Four near-death experiences, as Tosh, Owen, Jack and Ianto recall how they first joined Torchwood.
Length 48’58”
First Transmitted
In unedited form at 10:30pm on Friday 28th March 2008, BBC Three.
In edited form at 7pm on Thursday 3rd April 2008, BBC Two.
Guest Cast
Kai Owen (Rhys Williams); Amy Manson (Alice Guppy); Heather Craney (Emily Holroyd); Paul Kasey (Blowfish/Weevil); Skye Bennett (Little Girl); Julian Lewis Jones (Alex); Simon Shackleton (Bob); Gareth Jones (Security Guard); Claire Clifford (Milton); Noriko Aida (Toshiko’s Mother); Andrea Lowe (Katie); Richard Lloyd-King (Doctor); Catherine Morris (Nurse); Selva Rasalingham (Psychiatrist)
Writer Chris Chibnall
Director Jonathan Fox Bassett
Setting
The late 19th century, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2004. The framing story takes place 21 months after the battle of Canary Wharf (which is generally considered to be early 2007, several months after the events of The Christmas Invasion), placing this very late 2008.
Did You Spot?
Jack battles a blowfish similar to that seen in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and implies he’s a time traveler. The tarot reader from Dead Man Walking seems to be back. This is the first time the Whoniverse has travelled back to New Year’s Eve 1999 since the Paul McGann movie made in 1996. Jack implies he was present when the dinosaurs were wiped out – events we saw in the Doctor Who story Earthshock. Twice during Owen’s flashback we hear a slow, light version of the music used throughout A Day in the Death, obviously now being used to highlight the most tumultuous moments in his life.
Twisted Reality
Actual footage from New Years Eve 1999 is seen onscreen. The Ministry of Defence does not have a base at Lodmoor.
Love is in the Air
Jack used to date a guy with no mouth. The Torchwood ladies of the 19th century seem to be having a relationship. George the security guard at the MoD flirts with Tosh. Jack has 51st century pheromones, which explains a lot. Ianto flirts openly with Jack. Owen was engaged to Katie and seems to have been very much in love with her.
If It’s Alien, It’s Ours
Jack used to date a guy with no mouth. The Torchwood ladies of the 19th century seem to be having a relationship. George the security guard at the MoD flirts with Tosh. Jack has 51st century pheromones, which explains a lot. Ianto flirts openly with Jack. Owen was engaged to Katie and seems to have been very much in love with her.
Captain Jack’s Large Weapon
The team are all carrying handguns at the start of the episode. The explosive devices, planted by some unknown entity, certainly seemed to be weapons. The 19th century women electrocute and shoot Jack.
Torchwood Shop: Now Open for Business
We see documents other paper paraphanalia with the Torchwood logo in the 19th century setting.
Cymru am Byth
The Welsh word for ‘push’ can be seen on a door in the MoD.
To Live and Die in Cardiff
The blowfish is killed by Torchwood, as is Jack twice. Jack’s predecessor Alex kills the Torchwood team (all four of them, himself included) on New Year’s Eve 1999 after he has some sort of premonition. Jack also dies in the building explosion. Three Doctors are killed while operating on Katie Russell, including Jim Garrett – Katie herself also dies in the incident.
Quotables
Toshiko: “Who are you?”
Jack: “Nobody – I don’t exist. And for a man with my charisma, that’s quite an achievement.”
Toshiko: “Are you a laywer?”
Jack: “Do I look like a lawyer?”
Jack: “Look, any conversation between us, no matter what the subject is over, finished, done…forever! I’m getting back behind the wheel of that car, and if you’re still standing in the road, I’m gonna drive through you.”
Ianto: “So you’re not going to help me catch this pterodactyl then?”
Ianto: “Ok, THAT is the only special equipment you’ve got?”
Jack: “Yeah, ‘cause I keep dinosaur meds in the back of the SUV.”
Ianto: “Torchwood London would’ve.”
Weren’t You In?
Amy Manson was last seen in an episode of Doctors (2008) and Heather Craney in an episode of Holby City (2007) – neither had a lengthy list of credits before this. Julian Lewis Jones was best known for a recurring role in Where the Heart Is (2002-5), which also featured Andrea Lowe (2006) while Simon Shackleton has a collection of bit-parts to his name, including The Bill (2000) and The Whistleblowers (2007). Claire Clifford is arguably the episode’s biggest name, with 43 largely televised credits, beginning with Angels (1976) and including Emmerdale Farm (1986), Grange Hill (1997), Drop the Dead Donkey (1997) and Casualty (2004).
