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''Torchwood: Miracle Day'' is the fourth and final series of the British science fiction television programme ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'', a spin-off from the long-running show '' Doctor Who''. In contrast to the first three series, which were produced by the

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, the fourth series was a British–American co-production involving the BBC's drama production house

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for BBC Worldwide and the

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premium network Starz. It was broadcast in ten episodes beginning on 8 July 2011 (U.S.) and 14 July 2011 (UK). The central plot of ''Miracle Day'' is that suddenly no one on Earth can die, which impels increasingly troublesome legislative changes around the world as the global population soars. In addition to a number of new American cast members and guest actors, showrunner

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include ''Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scien ...

recruited several American television writers to write for ''Miracle Day'', including

Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared a ...

John Shiban John Shiban is an American television writer and producer. He worked in both capacities on ''The X-Files'' and its spin-off '' The Lone Gunmen'', ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', '' Smallville'', '' Supernatural'', '' Legend of the Seeker'', '' Breakin ...

and

Doris Egan Doris Egan (born 1955) is an American screenwriter, producer, and writer. She has worked on ''Smallville'', '' Dark Angel'', and ''House'' as well as many other television programs. Partial bibliography Gate of Ivory trilogy * '' The Gate of ...

. British writer John Fay also returned to write for the series, under Davies as head writer. Production was partially divided along trans-Atlantic lines, with Kelly Manners producing in the US, and

Brian Minchin ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

in the UK. The majority of the filming took place in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, with two weeks of additional shooting in Wales. Although the series premiered to a high Audience Appreciation Index rating (85, considered "excellent") and solid ratings in the UK, American critics were on the whole less favourable to the series opener. Reviews on both sides of the Atlantic became increasingly mixed as the series went on. Several commentators felt the series would have worked better as a five-episode series, highlighting concerns with inconsistent pacing, dangling plot threads, and a repetitive feel to mid-series episodes. The series has a 10-episode companion

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

''Torchwood: Web of Lies'', referenced on the Starz website (but not on the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

website) related to the series. It was available as an app from the

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, and the first episode can be obtained for free, and was available on Starz's

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channel. It is available in its entirety (without its interactive elements) in the series' DVD and Blu-ray releases. The series premiered on BBC America on 14 September 2013.

Synopsis

On the same day across the Earth, the concept of death is suddenly nullified when it is found that people who have suffered mortal wounds or fatal diseases are unable to die. This is initially seen as a religious miracle, but the absence of deaths begins to strain medical resources and spread diseases around the globe; the world's governments estimate that unless something is done, the world will be unable to sustain the population growth within four months.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

agents Rex Matheson (who had suffered a fatal accident but remains alive) and

Esther Drummond Esther Drummond, portrayed by Alexa Havins, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme ''Torchwood'', a spin-off from the long-running series ''Doctor Who''. Havins is one of several American actors to join ''Torchwood'' in its fo ...

discover the name "Torchwood" tied with these events, and locate its remaining members,

Jack Harkness Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series, '' Torchwood''. The character first appears in the 2005 ''Doctor Who'' episode "The Empty Child" and subsequently features in the ...

and

Gwen Cooper Gwen Cooper is a fictional character portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles in the BBC science-fiction television programme ''Torchwood'', a spin-off of the long-running series ''Doctor Who''. The lead female character, Gwen featured in every ep ...

. In bringing them to the United States, they find themselves pursued by agents working for an entity called the Families. Jack discovers that his own immortality has disappeared, and believes this is connected to the events of the miracle. Jack brings Rex and Esther within Torchwood's folds. The world governments institute a plan to bring those people that would normally have died from illnesses or injury into camps without exception. Torchwood infiltrates a camp and discovers the patients are actually incinerated in the camps. They reveal this to the world in the hope that the camps will shut down, but the world governments refuse, believing the camps to be a necessity, but the news puts the world into chaos. Meanwhile, Torchwood continues to track down the Families, discovering they have many agencies across the globe. Eventually Jack comes to realise that the Families represent the descendants of the patriarchs of three Catholic families that he had encountered in New York City in the 1920s. These men were, both, frightened by and covetous of his immortality and bought him, using scientific tests and bloodletting to try to understand his condition. The Families have grown incredibly powerful since then and have been able to take advantage of the miracle to their own financial and political ends. Some months pass, and the world slides into a financial depression. Torchwood recognizes that the Families manipulated events just prior to the first day of the miracle in Shanghai and Buenos Aires, two points on opposite sides of the globe. With information from Oswald Danes, Jack realises the Families have found the Blessing, a literal blood line that runs between these points through the Earth, and that they had sent a quantity of Jack's blood from his previous bloodletting into the Blessing, which "rewrote" his immortality across the rest of humanity as a defensive mechanism. The team splits up between Jack and Gwen, and Rex and Esther, to investigate both points. Both teams find the Blessing in full control of the Families, and agents there note the only way to revert the miracle is to reintroduce Jack's now mortal blood into the Blessing from both ends. Rex reveals he had transfused himself with Jack's blood prior to their arrival. However, a member of the Families fatally shoots Esther, meaning she will die if the miracle is reversed. However, Gwen advises Rex not to stop, and simultaneously, Rex opens a wound and Gwen shoots Jack, and the blood enters the Blessing from both ends, ending the miracle. As the two facilities begin to collapse, Rex helps Esther to escape, but she dies in the aftermath, while Jack has regained his own immortality and escapes with Gwen. Later, as the world deals with the concept of death again, and Torchwood attends Esther's funeral, Rex is shot at by a Families mole in the CIA. However, he finds that he has become immortal like Jack.

