Barrowman Sticks With Torchwood

John Barrowman, who stars in the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, told SCI FI Wire that he's open to playing omnisexual time traveler Capt. Jack Harkness for years to come.

"If I was asked to do Jack for the next five or six years I would do it with a big smile on my face, because I absolutely love playing him," Barrowman said in an interview. "When the time comes for us to close the page on Torchwood and Jack Harkness, I'm also then happy to do that when that decision is made. But I think it's got a bit of a life out there. Let's hope we get [season] three, [season] four and, hopefully, [season] five."

BBC Video released the first season of Torchwood on DVD earlier this week, and BBC America will kick off season two this weekend. Barrowman said that the season opener is indicative of "more character-based stories" to come.

"You're going to learn an awful lot more about Toshiko [Naoko Mori], Owen [Burn Gorman], Ianto [Gareth David-Lloyd] and Gwen [Eve Myles]," Barrowman said. "You're going to also see much more of Jack's history. Our time travel in Torchwood is different. [In] Doctor Who, the Doctor gets in a TARDIS and travels. Our time travel is done through memory. So you're going to go back in time with Jack through his memory. You're going to see the future through what he's seen in his memory."

Barrowman said to expect new shocks and more tears. "We have one episode--and Eve and I always laugh about this--where there's a wedding, a typical family wedding, where everything just goes wrong," he said. The second season premiere of Torchwood, featuring guest star James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) airs Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Gorman Glad U.S. Gets Torchwood

Burn Gorman, who plays Dr. Owen Harper on the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, told SCI FI Wire that he's pleased to see how the show has managed to emerge from the shadow of its predecessor, especially among American audiences.

"Personally, I find that really refreshing, that, basically, it's accepted as a stand-alone series," Gorman said in a phone interview. "It's certainly very different in tone. It still uses references to Doctor Who, but I think it's really good that it's being appreciated for what it is. Although I am a Doctor Who fan myself, so I always enjoy when there are references. When Jack goes off and disappears, it's kind of nice to have a mothership."

Torchwood stars John Barrowman as Capt. Jack Harkness, the leader of a secret organization charged with protecting Earth from alien threats. The character of Capt. Jack was originally introduced in the first season of the revitalized Doctor Who series in an episode titled "The Empty Child." He recently returned to that series in a three-episode arc culminating in the third-season finale.

As the second season of Torchwood begins, Jack is reunited with his team, who were left in the dark following his abrupt departure to be with the Doctor.

"Back to Cardiff, where he belongs," Gorman said. "He's a really fun guy to work with, John. He brings a hundred percent commitment. And I think one of the reasons we wanted to do it again is because we all genuinely get on and are able to spark off each other. The scripts are always very different as well. They're never pedestrian. Sometimes they're kind of really out there, but that's kind of what you want as an actor, isn't it? It's a sort of challenge, really."

When it premiered in the United States last September on BBC America, Torchwood became the highest-rated series in the history of that network. Gorman said that the cast and crew were heartened to see that the show has such universal appeal.

"We're really, really pleased about that," Gorman said. "In England, it started off as a kind of cult show, really. And then I think it's just like any show. Word of mouth. We just finished filming season two, and we're hoping it's kind of even better than the first. It's all you can hope for, really."

The second season premiere of Torchwood, featuring guest star James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel), airs Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Torchwood Secrets To Be Revealed

John Barrowman, who plays Captain Jack on the BBC Two's Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming second season will reveal more about his character's complicated backstory.

"Every day I come in, or every new script I get, I learn something new about my character, which keeps it fresh," Barrowman said in an interview at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 13. "And it means that when I play things, I play them differently, because I know different things about him now."

The character of Captain Jack was introduced in a two-part episode of Doctor Who and went on to appear in the final five episodes of the first season. Later, he become the leader of a secret organization at the center of the spinoff show, Torchwood. How he got from one place and time to the other is a mystery that will gradually unfold over the course of Torchwood's second season.

"You don't know the exact date when Jack returned yet," Barrowman said. "We do know he was left on Satellite Five [at the end of season one of Doctor Who]. He was brought back to life. He then came back to Earth and arrived back in another time and had to live through it to get to the point where the Doctor came back. In [season] two of Torchwood, there's some of that revealed."

In his performance, Barrowman is also now bearing in mind an intriguing new piece of information about the character, which was slipped into the end of the recent third season of Doctor Who (currently airing on the SCI FI Channel). He couldn't talk about the twist in specifics, but he did say that it came as a shock, not only to him, but also to co-star David Tennant, who plays the Doctor.

"It's always something that takes you by surprise, otherwise it wouldn't be fiction," Barrowman said. "And I love that. And that script, when it came out, David read it. We were filming at the time, and he came running to my trailer and he went, 'F--k me. Have you read this?' And I went, 'No.' And he went, 'Oh, my God. Hurry up.' I went, 'Shut up and get out of my trailer. I'm not reading it yet.' ... So then I read it, and on a lunch break I ran to his trailer and knocked on the door, and he went, 'Well?' And I went, 'F--k me!' But it's absolutely brilliant."

Season two of Torchwood will also further develop the character of Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman, who will be making a guest appearance in three episodes.

"It's a perfect progression for her character," Barrowman said. "Because she develops such a strong character by the end of [season] three. So if Jack needs help, who else is he going to call? Jack trusted her to save the world. So did the Doctor. So who are you going to call? Martha Jones."

The third season of Doctor Who is currently running on SCI FI Channel Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Torchwood's first season will begin airing on BBC America on Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Cindy White

Marsters Gets Racy On Torchwood

John Barrowman, who plays Capt. Jack Harkness on the BBC's Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, told SCI FI Wire that a salacious comment made by guest star James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) at a recent convention about his character was a completely accurate description.

"That's right," Barrowman said in an interview at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 13. "'You're going to have to go finish yourself off at the end of it.' And he's absolutely right. And we filmed that three days ago, and it took 12 hours. I can't tell you what that was like."

Marsters is best known for playing Spike, the platinum-blond, British-born vampire with a weakness for a certain chosen one on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series, Angel.

Julie Gardner, executive-producer of Torchwood, said that Marsters will play an "omnisexual" character who has a past connection to Barrowman's Capt. Jack.

"We're kind of really embracing the omnisexual word, aren't we?" Gardner said in a separate interview. "They should all fancy each other. I mean, when they're as sexy as they are, you just want to believe anything's possible. There's a very big story for him in episode one. He and Jack have a very big shared history."

Marsters is now filming his episode in Cardiff, Wales, and has been enjoying the experience, by all accounts. "I heard from [Who executive producer] Russell T. Davies today, and James is having a blast," Gardner said. "He's loving it. He's really, really happy."

Torchwood will return for a second season in the United Kingdom on BBC Two in early 2008. The first season premieres in the United States on BBC America on Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Cindy White