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Steven Moffat Denies John Barrowman's Hint That He's Holding Up More Torchwood
Oh dear. For years since Torchwood came to a close with Miracle Day, John Barrowman has been a diehard advocate of bringing the Doctor Who spinoff back—but his latest statements about the show have landed him in some hot water with outgoing Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.
Barrowman has been kicking up a storm about trying to get Torchwood back on the air, telling any outlet he can that he’s been talking to BBC executives about the show or that his Arrow producers would be totally fine with him filming a new season of Torchwood or a Doctor Who cameo as Captain Jack. However, recent comments he made got a bit more inflammatory, heavily implying at a panel at the Honolulu Comic Con last month that one person on the Doctor Who team, soon to depart the series, was stopping Torchwood’s comeback:
Without giving too much information away, I was on a phone call with one of our executive producers, telling me the obstacles we’d have to face in order to bring [Torchwood] back. And I don’t like to see obstacles, because my feeling is that it’s a good show and it deserves to come back. And being told that it can’t until it’s got approval with certain people involved with Doctor Who...
I don’t understand why one show has to have the approval of another in order to come back. But that might change when somebody leaves.
Naturally, critics of Moffat’s time on Doctor Who were keen to believe that Moffat was also stopping a fan-favorite character from making a return either on the show or through Torchwood, presumably while he cackled maniacally and twiddled a sinister moustache he’d grown for the occasion.
But the backlash apparently got so bad that Moffat has now had to release a statement (via Doctor Who News) telling angry Torchwood fans to back off:
You may be aware that John Barrowman has been saying, publicly, that I’ve been blocking a new series of Torchwood. To be very clear—I haven’t blocked it; I wouldn’t block it; I wouldn’t even be ABLE to block it. I didn’t even know a revival had been mooted till I read about it on the Internet. As John perfectly well knows, it’s not my show and I could no more prevent it happening that he could cancel Sherlock. I am bewildered, and a little cross, even to be included in this conversation.
For the record, I really liked the show (especially the third series) and would be very happy to see more - monsters and mayhem, why not? But the fact is, it has nothing to do with me. Please pass this on to the anxious and the angry - I’ve had enough hate mail now.
Probably not the best idea to engender ill will with the person currently heading up the show you’re eager to cameo on, but there we go. If there is someone at the BBC trying to hold back a return of Torchwood, it’s not Steven Moffat.
Well this all seems a bit awkward! I'm not John Barrowman's biggest fan frankly, but I can understand why he's so frustrated at the BBC seeming to have forgotten Torchwood. It always seemed to do very well in the ratings, so it is a bit puzzling why they just stopped making it. Blaming Steven Moffat is a stretch through, it seems more likely to be because Chris Chibnall and Russell T. Davis have other stuff going on now, and they were the original executive producers?
Oh dear. For years since Torchwood came to a close with Miracle Day, John Barrowman has been a diehard advocate of bringing the Doctor Who spinoff back—but his latest statements about the show have landed him in some hot water with outgoing Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.
Barrowman has been kicking up a storm about trying to get Torchwood back on the air, telling any outlet he can that he’s been talking to BBC executives about the show or that his Arrow producers would be totally fine with him filming a new season of Torchwood or a Doctor Who cameo as Captain Jack. However, recent comments he made got a bit more inflammatory, heavily implying at a panel at the Honolulu Comic Con last month that one person on the Doctor Who team, soon to depart the series, was stopping Torchwood’s comeback:
Without giving too much information away, I was on a phone call with one of our executive producers, telling me the obstacles we’d have to face in order to bring [Torchwood] back. And I don’t like to see obstacles, because my feeling is that it’s a good show and it deserves to come back. And being told that it can’t until it’s got approval with certain people involved with Doctor Who...
I don’t understand why one show has to have the approval of another in order to come back. But that might change when somebody leaves.
Naturally, critics of Moffat’s time on Doctor Who were keen to believe that Moffat was also stopping a fan-favorite character from making a return either on the show or through Torchwood, presumably while he cackled maniacally and twiddled a sinister moustache he’d grown for the occasion.
