The scariest thing that I still find about the 456 is the possibility that there was no mothership, no planet destroying weapon, it could have been just one junkie holding Earth hostage with false threats and that humanity, without the Doctor to help, would have given in.

"I am depressed" sums up how I felt after watching Children of Earth. Great piece of television, the best Torchwood have ever produced, but still a major heartbreaker to go through.

*”They create chemicals. The chemicals ...are good. We feel good. The chemicals are good.”* The 456 are absolutely horrifying, definitely among my favourite alien antagonists of all time. It’s a shame we’ll never get another story with them in anything Doctor Who or Torchwood related.

I love the fact that while all this shit was going down, the Doctor was probably off having one of those adventures off-screen in between Waters of Mars and the End of Time, and that while he was hung up over the fact he might die, he was neglecting the fact that Earth was literally going through one of the biggest and most brutal invasions of their entire history.

Series 3 isn't very kind on Jack... the day after losing his lover he is forced to kill his own grandson (essentially destroying his relationship with his daughter). This episode is very bold and very depressing, and I love everything about it. Children of Earth, as a whole, is probably the greatest single series of television I've ever watched (definitely up there with Breaking Bad Season 5) and I doubt we'll ever see anything like it again.

Loved seeing "sociopathic" Shane finally cry at something. Gave me all of my warped emotional fulfilment lol.

Shane actually made a good point about the 12 original kids being dead. Even if they were kept alive by the 456 for the past 44 years, they definitely died when the 456 imploded, as if that whole fucking situation wasn't soul-crushing enough. Then again, after four decades of being used as a carry-on drug source, death might have been a mercy...

The doctor would be smart enough to find a way to get around it. But speaking of sacrifices don't forget the Doctor did sacrifice his ENTIRE race for the sake of the universe. That was a choice he had to make.

Never mind where's The Doctor, where's The Shadow Proclamation. They are the worst police force in the universe. The Doctor doesn't always appear but they never do.

"I am depressed." Yeeeah, join the club, dude. I think the fanbase were pretty much inconsolable for ages.

I'm disappointed they didn't talk about Frobisher, but it's understandable since it's caught up in a veritable deluge of depressing moments.

The resolution of the Government plotline is honestly so depressing and unfulfilling in all the appropriate ways. The actually good people, like Lois or even Frobisher and his assistant Bridget are all either dead, disgraced, or marginalized. That lady who effectively overthrows the Prime Minister is really no better than he was at the end of the day. She was KIND OF the moderating voice of reason in the room, but ultimately all she did was offer more "practical" solutions that still ended with the kids being given away. Even the slimy, self-serving Prime Minister himself doesn't really face any appropriate consequences. At worst he'll be silently forced out of power and MAYBE the United Nations will indict him or something, but it's unlikely that he'll actually end up in jail like he'd deserve. I'm just saying, Harriet fucking Jones wouldn't have stood for this kind of bullshit if she were in charge...

"I've got an absolute pit in my stomach" - I think that sums up everyone's experience watching this. It felt like seasons 1 & 2 were written by kids who'd been told to write a "grown up" show, so they filled it with snogging and bars because that's what grown ups like right? Whilst this season is one of the darkest and most disturbing pieces of tv, the writer successfully took the western world of his day and decided to show us the nudge it would take to turn us truly barbaric.

And this is where Torchwood ends for me. The children being taken away is harrowing, Jack having no choice but allowing his grandchild to be fried is terribly devastating, the reveal of the 456 wanting the children as drugs to fuel their addiction is horrifying, the bleakness and the complete downfall of Torchwood with Jack parting ways with Gwen and the Earth really feels like the end of an era. This is the peak of Torchwood. This was the best series and this is where Torchwood really should have ended. Miracle Day just isn’t Torchwood to me. It feels like a completely different series which was very unnecessary and monotonous. I imagine that Blind Wave will be intrigued by it and while it will be interesting to see their reactions to it, I will always consider Children of Earth to be the true conclusion and ending of the real Torchwood. Great reaction. Seeing Blind Wave all depressed mirrors how we all felt when we watched it during the broadcast. The bleakness really got to them, especially Eric.

In the six months before jack left earth the was an audio book, part of the torchwood mini-series called 'house of the dead'. It has the actual actors doing the lines.

Interesting tidbit, Russel T Davies - the showrunner for Seasons 1 through 4 of "new who" and for Torchwood (at least through Children of Earth, unsure about Miracle Day) suggested that - since it's the same actor - Frobisher is a descendent of the family The Doctor and Donna saved in Pompeii Steven Moffat later confirmed that to be the case as Frobisher's Murders/Suicide of his family/himself was "time reasserting itself"

This is honestly one of the most heart-wrenching episodes of a show I've ever seen.

