Torchwood: Was Children of Earth the beginning of the end?
By James Aggas
Children of Earth was a phenomenal series for Torchwood. But was it also the beginning of the end for the Doctor Who spin-off?
After re-watching the third series of the Doctor Who spin-off earlier this month, there was no question in our minds: Children of Earth was the best series of Torchwood. It was big, bold, epic, shocking and hugely emotional. It was “event television” in the best possible sense, and shook up the series in a big way.
However, did that shaking up eventually lead to the end of the series?
For many Torchwood fans, Miracle Day stands out as the weakest series. It’s not terrible, certainly not compared to most Americanizations of beloved British franchises. The characters were the same, and we still had some hints of that old Cardiff charm through Gwen, Rhys and Andy, at least. And the core idea of the series was an interesting one.
Still, Miracle Day did have its faults. It was twice as long as Children of Earth, despite having the same amount of story. Unlike the previous series, the ending left far too many loose ends. And while it had a little of the charm of previous series, it definitely wasn’t as much.
Miracle Day was the final series of Torchwood on television. Did Children of Earth help to push the series in that direction?
(Image credit: Torchwood/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Torchwood website.)
A bigger scale
This really started with Children of Earth. That series changed the Doctor Who spin-off in a big way. The fact that the Hub was destroyed in the first episode was a big indication of that. And that worked absolutely brilliantly. For that series, at least.
But the first two series had so much charm to them. They had a group of really great, colorful characters, with episodes that were filled with fantastic dialogue and character exploration. It was a formula that worked extremely well, especially in the second series.
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The problem is that after Children of Earth, it was hard for the series to go back to that. The stakes had been raised considerably higher. The series had become “event television”, and it was going to remain so. Especially considering how hugely successful Children of Earth was. So, the big question was: where do you go from here?
In some ways, Miracle Day was a very natural step for Torchwood. The previous series had shown a worldwide problem, but mainly from the perspective of the UK. So having another worldwide problem – seen from both the UK and the US – was a natural move to make.
Of course, the more the series moved towards that perspective, the more it moved away from its roots. Miracle Day ended up being a very different series of Torchwood, perhaps too different for many of its fans. And as great as Children of Earth was, the roots of that really was with that earlier series.
Next. Why we’re surprisingly lucky with the Eighth Doctor. dark
Do you agree that Children of Earth was the beginning of the end for Torchwood on television? Or do you think a follow-up series could have continued the show’s greatness? Let us know in the comments below.