Russell T Davies: 'Torchwood works best as short series'

Torchwood: Miracle Day creator Russell T Davies has suggested that the sci-fi series benefits from having a smaller episode count per series than most other US programmes.

Davies said that Torchwood: Miracle Day's ten-episode order ensures that as much action as possible is packed into each instalment.

"I come from Britain, where the industry is smaller and we tend to have less money, but it survives because we're making much shorter series. I like it," Davies told the Los Angeles Times. "I've lived in America now for two years, and you get these blocks of programming that run for 23 weeks of the year. And when they all stop before the summer, it's like TV land is empty."

The Doctor Who writer added: "I think stations should be more nimble and have ten-parters, six-parters. Audiences are getting smaller and more niche now; it just seems like the smart thing to do. That's what happened with Starz. We came in with a 13-part series for Torchwood, and they were like 'cut it down, cut it down' to ten episodes... We really made it fly."

Davies also insisted that intimate moments involving Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) are just as vital to Torchwood's appeal as monstrous alien races such as the 456, the Weevils and the Nostrovites.

"I like the fact that I can afford a helicopter chase now and again. But the real drama is the character moments. That's what I really write well. It's the same for Torchwood," he said. "When you reach Episode 9, there's such a punch coming where we reveal the secrets of the show in a very clever way.

"But it doesn't always have to be drama on a scale. Intimate moments are just as effective. It's just such a great cast. If you want to give me a scene with Bill Pullman (Oswald Danes) locked in a room with Eve Myles, then I would happily write you the best drama in the world. It all comes down to good actors in the end."

Aside from his work on sci-fi shows Doctor Who and Torchwood, Davies created the critically acclaimed drama Queer as Folk as well the religious tale The Second Coming.

Torchwood: Miracle Day airs Fridays at 10pm on Starz in the US and premieres on Thursday, July 14 at 9pm on BBC One in the UK.

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Watch Digital Spy's interview with Torchwood producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner below: