89 days left and I am writing this at 10:42pm. It's a lot later than I usually write, generally I'll blog in the morning and I try to enforce an unofficial deadline of 4pm so the blog is posted before midnight in the UK. Most days I meet this deadline, but sometimes, like today I don't.

What excuse do I have for my last minute submission? Well that's simple really, I was being distracted from writing about Torchwood by reading Torchwood. Not official Torchwood mind, but fanfic. I have no shame in admitting that I regularly read fanfic, most of it Janto-centric. I know a lot of people who find fault with fanfic, thinking it's silly, irrelevant or a waste of time. That being said I find the the Torchwood fandom as a whole embrace fanfic, mostly I think because a lot of people felt cheated by the ending of COE and the idea that we might not have more Torchwood in the future; well, before they announced TWMD.

I must admit that Torchwood fanfic has been a lovely distraction from the fact that there hasn't been any new Torchwood on TV since July 10, 2009. That's 639 days, exactly 1 year and 9 months, since as it happens it's April 10 today. Yes, I did math, well, I had my computer do math. Is it just me or does it seem like it's been longer than that? I don't think I am alone as a Torchwood fan who tries to find something to fill the Torchwood shaped whole in my heart. So what I'm thinking, for as long as I have material, Sunday blogs can be devoted what we use to fill the void. Each Sunday I'll talk about some other way fans and creators have kept the fandom alive while Torchwood has been off air.

For me fanfic has been the greatest contributor to fulfilling my Torchwood fix and keeping me invested in characters whose stories have stopped. To show my appreciation the following is my love letter to fanfic:

In case there is any doubt left, I adore fanfic and yea, I get distracted by it from time to time. The fic that kept me from this blog is 856 pages and I am on page 398. The only thing I love more than Torchwood fanfic is long Torchwood fanfic. If anyone is interested it's called "Ianto's Journey" and it's written by Aviv_B. You can download the whole thing in PDF form but please be aware it's NC-17, so mature readers only.

I think that about covers my position on fanfic, so let's hear from you. Do you read fanfic? Does it help you miss Torchwood less? Do you have a favorite kind of fanfic? Am I just incredibly odd for enjoying it so much? xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

90 Days left 'til the beginning of Miracle Day and I'm already thinking about the end. Because I'd like to squeeze this topic for all it's worth, I'm gonna finish up my thoughts that follow the last 2 days of blogs.

For those who haven't read, in 92 Days we talked about the tag-line "Death is not an option" and the implications it had for the people of earth who are sick and injured, who have to go on living. That led to 91 Days where we pondered, the beginning of it all, the cause of the MDD (Miracle Day Dilemma) and what if any alien involvement there would be. Today's topic has to do with a little of both, the sick and injured and the miraculous effect keeping them kicking. 

So if we assume I'm right, and why not, we're gonna see some pretty miserable and beat up people. Something I previously described as zombie-like; people who if the world was right should be dead. So this has me thinking of supernatural situations, similar scenarios when someone lives beyond what should be possible. My first thought was of possession, an outside entity taking control of a body and keeping it alive past it's limits. Or maybe an seperate force that allows for the 'possessed' to retain control, something like Suzie in the episode They Keep Killing Suzie. While sustained by the power of the risen mitten (if you will) she was tethered to the living world. It wasn't until the source of her immortality was destroyed that she could be.

What this has me wondering is, what happens if and when Torchwood saves the day? Without the effect of whatever is keeping people alive will everyone just die? It seems entirely possible that a 'happy ending' for Miracle Day is millions of deaths all at once. Man that is dark. Even by Torchwood standards I think the new series has a lot of heartache in store and I am...happy. Is it bad that that makes me happy? Am I the only one who loves a good tragic story where the only possible outcomes are devastating and end of the world? I love that the resolution, even if things go as best as they can, will be a far cry from a win!

So what's your take? Is the only possible ending to Miracle Day grim? Can the team even fix this? Wouldn't it be awesome if episode 10 was called "they aAre you also hoping for another series of Torturewood? xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

91 Days left and it's April 8th, which means if we're going by the date of the month, we're 3 months away from Torchwood: Miracle Day! 3 months doesn't seem as long does it?

I woke up this morning to find that yesterdays 92 days blog got a couple of comments. Not out of the ordinary, I get a few each day which is lovely because I like to hear what you all have to say. Why I'm bothering telling you so is because what I had hoped would happen has. Your comments on that blog gave me something to talk about in this blog, keeping the conversation going and writing about what you want me to. I think that's how this should work. This blog is just as much about keeping you all distracted for the duration of our wait as it is for me.

If you haven't read it,  yesterdays blog was about illness and injury in a world without death. I discussed the tag line "Death is not an option" and my supposed implications for the human race living with disease and no relief. What the comments brought up is what the cause of Miracle Day Dilemma (henceforth MDD) could be and what the alien connection is.

I am getting more and more curious about the source and really that's the point of the series right? Torchwood has to discover the source and fix it. I think we're in for a great mystery. As for the alien aspect, I think it'll more likely be something like an alien device in the wrong hands than some massive alien take-over. I can't seem to reconcile the idea of Miracle Day and alien meddling but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there is a massive alien attack and they have a good reason for the aliens to want to keep everyone alive. Maybe they're like the 456 (see COE) in that way, they feed on living energy so they need people alive. Only time will tell.

Enough about what I think, what about you? How big or how small do you think the alien involvement in Miracle Day will be? How do you think it'll come into play? Will we actually see an alien during the series? xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

92 days left until Torchwood is back on air! It's been a long time coming and it feels like a long time. Be honest, how may of you thought COE was going to be the end of it all?

Lucky for us Torchwood is back and no longer ends in the most depressing way ever! Well, at least not in that depressing way. If I know Torchwood we can expect a lot of tears along the way and it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume less than "they lived happily ever after" at the end of this series. Now of course, that's not all Torchwood was and will be, we'll surely have laughs along the way but, that's another blog for another day.

Today what's on my mind is that chilling tag line "Death is not an option". As we know Miracle Day is going to tell the story of a day on earth when no one dies and the days that follow without any deaths. Something is hinky and it's up to the now defunct Torchwood to figure out what. The implications such a world has for our handsome hero, Jack "the man who can't die", or stay dead rather, are truly devastating. When I read that line, accompanied by that epic image of Jack it was the first thing that crossed my mind. How does Jack, who has struggled with his immortality deal with a world where he is no longer the only one?  And again, tease that I am, I'll save that for another time. Stay with me I swear I'm going somewhere.

What if that's not what that line is about? Or at least not entirely. What if it's about something, as far as we know, Jack doesn't have to deal with...illness. I took a trip to doctor today and while I was in the waiting room I started to ponder possible blog topics, but all I kept thinking about was being at the doctor. Then I remembered reading something about MD, about the people of earth not being able to die but still getting sick and injured. From there I kept considering what exactly that would mean and I thought about that line again "Death is not an option"...it's not an option for anyone. What occurs to me is we may see a lot of sick and injured people who are suffering, zombie-like falling apart even, and don't have death as an escape. We may see emotionally troubled people, who have to go on living. What a great idea! I would've loved to sit in on the production meeting where they decided just how far to push that. The more I think about Miracle Day, about a world where no one dies, i think of all the horror that could come out of it. What I'm saying is, I bet we're in for another series of what we fans affectionately call "Torturewood". This series is going to test the limits of humanity and I reckon it'll make for some great stories. 10 episodes is not enough!

So what do you all think? What does a world without death imply for humanity? How far should they take it? Am I reading too much into this tag line? xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

93 Days left and I've gotta tell you, today was the first day I had a real hard time writing this blog. I have a giant list of topics I could write about but I'm just not feeling any of them today. And the last thing I want to do is take a good topic and give it a half-hearted write-up.

Solution: I am going to tell you a story and share with you something I wanted to anyway. Are you with me? I promise it is ultimately Barrowman and Torchwood related. I also promise that it is entirely perverted so the punchline is going to be posted by link and I am trusting you only to click fully aware of the mature content. No kiddies!

Did you know that I like John Barrowman? Well, I imagine you do if you're here. Here's some things you should accept in preparation for this story. 1- I like John Barrowman, a lot. 2 - I talk about him, constantly. 3- I miss Ianto in general and in relation to Jack. Ok? Great.

What follows is the story of my night:

I went to my local comic shop where my friend was signing comics he penned. This friend also happens to be a big Doctor Who and Torchwood fan. So it's no surprise we ended up talking about John Barrowman, but it is a bit odd how we got there. When I arrived at the shop he was working on a sketch for a customer. She requested a pink hippo which makes sense in relation to his comic, but is not important for this story.

I am really trying to remember how the conversation veered where it did, but before I knew it my friend had informed me that the pink hippo he was drawing was named Herbert, that he was John Barrowman's pet pink hippo and that he also had a lead role in Torchwood: Miracle Day, the hippo that is.

When he was done with others I asked him for a drawing, he always does a drawing for me and it's always Doctor Who or Torchwood related. In the past he's drawn me anything from a TARDIS to a post COE Ianto.  He loves to make fun of my Ianto sadness, even though deep down he misses Ianto too. When I asked him for a drawing he asked if I wanted a dismembered Ianto head. I told him he was a horrible person and that he should instead draw me John Barrowman and his pet/co-star Hebert the hippo.

Keeping in mind everything I told you and factoring in his very successful attempt to make me blush, if YOU ARE OF AGE, you can see his incredibly wrong sketch. I will mention this is all done in good humor and he's not actually a twisted horrible person. I adore him. I would describe it to you, but i'll let it speak for itself and keep the mature content the description would entail off this blog.

CLICK FOR PICTURE (mature content)

So that's that. I really don't know how to end this with a question. Hmmm here are a few: Will you ever be able to get that image out of your head? Is that funny or just beyond wrong? Should I not have posted this blog? xx

<3Dana
 
Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

94 days left and the last few days have been ALL ABOUT TORCHWOOD. Thanks to John Barrowman and Bill Pullman appearing at MIPTV in Cannes everyone is talking about Torchwood. I keep finding news stories, interviews and pictures of the guys. It's a whole heck of a lot to keep up with!

That being the case I thought today instead of a normal chatty blog I could give you various links to pictures, videos and articles to come out of this weekend. Hope that sounds ok. I'm thinking since we have 100 blogs to get through, well 93 now, it would be cool if once a week I just post a sort of round-up like this. I'll probably do that on Tuesdays since I am generally up to my elbows in BarrowmanDay prep by then. To be clear, as always, we're not claiming any ownership of the content.

Here's this weeks offerings (videos posted below blog):

INTERVIEWS/ARTICLES:

First Look: Torchwood Returns, With CIA Back-Up  (this one has a previously unreleased picture of the new Torchwood team)

Captain Jack Harkness Talks Torchwood: Miracle Day

PICTURES

MIPTV 2001 - Getty Images

Bill Pullman, Julie Gardner and John Barrowman as they chat about Torchwood in Cannes  (@Team_Barrowman twitpic)

In Cannes! #Torchwood (@RichardAArnold yfrog)

#Torchwood stars Bill Pullman and John Barrowman on #MIPTV red carpet ( @_mip_ yfrog)

John Barrowman on the red carpet at Cannes (@Gavin_Barker twitpic)

More from Cannes. Me with JB  (@Gavin_Barker twitpic)

John meets Captain Jack (@Gavin_Barker twitpic)

Good morning! (@Gavin_Barker twitpic)

Photos & Video: MIPTV 2011 Red Carpet! 

John Barrowman is a Cannes Ham Promoting "Torchwood: Miracle Day"

That's it for this week! If you've seen more feel free to post links in the comments below, to tweet them at us @BarrowmanDay or send us an email at [email protected].

What did you think? Have I missed anything good? Do you love all of John's fashion choices for the weekend? xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

95 Days left and it's the day Torchwood is launching at MIPTV in Cannes! John Barrowman and Bill Pullman have made the trip over to promote Torchwood: Miracle Day, and we're sure to get some goodies!

