season, Miracle Day, but worry not! After years of waiting, season 5 has been officially confirmed, though maybe not how we’d expect.
Gwen Cooper. Rhys Williams. Even Gwen’s old police friend, Andy Davidson. Captain Jack Harkness. They’re all back for more alien adventures right here on earth. And they won’t be alone, they’ll have some new friends joining them in the new season, entitled Aliens Among Us.
There is one key difference to the first four seasons, though. This one won’t be made for television. Instead, it will be made for audio, produced by Big Finish Productions. A full announcement, including plot and casting details, can be seen here. We also have a synopsis below for you.
"In this series, Captain Jack and Gwen Cooper have restarted Torchwood in Cardiff, home of the original Torchwood Three. But it’s in a very different Cardiff. Something terrible’s happened to the city. With every day getting darker, will Torchwood need to adopt a whole new approach?"
Just how excited am I about this? Incredibly so.
This isn’t Big Finish’s first time in the Torchwood universe. But so far, they’ve focused only on either telling stories that focused on individual members of the team, or full-cast prequels set firmly before series three. I’ve certainly enjoyed what I’ve listened to so far, don’t get me wrong. In fact, Torchwood One: Before the Fall was incredible, look for a review soon!.
But having the surviving cast back, set in stories after the fourth season is incredibly exciting and beyond anything we could want. Especially since creator Russell T. Davies himself has been reported to be involved in the production of this new season. Producer of the new season James Goss gives more details in the announcement from Big Finish.
"Russell’s been wonderfully involved in the continuation of Torchwood. We came up with some characters and ideas and he very kindly, very politely said ‘Marvellous, but no. Howabout…?’. And that’s what lead to Jack and Gwen being joined by Mr Colchester (Paul Clayton), Ng (Alexandria Riley), Tyler (Jonny Green) and the enigmatic Orr (Sam Béart). Who are they? What part do they have to play in the future of Torchwood? And can they save Cardiff from an invasion that’s already been lost?"
I’m expecting disappointment from quite a number of fans. Myself? I personally believe that Big Finish have earned this. They’ve made a number of my favourite spin-off series, including Jago & Litefoot, Gallifrey and Dalek Empire, so they have the experience to take on something as big as Torchwood.
I’ve enjoyed their Torchwood productions so far, but it’s wonderful that, finally, they’ve been given the chance to continue the story like never before. With no interest shown from the BBC in reviving the series, there’s no one better to carry on the story than Big Finish.
The series will be split across three box sets of four episodes each. They’ll be released in August and October this year and in February next year. They can be pre-ordered individually, or as a bundle, directly from Big Finish’s website.
Next: Doctor Who Review: Episode 4, ‘Knock Knock’