I remember why this season leaves a weird feeling in my stomach and its because this would most likely happen in this situation

Torchwood was always a bit darker than Doctor Who most of the time, but this was the season that really messed with my emotions.

That thumbnail sums up all of my feelings right now. Up until this point, I haven't rewatched this season of Torchwood. I actually refused to a couple of times. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it's brilliant. It's absolutely amazing in every way. But for years I could barely make it through a trailer for it without wanting to vomit, or have an anxiety attack. That might sound like an exaggeration, but it honestly affected me that much when I was first watching it, that I connected all kinds of anxieties and negative feelings to it. I have a really hard time seeing kids get harmed on tv. It gets to me. Now, I did make it through this time, but I still feel similarly to Eric here, which is basically how I felt the first time around. It's just really sad. And disturbing. And it's not really something you watch that you then want to go on to watch something else. I kind of just want to go and hug my family. The stuff with Steven, and the stuff with Frobisher's family definitely affects me a lot. It's brutal, it's the only way out, and it's depressing. And every shot of the soldiers dragging those kids into the streets... I still have a hard time watching that. And the whole concept of this alien race, using SPECIFICALLY prepubescent kids as drugs, for their hormones - I don't think I've encountered many more disturbing monsters than that. I recognize that feeling Eric mentions, the pit in the stomach. And I've seen this before, the pit doesn't get better. But hey, I managed to get through it this time, because I didn't have to watch it on my own, but the reaction worked sort of as a filter, and I think that was pretty great. And of course, the reaction was fantastic, if, you know, sad and depressing. I've still been looking forward to seeing you react to this, and to hear you talk about it. So it's still been "fun" to watch this season again, in a way. Thanks for helping out with that. :D

This whole season is the most devastating TV-series I've ever watched. EVER. And I've watched a lot. This season got me crying for days. Any thought with the reminder of it just made me cry again. And worst of all, is that this is exactly how it would've happened in reality for us.

Torchwood Series Four aka Miracle Day was a British-American co-production, it aired on BBC One in the UK and on Starz in the US. Haven't seen it since it aired back in 2011 but I remember liking it. Hope you guys react

And if I'm not mistaken, the End of Time scene with Jack depressed in the bar is supposed to be following this event so it adds a bit of weight to the scene if true.

I hope you do watch Series 4 as I'd like to see your reactions on it! I'm one of the few who like Miracle Day!

This series of torchwood was so good. Honestly one of the best things

"GOOD MAN!....I'd...I'd keep the vest on.." same Calvin 😅

If it was the Doctor... his vengeance upon the 456 will be terrible, he is not above that, he has done it before, it just take a lot for him to dispense judgment but once he does, he do so decisively. He can also do a lot more than what Torchwood is able to manage. There is however a reason why he isn't there (it was implied in later Doctor Who episode). He isn't present for a lot of the incident that happens on Earth, and he isn't here precisely because Earth did managed.

Coming up next: Torchwood Season 4 "We're half American and everything's on fire, for the love of god let us die."

AAAAARRHH! 4:47 I'm watching a recording of these guys watching a recording of Jacks daughter watching a recording of some guy watching a recording of the 456! MY HEAD IS SPINNING!

"We lost Ianto." "I literally forgot.... Honestly wasn't even thinking about Ianto." Not even surprised at this point... >_>

The thing i always think of with this season is that the doctor probably could have sorted this whole thing out no problem but because the doctor wasn't there all this terrible shit happened and people had to do terrible things.

Pls do Torchwood Miracle Day!

I've been eagerly anticipating this reaction and now, seeing you all so shocked and depressed... I'm completely satisfied

Wow, I can't believe it's over already! Thank you for reacting to this amazing show and all of its 3 seasons!

I loved how much they got into this miniserie! I hold it very dear to my heart because of how many emotions it made me feel the first time through and I'm glad I saw it reflected with the crew! I also loved how DONE Erik was after this because I was in that exact same state for at least a week afterwards

this episode gets me emotional at so many different points. Plus Ianto's death from last episode.

*John Barrowman* was born in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom but moved to Joliet, Illinois in the United States when he was 8 years old and grew up there. He is citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States because of this. I hope you manage to get ahold of the next season/miniseries. It wasn't until I watched your reaction that I even noticed that it wasn't on my Blu-ray set. 😲

Yeah this pretty much did it for Torchwood for me too. I did watch the first ep of the next series, but that was it. Don't get me wrong, this was the best series of Torchwood. I just... couldn't... after this.