If any news or media comes out of this and it's something we can post we will. At the very least we'll post links to where you can see stuff. Speaking of which DID YOU SEE the new John Barrowman poster to that turned up online?? Posted below this blog and you can also see it thanks to @elinasevele full size.

I love this poster. I hope they make it a poster that can be purchased by the general public and that there is one in every home....everywhere. I would LOVE to own this poster. John is looking great it's really eye-catching and I think the tag line "DEATH IS NOT AN OPTION" is spot on. Every piece of promotional material that's released makes me more sure that MD is going to be amazing.

The general fan reaction to this new picture seems to be one of 2 things. "Wow John Barrowman is looking good" or "John Barrowman is looking a bit thin, is he ok?". I think I am somewhere in between the 2. No doubt John is looking great in this picture but I see what people are saying. I think John has lost a good amount of weight and I saw as much when I met him on location. I don't think people need to be worried though, he wasn't wasting away and it's only my opinion but John doesn't strike me as the type to take weight loss to a bad place. I think he has more sense than that.

My final ruling is the poster gets an A+ and John looks great. But what do you think? How did the poster strike you?  Do you think the tag-line suits the series? And do you think John Barrowman looks better now or do you prefer him a little...fuller? xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

96 Days left and it seems I never write the blog I intend! Everyday, someone says something, or news is released and I just find myself talking about that. It's not a bad thing, just a bit funny and that list of blog ideas is giving me dirty looks. Oh well, on to the latest distraction!!

Friday night Starz premiered it's new show Camelot, a show which I was interested in but wasn't', y'know, counting down the days 'til. As a result Friday when it premiered I didn't even realize it was on. Which is fine, it'll be on again. In fact it's on again tonight. Here's where I get upset. Stupid Dana who didn't tune into a show she wanted to see missed the first actual CLIPS of Torchwood: Miracle Day they played after!! Stupid, stupid me! If I had even set my dvr! It's ok though, I'm not bitter and I imagine it'll be on after tonight's showing. it better be.

Regardless of seeing the clip online and my certainly that it'll show after Camelot again I gotta tell you, full disclosure, I spent the weekend watching Starz. And I don't mean I just turned to the station and left it on. You see, there are 4 Starz stations, east, west, kids and comedy. These stations mostly air movies or original series and they only have commercials between one program and another. So I spent my weekend flipping from one to another during the commercial breaks. They play a lot of the same commercials and a lot of the same movies. I think I know the current Starz line-up by heart now. Alas, my best efforts came to nothing, no clip for me and I'm not going to even bother until Camelot tonight. If you want to see the clip I'm posting a YouTube of it below this blog, it's not the best quality but you can see Jack and Jack looks good.

Now we have our first official clip of Jack! Doesn't it seem more real? Every time Starz releases something it just makes me more anxious and I know that's the idea, get people excited, more viewers tune in but I AM TOO EXCITED!! I am crazy bouncy puppy excited, much more of this and I'll wind up rat jam!! Oh who am I kidding, I want more, overload be damned it's worth it! The clip like the teaser was intriguing, if they keep up with ads like this I think they'll have a lot of first time viewers come July 8th. So you've seen the clip, how did you like it? Was it still not enough Jack? Am I the only one who is a little uncomfortable with Jack and the non-webley gun?  xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

97 Days until Miracle Day and JOY Starz released a Torchwood: Miracle day teaser yesterday! If you haven't seen it yet it's posted just below this blog from YouTube so you should be able to watch it outside the US as well.  It's also on the shiny new Starz Torchwood: Miracle Day page.

So we've all seen it now? Great! I am in love with this teaser. I think it's what it says on the tin, a teaser, teasing audiences just enough to make us desperate for more. It's very successful in that aspect. I also loved the composition of the thing, the sounds of static, the song which is incredibly well suited and haunting, the one bit of news we get about the last reported death...I don't know who ultimately put this together but I was very impressed, honestly.

