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Feb 7, 2009 05:00 PM
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Torchwood's Eve Myles and Euros Lyn showed up to talk about the new miniseries "Children of Earth," telling us that these five hours pack more of a punch than the last two seasons combined. Spoilers!
We caught up with Myles and Lyn after their packed-to-the-gills Torchwood panel to get more details on the upcoming "Children of Earth" - and their true feelings about their American fans. (Full transcript of the video is below, sorry for the sound quality.)
While most of us are still grieving for Owen and Tosh, there are new frontiers ahead. "The grief that the characters feel is very real," admitted Lyn, "but this is a brand new story." With a shorter run of just five episodes, he said, they were able to move into a different realm - one that's grander and more complex. "It's absolutely epic," added Myles.
Jack and Ianto step up to be a "massive ensemble team," Myles revealed. From the trailer they showed, it looks like everybody's favorite gay alien hunters will be twining tongues once more as well. Rhys also becomes part of the Torchwood team in this series, although the Weevil will not appear. "He's sunning it up in the Barbados," Myles told us, after also confessing (with a wink) that she and the alien prisoner had a torrid offscreen affair.
"Children of Earth" introduces a new character, Mr. Frobisher, whose name is shamelessly stolen from a comic-strip companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctors. Frobisher, played by Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who's Caecilius in 4x03 "Fires of Pompeii"), is "the greatest civil servant," Lyn said. "He's worked hard all his life, and suddenly he finds himself in the middle of the biggest terror. He's a reluctant antagonist." Of course we'd all love to witness the return of Mickey and Martha to the Hub as well, and Lyn agreed, but unfortunately the scheduling didn't work out with actors Noel Clarke and Freema Agyeman. Lyn promised us fascinating new characters, though - and for those of you who love earnest PC Andy (Tom Price), Myles announced: "Oh, he gets his recognition!"
Myles also spoke excitedly about the action - "I'll jump through the air with not one gun, but two guns!" she exclaimed in the "Children of Earth" teaser video. But will there be, you know, action?
"It wouldn't be Torchwood without a little [wink-wink]," Myles commented, clicking her tongue and treating the audience to a seductive look.
As cheeky as her show, Myles joked about pranks on set and her first time meeting John Barrowman: "I can't tell you," she said, poker-faced, when fans asked for details. What she could tell us was that Barrowman farts. A lot. "Sorry, John, but you do!" she protested.
Doctor Who is unique in that it focuses towards children, and Torchwood is more adult, but in this new trailer that we just saw, there are children. What new aspects did that bring to it? How much did it change it, do you think?
LYN: I think Torchwood's very much an adult show, but I'm certain that kids are going to be staying up until 9 o'clock to see it, because it's gripping and terrifying in the same way that Doctor Who is. They do share a huge amount of territory.
MYLES: Yes. Yeah. And if one person's watching one, they might possibly be watching the other. Primarily, Doctor Who is a very kind of — has a younger audience conventionally than Torchwood, which is pitched to an older audience. But as Euros said, inevitably, I know children will watch it and they'll love it! So that may happen.
As Torchwood has been moving from BBC Three up to BBC Two and so on, how has that affected things? And how has the growing number of people watching affected things?
MYLES: You go in to do a show, you give 101 percent no matter what channel it's on. To me, it doesn't make any difference. This, when it runs on BBC One, obviously has a wider range and a much bigger audience, which can only be a good thing. As you've said, we've gone from Three to Two to One, and it doesn't matter. It's not going to affect the performances or the storylines or anything. If anything, it's empowered us. It's enhanced what we've got to give, because now we've got to hit the mark and there's no weak link.
LYN: Moving into the more mainstream channel, we wanted to take our core fans with us. But there's no watering down. There's no pulling back from some of the braver things that Torchwood does.
MYLES: Otherwise we'd be cheating the fans that we've already got!
LYN: It wouldn't be Torchwood.
MYLES: Exactly. It's just everything Torchwood is about ... and then there's more.
As far as doing the radio show - I mean, physically [to Myles], you're great. You make funny faces and stuff, but on the radio you can't do that. Was that especially challenging? Have you done radio work before?
MYLES: Yes. Radio is very, very difficult, because all you've got is your voice. The best bit of advice I've ever had for radio is, when you're talking into the microphone, you're talking to one person. It makes it very intimate. It makes the listener think that you're talking to them. So it's far more intimate than TV or film or anything - it's the most intimate thing, actually. It's the most intimate form of what I do, is radio. It's quiet and it's unique. You've got to keep your voice very powerful to tell a story, and to keep the listener engaged.
For both of you, could you pick a favorite Torchwood moment? It could be something that happened on set, or your favorite scene in the show - just anything that you particularly like. I don't like favorites questions, so if you just want to pick some moment that you like off the top of your head, that's fine too.
MYLES: I think the moment where Gwen catches Ianto and Jack kissing is hilarious. And even doing it - I had to go in, and they would be kissing, and then I'd say, "Oh! My God!" And I didn't, for a good long while. I kind of let them carry on. And they were like, "Oh, please, Eve! [laughs]" And so we did it again. And that was great fun.
LYN: And Gwen's wedding, I absolutely loved.
MYLES: It was daft!
LYN: Yeah! And that, classically, is an episode that brings an awful lot of humor into the show, which is really important.
Is there stuff that you feel like you wish the US audiences would get, or do you think so far our reactions have been similar to what you've experienced over there?
LYN: Yeah, we want for you to get it all!
MYLES: Absolutely.
In the difference of reactions, has there been anything that's surprising?
MYLES: This. This entire thing ... absolutely blows my brain out of my ears. It's incredible. The warmth, the reception we have received - from getting off the plane! - has been electrifying. It's something that I'm going to - I don't want to speak for Euros - but we're going to be able to take home with us and tell people about. It's been extraordinary.
LYN: Yeah, thank you so much.
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