Coming to BBC One in July, Torchwood: Miracle Day introduces Mekhi Phifer (ER, Lie To Me) as CIA operative Rex Matheson, Bill Pullman (Independence Day) as convicted child killer Oswald Danes, Alexa Havins as CIA employee Esther Drummond and Arlene Tur as surgeon Dr Vera Juarez, while John Barrowman and Eve Myles return to their roles as Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper respectively.
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A full-length trailer for Torchwood: Miracle Day was released by US channel Starz last week. Watch the trailer, introduced by Access Hollywood…
Whether you were a fan of Torchwood from the early days on BBC Three or discovered the show on BBC One with the 2009 game-raiser that was Children Of Earth, expectations are running high for Miracle Day. We’ve picked out the ten moments in the trailer that have got us most excited about the new series…
1. Scary Bill Pullman
Having Bill Pullman play convicted murderer Oswald Danes was a possibly controversial choice, but it’s the first of many impressive casting coups for Miracle Day. Who knew that Independence Day‘s president could be quite so creepy?
2. Skewered Mekhi Phifer
Impaling your main new lead actor in the opening moments with a Final Destination 2-style car accident suggests we should expect the unexpected from the get-go, although it seems Rex Matheson will probably recover from it just fine.
3. The high-concept idea
Many fans were wondering if Miracle Day could top the bonkers aliens-use-children-as-drugs plot of Children Of Earth. Well, having everyone on Earth suddenly stop dying ain’t a bad idea at all.
4. Jack’s back
This man sure knows how to make an entrance. With echoes of his plunge into a bench in Series 2’s ‘Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang’, the Captain demonstrates some impressive jumping-from-an-exploding-building action before a neat introduction to CIA employee Esther Drummond… sitting in a fountain: “Nice to meet you.”
5. “What if you detach the head?”
We’ve all wondered what would happen if you removed Jack’s head – maybe that’s how he ends up as the Face of Boe? Clearly his experiences as the only immortal man on Earth will come in handy solving this latest world crisis, with this line demonstrating Torchwood‘s ability to balance a story’s thought-provoking aspects with the knowingly ridiculous.
6. Six Feet Under‘s Lauren Ambrose
Miracle Day produced much excitement during production through the steady supply of intriguing guest star announcements. Now we just need a glimpse of Deep Space Nine‘s Nana Visitor, Stargate SG-1‘s John DeLancie and Ghostbusters‘ Ernie Hudson…
7. Gwen, a baby and a gun
Confirming Russell T Davies’ claims that Miracle Day is very much a continuation of the series rather than a reboot, this is presumably Gwen and Rhys’s baby, Anwen, who was on his way in Children Of Earth. Nice to know Gwen can juggle parenting and ass-kicking.
8. Gwen shoots down a helicopter
With shades of Four Lions, Gwen follows her baby-wielding, gun-toting multitasking with some casual rocket launcher skills.
9. The masks
We have no idea what these V For Vendetta-style masks are all about in the context of the story, but it’s certainly an interesting and potentially-iconic image.
10. “I’m Welsh”
No doubt pleasing the fans still cynical about Miracle Day‘s Americanisation of Torchwood, it’s hard not to raise a smile as Gwen takes a swing at smug Dollhouse star Dichen Lachman in the trailer’s final shot.