There was a preview of the first episode of the new Torchwood mini that screens next month, on tonight at the BFI’s cinema at Southbank. With a Q and A with cast and crew after! Tickets opened to BFI members before the public, but it was so popular that the BFI members bought them all before it was even opened to the general public.

But man, I really wanted to go, so I asked about standby tickets and… let’s just say I was there embarrassingly early in order to snag one. But snag one I did! Hoorays!

So, the episode? I am happy to say that it was pretty damn awesome. Action packed, but with a surprising amount of personal baggage to deal with from all team members.

Okay, this section may have some spoilers, but I’m not going to spoil everything, and this is not a real review, merely a selection of comments and things that I remember striking me. That said:

( Spoilers for the first episode of Torchwood: Children of Earth )

Afterwards there was a Q and A, with John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Euros Lyn, and Russell T Davies. Gareth David Lloyd was supposed to have been there but mysteriously sent his apologies, which I really hope doesn't mean that the curse of the Torchsong convention got him.

Anyway, they discussed the making of certain scenes and the ideas behind Torchwood, and were all very witty and entertaining. Then the audience asked questions, and the night ended with a small child dressed as Captain Jack being given the microphone for a last question. His question to John Barrowman? Did he like the costume he'd made! John told him it was the best Captain Jack he'd ever seen. And yes, it was as adorable as it sounded :-).

The Q and A was being videoed to apparently go up on the bbc's website at some point, so I'm guessing you'll all get to see it eventually!

Also! There was a promo postcard given out with a new image. I don’t have a scanner, but I imagine it will turn up soon. Ianto looks very depressed, continuing his new trend :-).

Am still surviving over in Britishland. Have been tired and busy and not communicating as much as I should, though. One week holiday now, though!

It's awesome to be in a place where they have tons of Who toys even in the local supermarkets, and at least three different magazines devoted to the show (not even counting the Torchwood mag). In honour of that, and because I have tons of Torchwood and Who links saved up, here's a bunch of stuff from the net!

This mirrored Tardis is neat. The angle this picture's been taken at makes it almost seem transluscent.

Can you name all the Doctor's TV companions? I could! I wear my geekiness with pride!

A couple of side things from the creator of "The Ten Doctors". The Christmas comic he did was just adorable, but his comic on how the Doctor regenerated from Eight to Nine is pure brilliance. The last one is clearly correct!

A poll to decide the worst dressed doctor of all time. It's rather... definite in its answer. I bet you'll never guess who it is :-).

An exclusive web-based Torchwood comic. It's not very character-orientated but it's cute and actiony. And it involves Ianto randomly taking his shirt off in a rather out-of-character moment seemingly designed only to let Jack leer at him, which I suppose seems reason enough from Jack's point-of-view :-).

"Where shows like Star Trek and Buffy merely inspired fan­fic, Torchwood gives the impression of having been inspired by it." This is an interesting theory on what makes Torchwood popular. I'm not entirely in agreements with all his points, but he does make some interesting arguments :-).

This portrait of Ianto is kinda awesome.

Finally, the trailer for the new Torchwood series looks intriguing and rather gruesome. Cool!

Am on holidays, but they are nearly over. Woe!

Am seriously thinking about writing a bit of Torchwood fanfic but I can't decide which of the various plot ideas I've got circling my mind to use. The only thing I do know is that I want to focus on Ianto. Or Jack. Or possibly both, which possibly means that I've taken one step closer into being a shipper. Nooo!

I comfort myself with the fact that my love for them mostly comes from how exceedingly screwed up they both are. Seriously, the angst potential is so great you could write a fic about them going to buy fruit that would cause people to go into a depressive coma. Heh.

Links! Some of these have been stolen from friends on my flist, most notably blake_reitz who links to some wacky stuff.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain plays "Life on Mars". I can't decide whether that or "Wuthering Heights" is my favourite. That's entertainment, folks.

Cruel irony strikes Pennsylvania. D'oh.

Inside the secret Lego vault of awesomeness!

Own samples of all the naturally occurring elements on the periodic table? You know, if I had enough money I'd almost be tempted...

Candy design: when people don't really think things through.

Bees. My god. 12 million bees.

Sand sculpting! Kewl.

A man's job! Wow. That's... subtle :-).

*sigh* Yes, it appears that I've found a new fandom to be obsessed with. I fought it to start with, but I'm such a sucker for a bunch of traumatised mental-cases.

As hinted in earlier posts, Torchwood this season has grabbed my attention by being witty, weird, and starring characters that could conservatively be referred to as "a bunch of strangely likeable fuck-ups".

That always gets me in the end.

Jack and Ianto are my favourites, mostly for their remarkable issues rather than the ship factor, although I do think they are good for each other. It's strangely cool to actually be interested in characters that lots of other people are interested in, I have to say. There's loads more fanfic that way, if nothing else.

Speaking of which, I have a ton more to rec (I've already got some recs here and here) and I'm really tempted to dip my toes in as well. Of course, considering how long it's been taking me to write anything at all of late, who knows when it'll actually turn up, but I do have evil ideas...

Torchwood fandom on the net appears to be a laugh and the Who connection means crossover ideas flying all over the place. Lots to read, lots to watch, lots to do.

Here's some stuff I found and felt compelled to link to:

Scans from the comics in Torchwood Magazine are over here and here. I like the artwork in the first better, though you can still see the pencils under some of it. It's less stilted than the second, though. And the storyline provides yet more angst for Ianto, which is always good :-).

Hey, there's a Torchwood card game set coming out. Huh. This site has pics of all the cards. Not enough Ianto though!

Jack turns up in "The Ten Doctors". And hits on Jamie. Ahaha.

Here's another Torchwood comic that made me giggle.

Torchwood, as depicted in paper-clips. It's art, dammit! :-)

I can see why they cut it, but the deleted scene with Ianto at the end of 'Cyberwoman' (it's the second one here) is rather poignant. He's spent so long hiding himself from the others, he doesn't even know how to react to someone being nice to him...

I'm not much of a vid watcher, but... Star Trekkin'? With Ianto as Spock? Jack as Kirk? Owen as 'the 'dead, Jim' Bones? Ahahaha.

Finally, this conversation from fanficrants is both hilarious and horrifying for its utter bizarreness. Warning: discussion of really bad and really disgusting and really fucking insane fanfics.

Okay, I give. Torchwood rocks this series. It's become far more hilarious as well. Also, Ianto Jones owns, both for his dry wit and for his unending potential for angst :-).

Want proof? Here's six bizarre and hilarious exchanges that made me sporfle.

( Dialogue spoilers to series 2 episode 8. )

*snickers*