torchwood relocating to america? [holy crap!]

could ianto be resurrected? // bbc promotional photo

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Fox has commissioned Russell T Davies to develop an American version of his hit British series Torchwood, a spinoff of Doctor Who which I am quite fond of.

At first glance, it’s a major epic flail.

Davies has signed on himself, along with Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter, to bring Torchwood stateside, an unusual move for international series being adapted for America.  And according to THR, some of the cast, perhaps including John Barrowman, could be brought over to star in the series.

Spit-spot: tweet, change your GChat status, hurt your ankle jumping around the apartment.

Then pause.  Think about it.  Huh?

Now I have a lot of questions.

Does this mean that Torchwood is done in the UK?  Last I heard, season four was a go.  If the show is still going to continue in the UK and start up over here, and if Barrowman’s coming over, what does that mean for the canon of the series?  According to THR, “the U.S. version will contain a global story line compared to the more localized sensibility of the first two BBC seasons.”

This may be an ignorant question, but what stops networks like Fox from purchasing the rights to air standard Torchwood on our airwaves, just like Sky One in the UK and Global in Canada do?  Why develop whole new versions when the existing version is still thriving?  What would make more sense to me–and what I’d be trying to do were I a network executive–is forming partnerships between US and UK networks, in which, say, Fox helps significantly to fund production of Torchwood in exchange for the right to air the series stateside–and an agreement to take on more global storylines.

All of that said, I am cautiously intrigued about this venture.  And I definitely like the idea of America claiming John Barrowman.

Meanwhile, Tranter is also considering developing an American version of Doctor Who, which is the worst idea I’ve heard in my entire life.

And, finally, here’s this, because I like it.