# Torchwood: Children of Earth starts Mon. 7/20 on BBC America
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 20, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586 "2009-07-20T03:10:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/1 "2009-07-20T03:10:48Z")
Just a reminder for all those folks who have been patiently waiting for this to air on BBC America. Feel free to use this as the discussion thread so we can avoid the spoilers in the Mother BBC thread.
---
### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/2 "2009-07-20T03:21:24Z")
Is this a TV show in progress? Can someone just watch the miniseries and follow? Also, is this a spin off of Doctor Who?
I’m glad you started this thread, actually.
---
### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/3 "2009-07-20T03:23:50Z")
The previews I’ve seen don’t coincide with the last episode I saw.
Didn’t they kill some folks off that I’ve ssen in the preview?
---
### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/4 "2009-07-20T04:18:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> Is this a TV show in progress? Can someone just watch the miniseries and follow? Also, is this a spin off of Doctor Who?
>
> I’m glad you started this thread, actually.
Yes it is a show in progress. You should be able to just jump right into Torchwood pretty much anywhere. Yes, it is a Doctor Who spin-off. All you need to know by way of backstory is that Torchwood goes after aliens who pop in as a consequence of Cardiff laying on top of some stange Rift in space and time. No Doctor Who style give them a chance and talk them into just leaving, or at least try. They just off 'em or lock 'em away forever. They harvest the technology and use it to further their xenophobic goals. And sometimes as individuals abuse it for their own selfish purposes. Their handsome and promiscuously bisexual leader, Cap’n Jack, can’t die cause of something Rose did in Doctor Who .
Enjoy!
---
### Author:  [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/5 "2009-07-20T04:34:45Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> The previews I’ve seen don’t coincide with the last episode I saw.
>
> Didn’t they kill some folks off that I’ve ssen in the preview?
Nope. Spoiler for Season two:
The ones who were killed off at the end of Season 2 were Tosh & Owen. “Children of Earth” is with Jack, Gwen & Ianto, plus side characters of Rhys & several others.
Really, the only thing one should know if they have not seen any episodes of Torchwood is that Captain Jack Harkness can’t die. At the end of “The Parting of the Ways” (Series 1 finale of Doctor Who) Rose brought Jack back to life when she absorbed energy from the time vortex at the heart of the TARDIS. Long story short, some wibbly-wobbly sci-fi stuff, and you end up with a character who can’t be killed.
---
### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/6 "2009-07-20T12:51:49Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#):
>
> Nope. Spoiler for Season two:
Ah, thanks.
---
### Author:  [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/7 "2009-07-20T13:58:40Z")
We were on holliday in Ireland for the past two weeks and we managed to catch part 5 without seeing anything leading up to it.
It was good, it was a little freaky and it scared the pants off my 7 yeard old daughter.
Let that be a warning, Torchwood is not for kids 😉
Without spoiling anything, like I said it was pretty good. I was disapointed in a couple things here and there, but it was a good story and it contained some of that “give up one thing to get another” kind of stuff we see in Torchwood. As a five parter, it felt like a full length story although it also contained a lot of side characters.
---
### Author:  [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/8 "2009-07-20T14:09:18Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#):
>
> Nope. Spoiler for Season two:
>
> The ones who were killed off at the end of Season 2 were Tosh & Owen. “Children of Earth” is with Jack, Gwen & Ianto, plus side characters of Rhys & several others.
>
> Really, the only thing one should know if they have not seen any episodes of Torchwood is that Captain Jack Harkness can’t die. At the end of “The Parting of the Ways” (Series 1 finale of Doctor Who) Rose brought Jack back to life when she absorbed energy from the time vortex at the heart of the TARDIS. Long story short, some wibbly-wobbly sci-fi stuff, and you end up with a character who can’t be killed.
Sometimes I slip and refer to John Barrowman’s character as “Capt. Jack Scarlet”.😉
---
### Author:  [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/9 "2009-07-20T15:25:36Z")
Does BBC America edit for content or will they air all the naughty bits and language?
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/10 "2009-07-20T15:36:08Z")
I’ve been watching and enjoying Torchwood since BBC America showed the first series. I never tried to start watching Doctor Who, partly because I was afraid I’d feel a little lost (because of the previous series I haven’t seen), and partly because what little I have seen struck me as a little childish.
So I’m looking forward to this. I was hoping to watch it in HD, but Comcast does not have BBC America in HD now (and they told me that they don’t know when or it they’re going to add it).
---
### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/11 "2009-07-20T15:36:23Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#):
>
> Does BBC America edit for content or will they air all the naughty bits and language?
It doesn’t matter, we won’t be able to understand them. 🙂
---
### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/12 "2009-07-20T15:43:00Z")
I can confirm it’s well worth watching, even if you’re not normally a Torchwood fan.
---
### Author:  [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/13 "2009-07-20T18:36:04Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#):
>
> Does BBC America edit for content or will they air all the naughty bits and language?
They are very relaxed on language. I hear shit all the time on there and fuck somtimes too.
Also I can not wait for tonight to see this.
---
### Author:  [@Scruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruff)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2009, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/14 "2009-07-21T06:12:03Z")
Holy crap.
Some of that was scary (goosebumps, hug the wife scary).
RTD kept throwing stuff at us, including background and “lesser-known facts” about our heroes.
No idea where it is going; I just hope the ending isn’t some bug frakking deus-ex-machina copout.
---
### Author:  [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/15 "2009-07-21T14:34:45Z")
Space in Canada is running it at an hour 15 minutes each episode, so seems it’s not cut for time or (Gwen:‘shit!’) language
---
### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/16 "2009-07-21T14:47:05Z")
I watched part of the recording last night and gave up, being unable to understand Gwen at all. The gay stuff was a tad annoying, too.
I’ll try again later.
🙂
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/17 "2009-07-21T14:55:32Z")
If you found the “gay stuff” annoying, how did you get past the earlier seasons, which also included it? As for the accents, I used to watch a lot of BBC America content with closed captioning turned on. (I would still do so, except it’s a pain to turn on with this new HDTV.)
---
### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/18 "2009-07-21T15:01:06Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> If you found the “gay stuff” annoying, how did you get past the earlier seasons, which also included it?
It was more like comic relief last night than I remember it being in the past. I thought they killed the guy off last season with whats-his-name anyway.
Closed captioning doesn’t keep up with the dialog, but it indeed helps. I’ll use it next time I watch.
---
### Author:  [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/19 "2009-07-21T15:19:05Z")
{deleted after re reding last post}
I’ll say it first… “YOU MANIACS YOU BLEW HIM UP!!! AW DAMN YOU DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL”
Gwen’s accent can be hard to follow at first, but if you recorded you can watch it again and again… eventually you get used to her rolled rs and long eeeeees. Luckily I used to date girls who had scottish families so I got used to listening to thick accents… Welsh isn’t exactly teh same but to my ear iis similar enough for me to keep up.
Story has been interesting so far.
---
### Author:  [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586/20 "2009-07-21T19:39:48Z")
Funny, I didn’t have any problem with the Welsh accents. It’s actually one of my favorite accents to listen to.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-children-of-earth-starts-mon-7-20-on-bbc-america/503586.md?page=2)