But the backlash apparently got so bad that Moffat has now had to release a statement (via Doctor Who News) telling angry Torchwood fans to back off:
You may be aware that John Barrowman has been saying, publicly, that I’ve been blocking a new series of Torchwood. To be very clear—I haven’t blocked it; I wouldn’t block it; I wouldn’t even be ABLE to block it. I didn’t even know a revival had been mooted till I read about it on the Internet. As John perfectly well knows, it’s not my show and I could no more prevent it happening that he could cancel Sherlock. I am bewildered, and a little cross, even to be included in this conversation.
For the record, I really liked the show (especially the third series) and would be very happy to see more - monsters and mayhem, why not? But the fact is, it has nothing to do with me. Please pass this on to the anxious and the angry - I’ve had enough hate mail now.
Probably not the best idea to engender ill will with the person currently heading up the show you’re eager to cameo on, but there we go. If there is someone at the BBC trying to hold back a return of Torchwood, it’s not Steven Moffat.
Well this all seems a bit awkward! I'm not John Barrowman's biggest fan frankly, but I can understand why he's so frustrated at the BBC seeming to have forgotten Torchwood. It always seemed to do very well in the ratings, so it is a bit puzzling why they just stopped making it. Blaming Steven Moffat is a stretch through, it seems more likely to be because Chris Chibnall and Russell T. Davis have other stuff going on now, and they were the original executive producers?
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(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 06:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:55 pm (UTC)And yes, that scene was heartbreaking and frustrating so I get your anger...
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 06:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:10 pm (UTC)It just seems odd to me because TW always more than held its own in the ratings, COE especially reached their biggest audience yet, so I can understand why John Barrowman is questioning what the hold-up is. I suppose you're right that you never really know why these decisions are made though
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 08:05 pm (UTC)They should never have killed off so many members of the core cast...
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 08:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 07:31 pm (UTC)Exactly, at the time it seemed like they surely must have been planning to bring the show to a dramatic close, it seems a bizarre choice otherwise to not consider how it would impact on the show to kill Ianto off as well, after they'd already lost Tosh and Owen. TW's appeal was never Jack and Gwen alone
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 07:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 08:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 07:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 07:29 pm (UTC)I gather the U.S. Torchwood season didn't do well, though I liked it well enough. Maybe that's the reason there's not much interest in financing it, a belief that the fandom doesn't really care about seeing more of it.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 07:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 08:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:29 pm (UTC)But yes, it was always Chibnall & RTD's baby, so it'd be up to them. Maybe Barrowman meant to imply that once Moffat leaves Chibnall takes over, and then *he* might push for more Torchwood?
Who knows. Mostly I feel sorry for Moffat, he doesn't need the added hate.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 07:56 pm (UTC)It probably is mostly just a case of RTD being too busy, and I suppose that the BBC don't want to commission any more TW without him
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-14 09:59 pm (UTC)Not cool, Barrowman. :/
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 06:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 01:01 am (UTC)I'd still love to see Torchwood return though, and I agree it's odd the BBC doesn't follow up on such a good show.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 06:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 08:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-15 06:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-16 05:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-16 10:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-16 11:42 am (UTC)Then again, I was of the mind that it was a terrible idea from the start. The show did not need to continue after Children of Earth. They could've given Gwen/Eve Myles her own spinoff with a whole new cast, but they should've never done more Torchwood.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-16 03:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-19 03:21 am (UTC)That said, I know that RTD took a leave because of his partner's illness, and Moffat was showrunner for this entire time and never once mentioned Jack in the stories, so it might've been an easy shot to take?
(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-19 12:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-20 03:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-09-20 01:00 pm (UTC)I can understand why Moffat didn't want to include all of the older Doctor's and make it too much of a nostalgiafest, but I must admit I was a bit surprised that he didn't include any of the past companions where the ageing of the actors could be explained in a more natural way. It just seemed like Moffat was focused on telling a proper story with the Time War first and foremost I suppose, rather than having a ton of cameo's. If Chris had agreed to take part, as was presumedly the original plan, then there probably would have been less criticism from the fans, because then it would have been the three Doctor's from the modern series working together for the first time. That would have felt suitably epic, as well as Billie Piper and Tom Baker's appearances, so that would have been considered celebratory enough perhaps, but instead viewers focused on how there should have been more nods to the past than just David and Billie. I wonder why Moffat didn't at least consider using the 8th Doctor when Chris Eccleston wasn't available, instead of introducing a brand new Doctor with John Hurt