Owen Harper is still dead. But that doesn’t stop him from giving some timely advice to a suicidal woman, and learning a few things about his life… and death… along the way.
Length 47’13”
First Transmitted
In unedited form at 9:50pm on Wednesday 27th February 2008, BBC Three.
In edited form at 7pm on Thursday 6th March 2008, BBC Two.
The BBC Three broadcast was immediately after the BBC Two broadcast of Reset.
Guest Cast
Kai Owen (Rhys Williams); Freema Agymena (Martha); Richard Briers (Parker); Christine Bottomley (Maggie); Louis Decosta Johnson (Farrington); Brett Allen (Taylor); Gil Kolirin (Webb)
(Kai Owen does not appear in this episode)
Writer Joseph Lidster
Director Andy Goddard
Setting
Three days after Reset, on the wedding anniversary of Maggie Hopley and Brian.
Did You Spot?
Owen stands outside Howells in the very first shot of the episode – Howells has regularly doubled as Henrik’s in Doctor Who. Although it’s rare for Torchwood to use clips from prior episodes, Owen flashes back to Ghost Machine, Meat, Everything Changes , Out of Time, Reset and Dead Man Walking. Owen uses the phrase “Mostly Harmless”, a reference to the Hitch-Hikers series of novels by Douglas Adams. Tosh buys a pizza from Jubilee Pizza (see Everything Changes, and also a deleted scene in Dalek, which features a very similar antagonist). Parker has bought a Dogan eye, one of which was seen in Random Shoes. The same car park from Everything Changes and numerous others appears again!
Twisted Reality
Owen believes Tintin (creation of Belgian artist Herge in 1929) was shagging Snowy, his dog. We have to hope this isn’t the case in any reality. To Buy or Not to Buy is, sadly, very real and has been performingly strongly in BBC1’s daytime slots since 2005. Although St. Helen’s hospital exists it is, unsurprisingly, in St Helen’s, Merseyside, not South Wales.
Love is in the Air
This episode is full of examinations of love: Ianto’s and Jack’s (Ianto takes offence to Owen’s brushing aside of it), Owen’s and Tosh’s (Tosh continues to chase him but Owen treats her even worse than before), and Maggie and Brian. Martha kisses Jack goodbye – John Barrowman looks somewhat uncomfortable.
If it’s Alien, it’s Ours
Looking at Parker’s recent purchases, Ianto finds a Dogan eye, a pair of Ikean wings and an Arkitinean translation tool. He also has an alien device he calls The Pulse, that he mistakenly believes is keeping him alive.
Captain Jack’s Large Weapon
Owen reluctantly hands over his gun to Ianto.
To Live and Die in Cardiff
Owen’s still dead. We see a flashback to Brian’s death in a car crash.
Sounds Brilliant
As Owen destroys the memories of his previous life, he plays Atlas, the second single by the band Battles.
Quotables
Maggie: Okay, you’re dead, and clearly that’s a bit shit, and I’m sorry and everything, but if…if you are dead, then why are you here? You can’t be wanting to jump…you can’t die twice!
Owen: Sorry, are you an expert?
Maggie: Sorry, are you an idiot?
Owen: Yeah, I’m a dead idiot.
Owen: Even Tosh had more of a life than you used to, and now you’re always out on missions, you’re shagging Jack, and I’m stuck here making the coffee.
Ianto: It’s not like that…me and Jack.
Owen: Yeah ok. But Gwen’s getting married, Martha’s got her bloke, even Tosh had Tommy…this is really SHIT!
Ianto: We’ve all gone through shit. Seeing you dissect alien corpses, saving so many lives…you really gonna let this beat you?
Owen: What am I supposed to do?
Jack: Watch TV. Chill.
Owen: Jack, I’m dead. I’m permanently chilled. You know, you get to live forever. I’d like to die forever. It’s funny, innit?
Jack: Thirty-six minutes…not bad.
Owen: You were watching?
