Torchwood Alumni

Ranked #22,259 in Entertainment, #246,081 overall

A tribute to the characters and actors who have left Torchwood

It happened in the very first episode. Proof that Torchwood would not be one of those shows that wraps up neatly at the end of each episode. Proof that characters weren't safe just because they were billed in the opening credits. Anyone goes. Anytime. It's what makes the show a little edgy and daring. Well, that and the kissing.

(Torchwood promotional images and stills are copyright © BBC.)

***SPOILER WARNING***

This lens contains spoilers for both seasons of Torchwood.

Season Two spoilers are separated from Season One spoilers so that viewers who have not seen season two can still read about season one.

Quick recap of Torchwood Season One

Torchwood in 1 minute

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Torchwood Season One Alumna


Suzie Costello

Indira Varma

Weapons specialist and engineer, Suzie catalogues and studies alien technology. She even builds replicas to help her understand the finer workings of devices discovered by the team, left behind by hasty alien visitors.

In the pilot episode, Suzie explores the possibilities of a unique alien device that can briefly resurrect the recently deceased. However, the device pushes her over the edge and she refuses to give up her access to the power it gives her. In a standoff between Suzie and Captain Jack Harkness, Suzie shoots Jack in the head, and then kills herself.

Jack, of course, is able to regenerate. But, it seems, this is the end of Suzie. Or is it?

In Episode 8, They Keep Killing Suzie, Jack realises Suzie has information they need, and decides that Suzie should be resuscitated using the same glove she became so attached to. Unfortunately this means they have to kill her a second time, especially when she turns nasty and uses Gwen's lifeforce to sustain her own.

Torchwood and Doctor Who


The Doctor Who and Torchwood storylines are becoming increasingly entwined as Captain Jack and Martha Jones make guest appearances in their respective sister shows.
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Who is Torchwood?

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Do Torchwood aliens have rights?

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Torchwood Season 2 Episode 1 (part 1)

If you really can't wait any longer to watch Torchwood Season 2...



The rest of the parts of each episode of Torchwood season 2 should come up as options after the clip has played. Or you can click through to YouTube and collect them all.

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***SPOILER WARNING FOR SEASON TWO***

Scroll down for Torchwood Season Two






























Spoilers for Torchwood Season Two follow...

Torchwood Season Two Alumni


Dr Owen Harper

Burn Gorman

Abused and neglected as a child, Owen Harper considered himself worthless. Owen studied to be a doctor, believing that saving lives would make his own life have some value. However the sheer number of lives to be saved, and the inevitable losses, took its toll on Owen's faith in his ability.

Owen's childhood also meant he had difficulties forming meaningful relationships with women. However, he met and fell in love with Katie, and was preparing to marry her when she developed what was believed to be early-onset Alzheimers. Unfortunately, what Katie really had in her brain was an alien, and Owen lost the first woman he'd ever loved.

Owen met Captain Jack Harkness as he attempted to work out what had happened to Katie, and track down the mysterious man who'd erased the evidence of the alien lifeform in her brain. As it happened, Torchwood was in need of a medic, and Jack was impressed with Owen's tenacity.

Owen became somewhat involved with fellow Torchwood colleagues Gwen Cooper and Toshiko Sato, but his relationship issues had solidified into an aloofness and coldness that allowed for nothing but a physical outlet. Owen's deeply buried feelings for Tosh went unexpressed, except in an unusual and erased moment.

Owen first died when fatally shot by a scientist experimenting on and with aliens. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Jack was able to revive Owen using the mate of the glove that revived Suzie.

Although Owen's revival was successful, his body remained dead - in one way, unable to be killed, but in another, unable to fully live. No food, drink, or sex.

In the final episode of season two, Owen died a second time trying to vent a nuclear facility and inadvertently being locked in while the coolant was released.

Toshiko Sato

Naoko Mori

Toshiko Sato worked for the Ministry of Defense, and was captured after being caught stealing Defense plans and creating a weapon in order to free her kidnapped mother.

Tosh was held without trial for an unspecified period until the weapon she'd put together came to the attention of Captain Jack Harkness. Jack realised that Tosh had the brilliance to create a weapon from plans, even though the plans had errors in them. She fixed the errors as she worked. Such a brilliant mind had to work for Torchwood.

Tosh's seemingly unrequited love for Owen Harper remained until both their deaths. Although she was eventually able to express her feelings to Owen, unfortunately the only memory of Owen admitting his love for Tosh was necessarily wiped out of both of their minds.

Tosh died at the end of the final episode of Season Two after Jack Harkness's brother Gray shot her in the back. She died trying in vain to help Owen escape from the nuclear facility that had locked down.

Image of Naoko Mori, photographer unknown, source.

Why did they kill them off?!?!?!


Just as the writers have finally fully developed the characters of Owen and Tosh, they go and kill them off! What a waste of character potential!

Killing off Owen and Tosh...

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What were they thinking?! What a stupid waste!

Shelbie says:

That sucks. They were just starting to have sparks between them then poof there gone

Jennifer says:

I just finished watching Children of Earth. I was sad to see Ianto go, but it was a powerful plot point. But Jack killing his grandson while his daughter was locked behind the door crying was evil.

There is only one way they could redeem this episode, and I'll be waiting to see. If it turns out he saw the little girl fortune teller off-screen and she let him know his grandson had healing powers that's the only way it would be acceptable. It would be cruel to put his grandson and daughter through the pain, but not evil as the cold blooded murder would be.

It would work too if they wanted to keep Jack one of a kind, since the grandson could have Jack's healing powers, but have aging as well. If Jack is the Face of Boe (as stated in Doctor Who's Last of the Time Lords), the children of the Face of Boe are stated to live 40 years. That would be a powerful plot point, if Jack's immortality lead to giving his offspring a shorter lifespan than regular humans.

Torchwood can be redeemed, but if Jack's grandson turns out to be really dead, I'll never look at Jack in a sympathetic way again.

daoine says:

I know what you mean Luludell. Children of Earth was horrific. It's one of the reasons I haven't updated this site yet. I'm disgusted with the character development of Captain Jack.

luludell says:

there are no words.....I actually saw Children of Earth before watching the end of season 2 and came very close to never watching Torchwood again after seeing Jack sacrifice his own grandson..Now that they have killed off Tosh and Owen.....and who will Jack's next hide and seek partner be? I miss Ianto!

alex says:

i feel like i've just wasted 24 hours of my life watching torchwood, only to have this happen. i think they were the only 2 interesting characters, and the only ones with convincing chemistry. i'd rather they'd killed rhys (please, already!) or ianto (a useless character)--or even jack! at least that would have been surprising.

Good riddance! Now can we get some decent characters in here!

 
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Who is your favourite Torchwood alumnus?


Who would you bring back if you had access to Suzie's glove?

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Torchwood promotional images and stills are copyright © BBC.

Lens content copyright © Elsa Neal, 2008-2011. All rights reserved.

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daoine

Daoine (aka Elle Neal) has been a fan of Torchwood since the first episode. She is hoping Australian TV will wake up and realise there is a second season... more »

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