# When are we supposed to watch Torchwood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324 "2010-05-13T17:42:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/1 "2010-05-13T17:42:23Z")
And do we have to watch it concurrently with Doctor Who the way we watched Buffy and Angel? (Which made them take FOREVER especially when Buffy got really shitty.) We’re on season 3 of the new Doctor Who. We just watched “Gridlock”. We figured somewhere in here we were supposed to start Torchwood, so we watched the first two episodes. Do they intersect? If so, do we have to watch one and then another? ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/2 "2010-05-13T17:53:22Z")
The first season ender of Torchwood intersects with the third season ender of Doctor Who, likewise the second and fourth, respectively. Children of Earth (Torchwood season 3) can be watched at any time before the 2009 Who christmas special. ETA: I should note that the series don’t overlap much aside from the finales, so don’t feel you need to watch Who-Torchwood-Who-Torchwood or anything to keep it straight. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/3 "2010-05-13T18:14:51Z")
Yes, I watched Torchwood without ever having watched much Doctor Who. I could follow everything although I think I missed a few references (e.g., Martha). I’ve tried to watch Doctor Who, but it’s kind of childish. Torchwood is a bit less so, and Children of Earth was, I thought, really good. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/4 "2010-05-13T19:40:30Z")
When it does intersect, is it Who first? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/5 "2010-05-13T20:14:59Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > When it does intersect, is it Who first? The End-of-Torchwood-Season-1 and EODWS3…I don’t think there’s too big a spoiler either way. I’d do Torchwood first though. The End-of-Torchwood-Season-2 and EODWS4, you want Torchwood first. Otherwise you’ll have an awkward thought or two that will inevitably lead to spoilers. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/6 "2010-05-13T21:28:05Z")
My advice is to skip \*Torchwood \*altogether. I am a big \*Doctor Who \*fan and I gave _Torchwood_ a try for the first two seasons, but it was just overly grim, melodramatic, and poorly acted. VERY poorly acted. Like \*Baywatch Nights \*levels of suck. Even Captain Jack–who is a fun character when he appears in _Doctor Who_–is really painful to watch in _Torchwood_. There were a few good episodes, but it wasn’t worth it overall. And, as others have said, you really don’t need to watch \*Torchwood \*to keep up with _Doctor Who_. Sorry, don’t mean to threadcrap–just want to warn you that you might find it pretty awful. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/7 "2010-05-13T21:36:00Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > When it does intersect, is it Who first? You know it seems to me they give these ball players now-a-days very peculiar names. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/8 "2010-05-13T23:04:52Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > You know it seems to me they give these ball players now-a-days very peculiar names. That made me lol. Good thing I wasn’t drinking anything ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/9 "2010-05-13T23:12:24Z")
To summarize, series 1 of _Torchwood_ takes place before the third series _Doctor Who_ episode _Utopia_. Series 2 takes place in between series 3 and 4 of DW, and _Children of Earth_ comes after S4. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/10 "2010-05-14T03:10:58Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Sorry, don’t mean to threadcrap–just want to warn you that you might find it pretty awful. And I’ll just take the one to take the opportunity to pop in and say I found Torchwood charming, goofy, and eminently watchable. It’s got its cheesy moments to be sure, but I think it’s self-aware enough not to hold that against them. IIRC, I watched the entire run of Torchwood between Tenant’s penultimate special and his big finale. The plot overlap is minimal. Watching in Smapti’s order is going to line everything up nicely, but I’d argue it’s almost entirely unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-we-supposed-to-watch-torchwood/539324/11 "2010-05-14T03:13:34Z")
They don’t really need to be watched concurrently (the way you needed to watch Buffy season 4 and Angel season 1 at the same time), in fact it’s probably best to watch them as blocks in the following order: Doctor Who series 2 Torchwood series 1 Doctor Who series 3 Torchwood series 2 Doctor Who series 4 Torchwood: Children of Earth Doctor Who: the Specials. (Which also happens to be the way they were originally aired.) I’d probably just make sure you watched the final episode of Torchwood series 1 before you get to “Utopia” in Doctor Who season 3. But even if you don’t, it’s not really a big deal and it’ll all make sense.