Guest Author - Elsa Neal

Filming of season two of the sci-fi show, Torchwood, began wrapping up in late November. It will be screened from mid-January on BBC2 in the UK and begin showing from 26 January 2008 on BBC America in the US. Despite its relative popularity in Australia, Channel Ten hasn’t yet announced whether it intends to acquire season two.

Jack, Gwen, Ianto, Owen, and Tosh are all back for more adventures above the Cardiff rift. Some of the highlights include new monsters, a wedding, more of Jack and Ianto, and Rhys finding out exactly what Gwen actually does for a living.

Reviews of the preview screening of the first episode (Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang) indicate that the writers have injected more humour into season two. As an acknowledgement to the many spoofs of Torchwood that ran online, it seems Torchwood itself has decided to join in the fun. Another welcome change is that the writers have decided to give the characters a break and allow them all to be likable. We’re in for a season of friendship and inclusion.

Joining the Torchwood team this season are some intriguing new, and old, friends.

Captain John Hart - James Marsters

Captain John is another one of those pesky time agents from the 51st century, and, true to form, he’s here to throw a spanner in the works when he comes to visit his old friend Jack.

James Marsters is best known for his role as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

Dr Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman

Yes, Martha has passed her medical exams and is now a doctor herself. She stops by the hub for a while when Jack asks for her help.

Alan Dale

Adopted Aussie, New Zealand-born Alan Dale is confirmed by the BBC as appearing in one episode, although the actual credit doesn’t yet appear anywhere online.

Alan Dale played Ramsey Street patriarch Jim Robinson in Neighbours for nine years, but is probably better known in the US for his roles in Ugly Betty (Bradford Meade); 24 (Vice President Jim Prescott), The OC (Caleb Nichol); and Star Trek : Nemesis (Praetor Hiren).

Expanding audience

One particularly interesting decision has been to create an edited version of Torchwood for pre-watershed screening. Russell Davies has confirmed, though, that the same-gender relationship themes will not be cut, and that includes the now-famous kisses. For dialogue lines with strong language, a second version was shot at the same time, while the sex scenes and presumably some of the more violent scenes were simply cut away sooner than in the adult version. The edited/family version will be screened as a repeat.

Torchwood on Squidoo