Unlike Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood
never had much of a collection of regularly-used writers. There are a couple who wrote a decent chunk
of episodes (Chris Chibnall in the first two seasons, Russell T. Davies and Jane
Espenson in the latter two,) a smattering who wrote a few here and there, and a
number who only penned a single story.
As such, some of these picks are incredibly episode-specific.
Catherine Tregenna – Probably my favorite
Torchwood writer of the lot, and she
made a wonderful showing on Who last
season with “The Woman Who Lived.”
Tregenna has a really nice feel for the characters and a talent for
packing a good emotional punch. She’s
also come up with some pretty creative time-based plots.
Best episode: “Captain Jack Harkness”
Helen Raynor – Another writer who went on to Who (the Dalek two-parter from series 3
and the Sontaran two-parter from series 4.)
Raynor wrote two Torchwood
stories, “Ghost Machine” and “To the Last Man.”
Like Tregenna, she’s great at plugging into the emotional core of a
story and coming up with interesting plots; her stories are notable for showing
the characters fighting the caprices of the Rift more so than alien invaders,
or even humans using found alien tech for their own benefit.
Best
episode: “To the Last Man”
James Moran – First Torchwood, then Who (he
wrote the amazing “The Fires of Pompeii.”)
With “Sleeper” and “Children of Earth:
Day Three,” the latter of which is probably my favorite from that
storyline, Moran handles the characters with a skillful hand and is good at
examining how all this Rift/alien madness affects the everyday people with whom
Torchwood comes into contact.
Best
episode: “Sleeper”
Toby Whithouse – I’m a big fan of
Whithouse’s work on Who, and while I
wouldn’t rank “Greeks Bearing Gifts” among his best, it would definitely be in
my Top Five episodes for series 1. An
interesting story, a compelling villain, and a great vehicle for Tosh – all
good things in my book.
Best
episode: “Greeks Bearing Gifts”
Joseph Lidster – The only non-Who writer on the list, although Lidster
also wrote some excellent stories for The
Sarah Jane Adventures. “A Day in the
Death” does a really good job with Owen’s mid-season-2 arc, particularly after
the preceding episode, “Dead Man Walking,” was a bit of a mess. It offers a fine narrative throughline, some
really strong material for Owen, and a thoughtful contemplation of how his
situation is affecting him.
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