And I know what you are all thinking. You are all disappointed that there is no Jack and no further revealing content. I'm not bothered and here's why. First, it's a teaser, it's not supposed to give you much more that a taste, later trailers, especially once the series has started, will have more character content, I am sure of it. Second, and please do not take offense, you have to keep in mind that this teaser is intended for US audiences. What I mean and what people don't seem to be taking into account is that a lot of people in the US and a lot of their intended audience have no idea who Jack Harkness is. None. John Barrowman is not a household name and Doctor Who is a genre show that a lot of the general public have to be thoroughly wooed by to accept as good tv.

Don't get me wrong, i am not saying America hates Doctor Who or Sci-Fi or that there aren't a number of Desperate Housewives fans that know John Barrowman from there. What I'm saying, is most of us are watching this teaser and seeing the poster from last week and thinking we want something to tie it to the previous series. We want a glimpse of Jack coming back to earth, we want to see Gwen with the baby and that is fine but that won't make sense to a lot of the US audience, it therefore won't be affective advertising and if we're being honest most UK fans don't need to be convinced to watch Torchwood, am I right?

That being said I've heard from lots of official sources, people working on the show that they do not want to disregard the past, alienate UK audiences, or make this a reboot, just a jumping on point. I am sure there will be a sense of the past and we'll enjoy the new series all the more having been through what we have with Jack and Gwen. It's really all about trusting the creators at this point and I really do, I trust everyone involved in the new series and I'm sure you'll hear in blogs to come specifically why for a number of them.

Also, I  love the tiny bit of the Torchwood theme song at the end. That gave me chills. I so hope they use it or at least a variation of it for the new series.

I've said my peace for today but go ahead, tell me what you think. Did you like the teaser? I'm willing to discuss any concerns, but let's keep it peaceful yea? xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs

98 Days left until Torchwood Miracle Day and know what I've been thinking? "I really hope Jack and Gwen get together in the new series!".

HA! APRIL FOOLS!! Dear god no. Y'know I was thinking about writing a very elaborate blog with that as the content and not even claiming it as an April Fool's hoax but...no, I'm not that good of a liar.

It does bring up an interesting topic though. I had plans to write something else today however my lie has me wandering in a different direction. WARNING: I'm gonna write about plot thoughts so if for some reason you are not up to date on Torchwood and have managed to remain unspoiled, look away.

Let's talk about Jack's love life going forward. At the end of Children of Earth (COE) Jack lost Ianto, ending the only relationship we see him in during the show. Now there were certainly other flirtations, it is Jack after all, and more than one kiss throughout the series, but Ianto was the one in his bed and arguably in his heart. At the end of the day this is not about the past. Maybe another blog will be set aside for questions like "Did Jack love Ianto or was it just sex?" and "Was Ianto his second choice and does he really love Gwen?". No this is about the future aside from what we believe about the past.

So for the sake of looking forward let's assume a couple of things, as close to uncontroversial as possible. Let's assume Jack cared for Ianto, whether or not it was love, he mattered. Let's also assume Jack has feelings for Gwen but won't act on them for any number of reasons (Rhys, RTD saying he won't, etc.).  So if we can agree that he's at least a little sad Ianto died and he's not going to turn to Gwen, where do we go from here?

Here's what we know. Firstly, time has passed, so more than likely the Ianto thing won't be an issue, he'll have had time to get over it, if he was in fact ever...under it. Second, it's been confirmed that Jack will have a one night stand in the course of the new series. What does this all mean for our leading man? I think it means we'll see a bit more of Jack the cad. Not that I imagine he'll revert to the Jack we met in Doctor Who, cause he's certainly grown up since then. Instead, romance will be put on the back-burner and he'll stick to uncomplicated encounters like a one night stand. Not to mention he'll be a bit busy with a world-wide catastrophe it might slow down his social life. Or not. Or maybe there will be a new romantic interest amongst the new US characters? Only time will tell.

My question to you is this: ONLY CONCERNING JACK'S LOVE LIFE AND IN THE SPAN OF MIRACLE DAY, what do you think the future holds? If you were calling the shots how would you write it? Is there any direction you really hope it doesn't go? xx

<3Dana

Countdown
All "Countdown" Blogs