Should Doctor Who do an adults-only spinoff again?

Television Torchwood
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So after having seen @Tian’s reaction to Torchwood, where he said:

I hope that any future spin-offs will learn from this and be equally good.

It made me think - was it a good idea to have an adults-only spin-off like Torchwood, and do you think we will see it again?

I’m currently thinking:

Pros:

  • A different perspective on the Whoniverse, a way to tell completely different stories (sex gas?) and to maybe lure in different writers and directors who don’t want to work on a ‘family’ show.
  • Definitely gets publicity as something shocking to talk about
  • Can deal with more difficult themes that the main show cannot touch

Cons:

  • A show that is so intertwined with the Whoniverse but off-limits to children cannot do certain things such as include the Doctor, for fear of encouraging young children to see such an adult show
  • Limits the audience even further - I don’t know about numbers but I can’t imagine non-Who fans tuned into Torchwood alone? Did it bring in any new fans do we think?
  • Sometimes veered into being rude and sweary just because it could
  • I don’t think Disney would like to touch it with a barge pole

What do you think?

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To me, it all comes down to the story. I think that an adult series can be really good like the last two seasons of Torchwood but it can also feel a bit gimmicky like the first two seasons of TW or all-adult superhero movies that tried to copy Deadpool.

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I entirely depends on the type of “adult-only” stuff we’re talking about. I could do without sex, gory or over-the-top violence and unnecessary foul language. Especially if you’re only adding so that you be adult-only. I think an adult-only show would have a place to discuss more adult themes that would less likely to be touched by the main show. So it entirely depends on the writing and types of stories it tells.

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I said in the torchwood thread, and I’ll say again here: 1980s Torchwood on TV is the way to go for this imo

Other ideas I’d love though are a more politically leaning UNIT, or a more horror-focused anthology series focusing on monsters of the whoniverse

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I do think we need a more kid focused spin-off as well though to balance things out. (Rani Takes on the World as a TV Show maybe? :eyes:)

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I have met a handful of people who only watched Torchwood and not Doctor Who. Not sure there were enough to really be worth it, though. Personally, I’d love another adult spin-off. I do think there was a little too much sex for my taste, but there were definitely some good and interesting stories that wouldn’t have worked in a family friendly show. I also like that many of the characters are complicated and unlikeable, but I doubt they’d be able to get away with it with today’s poor media literacy climate.

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I agree the sex stuff was a little gratuitous and seemed to be there just “because”. In Torchwood everyone was sleeping with everyone else!!

I really think there could be some amazing gory horror stories in the Whoniverse if they didn’t have to worry about kids watching it.

There could definitely be a deep dive into the Cyberman conversion process as a Saw-like horror. Many monsters could be the stuff of nightmares!

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Anthology horror with episodes on the cybermen really delving into conversion as a thing, ‘Dalek’ meets Alien as a horror film with people just trying to get away, but killed one by one, maybe even something with a peaceful alien featuring humans as the monster, idk, just spitballing

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