BBC responds to another Miracle Day complaint
The BBC has released a statement in which they respond to complaints that the new series of Torchwood, Miracle Day, has “too much gay content”.
They explain that the series aims “to depict relationships, whether heterosexual or homosexual, in a realistic way”, and they feel “the content was justified” as Jack’s character has always been portrayed as “promiscuous and bisexual”.
You can read their full statement regarding the issue below.
We have strict Editorial Guidelines which govern the content of our programmes, and Torchwood is no exception. These clearly state:
“In all BBC output the portrayal of sex, or the exploration of sexual issues, should be editorially justified and treated with sensitivity. In post watershed content, we must be able to justify the frank, realistic portrayal of sex and the exploration of themes and issues which some people might find offensive.”
Captain Jack Harkness is an established character in the series. The audience over the previous series of Torchwood have known him to be promiscuous and bisexual so we felt the content was justified in terms of the context and characters and would be within the expectations of regular viewers. We aim to depict relationships, whether heterosexual or homosexual, in an honest and realistic way. These scenes are not meant to cause offence.
Unravel the latest Series 4 developments in our ongoing and dedicated discussion…
Keep up to date with all the Miracle Day developments at our Torchwood site!
@Fred Ferguson
Going around killing people because they complained about a TV show is rather OTT (over the top).
@JC
To be honest, the people complaining are most likely complaining about the flirtatious banter between Jack and other male characters as well as the “sex scene” (neither of the scenes – Rex/Vera and Jack/Barman – in the UK version actually qualify as sexual intercourse).
Also, I agree with e.p and cybergirl: if anyone is complaining about “gay content” in Torchwod, they obviously haven’t seen the first three series.
@TE
Yeah, I should say that Jack flirting with and kissing other men doesn’t bother me. I mean, he kissed the 9th Doctor on Doctor Who
None of this bothers me, as I have been a fan of the series since the beginning. Torchwood was written to be an adult series and the sex part has always been part of it. If anything, the only things I can complain about are how horrible Rex is (both as a character and because of the guy playing him), the lack of “Torchwood-iness” in the series (not enough tech, not enough aliens, and the fact that the U.S. has no idea of the global events that occurred in the original series), and the fact that Jack was really more pan-sexual than they are portraying him. I know that the BBC is trying to get new fans with the series, but pleaase-respect the old ones too. Some of us barely recognize it anymore.
@JC
I didn’t mean you personally, but the people who bothered to complain to the BBC ;)
@TE
Yeah I know, no worries TE, I was just taking the opportunity to clarify my position based on what you said.
@Vanessa
I’m one of those people who think Hitler had the right idea and the wrong demographic.
No doubt there will be more complaints when next week’s episode (Episode Seven) is broadcast in the UK…
What rubbish…”We’re only showing Jack in a realistic way.”….Why don’t we see Gwen’s butt flashed on the screen in the same manner?…..I don’t think this is written by innocent writers believing this is what todays sci-fi nuts want…this is just a vehicle to display Jack’s nuts!
I have always been a fan of Doctor Who & I loved the torchwood spinoff series both 1 & 2 along with children of earth & I always acknowledged Jacks sexuality. But Im not impressed at all by this new series & Ill tell you why, the first three series’s focused on what the show is “supposed” to be about scifi & the alien threat in which torchwood was originally formed for. However this new series seems to be hell bent on ramming the homesexuality of the supposed bisexual Jack down peoples throats! There is no real point in having Jack play apart in the series other than obviously trying to bed more or less every guy that he comes into contact with. The strongest character in the series is Gwen, and again it is a SCI FI show, I have nothing against homosexuality, each to their own, but if I wanted to watch a gay porn movie Id rent one out, not turn the tv on to watch a supposed scifi show to do so…….Really dissapointed with this series & personally I think they should call it a day after this series & let John Burrowman stick to his saturday night surprise surprise show.