Unanswered Questions
Why do Torchwood practice torture tactics? Why were there only two employees working at Torchwood? How long has Jack known that the rift goes two ways? Back in the 19th century, Torchwood is still under the assumption that the rift only goes one way. Is the tarot reader a girl of extraordinarily long life, or perhaps an ancestor of the girl we saw in Dead Man Walking? Why is Jack on the Tarot card? When did UNIT become all Guantanamo Bay? Judging by her increasing wounds during her stay with them, they’ve become much more brutal since the Pertwee era. It now seems that Tosh was working for Torchwood back in 2006, during Aliens of London – given her relationship with the MoD and UNIT (who, combined, were taking charge of the Slitheen invasion) does this mean that Captain Jack has that much power to have put her in that position, or did he sneak her in somehow? What kind of favour could UNIT owe Jack? If Ianto didn’t immediately transfer from Torchwood London to Cardiff, where was he hiding Lisa during this time? Why is Jack so resistant to letting Ianto work for Torchwood? Where did the pterodactyl come from? Why would Torchwood London have dinosaur meds? How much did pheromones change over the centuries? How is Jack so prepared to deal with Owen that he has chloroform on him? Why did Jack leave Owen to be dealt with by the psychiatric ward? It’s a bit cruel, considering he could have taken him out with him then and there.
Fuck Ups
The Welsh word for ‘push’ can be seen on doors during scenes supposedly set in Lodmoor, Dorset. Tosh’s laptop seems to date from far more recently than 2003, even if she does have a ridiculously low screen resolution set on it. UNIT storm the terrorist’s hideout without any kind of ear protection. Jack says UNIT are using the Official Secrets Act to keep Tosh held without trial – whilst it’s true that the 1989 Act makes it a criminal offence to disclose official information, it says nothing about overriding basic human rights. We know that Tosh was 23 when she joined Torchwood, but Greeks Bearing Gifts establishes her birthdate as being 1975, putting her at 30 during the flashbacks. When Jack is reciting Ianto’s life history, he tells Jack that Lisa is deceased – it’s very possible that he was so desperate to get into Torchwood to save Lisa, but that doesn’t explain how he kept her alive or how he was able to transport a cyber conversion machine into the base without anyone noticing. Did that sort of thing fit in his flat? Why doesn’t Owen ask for an autopsy? The Doctor’s hand seems to be present during Owen’s flashback to 2004, even though it didn’t get cut off until Christmas 2006. Owen walks out from near-destruction, which killed one, broke another’s arm, and dislocated another’s shoulder, without a scratch. Captain John’s accent is horribly inconsistent.
Torchwood: Declassified Episode 2.12
Broadcast BBC Two, Thursday 3rd April, 7:50pm, immediately after the edited version of the main episode.
(writeup to follow)
Site Review by Arthur Penn
I once nearly drowned. True story, this. One minute I was having a swim just off the coast of England, the next I was swallowing what felt like gallons of water. My life flashed before my eyes – but instead of the usual flashbacks of my first steps, school and my first kiss, my TV-obsessed brain remembered all the hours wasted watching near-death-experience and origin episodes of my favourite shows.
And on that day, I vowed to make more of my life (it did’t last long).
It’s true – origin stories leave me cold (any good writer should be able to weave enough hints about the past to satisfy us – we do not need to see it!), as do near-death-flashback-episodes. As do most things written by Chris Chibnall (until last week, that is). Not a great combination for Fragments then. And yet this truly has been the unexpected gem of the season. Allow me to elaborate:
Jack’s story
Oh what wonderful fun. The Evil Lesbians of Doom, Jack at his flirtatious and fun best (oh we still remember doom-laden Jack last year) and even some unexpected later flashbacks to 1999 all add up to a cracking segment. Completely flimsy, irrelevant and would probably be a terrible 50-minutes, but at it’s length here it’s a perfect introduction to the episode.
Tosh’s story
There’s times when it’s easy to forget what an amazing actress they have playing Toshiko Sato. Often wasted, Mori comes to the fore here in a sequence which is often represented by solo performance (the passage-of-time in UNIT’s cell is gorgeously directed and her eyes say so much) or a two-hander (an unforgettable scene opposite Barrowman). The only disappointment is that this has taken so long – the only time in the past that Mori has had the chance to work apart from the team was the diabolical Greeks last season. This proves she could be the highlight of the show, given the right material.
Ianto’s story
Perhaps the only disappointment. Gareth is watchable as ever, charismatic and playing up to Barrowman strongly… but the plot is just a little too non-existent. The problem here is that we’ve already had the origin episode for Ianto, of sorts… Remember Cyberwoman? Chibnall obviously doesn’t as this is largely filling in the blanks there, which just isn’t that interesting. The attempts to retrospectively add a relationship between Ianto and Jack back when there really wasn’t one just grates and the fun with the pterodactyl… well, isn’t. There’s nothing especially wrong with this part of the story, but there’s nothing especially right either and compared to the other three quarters could easily have been lost…
Owen’s story
I didn’t want to cry. Not for Owen. Especially when it became clear they were going down the all-too-obvious path of presenting the man wounded into his current persona. Needless to say, I cried. Lots. Burn Gorman is now officially My Favourite Actor In Anything Ever, and Andrea Lowe shines not only out of this episode, but out of the season as a whole – possibly the only guest star this year that’s inspired me to find more of their work. The (suspected) Alzheimer’s is dealt with sensitively, subtly and believably, the soundtrack is sublime and Burn Gorman made me cry (did I say that already?)
Overall, what should have been the worst episode this year has turned out to be the best, and most deserving of repeated watching. About a close to perfection as Torchwood gets, and a testament to the skills of Chris Chibnall, John Barrowman, Naoko Mori and Burn Gorman. Such a shame that three of these people have just one episode left…
