What is "torchwood"

Torchwood \Torch"wood`\, n. (Bot.) The inflammable wood of certain trees ( Amyris balsamifera, Amyris Floridana, etc.); also, the trees themselves.

n. 1 (context uncountable English) Wood used to make torches. 2 A tree of the genus (taxlink Amyris genus noshow=1). 3 A type of cactus, (taxlink Cactus heptagonus species noshow=1). 4 Wood exhibiting fungus bioluminescence, foxfire.

Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off from the 2005 revival of long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who, Torchwood aired four series between 2006 and 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from BBC Three to BBC Two to BBC One, and acquiring US financing in its fourth series when it became a co-production of BBC One and Starz. In contrast to Doctor Who, whose target audience includes both adults and children, Torchwood is aimed at an older audience. Over its run, the show explored a number of themes; prominent among these were existentialism, homosexual and bisexual relationships, and explorations of human corruptibility.

Torchwood follows the exploits of a small team of alien hunters, who make up the Cardiff-based, fictional Torchwood Institute, which deals mainly with incidents involving extraterrestrials. Its central character is Captain Jack Harkness ( John Barrowman), an immortal former con-man from the distant future; Jack originally appeared in the 2005 series of Doctor Who. Other than Barrowman, the initial main cast of the series consisted of Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, and Gareth David-Lloyd. Their characters are specialists for the Torchwood team, often tracking down aliens and defending the planet from alien and nefarious human threats. In its first two series, the show uses a time rift in Cardiff as its primary plot generator, accounting for the unusual preponderance of alien beings in Cardiff. In the third and fourth series, Torchwood operate as fugitives. Gorman and Mori's characters were written out of the story at the end of the second series. Recurring actor Kai Owen was promoted to the main cast in series three, in which David-Lloyd too was written out. Subsequently, American actors Mekhi Phifer, Alexa Havins, and Bill Pullman joined the cast of the show for its fourth series.

The first series premiered on BBC Three and on BBC HD in 2006 to mixed reviews, but viewing figures which broke records for the digital channel. It returned in 2008 where it aired first on BBC Two, receiving a higher budget; its uneven tone, a criticism of the first series, was largely smoothed out, and the show attracted higher ratings and better reviews. The third series episodes worked on a higher budget and transferred to the network's flagship channel, BBC One, as a five episode serial, entitled Torchwood: Children of Earth. Although Children of Earth was broadcast over a period of five consecutive summer weeknights, the show received high ratings in the United Kingdom and overseas. A fourth series, co-produced by BBC Wales, BBC Worldwide, and US premium entertainment network Starz aired in 2011 under the title Torchwood: Miracle Day. Set both in Wales and the United States, Miracle Day fared less well with critics than the previous series, though was applauded by some for its ambition. In October 2012, Davies announced that for personal reasons the show would enter indefinite hiatus.

All four series have been broadcast in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Owing to the early popularity of Torchwood, various tie-in media were produced, including audio dramas, novels and comic strips. From its inception, the BBC invested in a heavy online presence for the series, with an alternate reality game running alongside the show's first two series, and an animated Web series running alongside its fourth. The BBC continued to approve and commission licensed spin-offs after the show's conclusion, including a 2015 radio series from Big Finish Productions.

On 23 July 2016, John Barrowman announced that he was in talks with the BBC to get Torchwood back on TV. The announcement came just hours after Barrowman's appearance at Comic Con 2016.

Torchwood is a series of audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions based on the television series of the same name, an adult-oriented spin-off of the British science fiction drama Doctor Who which ran from 2006 to 2011. The series' executive producers are Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery, with James Goss as producer. Several actors from the television series have also reprised their roles for the plays.

As with the original television series, the audio dramas follow the working lives of the operatives of Torchwood Three, the Cardiff-based branch of the Torchwood Institute, a secret British organisation that defends Earth against supernatural and extraterrestrial threats. Each play focuses on one or more members of the institute and their associates.

The series premiered on 15 September 2015, with twelve plays so far released and a boxset consisting of three new plays announced.