It's easy to forget just how important Torchwood was in the Doctor's absence, but Doctor Who season 4's alternate timeline episode proves it. The organization went through several iterations before the 21st century, but the Cardiff-based version led by John Barrowman's Captain Jack Harkness is the franchise's most prevalent. Although Jack reimagined Torchwood's values, its focus was still on protecting the Earth from extraterrestrial threats. While largely confined to all four seasons of Torchwood, the first of the modern-era Doctor Who spinoffs, Jack and company worked tirelessly.
After being introduced as one of the Doctor's companions not from present-day Earth, Jack went on to have a fascinating arc in the Doctor Who universe. As the leader of Torchwood Cardiff, he was instrumental in protecting the immediate area from alien threats and even went on to take on international missions following the loss of most of his team. While the core group was still intact in Torchwood seasons 1 and 2, they were rarely given the chance to quash global terrors, but one of the Doctor Who's Doctor-lite episodes proved Torchwood was capable of success in that arena.
"Turn Left" Proved How Important Torchwood Actually Was To Earth
Gwen Cooper & Ianto Jones sacrificed themselves to stop the Sontarans in the Doctor's absence
In Doctor Who season 4, episode 11, "Turn Left," Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) changes reality by making a small decision that spirals into her never meeting David Tennant's Tenth Doctor. As a result, he's largely absent from the episode, and "Turn Left" reveals how Donna's decision causes the Doctor's death and the impact that it has on the Earth. Most of the alien threats go unopposed in this other reality, but Torchwood steps up in a huge way when the Sontarans try to enact the same atmosphere-changing scheme from Doctor Who season 4, episode 5, "The Poison Sky."
"That was the Torchwood team. Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, they gave their lives. And Captain Jack Harkness has transported to the Sontaran homeworld. There's no one left."
- Rose Tyler in "Turn Left"
Rose Tyler's Billie Piper explains to Donna in "Turn Left" that the Sontarans were defeated in the new timeline by Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). First-time viewers who never saw Torchwood may not have recognized the second two names, but they were main characters in the spinoff show. With the Doctor unavailable to stop the Sontaran's deadly threat to Earth, Torchwood was forced to step in. They managed to do what the Doctor had set in motion in the original timeline. Sadly, Gwen and Ianto also died in the act.
Torchwood Is As Vital To Earth In Doctor Who As The Doctor Themselves
Earth badly needs Torchwood when the Doctor isn't there
One of Torchwood's biggest messages is that the Doctor won't always be there to help. Although the iconic Time Lord is pretty much ubiquitous throughout time and space, it's still unreasonable to expect a single person to be there at every event that could threaten the human homeworld. The Doctor never appears in Torchwood (other than Ten's severed hand), so the spinoff does a great job of showing just how much the Earth unknowingly relies upon Jack and his team to keep the population safe.
"Torchwood" is an anagram of "Doctor Who," and it was used as a codename during the secretive process of preparing Doctor Who's 2005 revival.
"Turn Left" is just one example of how willing Torchwood is to lay their lives on the line if it means protecting the Earth. Although the original team didn't often face threats that were immediately global, they did help stop several alien incursions that could have become a far bigger deal if left unchecked. In the main timeline, Torchwood's biggest contribution was arguably bringing an end to Miracle Day in Torchwood season 4. However, all the smaller acts of heroism also add up to a considerable amount of effort and importance.
UNIT Has Taken Torchwood's Place In Doctor Who's Current Era
Jack's departure has increased UNIT's workload
With Jack leaving Earth at the end of Torchwod's final season, there's only Gwen left with any Torchwood experience. So, the organization has been rendered defunct ever since. That being said, Doctor Who's 2005 revival didn't just introduce Torchwood, it also brought back the Unified Intelligence Task Force (UNIT) from Doctor Who's classic era. Although UNIT has been featured pretty consistently since the show came back, it has become even more prevalent in Doctor Who canon since the fall of Torchwood.
Related
This David Tennant Doctor Who Episode Could Have Been A Classic, But The Villain Ruined It
David Tennant's era as the Tenth Doctor boasts some truly excellent episodes, but other installments fall victim to being overly ambitious.
Now, whenever the Doctor can't be reached, UNIT has established itself more firmly as Earth's primary line of defense. Perhaps the biggest difference is that the Doctor regularly collaborates with UNIT, whereas Torchwood's partnerships with the Time Lord were either a last resort or very uneasy. Interestingly, UNIT's new team in Doctor Who seems to be replicating the idea of a consistent set of faces being easier to root for. Unlike Torchwood, UNIT has often had a revolving door of characters who often don't really matter in the larger Doctor Who canon.
-
Doctor Who
Release Date 2005 - 2021
Directors Graeme Harper, Euros Lyn, Douglas Mackinnon, Jamie Magnus Stone, Charles Palmer, Rachel Talalay, Joe Ahearne, James Strong, Jamie Childs, Saul Metzstein, Toby Haynes, Wayne Che Yip, Nick Hurran, Richard Clark, James Hawes, Daniel Nettheim, Colin Teague, Keith Boak, Azhur Saleem, Adam Smith, Andrew Gunn, Nida Manzoor, Lawrence Gough, Paul Murphy
Writers Steven Moffat, Russell T. Davies
-
Jodie Whittaker
The Doctor
-
-
-
-
-
Torchwood
Release Date 2006 - 2010
Showrunner Andy Goddard
Directors Andy Goddard
Writers Russell T. Davies
Franchise(s) Doctor Who
English (US) ·