The third series was a one week event airing in England in Early July, 2009, and in the US at the end of the month (though not in HD, though it was supposed to be the inauguration of BBC America HD, it seems no carriers have picked it up as of yet, come on Verizon, FIOS NEEDS IT!), picking up with the sad events of Series 3 left off, and showing even worse events. A show that can go places that the much lighter Doctor Who could never go, and showing us parts of Captain Jack Harkness we never thought we would see. In fact, this could easily be the end of Torchwood, at least as we know it. This series is dark, and amazing, and I am looking forward to watching it again on blu-ray soon! This show has gotten better and better, and it is so good to see back story, and family to some of our characters, even if in such dire circumstances. This is a must see for all Doctor Who and Torchwood fans, and people who have not seen Torchwood should star watching it, because this has been one of the best shows on TV. It is really cool to have a show with the leader be so openly bi-sexual, and yet such a bad ass, they would never try that in the US.

Only 3 people are left in Torchwood after the events of last season, the leader Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) his lover Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) and of course Gwen (Eve Myles). Suddenly, around the world, all the children stop at once, and start chanting about something coming, causing world wide panic, and Torchwood to investigate. And when it stops, they realize they need children to figure out what is going on. Meanwhile Gwen goes to investigate a man in a mental hospital who also is affected like the children. This turns out to be a man named Clement McDonald (Paul Copley) who smells that Gwen is 3 weeks pregnant, and had escaped an alien abduction in Scotland in 1965. Jack goes to his daughter Alice’s (Luxy Cohu) who pretends he is her brother so her son STeven (Bear McCausland) won’t be too confused, and refuses Jack access to the boy, while Ianto goes to his sister Rhiannon (Katy Wiz) who won’t let him take his niece. The Prime Minster Brian Green (Nicholas Farrell) does not want responsibility, because it seems that all has to do with some event in 1965 sanctioned by the British Government, where orphans were given to an alien race known as the 465 after the channel they communicate on. The buck is passed to the senior Home Office Civil Servant, John Frobisher (Peter Capaldi) who has his secretary call up Agent Johnson (Liz May Brice) to kill Jack Harkness as well as others. A doctor named Rupesh Patanjali (Rik Makrem) who has been trying to join Torchwood, turns out to be working for agent Johnson, and they use him to get Jack and plant a bomb in his stomach. Jack returns to the hub, and Gwen is scanning herself to confirm her pregnancy, and when he touches her, the computer detects the bomb. Ianto and Gwen manage to get out, just before Jack explodes, destroying the hub. Gwen and Ianto barely get away from assassins sent to kill them, but end up splitting up.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS...

Gwen goes and grabs her husband Rhys (Kai OWen) and they flee to London. Gwen attempts to contact Frobisher, who is supposed to be there man in the government, but they get ahold of Lois Habiba (Cush Jumbo) a new personal assistant, who has seen what is going on, and decides to help them, and tells them about the killings, and where Jack’s body has been taken, a secret military facility.

Jack has regenerated in the prison, as Johnson had hoped it was the hub that helped him regenerate, so she has his cell completely filled with cement.

Gwen and Rhys end up using Lois’s info to steal a hearse and go to the facility to pick up a body, but they are found by Johnson, but just as all seems lost Ianto shows up with a forklift, breaking out Jack, and Rhys and Gwen with him. Ianto drops the concrete in a quarry releasing Jack and allowing him to regenerate.

The 465 have sent plans to Frobisher, and he has his people building a container tank for them in the Thames House. Frobisher makes a deal with the aliens not to talk about 1965, which Britain has kept secret from the world.

They arrive, and Frobisher is first to meet with them, but Jack calls from Frobisher’s daughters phone, and tells them he wants to talk to them, or he will tell all about what happened in 1965, but Frobisher informs Jack that they have his daughter and grandson. Frobisher is made the official contact for the world.

Gwen manages to get Lois to wear Torchwood contacts that will allow them to see what is going on, and read lips, and they watch the first official meeting with the 456 where they demand 10% of the Earth’s children as a gift.

Jack arrives where the rest are hiding with CLement, who freaks out, as he was the man who gave the children to the Aliens in 1965, and ruined Clement’s life. Jack reveals that they did it in exchange fro a cure to a new flu which would have killed millions. So they gave 12 children, though Clement was left for some unknown reason.

The government wants to bargain, but the 465 have nothing to do with it, and show how they keep the children attached to them to create some sort of pleasure drug, and that the children are not harmed and will live very long lives.

The Prime Minister and his cabinet decide to take the 10% bottom children saying they will be doing a vaccination, saving their own children, and Lois is there recording it, and blackmails them to give Jack and Ianto access to the 456, while Anderson shows up to where Gwen is, and watches the whole thing, losing faith in her bosses.

Jack confronts the 456 saying they will give no children, and the 456 release a virus into the Thames house, killing everyone inside, Ianto dying in Jack’s arms, before Jack succumbs, though of course regenerates once he is out of the house. The 456 also kill Clement by a cerebral hemorrhage.

Prime Minister Green orders Frobisher to implement the plan to take the children, but is then told that his daughters will be taken, to convince people that the government are victims of the aliens as well. Frobisher goes home and kills his 2 daughters and himself rather than letting them be taken.

Jack is taken by the government and Anderson, but sends Gwen to go and save Ianto’s sisters children. Rhiannon has been taking care of neighborhood children, and so Gwen and Rhys take them as well, and run trying to save as many as they can, though the armies are chasing them, as their families have been threatened if they do not comply. Gwen records a final message for anyone who finds this, talking about how the Doctor that Jack knows would be disgusted by humanity at this point.

Jack and a government scientist realize that the 456 are in fact vulnerable to the same frequency they transmit on, and that is why they killed Clement, as he could be used as a weapon against them. The problem is there is only one kid they can use as a transmitter as he is with them, and it is his grandson. Jack uses, and kills the child to save mankind, and kills the 456.

The Prime Ministers plans to pass all the blame, but Frobisher’s assistant Bridget Separs (Susan Brown) has gone and talked to Lois Habiba and has learned how to use the Torchwood contacts, and recorded everything he said, ending his career.

6 months later a very pregnant Gwen and Rhys meet Jack on a hill, as he has been traveling trying to get over what he has done to save the world. Gwen returns his vortex manipulator bracelet, and begs him to stay, but he can’t and he teleports himself away into space.

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WOW, WOW WOW! This is so by far the best Torchwood series ever. Brutal, and with a huge story! I can bet they will do this again, and not just have straight seasons after this, because the huge story lends itself so well to Torchwood (even if there are only 2 members left alive, though hopefully they will let Lois Habiba join next). Actually I would like to see another season and then another of these, and then another season, because that would make these so much more powerful, huge world changing stories, so much darker than Doctor Who can ever be.

This is an absolute must see series! WOW WOW WOW!