Kids are creepy. Anyone who remembers Children of the Corn’s Malachai or has tangled with the Little Sisters in the videogame BioShock knows that. But BBC miniseries Torchwood: Children of Earth way ups the ante when, one Greenwich Mean Time morning, every
single child mysteriously stops moving for a minute. A couple of hours later they freeze up again, but this time, in unison, they all start screaming.
Their screams are actually data-streams, like a freaky fax machine. Just as that’s sussed out, the children of Earth — the Brits wearing their already disquieting matching school uniforms — stop one more time. As one, they eerily chant: “We are coming. We are coming. We are coming.”
So begins the epic third season of Torchwood, a spin-off of the long-running Doctor Who franchise, which has, in one five-part swoop, grown up and out-creeped its parent program.
Both series operated under the auspices of Russell T. Davies, the Welsh TV writer/producer who created Queer as Folk and, in 2005, revived the dormant Doctor Who (it originally ran from 1963-1989). Christopher Eccleston won raves as the Ninth Doctor while the series scored a BAFTA Best Drama award, which is almost unheard of for a sci-fi show. Davies kept the acclaim alive with his subsequent hire of wide-eyed Shakespearean/Harry Potter actor David Tennant as the 10th — and, some would say, best — titular Time Lord.
Tennant and Davies are in the midst of a long goodbye, a five-feature transition that began with Christmas special “The Next Doctor” and continues this fall with “The Waters of Mars.” Once the final special airs in 2010, Davies’ award-winning protege Stephen Moffat will take over with newcomer Matt Smith as the 11th, and youngest-ever, Doctor.
But despite its scariness Doctor Who has always been designed to appeal to youngsters — hence, that robot dog, K-9. So, inspired by Joss Whedon, Davies created Torchwood to be the more mature Angel to Doctor Who’s young-adult Buffy.
Initially, Torchwood’s older demographic was used as an opportunity for lots of gay sex and alien sex, both usually courtesy Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), the immortal and “omnisexual” head of the Cardiff-based Torchwood Institute — a secret organization founded by Queen Victoria to deal with extra-terrestrial threats.
Year two showed improvement over the too-silly debut season, but still wasn’t mind-blowing. However, the serialized mini-season Children of Earth — boasting amped-up production values for its move to Britain’s highest-rated network, BBC One — marks a massive leap in ambition.
What follows are five boldly bleak nights of frightening aliens, corrupt politicians, sinister civil servants, a razed Torchwood and a raised-stakes storyline of stunning darkness.
Sans Doctor Who duties, Davies will now be able to devote himself fully to Torchwood. Though lord knows how he’ll follow up Children, an instant classic soaring with operatic intensity and heart-rending horror.
Torchwood: Children Of Earth airs July 20-24, 10pm and Doctor Who: Planet Of The Dead airs July 25, 9pm on Space.