Comic-Con: 'Torchwood' and 'Being Human' get cheeky

Comic-Con lets actors interact with the fans, which is why the "Torchwood" and "Being Human" panels were rather raucous and naughty despite the serious subject matter.

Although "Torchwood" was presented second, the show likely drew the majority of the crowd in Ballroom 20 Sunday afternoon. The five-night miniseries "Torchwood: Children of Earth" had its share of heartbreaking moments, however, so let's address those first shall we?

Spoiler alert: Don't read futher if you haven't watched the miniseries yet. Oh, and tsk, tsk, why haven't you?

Captain Jack Harkness has made many tough decisions, perhaps none more difficult than what occurred in the finale, when he essentially sacrificed his own grandson in order to prevent aliens from taking 10 percent of the children of Earth for their nefarious needs.

"There was a concern that the audience wouldn't like him anymore," confessed Barrowman. "He will do anything in his power to save the situation or humanity. I had to look at it from the point of view of 'I'm Jack Harkness and I'm right.' It was hard to film those scenes knowing the outcome was going to be."

See pictures of "Torchwood: Children of Earth."

But it's Ianto's tragic death that sent the fans into a tizzy, which had to be addressed several times during the panel.

Barrowman reminded the audience that "people die young in Torchwood," but that on that day of filming "We lost it. We both cried." Producer Jane Gardner added, "For me it was a no-brainer that Ianto died at the end of episode four. It was right for the story because Captain Jack had to suffer. He was about to go to a dark place so to take him to that place he had to suffer. The man that he loves was the cost of making Captain Jack a hero."

It was writer/executive producer Russell T. Davies that bore the brunt of the boos and disappointment. "I said let's kill him," he said. "No one can change my mind. And no one can bring him back." He did, however, apologize for hurting any feelings of the rabid Internet fan community, but disagrees he was out of line by killing off Ianto since a campaign to save Ianto by sending in coffee packets only yielded nine packets. Don't snicker, "Chuck" fans. 

Watch the trailer for "Torchwood: Children of Earth."

For the most part though, it was a madcap time, led by Barrowman, who had initially tried to keep the double entendres to a minimum considering the children in the audience. Most of the time he was just silly and jovial, but his delivery always made it seem he was just bordering on the inappropriate.

Let's see how well he did, shall we?

 - "I do both countries in a sense. No pun intended either!"
 - "You know 'Torchwood's' a little more adult, so get out ... or stay and you might learn something!"
 - He stands up to spank himself on stage.
 - "It's my second year at Con. I love it. I learned a new word: 'fangasm.'"
 - About his pixelated bottom on "Torchwood": "My bum was too hot for TV over here."
 - "I want to play Captain America. That so would not happen. I'd love to be in Lycra."
 - "Let's have more people like Jack on TV. Let's have more John Barrowman on TV. I think I'd shake up an American network, don't you?"
 - When asked what Jack would have liked to do with Ianto had he lived, Barrowman's reminded about the kids again: "I know how to get my point across without them understanding."

Miscellaneous tidbits:

 - Lois Habiba (Cush Jumbo) probably won't get added to the Torchwood team. "Too soon to say really," said Davies. "With Tosh and Owen gone, I didn't like the idea of Lois taking Tosh's place. If I have a chance to work  with [Jumbo] again, I would.
 - The person who designed the look for the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith, also designed Captain Jack Harkness' outfit.
 - Barrowman and his sister got on Twitter after watching the episode in which Ianto dies: "Ianto beat out Michael Jackson [in trending topics]"
 - Davies won't do a musical episode of "Torchwood": "When 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' did that, you could not do better than that episode."

Switching gears to "Being Human," BBC America's latest import about three Bristol flatmates who are of the supernatural persuasion that debuted this past Saturday, there was a similar bent towards irreverence among the new cast.

"Being Human" began as the concept for a sitcom about three people: a sex addict, an agoraphobic and an angry, anal retentive. Eventually, this evolved into a drama with the appropriate supernatural counterparts: Mitchell (Aidan Turner) the vampire addicted to blood; Annie (Lenora Crichlow) the ghost who's trapped in a narrow existence; and George (Russell Tovey), a reluctant werewolf.

Highlights of the panel:

 - All three actors thought the concept sounded ridiculous and tacky initially, but agreed that the strong writing and well-crafted characters changed their minds.
 - Boos when the moderator mistakenly place the series in Brighton, not Bristol.
 - Bristol was initially chosen because it's near Wales and the show was commissioned by BBC Wales. Later in the show, however, it's explained that the vampires gathered there because it once used to be a point in the slave trade.
 - Tovey organized the crowd to do The Wave, which he calls The Mexican Wave.
 - Tovey pointed out that George is the most human of the trio: "He'll grow old and more grey and hideous than he is now."
 - Tovey asked how many in the audience have seen the show. After getting a positive response, he asked, "So you've seen my bum then?" Ah, BBC, always good for the bare bums.
 - When a fan compares George with a person who does not want to spread his STD with anyone, creator Toby Whithouse said, "I don't know if you know how werewolves are made. It tends not to be like that."
 - Mitchell's addiction is a mental and emotional one. "It in theory possible for vampires to get off the blood."

Where Season One is going:

Annie - She'll learn the how and why of her death, but for some reason that doesn't free her from being a ghost, so she then must figure out why she's still rooted on Earth.
George - In denial about his condition, he'll over the course of the season come to accept it and later even uses it.
Mitchell - He'll continue to battle with himself and other vampires.

Information on Season Two:

 - The second season of eight episodes was just ordered and will begin production when the actors return to the UK.
 - The season will have a UK air date of January 2010.
 - "In series two, without giving anything away, the afterlife that awaits them is more fully explored. You'll get an answer in about a year's time."

Complete Comic-Con coverage

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Related:

'Torchwood: Children of Earth' pictures
'Torchwood: Children of Earth' trailer
'Being Human' review
'Being Human' TV listings

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