We clearly mark where these are, so theyre easily avoidable.
Without further ado…
Firstly, many congratulations on the current run!
How closely have you been following the online reaction to series three so far?
I do follow it a bit.
Its also sort of not really what the show creators and writers and producers should do.
The fan sites are there for the fans, and they should be there to debate and express themselves.
If I start reading that stuff, I start wading in.
And I think they should be allowed to do what they want to do
But is has been mental.
And thats only going to get worse until the end!
I did, actually.
They were saying crazy things like Genes now a wife-beater, I hate him, I hate him.
And I just felt it needed to calm down.
I also said that it was a nine oclock show.
This is not a photo novel in Jackie magazine.
Where he came from, what he was born from.
A tough, hard-bitten world.
They just dont like him hitting Alex!
And, of course, when its all seen in context, there wasnt a peep!
Torchwood: Children Of Earthspoilers start here and end after the next picture.
Have you caught up onTorchwood: Children Of Earthby any chance?
I have, I finally watched it.
I was away in American when it was on, but Ive watched it now.
It got very personal against the writers, the fan feedback from that.
Where do you stand on it?
Its also a bit skewed.
Iantos death was sad, and powerful.
They blow a childs brain open so you can save the world.
To me, that was far more upsetting.
I didnt like that bit.
I went oh my God, the hero has just killed the kid.
Surely there was a way that he could have saved the kid and still saved the world?
It was Russells [T Davies] decision, and it was a dark one and a brave one.
I think thats where its all a bit skewed sometimes.
I speak as a fan.
So, I do have sympathy!
Going back toAshes, you must have seen some of the breadth of theories about the show coming up.
Obviously, my first question is how close are we all getting?
Most seem to touch on something that is right!
But this is what I think happened.
She got absolutely everything right.
And she hadnt seen the ending shed just got to the end of episode seven.
She got one thing slightly wrong, actually, but apart from that, spot on.
The thing is that youshouldbe able to guess.
When you get to the end, you should be able to say oh yes.
Its not an out-of-nowhere thing, because I think that would be a cheat.
So ,everything that happens at the end, you’re free to naturally take from the series.
So, yes, fans do get some of it right.
What they do do is overthink it.
Its the most complex thing Ive ever seen.
Oh, its a room, and I couldnt see anything because I was bumping into stuff.
Its exactly like that with this show.
Do you have a particular favourite theory thats missed the mark wildly?
There was another one someone said to me: Sam is Jesus.
But occasionally someone will come up and theyll get one bit absolutely spot on.
But theyre just a voice in the wilderness, so nobody picks up on it.
So, we just leave them!
We certainly dont leave any character dangling.
I dont mind saying that, because I think thats what the shows telling the audience anyway.
They all have to have answers, they all have to have resolutions.
Everything is there for you.
There should be no frustrating ambiguity.
But at the same time, we are not explicit about where we are and whats going on.
We dont say, This is this, this is happening, thats what happening to that person.
We just kind of show it and play it out.
Are you happy that its comfortably fitted an hour, the final episode?
And I said, I cant do it.
I phoned Kudos and the director David Drury and said, You do it.
You cut it down.
Because I cant bear to, and youll make proper, hard decisions about it.
But youve gotThe 10 OClock News, and you cant move the news!
Are you tempted to put the longer cut out?
Yes, in a funny way, I am.
Id want to do something like that, show all the scenes we cut out.
That would be fun.
Did you get a cast and crew screening of the final episode?
We didnt, because theyre all over the place!
We couldnt get them all together.
How was your moment when you sat down with the final episode?
Im so proud of it.
Im scared of it, because theres a lot riding on it, and everyone wants a different conclusion.
And they got a tidal wave of reaction that they werent expecting.
So, I am thinking that well probably get some of that.
But Im so proud of it, and I was delighted to watch it.
We only watched the finished episode the other day.
In terms of television, definitely.
This is it, I think.
Were always going to leave a door open if Hollywood came calling, and then wed think about.
The character that weve really hooked into is Jim Keats, a terrific creation.
Thats Danny [Mays].
We had that conversation with Danny right from day one.
We said, Sometimes, you might feel a little frustrated.
Sometimes you may feel a little on the sidelines.
But its a slow burn character.
Thats why I think his impact in episode six is so strong.
Suddenly, theres this naked malevolence.
Its gone from a petulant guy with a superiority complex to someone who is clearly very bad.
There is no ambiguity now that Jim Keats is not a good person.
And I think its more powerful because weve played that nerdy gauche guy for five weeks prior to that.
Danny was totally up for that.
He was totally prepared to go on that journey.
I cant speak for the other episodes yet, but I know where your characters going.
And he was, Great, oh brilliant, Ill sit it out until that moment comes.
Id say he had us very early, though.
I thought episode one was outstanding, as confident an opening instalment as I can remember seeing.
Whats interesting about him is that he was a late addition.
Id written several drafts of episode one, and Ashley [Pharoah] was working on episode two.
Actually, thats not quite true.
Logically, theyd have to be an internal enquiry.
Confidentialkind of character, and well have a bit of fun with him.
And at the end of episode one hell be gone.
And then we started talking about what we thought was missing as we storyboarded the show.
We all felt we were missing Supermac.
We all loved Supermac, and we all regret killing him off half-way through series two.
We wished wed kept him.
So, we all started thinking we all need Supermac.
So, I said, What if Jim Keats sticks around?
What if he says, Ive got my eye on you, Hunt, and Im not going anywhere.
And then weve got an ongoing enemy within story.
Take, for instance, the episode where Shaz is under threat at the end.
Usually youd automatically think shes going to escape.
Was it liberating to play with that level of expectation?
You cant ever tie it up conclusively then.
So, yeah, it was great.
And I think its benefitted the show enormously.
Just going back to Supermac for a minute.
His death really mattered.
You almost sound like you regret it?
I dont regret it.
I dont regret it from a dramatic point of view.
We had to kill Supermac.
But when we lost him in episode four, we lost a brilliant dynamic.
Yes, because you didnt even hold it back until the penultimate episode.
He was gone half-way through.
He did do a great job of propping the middle of the show up and giving it momentum.
And I think there was an argument for keeping Mac alive for another two episodes.
But I think what was nice about it was then we had space to do Summers, of course.
The Friday night slot that the show has had has been unusual.
Do you think its been a help?
In all honesty, I dont think its a help.
I dont think we could ever say that.
I do think were blessed at this stage in the show of not having the pressure that others have.
But whats interesting is that the audience is growing.
Weve had our blip, weve had the bit in the middle where the audience was slightly losing it.
Its just not all of them watch it on the night.
In terms of figures really, were fine.
Its really exciting for us at the moment.
Weve got a number of projects in development which wed be thrilled to do.
A really cool show, a big challenge for us to get off the ground.
Were developing a movie, a big thriller set in Baltmore in the 1940s.
Amongst other things its about the birth of modern police forensics.
Its a really exciting project, and again its early days, but were hoping thatll go places.
Matthew Graham, thank you very much!
