Exclusive "Torchwood" panel report from NY Comic Con

Just my luck. Torchwood finally has a panel at New York Comic Con, but instead of one of those infamous sessions where all the male cast members make out and drop trou, it’s one with Gwen Cooper. Feh.

But you could have Retconned me and knocked me over with a Weevil when it turned out that in the flesh Gwen, a.k.a. actress Eve Myles, was funny, warm, charming, and quite cheeky, not to mention wholly and sincerely appreciative of Torchwood’s American fans. I feel like I need to slip into the Rift so I can go back in time and rewrite every nasty thing I ever said about her character.

Myles appeared before a packed, rowdy roomful of the Torchwood faithful at Saturday’s Comic Con to promote the upcoming Season 3 mini-series “Children of Earth,” along with series director Euros Lyn. While the only footage shown was the same trailer that’s already appeared on our blog, plus a few talking head interviews, Myles and Lyn did drop some minor spoilerish details that have me more excited about TW S3 than I’ve been yet.

Any disappointment I felt after hearing that Season 3 would only be five episodes rather than the usual 13 was alleviated when I heard Myles and Lyn discuss how fewer episodes enabled them to focus the storytelling on a single, action-packed narrative. Myles talked about how she gets to tote not one but two guns, one per hand, a sign of how everything about this Torchwood will be twice as intense.

“You will be holding onto your seats,” Lyn promised, calling this season “grander … more epic.” Myles elaborated: “The series is about how the past comes back to bite you in the behind … This horrific force comes back to mess with Torchwood.” Myles also observed that she, Captain Jack (John Barrowman) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) along with a boosted role for Rhys (Kai Owen), become a “massive ensemble force this year. They have to work together,” and she described them as being “warriors,” “heroes,” and “protectors.”

While the central narrative is undeniably dark, Myles emphasized that much humor and cheekiness remains in the character relationships. To me, this was good news, given rumors that Series 3 would be more family friendly and cut down on Torchwood’s infamous racy content. By all accounts at the panel discussion, that’s not necessarily going to be the case.

One person asked out right if in addition to all the action of the butt-kicking kind, there’d be “action” of the bedroom kind. Myles got a big laugh from the crowd by coyly holding a finger to her cheek and letting out a naughty giggle. “It wouldn’t be Torchwood without  a little … you know” and she made a droll gesture. “It’s a cheeky program, and it’s going to be sexy … Everything you love about Torchwood, you’ll get double time,” she promised.

The cheeky behavior apparently carried over off the set, as Myles described John Barrowman’s notoriety for raunchy humor and reputation as a prankster. “John farts a lot,” Myles said. “I’m sorry, John, but you do.” When someone asked about what went on the first time she met Barrowman, she said, “If I told you, they’d have to put me right back on a plane and never let me come back here.”

Myles didn’t have much to say about developments on the Jack-Ianto (a.k.a. Janto) front. But it’s encouraging for me as a fan to hear her talk about how Rhys will play a more prominent role this season, and that he and Gwen are devoted to one another as each other’s “protectors.” From the sound of it, the terribly misguided Gwen-Jack attraction (a.k.a. Gwack) is completely a thing of the past, and the brief clip of Jack and Ianto kissing I think bodes well for what we’ll see of them in those five episodes.

Sexuality did come up, however, in interesting ways in the panel Q&A. I was a bit dismayed, initially, to hear a young woman ask Myles what it was like having to kiss another woman (as Gwen did in one of the show’s first episodes). I groaned, because I thought it’s bad enough that we continually hear this sort of thing from TV talk show hosts, and I didn’t expect it from young sci-fi fans. Myles’ response at first wasn’t very promising, as she talked about having to be professional and do whatever the scripts demand of your character. But then she warmed up to the question and said, “She didn’t have any stubble, which was nice … She was hot. It was fun.” Yes! I thought. That’s more in keeping with the Torchwood we know and love.

It got even better when a guy observed that Ianto slept with Jack and subsequently got more to do on the team, and now Rhys has earned himself more of a central role. “I’m not saying by the same means,” he joked. Then added: “Although wouldn’t that be a twist?” This coy mention of a possible Jack-Rhys coupling was met with a massive, enthusiastic crowd response.

Similarly, another guy capped off his question to Myles by saying, “Tell Captain Jack I’d be gay for him … I’m sure I speak for every male in the room,” another comment that was met with cheers, laughs, and happy applause. Myles responded, “I’d go gay for him too,” which doesn’t really make sense, although I appreciate her sentiment.

I was especially cheered by these comments, given how, as many at AfterElton.com have observed, the sci-fi community can at time evidence a homophobic, or at least sexually ignorant, side to it. On the other hand, Russell T. Davies, Torchwood’s creator, has commented on how the show’s portrayal of sexuality reflects future attitudes that "omnisexual" Captain Jack has brought back to the 21st century. Sexuality on Torchwood is “fluid,” he’s said, with characters  acting on their individual desires without feeling contained by conventional definitions or standards of acceptable behavior. The comments I heard at the Comic Con panel indicate how much Torchwood’s fans have embraced this idea not only in the characters’ relations with each other but in their own responses to those characters.  

Overall, the panel left me wishing for a sudden collapse in the space-time continuum. Because the airdate of “Children of Earth” (still tragically unannounced) can’t come soon enough for me. And this time I might just, gulp, have nice things to say about Gwen.