John Barrowman is Scottish (his parents are both Scottish), but his family moved to America when he was about 9 years old. He automatically resorts to a Scottish accent when he hears a Scot speak.

This the best bit of television I’ve ever seen

You guys have really done well to watch these series in chronological order...this series is just before End of Time in relation to a scene in part 2.

The next one is really good and would be great to see Yall react to

Season 4 is my favorite! cannot wait for that

John Barrowman is actually from Scotland.

FYI: John Barrowman is Scottish and lived in Scotland until he was 8 years old when his family moved to the US with him moving back and from the UK since the 90s & He actually still speaks with a scottish accent around his family.

1 more season of torchwood left ...cant wait!!!!

Captain Jack's grandson dying like that is probably the hardest scene to watch in Whoniverse.

25:44 ERROR: erik not working

this is why i have trouble explaining torchwood to people. the first two seasons are really good but a bit cheesy and kinda raunchy so it's awkward to recommend. then the last two seasons are pure cinematic storytelling...and a lot of exploration of morals. it's really good and really well made, but also dark and depressing. Like no laughing out loud really and a lot of hard choices to amke

It’s called Miracle Day and was in Starz. I liked it. Actually saw it first then went back and watched the original series.

John Barrowman was born in Scotland and grew up in Canada and returned to the UK.

At the end of the universe, expect the company of immortals.

This series was shockingly depressing. I loved how part of the story showed that England, who had stood strong in the face of the Nazi world threat, was now weak and corrupt. The generation that had been willing to "meet them on the beaches, to fight them in the streets" had passed away, leaving corrupt, selfish and conscienceless monsters in their place. Men worse than the aliens threatening Earth. What did not hold together was that no one, no government on Earth, could cover something like this up. And how exactly would any country survive, when you had the entire population rising up against the human authorities attempting to steal children by force? Maybe in England, where firearms are outlawed, but in America? where firearms are common? There would be war in the streets, bloodshed like nothing anyone had ever seen. While I can certainly believe that politicians would go along with anything to save themselves, how did they think that any government could survive something like this? And something else that no one mentioned. The aliens were basically drug addicts. And drug addicts are never satisfied. So they wanted 10% of the Earth's children now. And what happened when they came back in a couple of decades, and wanted 20% this time---and the next time and the time after that? This series made for excellent and riveting watching, but it glorified all the ugliest aspects of humanity and ignores any of the better ones. During WWII the world faced a threat in the Axis powers that was no less overwhelming than the fictional alien threat in this story. And entire generations stood forth and fought rather than be slaves and victims. If our world deliberately sacrificed the most vulnerable of our kind, rather than fight------it makes you wonder if the world would deserve to survive.

Hot Fuzz mentioned!

Season 4 is worth watching. Jack, Gwen and Reece all make a return and the new characters introduced aren’t half bad either.

11:40 "Good riddance, you junkie piece of shit" - you echoed all our thoughts SO accurately ;)

Re: Eric's point about the Doctor, River has the right of it I think - "Everybody knows that everybody dies and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever, for one moment, accepts it.". The Doctor would find another way because he's (literally) not bound by the same rules of reality as we are - much more than the swears and bumping of uglies _that_ is what makes 'Torchwood' an adult show because for the most part they are. And John Barrowman is Scottish incidentally (he's from Mount Vernon in Glasgow) though he moved to the US when he was a kid. You can KZfaq clips of him using the accent he grew up with (even as a Scot it's a bit odd hearing it from his mouth ;).

Please watch Season 4.

Can we take a moment to appreciate Aarons shirt

The plot of this is similar to The Quatermass Conclusion - TV show from 1979.

"Rhys isn't Torchwood!" "He could."

please do watch season 4, it carries on the Torchwood storyline. Very thought-provoking

I liked season 4, subtitled MIRACLE DAY... but CHILDREN OF EARTH was my all-time favorite.

The thing I don't get is that they made all these threats about wiping out the human race if they refused to give them the children and yet when they eventually killed their ambassador and refused to give them the children, they did absolutely nothing. They just ran. You would think if they had the power to wipe out the human race that they would want revenge for the killing of their ambassador or the betrayal of the humans and yet nothing happened. Which makes me believe that they didnt have the technology in the first place and that it was mainly empty threats.

