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3 On Her Majesty’s Extraordinary Service
Spun off from: Torchwood
Who’s in it? Captain Jack Harkness, Queen Victoria, Alice Guppy, Emily Holroyd
What’s it about? After having had her eyes opened to the threats to Earth from extra-terrestrial beings by a mysterious and dangerous man known only as the Doctor, Queen Victoria sets up the Torchwood Institute. Its mission is two-fold: to protect the polite society from aliens who don’t know which spoon to use for soup, and to prevent any more of the Doctor’s infernal meddling. Queen Victoria appoints two sturdy women in sensible shoes – Guppy and Holroyd – to run Torchwood, partly to stop them from campaigning for the vote (and ignoring rumours that they’re lesbians, because “women don’t do that sort of thing”). They are soon joined by the immortal Captain Jack, an extra-terrestrial they blackmail into working for them, partly because he has connections to the Doctor. But can he be trusted?
Why do we want it? The idea spins from the Torchwood episode “Fragment” which had flashbacks of Jack encountering the newly created Torchwood Institute. Immediately, the potential was obvious. A Victorian sci-fi series is just such a delectable proposition, and the BBC does costume drama so impeccably. Victorian set episodes of Doctor Who nearly always become instant classics, and even Primeval ’s attempt showed promise. The mix of smog, cobbles and deerstalkers with aliens, lasers and steampunk technology is near irresistible. And you can’t beat a fish-headed alien in wing collars. Presumably Madame Vastra and Jenny could show up too.
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