Torchwood: Miracle Day is the fourth and final series of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running show Doctor Who. In contrast to the first three series, which were produced by the BBC, the fourth series was a British co-production involving the BBC's drama production house BBC Cymru Wales for BBC Worldwide and the US 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 recruited several American television writers to write for Miracle Day, including Jane Espenson, John Shiban and Doris Egan. 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 in the UK. The majority of the filming took place in Los Angeles, California, 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 , referenced on the Starz website (but not on the BBC One website) related to the series.Starz – Torchwood – Downloads It was available as an app from the iTunes Store, and the first episode can be obtained for free, and was available on Starz's YouTube 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 Around the world, people who have suffered usually fatal wounds or diseases are suddenly unable to die, first revealed when the execution of child killer Oswald Danes fails. Initially seen as a religious miracle, the absence of death strains medical resources and spreads disease; governments estimate that without action the world will be unable to sustain population growth within months.
Central Intelligence Agency agents Rex Matheson, who suffered a fatal accident but survived, and Esther Drummond discover the name "Torchwood" tied with these events and locate its remaining members, Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper. Bringing them to the United States, they are pursued by agents behind a pharmaceutical company, PhiCorp, who they find planned for the 'miracle' by stockpiling drugs. Jack discovers he is no longer immortal and believes this is connected to the miracle. Jack brings Rex and Esther within Torchwood's fold.
World governments force anyone who would normally have died into camps. Torchwood infiltrates one and discovers the patients are incinerated. They reveal this to the public, hoping the camps will shut down, but governments refuse, believing the camps to be necessary; the news puts the world into chaos. Torchwood tracks PhiCorp, discovering they have agencies across the globe. Jack realises that PhiCorp are run by the Families, descendants of three family patriarchs he encountered in New York in the 1920s. Frightened by, and covetous of, his immortality, they bought him, using scientific tests and bloodletting to try to understand his condition. The Families grew powerful and created the miracle for financial and political ends.
Months pass and the world slides into financial depression. Torchwood recognizes that the Families manipulated events just prior to the miracle in Shanghai and Buenos Aires, two points on opposite sides of the globe. With information from Danes, Jack realises the Families found the Blessing, a crack that runs through the Earth and generates a morphic field connected to humanity. They had sent the immortal blood they collected from Jack into both sides simultaneously, which "rewrote" his immortality in the rest of humanity as a defence mechanism. The team splits up between Jack and Gwen, and Rex and Esther, to investigate both points. Each finds the site in the control of the Families, and the only way to reverse the miracle is to reintroduce Jack's now-mortal blood into the Blessing from both ends. Rex reveals he transfused himself with Jack's blood. A member of the Families fatally shoots Esther, meaning she will die if the miracle is reversed. Gwen tells Rex not to stop, and simultaneously, as Rex opens a wound, Gwen shoots Jack and the blood enters the Blessing from both ends, ending the miracle. As the two facilities collapse, Rex helps Esther escape but she dies, while Jack regains his immortality and escapes with Gwen. As the world again copes with death and Torchwood attends Esther's funeral, Rex is shot by a Families mole in the CIA. He finds that, like Jack, he is immortal.
Episodes
Production Development Early development rumours suggested that the fourth series would be a reboot of the show, and that it would air on Fox Network 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 Russell T Davies 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, 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".
Writing 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".
Casting
The show's remaining three regulars returned to the series, with John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper and Kai Owen as Rhys Williams, Gwen's husband. Within the series, Captain Jack is an immortal ex-conman from the 51st century who first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child". 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 (Tom Price), now a sergeant, and her parents Geraint (William Thomas) and Mary Cooper (Sharon Morgan), 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 Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins), a CIA watch analyst with an optimistic faith in humanity. Arlene Tur was cast as surgeon Vera Juarez, while Bill Pullman 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 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, Wayne Knight, Ernie Hudson, C. Thomas Howell, John de Lancie, 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 Hills Chad Michael Murray and Dollhouse Enver Gjokaj both auditioned for the part of Matheson. Greek star Amber Stevens 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 Actor Character Notes EpisodesJohn BarrowmanCaptain Jack Harkness AllEve MylesGwen Cooper AllMekhi PhiferRex Matheson AllAlexa HavinsEsther Drummond AllKai OwenRhys Williams AllBill PullmanOswald Danes 1–5, 8–10Lauren AmbroseJilly Kitzinger 2–5, 8–10Sharon Morgan Mary Cooper 1, 5, 7–10Arlene TurDr. Vera Juarez 1–5Tom PriceSergeant Andy Davidson 1–2, 5, 7, 10William ThomasGeraint Cooper 1, 5–6, 9–10Paul James Noah Vickers 1–2, 8–10Marina Benedict Charlotte Wills 1–2, 8–10Teddy Sears Blue-eyed Man 5, 8–10Candace Brown Sarah Drummond 4, 8, 10Wayne Knight Brian Friedkin 2–3, 8John de Lancie Allen Shapiro 8–10Frances Fisher The Mother 9–10Nana Visitor Olivia Colasanto 7–8Daniele Favilli Angelo Colasanto 7–8Cris D'Annunzio Salvatore Maranzano 7Marc Vann Colin Maloney 5–6Fred Koehler Ralph Coltrane 5–6Dichen Lachman Lyn Peterfield 2Mare Winningham Ellis Hartley Monroe 4C. Thomas Howell Torchwood Tracker 4
Locations The whole series was filmed across two main locations: South Wales and Los Angeles, California.https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jun/07/torchwood-return-fourth-serieshttps://www.thelocationguide.com/industrynews/snow-white-and-the-dark-knight-rises-shoot-with-wales-screen-commissionhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2011/01_january/torchwood_cast.shtmlhttps://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/dramatic-torchwood-scenes-filmed-wales-2732083https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/torchwood-returns-wales---more-1828879.amp
Music Torchwood and Doctor Who composer Murray Gold composed music for the fourth series with assistant composer Stu Kennedy.
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