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2019-03-02T00:31:53Z

Created page with "{{article | publication = Edmonton Journal | file = 2008-10-24 Edmonton Journal.jpg | px = 200 | height = | width = | date = 2008-10-24 | author = Alex Strachan | pages = D1..."

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{{article
| publication = Edmonton Journal
| file = 2008-10-24 Edmonton Journal.jpg
| px = 200
| height =
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| date = 2008-10-24
| author = Alex Strachan
| pages = D14
| language = English
| type =
| description =
| categories = Torchwood
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| text =
You do know Jack — if you've been watching Torchwood, that is.

Torchwood, starring John Barrowman as time-travelling crime-fighter and space crusader, Capt. Jack Harkness, ends its second season tonight with the return of one of its most outre villains, the dastardly Capt. John Hart (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters).

Torchwood, in case you've been hiding on another planet these past two years, was spun off from the revisionist Doctor Who. Creator Russell T. Davies, who does double duty as Doctor Who's head writer and co-executive producer, originally envisioned Torch-wood as a more adult take on classic sci-fi themes—escapism with a touch of morality. Torchwood's themes are deliberately darker, the tension more sinister and the sex more explicit than in the family-friendly Doctor Who.

At its heart, though, Torchwood has always been a little silly, a spry diversion and a momentary escape from TV's steady diet of reality programs and procedural dramas.

Tonight's season finale is more tearjerker than cliffhanger. Capt. Jack is forced to confront his own mortality; Capt. John wreaks havoc at will, and the future changes before their eyes.

Familiar characters die — inasmuch as it's possible for beloved characters to die in sci-fi tales — and families and friendships are torn apart.

Devoted Torchwood fans were mortified when the finale first aired in the U.K. "How could you?!" was the popular refrain. That's Torchwood, though. It never was a program to take the easy way out.

Torchwood will return as a five-part, weeklong miniseries, possibly as early as next spring. The miniseries will debut on BBC1, before airing in North America, most likely on BBC America and the specialty channel Space. Final casting is still up in the air, but published reports in the U.K. and U.S. suggest that Barrowman and Doctor Who / Torchwood vet, Freema Agyeman, will both return, as Capt. Jack and Martha Jones, respectively.

It's just as well. Torchwood without Jack Harkness would be like Doctor Who without the good doctor. (Space, 8 p.m.)

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End of season for sci-fi fave Torchwood - Revision history

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