Now, though,Torchwoodhas gone global, with its fourth series,Miracle Day.
Note:theres a spoiler for the last series ofTorchwood,Children Of Earth, in this interview.
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[Laughs] Thats one way of putting it!
And that, presumably, is the plan again here?
Well, I cant tell you how it ends.
I like what youre saying, and Im glad you spotted that.
So, its just more interesting than the other endings that are on offer.
WasMiracle Daythe story that you had in mind at the end ofChildren Of Earth?
It was already in my head.
ButChildren Of Earthcould have died a death.
None of us expected it to do as well as it did.
I thought itd do alright, and I was very proud of it as a piece of work.
But you cant guarantee that good pieces of work will get an audience.
We were amazed by that.
It was a miracle in itself, thrilling.
The decisions the characters make inTorchwoodalways struck me as entirely based on that.
It had to be done.
It was the only logical way to save the world.
To me, it was the only thing that hecoulddo.
I love the fact that people criticise Captain Jack for doing that.
It was him doing that, or ten percent of the worlds children.
He had no choice, absolutely no choice.
It takes five hours to reach that moment, and thats when it works.
Thats how hard it is.
Not really, I suppose.
Its a child actor.
Whereas a lot of people, women in particular, had invested in Ianto in lots of different ways.
Hes minorities within minorities.
Him being Welsh, of flexible sexuality.
Hes even got a dead girlfriend.
He ticks every box.
It wasnt our plan!
Oh, yes, very much.
And they all came because they lovedChildren Of Earth.
It was a godsend.
How did they help you flesh out and embellishMiracle Day?
It wasnt a new process to me, because I used to work in soap operas.
It takes a slightly different format, but thats what the soaps do.
Yes, theyre brilliant people, but somebody has to be in charge, obviously.
Its kind of what I went there for.
It wasnt the full system.
We ended up with half the American and half a British system.
I dont like it all worked out in advance for me.
I like to go home and be able to invent stuff on the spot.
We send them off and tell them to write.
Go and do what youre paid to do.
Go and be brilliant.
I just saw episode 10 on Saturday, and Im so proud of it.
Its the most magnificent finale weve ever done.
Its balls to the wall action.
So, I just dont know!
Well have to see if this is a success.
Its a very hard show to hand over to someone else.
And Im not sure Id do that.
But I just dont know.
Well have to see how well it does and what I feel like doing.
Itd be great to think there was more.
Lets change format again.
Lets make a movie.
We could do all sorts of things.
Lets find something new.
Youve told lots of stories across lots of genres.
Ive just been accused of being in science fiction for ten years, which is wrong!
I was horrified when they said that!
Six maybe, but definitely not ten!
So, theres other stuff to write.
Life is not endless.
I will get on with them and write other things.
Ill always move on.
Can you just encapsulate for us what it is aboutMiracle Daythat should get us tuning in?
Its a great big rollicking adventure, whichTorchwoodalways is.
We really tell the story on a big scale, by the way.
It seems very domestic and small to begin with, but it grows and grows and grows.
The whole of western society and beyond is changing.
Its enormously well told.
I think thatd be a marvellous thing one day.Torchwoodis infinitely flexible.
So, if youve got some money, give us some money!
Ill give you some money!
Russell T Davies, thank you very much.
See Also:
Read more about Torchwood: Miracle Day here.
