Plot Synopsis

The series follows Torchwood Three, the Welsh branch of a fictional secret organization called the Torchwood Institute, which investigates extraterrestrial events on Earth and scavenges alien technology. Torchwood Three was created to monitor a space/time rift that has one end at Cardiff Bay with the other end freely floating through spacetime, allowing various extraterrestrial and extratemporal artifacts -- and the occasional life-form -- to wash up in present-day Wales. When the series begins -- some time after the Season 2 finale of "Doctor Who" and the destruction of Torchwood One in London -- Torchwood Three is staffed with five operatives: commander-in-chief Captain Jack Harkness; field agent Gwen Cooper; medical officer Owen Harper; computer specialist Toshiko Sato; and administrator Ianto Jones. Seasons 1 and 2 each had 13 weekly episodes, but Season 3 was presented on consecutive nights as a five-episode miniseries called "Torchwood: Children of Earth." Season 4 is called "Torchwood: The New World" and follows CIA agent Rex Matheson as he investigates a global conspiracy with the answers inside the now-destroyed Torchwood. Rex must find the keys to Torchwood, which are held by the institute's only survivors -- Gwen and Captain Jack. Season 4 is schedule to air Summer 2011 on Starz.