Torchwood

"Torchwood" is an anagram of "Doctor Who." While the first series of Doctor Who (2005) was being made, television pirates were desperate to obtain preview tapes. Someone in the office came up with the idea of labelling the tapes with the anagram "Torchwood" instead of "Doctor Who" as a security measure while they were being delivered from Cardiff to London. Writer Russell T. Davies liked the idea so much that it later inspired him to use it as the title when he created the spin-off series.

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In certain episodes, Torchwood members use a drug called "Retcon" to erase the memories of people who know too much about the organisation. Retcon is a term derived from "Retroactive Continuity," used in serialised fiction, especially comic books, for when new events effectively alter or erase a series' established history.

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Owen and Suzie are the only members of the Torchwood team who never had direct contact with the Doctor. Jack accompanied the Ninth, Tenth and Thirteenth incarnations; Toshiko met the Ninth Doctor while examining the space pig in Aliens of London (2005); and Gwen and Ianto met the Tenth Doctor in The Stolen Earth (2008) via the subwave network.

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Torchwood was the subject of a background arc during Doctor Who's 2006 series; most episodes contained at least one reference to the Torchwood Institute, beginning with Bad Wolf (2005) and culminating in the Institute's appearance in Army of Ghosts (2006) and Doomsday (2006). Tooth and Claw (2006) details Torchwood's origins. After the "Torchwood" spin-off's debut, it was referenced again in The Runaway Bride (2006).

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In several scenes, the Tenth Doctor's hand is seen inside a box, and in The First Day (2006) the box breaks open, releasing the hand, and the Doctor's Theme plays when Jack picks it up.

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Gwen Cooper is a distant relative of Gwyneth, the servant girl the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler encountered in 1869 Cardiff in The Unquiet Dead (2005). Gwyneth was also played by Eve Myles.

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In various episodes of series 1, posters bearing the slogan "Vote Saxon" can be seen in several shots, most notably in Captain Jack Harkness (2007) on the door of the dance hall. In series 3 of Doctor Who (2005), released the same year, "Saxon" was the main key word arc and the identity of "Mr Saxon" was the subject of the season finale.

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The words "Bad Wolf" are shown in episodes, indicating that Rose Tyler is trying to reach Jack Harkness.

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"Torchwood" is the first Doctor Who spin-off to become a series and the first dramatic spin-off of Doctor Who (2005). An earlier failed attempt to turn a series from the original Doctor Who (1963) into a spin-off resulted in the television special K-9 and Company (1981), featuring the characters K9 and Sarah Jane Smith. A pilot episode that never became a series was broadcast as a seasonal special.

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Before he was involved in the revival of Doctor Who (2005), Russell T. Davies had conceived of the series as a concept called "Excalibur," about a team fighting aliens. After DW became a success, Davies decided to rework the idea as a spin-off and chose to use the code word "Torchwood" for the core organisation.

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The Doctor never appeared in Torchwood.

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John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) and Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper) are the only actors to appear in every episode.

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John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams) and Tom Price (PC Andy Davidson) are the only actors to appear in all four seasons.

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Owen Harper was voted the series' most disliked character on the internet.

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Unlike Doctor Who (2005), this series was shot entirely in HD. Showrunner Russell T. Davies admitted it was a terrible experience because the crew had no experience with HD cameras and they had no extra time or money.

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Background on Jack Harkness and the new Torchwood: after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Jack Harkness reorganised the Torchwood Institute (which Queen Victoria founded to fight the Doctor and protect Britain from future alien attacks) and changed the organisation in the Doctor's honour. See: Tooth and Claw (2006), Doomsday (2006) and Sound of Drums (2007).

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Gwen Cooper's promotional photo, shot firing two handguns into the air, was influenced by Luc Besson.

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Only seven actors appeared in both this series and the original Doctor Who (1963). They are John Normington, Owen Teale, Richard Briers, Gilbert Wynne, Nerys Hughes, William Thomas and Clare Clifford.

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Jack's primary weapon in the series is a Webley Mk VI.455 revolver. The Webley was the standard weapon of the British Army from 1887 to 1963. In reality Jack's gun was a Webley Mk IV.38. This is clearly visible in the calibre of the barrel and the overall frame size. The Mk VI variant, introduced in 1915, is probably the best-known model. The Mk IV variant came to prominence between 1899 and 1902 and is still used as a police service weapon in many countries.

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Throughout the series there was a recurring storyline in which Gwen struggled to balance her personal life with being a member of the Torchwood team, keeping it a secret from Rhys. The recurring storyline ended when Rhys learned of Gwen's relationship with Owen Harper in Day One (2006), and Rhys finally learned the truth about Torchwood in Meat (2008) when he saw Gwen with the Torchwood team.

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There are claims that the Face of Boe is Captain Jack Harkness.

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Gwen keeping Torchwood a secret from Rhys was influenced by True Lies (1994), with the genders reversed.

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Captain Jack's classic handgun is a Webley Service Revolver Mk IV 38/200 (usually.38 calibre).

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