This was the worst day for Torchwood, but it made for the best episode of Torchwood, for me. It's depressing as hell, but so much more powerful for it - it was all the more powerful having it air over five days when it went out (and the music originally used in the big climatic sequence was more emotional and effective too than the theme it's been replaced with on the home media releases). It is effectively the end of the show, Miracle Day is functionally more like a spin-off from Torchwood. There's places where the canon with Doctor Who begins to get a bit shaky, and the whole thing was headed in a new and different direction - some people like it, but for me it just didn't work at all. This big five-part depression-fest serves as the best possible way Torchwood could have gone out.

At 25:16 Eric look's...done with life

Jacks daughter scream shook me to the core. First watching thought no nation would tolerate Government ripping families apart.. citizens would rise up and oust every single one in power involved, into the nearest prison. Oh, man. Darkest thing we watched. 2018, the sequel.

WATCH MIRACLE DAY WATCH MIRACLE DAY WATCH MIRACLE DAY!!!!!!! Miracle Day is the next season of Torchwood, yes it was produced in the US but it is following the same characters and it is SO GOOD. It’s very similar to Children Of Earth in that the season followed one big storyline. If you like Children Of Earth, you will LOVE miracle day.

Jack and Gwen are in season 4.

Yall just watched the soul crushing ending.

I hope they end up watching Torchwood: Miracle Day. It's apart of Amazon Prime or the season can be bought for around $26 in HD and less in SD. So they should have access to it. That said Children of Earth is perhaps one of the darkest things in the Whoverse that I've watched. I think there might some things darker though but this ending did leave me drained originally want I saw it. I'm glad they didn't show the 456 clearly. It adds to their mystery, threat, and general terror they seem to invoke.

Miracle day is amazing

Torchwood is like if George RR Martin handled a season of Doctor Who. Anyone we like is likely to get killed off like beetles. "Smash da beetles. Smash 'em! *GUH! GUH! GUH*

There is another season of Torchwood and it is a pretty good season too. It is an emotional rollercoaster like this one as well. Just like this season, it shows the truth of just how fucked up humanity is. I have no doubts that if something like this was to really happen in real life our government officials would make the same choices that the characters on the show would make.

did you guys know that if you take the letters of doctor who and rearrange them, it turns out to be torchwood.

Might be worth watching Series 4 (Miracle Day) after Doctor Who - The End of Time Part 2 chaps.

Face the raven, now this. Right, now just need someone to react to Rains of Castamere for a real feel good Friday.

There are things I really like about miracle day and things I really don’t. But I think you should still watch it, it has some really interesting themes in it...but the follow through not so much

Season 4 of Torchwood isn't very good but I would still be interested in seeing what you think about it.

Your faces on the thumbnail ummmm Miracle Day is cool tho! I hope you'll watch it!

That one alien we saw could be the only one. It could have been one drug dealer on one ship working independently.

This is what I liked about torchwood. Doctor Who would hint at "Hey, things are shitty and will still be shitty", but Torchwood is like "Here, here it all is. Things are super fucked, and that's how it is".

You've got Romeo and Juliet backwards, Romeo poisoned himself and Juliet stabbed herself after kissing Romeo in hopes that there's still some poison on his lips. You might be thinking of Juliet taking a sleeping draft when she faked her death.

This series was some high profile sci fi. Who else but Russel T Davies thought about earth being held hostage by alien drug addicts? Brilliant.

That thumbnail..... same

I was on this episode 😂

The next season is still pretty good

This whole series makes me think of everything that's going on right now taking the children.

Nice Next up Torchwood Miracle Day.

I think you need to watch series 4, its still torchwood and has great moments. or if you don't watch series 4 i recommend Under the dome.

Jack killing his grand son is horrible but if he had chosen another child I think that would have made him a monster

I enjoyed season 4 even if it was in the US. It wasn't the best but I enjoyed it.

Yeah after watching episode 4 and then 5, I was emotionally drained. Ep 5 was just dark in my opinion. Even to this day, I find it difficult to rewatch those 2 episodes. lol

1:17 That sound came from Eric? Ook...

Due to the rating of the show, the BBC forbade the Doctor to appear on Torchwood.

Very late response. I was 15 when I first saw this and as an adult, I have no children or children aged family or care for any children. Don’t know if it’s because I went into teaching/youth work but you better believe I would fight anyone I had to stop them taking a single child. Better the whole species die together then that.

Are you guys gonna start watching Sarah Jane adventures again? But the next season gets really good so please continue this series first.

Do watch the next season. Please. It does have a bit of a different feel but it was in collaboration with the BBC so it's not a completely different animal than the BBC only show.

The question remains what happens to the governments after this.

So are they not doing Miracle day?