Jack: Skinny guy in tight jeans runs into water? I was taking pictures.
Jack: You can SO come back at any time.
Martha: Maybe I will…one day.
Maggie: What do I do now?
Owen: You’ve got a choice. If you think that the darkness is too much, then go for it. But if there is a chance, just some hope…maybe having a cigarette, or that first sip of hot tea on a cold morning. Or it could be your mates. If there is even a tiny glimmer of light, then don’t you think it’s worth taking the chance?
Weren’t You In?
Richard Briers has an impressive resume, best known for his starring role in The Good Life (1975-8), but also with notable credits in Watership Down (1978), Goodbye Mr Kent (1982), Doctor Who (1987) and Monarch of the Glen (2000-5). The episodes other major guest star, Christine Bottomley, can be seen in recurring roles in The Bill (2002), Heartbeat (2003), Early Doors (2003-4), The Street (2006) and The Innocence Project (2006-7).
Unanswered Questions
What is the difference if Owen has a gun and badge, or is active/inactive on the roster? Wouldn’t Owen still be burnt from the electricity when he puts his hand into the fuse box? What exactly to the team fear for Owen, who is already dead, when he wants to stay behind for the alien object to explode? What convinces Tosh that the energy output would lead to explosion? How is Martha leaving Cardiff for London? We would expect by train, but she heads in the wrong direction and it’s the middle of the night. Will Owen go on being “fragile”?
Fuck Ups
Considering that neither of the couple in the car crash seem to have any severed limbs, there is an unbelievable amount of blood at the scene. Owen can’t give mouth-to-mouth to Parker because he can’t breathe, although we hear him do this a lot throughout the episode (notably immediately after this scene, he inhales sharply as he says “I needed to give him air but I couldn’t”). Even if his body is no longer converting Oxygen to Carbon Dioxide, he still seems to have the operation of the muscles needed to pull air in and out of his mouth (which is also how we can hear him speak).
Torchwood: Declassified Episode 2.08 (13’10”)
Broadcast BBC Two, Thursday 6th February, 7:50pm, immediately after the edited version of the main episode.
Andy Goddard on Owen’s story.
Richard Stokes explains why they didn’t use too much make-up on Owen and Burn Gorman tells us why he was keen on this.
Ray Holman on the bandages Owen wears from this point on.
Goddard and Gorman talk about Owen’s dive into the bay.
James Leigh, Gorman and Goddard explain how the underwater shoot was acheived.
Goddard, Stokes, Briers and Joseph Lidster on Parker and his scene.
Site Review by Arthur Penn
I have to admit. I don’t listen to Big Finish. There, I’ve said it. I’m a Lidster virgin. I went into this with no expectations whatsoever. Besides some concerns that Gary Russell was hiring his old chums to work on his new show.
Joe, in the words of the Doctor, I’m so so sorry. What people say about you is true. For a first-time television writer, this is an amazingly tight script with some very powerful moments. Even Andy Goddard seems to be working better than in prior weeks (his direction never being anything short of solid at any point anyway), implying a very visual script was presented to him at an early stage.
From Ianto’s silent reaction to the idea of Owen making the tea, to Owen’s silent underwater scream, this episode was filled with moments. Whilst the plot itself is very much a one-liner, and the artefact-of-the-week relatively unimportant, this growth piece for Owen sends the character (believably) spinning off in a new direction, and it’s starting to become clear how they may be able to keep him around, despite my prior reservations of a perceived similarity to Jack. The scene where he angrily empties his apartment has quickly become a defining moment in Owen’s screentime, which will haunt in the weeks to come.
Typically of these character-driven episodes, the rest of the cast do suffer somewhat. Martha Jones is, again, there simply to provide a temporary medically-trained character (the writers again forgetting Tosh can do this, but never mind), Tosh has one wonderful scene, and the rest are all but forgotten, as Owen tells a solitary tale from his perspective. But a gripping one that, unbelievably, manages to take us into the mind of the undead.
Simple. Elegant. Perfect.