Episodes

Production

''Miracle Day'' was developed through a collaborative plotting, with individual episodes subsequently assigned to individual writers. Gardner and Davies spent four weeks alongside their writing staff working through the complete story. Writers subsequently elected to write those episodes which reflected their particular interests in certain themes or characters. The writing team chose to revise each episode before the first scene was shot; writer Jane Espenson felt this would give the series a much tighter feel and greater overall continuity. In writing ''Children of Earth'' and ''Miracle Day'', Davies found his preference for the mini-series format and has stated ''Torchwood'' will not return to the "monster-of-the-week" stories typical of the show's first two series, finding the new format "more ambitious and intelligent".

Development

Early development rumours suggested that the fourth series would be a

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

of the show, and that it would air on

Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

in the United States. However, the deal with Fox did not go through and a new co-production deal with Starz was officially announced. ''Torchwood'' creator and executive producer

clarified the focus of the series, stating "it's very much the next step. It's not a new version, it's not a reboot. We're simply moving countries." The series was first announced with the title ''Torchwood: The New World'', though this was revised to ''Torchwood: Miracle Day'' later in development (''The New World'' became the title of the first episode). The second executive producer,

Julie Gardner Julie Ann Gardner (born 4 June 1969) is a Welsh television producer. Her most prominent work has been serving as executive producer on the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off shows ''Torchwood'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. ...

, described the new series as being absolutely ready "to welcome in a new audience". Series writer Jane Espenson clarified further, describing the series as strictly "a continuation of the UK show".

Casting

The show's remaining three regulars returned to the series, with

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in ''Doctor Who'' and '' Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrowv ...

as Captain Jack Harkness,

Eve Myles Eve Myles (born 26 July 1978) is a Welsh actress. She is best known for her television roles portraying Ceri Lewis in the long-running BBC Wales drama series '' Belonging'' (2000–2009), Gwen Cooper in the BBC science-fiction series ''Torchw ...

and

Kai Owen Kai Owen (born 4 September 1975) is a Welsh actor of stage and screen, known to Welsh audiences for his numerous roles on Welsh language television and to worldwide audiences for his portrayal of Rhys Williams in '' Torchwood'' and Pete Bucha ...

as Rhys Williams, Gwen's husband. Within the series, Captain Jack is an

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

ex-conman from the 51st century who first appeared in the 2005 ''Doctor Who'' episode "

The Empty Child "The Empty Child" is the ninth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 May 2005. It was the first episode written by Steven Moffat, who later beca ...

". In the first three series of ''Torchwood'', Jack ran the Cardiff remnant of the Torchwood Institute, and was "the happiest he'd ever been". After the destruction of Torchwood and the deaths of his grandson, friends, and his lover Ianto Jones in the third series, the only thing that could bring Jack back to Earth is "his unstated love for Gwen Cooper and Torchwood". Gwen was previously seen heavily pregnant at the end of the third series by her husband Rhys. Since the fall of Torchwood, they have begun a quiet life living in seclusion with their baby, Anwen. Other returning characters included Gwen's former police partner

PC Andy Andy Davidson is a fictional character in the BBC television programme ''Torchwood'', portrayed by Tom Price. Andy, an officer with the South Wales Police, is a supporting character who first appears in ''Torchwood''s premiere episode " Every ...

( Tom Price), now a sergeant, and her parents Geraint ( William Thomas) and Mary Cooper (

Sharon Morgan Sharon Morgan (born 29 August 1949) is a Welsh actress of stage and screen, currently based in Cardiff. She was brought up in the village of Llandyfaelog. She is best known for her work within the Welsh film and television industries and has b ...

