Torchwood - If It Ever Returned As A Series

I've been debating writing this article for a while but with the recent announcement that John Barrowman would be reprising the role of Captain Jack Harkness for a range of Torchwood audios for Big Finish, now felt like the right time to do this.

The obvious warning - this mostly speculation and mostly ideas on how I think if the show ever returned to television (and I certainly wouldn't rule it out), how exactly it should be handled. Without further ado, here goes ....

1: A New Format: It's unlikely if the series ever returned that it would get the 13 episodes that it's first two series had but format wise, how about a series containing either six hour long episodes or a series of 90 minute episodes/specials (three or four like Sherlock)? Given the BBC's budget nowadays and the fact that Barrowman and Myles do have other commitments too, it would be the more viable of options.

2: Quickly Resolve The Events Of Miracle Day: And I mean quickly. It would be tempting to for any reboot of Torchwood to essentially ignore the events (and a part of me would be more than okay with that) of Miracle Day, but at the same time we could also have Jack mention in passing to Gwen and Rhys that Rex's immortality was reversed and that he took out the Families/ultimately stopped their Plan B from ever happening. That way, the show would be able to completely move on from that particular series.

3: Bring It Home: I'm not gonna lie - Torchwood was at it's best when it was mainly centred in Cardiff and while both Children Of Earth and Miracle Day are commendable for getting the team out of the Hub, I also think the show lost it's USP by doing that as well. Any reboot would have to have Jack and Gwen setting up shop in the Hub once again and having the action primarily in Cardiff.

4: New Team Members: Easily the most obvious request. Jack and Gwen are great but better when they have other characters to bounce off and a new Torchwood team comprising of a new doctor, a new tech geek and at least one or two field agents as well would be essential for the show. And of course, I'm sure there could be another work related romance too, though not essential.

5: Hold Back With The Kills: In four seasons we saw Suzie, Owen, Toshiko, Ianto, Vera and Esther all come a cropper in terms of demises and if we got a new team with Jack and Gwen, while I wouldn't expect them all to survive, I would like if RTD slowed down a bit on the kill factor and allowed the new characters to develop a bit more too. Like I said, Jack and Gwen are great but Torchwood should be an ensemble piece as well.

6: The Odd Returning Face/Crossover Appeal: Okay, any reboot would probably also feature Rhys and Andy but what about the likes of Bilis Manger and Captain John Hart? Both of those characters are certainly ripe for further stories. Not to mention the fact that if Torchwood went down the Sherlock route, it could become more crossover friendly with the Doctor Who universe. If not a cameo appearance from whoever would be the Doctor/companion should a reboot ever come to pass, then maybe a team up with Jack's new gang and the current UNIT?

7: A Sense Of Fun Along With The Danger: This might be a controversial opinion but for me Torchwood was at it's best during it's second series. It had the right amount of danger, a team who properly felt like a team but it also had a sense of fun and while later series seem intent into making Jack into a mashup of both Angel and Jack Bauer, I have to admit, it never works for the character. Jack is at his best when he's more of a cheeky rogue rather than a brooding so and so who ends up sacrificing his own grandchild and again if/when Torchwood returns to the small screen, I'd like a sense of proper fun along with the danger. I don't think that's the most unreasonable of requests.

Well those are my thoughts. What do you all think?