), who previously appeared in the 2008 ''Torchwood'' episode " Something Borrowed". All three featured in recurring roles. Mekhi Phifer joined the show as Rex Matheson, the CIA's "golden boy" operative, fast-tracked for career stardom. Highly intelligent and heroic, he teams up with Jack and Gwen to solve the mystery behind "Miracle Day". He is joined by

(

Alexa Havins Alexa Carole Havins (born November 16, 1980) is an American actress. She first came to prominence in 2003, when she became the originating actress in the role of Babe Carey Chandler on the soap opera ''All My Children''. Her role as the flawed b ...

), a CIA watch analyst with an optimistic faith in humanity.

Arlene Tur Arlene Tur is an American actress, television presenter and model. She is best known for her roles as Bebe Arcel in the 2008 television drama series ''Crash'', Armenia in the 2010 film ''Eat Pray Love'' and as Vera Juarez in '' Torchwood: Miracl ...

was cast as surgeon Vera Juarez, while

Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. He made his film debut in ''R ...

played Oswald Danes, a dangerous convicted child sex offender and murderer who turns a prison release into celebrity status. Oswald faces lethal injection, but becomes swept up in the story's plot thread when he — like the rest of the world — simply does not die.

Lauren Ambrose Lauren Anne D'Ambruoso (born February 20, 1978), known professionally as Lauren Ambrose, is an American actress and singer. She performs in television, film, and on Broadway. Ambrose had television roles as Claire Fisher in ''Six Feet Under'' ...

was cast as Jilly Kitzinger in seven of the ten episodes. Her character is described as "a sweet-talking PR genius with a heart of stone who's just cornered the most important client of her career ... and maybe of all time". Guest stars included Lena Kaur,

Dichen Lachman Dichen Lachman (; born 22 February 1982) is an Australian actress. She earned recognition starring as Katya Kinski in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (2005–2007) and as Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse'' (2009� ...

Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played Newman on '' Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001). He also voiced Igor on ''Toonsylvania'' (1998 ...

Ernie Hudson Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. His roles include Winston Zeddemore in the '' Ghostbusters'' film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in '' The Crow'' (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003) ...

C. Thomas Howell Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966) is an American actor. He has starred in the films '' Soul Man'', '' The Hitcher'', '' Grandview U.S.A.'', ''Red Dawn'', ''Secret Admirer'' and '' The Outsiders''. He has also appeared in '' Gett ...

John de Lancie John Sherwood de Lancie, Jr. (born March 20, 1948) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and comedian, best known for his role as Q in various ''Star Trek'' series (1987–present); beginning with '' Star Trek: The Next Generation ...

, Nana Visitor and Dillon Casey. Casting calls differed from the final press release. Pullman and Havins' characters' names were originally Oswald Jones and Esther Katusi, respectively. Additionally, calls originally specified that Rex was to be played by a white actor and Esther by a non-white actress. ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

''s

Chad Michael Murray Chad Michael Murray (born August 24, 1981) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Lucas Scott in The WB/ CW drama series '' One Tree Hill'' (2003–09, 2012), a recurring role as Tristin DuGray on The WB/ CW series ''Gilm ...

and ''

Dollhouse A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North America ...

'' Enver Gjokaj both auditioned for the part of Matheson. ''

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

'' star

Amber Stevens Amber Dawn Stevens West is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Ashleigh Howard in the ABC Family series ''Greek'' (2007–2011)'','' Maxine in the NBC sitcom ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015–2017), and Claire Davis in the CBS ...

also auditioned for the part of Katusi/Drummond. During the development phase, actor James Marsters expressed strong interest in returning as his Series 2 character Captain John Hart.

Main cast and guest stars

Locations

Locations used in Wales include Cardiff International Airport and the National Trust's Old Rectory cottage in Rhossili Bay On 1 February 2011 filming returned to the

Coal Exchange The Coal Exchange (also known as the Exchange Building) is an historic building in Cardiff, Wales. It is designed in Renaissance Revival style. Built in 1888 as the Coal and Shipping Exchange to be used as a market floor and office building for ...

in Cardiff Bay. The Coal Exchange was last used for John Frobisher's offices in ''Children of Earth''. A pharmacy in Swansea was used for a scene which sees Gwen Cooper crash a car into the front of the shop.

Music

''Torchwood'' and '' Doctor Who'' composer

Murray Gold Murray Jonathan Gold (born 28 February 1969) is an English composer for stage, film, and television and a dramatist for both theatre and radio. He is best known as the musical director and composer of the music for ''Doctor Who'' from 2005, unti ...

composed music for the fourth series with assistant composer Stu Kennedy.

Promotion

A teaser trailer was released on 1 April 2011, featuring the earth stylised as a giant bomb after a news reporter announces that "At 10:36pm, the last death on the planet Earth was recorded." The song '' Perfect Day'' by Lou Reed was used as a backing soundtrack to the trailer. A promotional poster had earlier been released, featuring the same bomb motif. Actors John Barrowman and Bill Pullman, alongside executive producer Julie Gardner, attended the 2011 MIPTV event in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

to promote the series. Speaking of the new series, Gardner commented that " orchwood istaking the Welsh global — retaining the best of British drama while learning all about US production values". John Barrowman spoke of how the new series will be "bigger and better" because of the increased opportunities of the American co-production. Promotional pictures of the Torchwood: Miracle Day Cast, along with character biographies, were released in May 2011. Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper feature on the front cover of '' Radio Times'' magazine for 9–15 July 2011. The pair were also on the front cover of ''

TV & Satellite Week ''TV & Satellite Week'' is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing. Its focus is on quality dramas, comedy and documentaries, films and sport. ''TV & Satellite Week'' belongs to Future Publishing's ...

'' for the same week. Starz organised a 'March of The Soulless' on Thursday, 7 July 2011 to promote the new series.

Broadcast

''Miracle Day'' was first shown on Starz on 8 July 2011 in the US. On 9 July 2011 it was shown on

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

in Canada, and on UKTV Australia in Australia. It was first broadcast in the UK on 14 July 2011 on

. On 19 July 2011 it was announced it had been bought by Eleven, a Network Ten Australia free-to-air digital-only channel, but has not broadcast it. Different edits were produced for the US and UK broadcasts. According to writer Jane Espenson, the only differences are "a 10 second trim in the UK version of ep.3 and a three-second cut in the UK ep.6." The actual cut for episode 3 for UK airing was 30 seconds.

Critical reception

American reviews were mixed. ''The New York Times'' described the show as "a letdown" and the ''Los Angeles Times'' describing it as "repetitive". Though ''Guardian'' reviewer Dan Martin had initially responded warmly to the series, his later overview of the series was more critical. Despite showing promise with its opener, Martin states that it is an "understatement" to say that ''Miracle Day'' has proved divisive with audiences. He recommends that the story would have worked better as a five-parter in the style of ''Children of Earth'', as it seemed that the plot was stretched thin. Other criticisms focused on Jack's relatively minimal role, the unclear direction of the Oswald Danes storyline, the lack of an alien presence in the series, and the show's expectation that the audience care for Rex and Esther, whom they have not had a chance to get to know. Commenting that "the series seemed to spend weeks looking at the consequences of the Miracle, running away from unnamed baddies, extraditions, deportations, and dangling character arcs", he does however commend Davies for the innovative transatlantic production behind the series: "Perhaps the best way of looking at ''Miracle Day'' is as a first attempt. Taking a cultish British programme and giving it a cash injection and a platform for a global audience is a brave move." After the series finale Martin further notes that "''Children of Earth'' ended with a resolution that could have very easily wrapped the series up." ''Miracle Day'', however, ended with several cliffhangers, which Martin found strange in view of its unfavourable reviews and the fact that Davies was not sure he would do any more ''Torchwood''. Charlie Jane Anders for

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

expressed some continuity concerns that are raised by relating ''Miracle Day'' to ''Doctor Who'', the parent show of ''Torchwood''. As ''Miracle Day'' seemingly supposes a catastrophic worldwide phenomenon lasting at least from March to May 2011, it seems quite incompatible with the world of ''Doctor Who'', where in

Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...

's 2011 series, companions Amy (

Karen Gillan Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction ser ...

) and Rory (

Arthur Darvill Thomas Arthur Darvill (born 17 June 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Rory Williams, a companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2012), as well as Rip Hunter in ''Legends of Tomorrow'' ...

) are based in this exact time period without any mention of the problem, or evidence of global catastrophe elsewhere. Anders comments that in the past, the two shows had always "maintained a fairly tight continuity".

Notes

References

External links

*
Official US websiteOfficial UK website
* {{Starz Shows 2011 American television seasons Television shows written by Russell T Davies Miracle Day British television miniseries 2010s American television miniseries Starz original programming Films set in Washington, D.C. Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Virginia English-language television shows 2010s American LGBT-related television series 2011 British television seasons