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{{Template:Infobox Torchwood|
{{title dab away}}
story name = Countrycide |
{{real world}}
image = |
{{ImageLinkTV}}
series= [[Torchwood]] -<br/>[[List of Torchwood television stories|TV Stories]] |
{{Infobox Story SMW
number= 6 |
|image                = Countrycide main.jpg
enemy= Welsh people |
|series                = ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''
writer= [[Chris Chibnall]] |
|season number        = Series 1 (Torchwood)
director = [[Andy Goddard]] |
|series episode number = 6
producer = [[Richard Stokes]] |
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/torchwood-1-episode-6-countrycide-pink-revisions-05092006.pdf
broadcast date= [[19th November]] [[2006]] |
|main character        = [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Owen Harper|Owen]], [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]], [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]]
previous story = [[Small Worlds]] |
|featuring            =  
next story = [[Greeks Bearing Gifts]] }}
|enemy                 = [[Evan Sherman]]
|setting              = [[Brecon Beacons]], [[2000s]]{{note|Episodes 1-10 of the [[Series 1 (Torchwood)|first series]] of ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'' are set anywhere from [[2006]]-[[2009]] as a result of [[Aliens of London dating controversy|conflicting evidence]] shown in the episodes {{cs|Ghost Machine (TV story)}}, {{cs|Greeks Bearing Gifts (TV story)}}, {{cs|Random Shoes (TV story)}}, {{cs|To the Last Man (TV story)}}, {{cs|Reset (TV story)}}, {{cs|Adrift (TV story)}}, {{cs|Fragments (TV story)}}, {{cs|Exit Wounds (TV story)}}, and {{cs|The New World (TV story)}}. As episode 10, {{cs|Out of Time (TV story)}}, is set at the end of [[December]], this means that episodes 11-13 are almost certainly set the year after episodes 1-10.}}
|writer                = Chris Chibnall
|director             = [[Andy Goddard]]
|producer             = [[Richard Stokes]]
|network              = BBC Three
|broadcast date       = 19 November 2006
|prev                  = Small Worlds (TV story)
|next                  = Greeks Bearing Gifts (TV story)
|clip                  = The harvest - Torchwood - BBC
|clip2                = Under Attack In the Pub Countrycide Torchwood
|clip3                = "Because It Made Me Happy" Countrycide Torchwood
|format                = 1x47-minute episode
}}
'''''Countrycide''''' was the sixth episode in the [[Series 1 (Torchwood)|first series]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''. It was written by [[Chris Chibnall]] and directed by [[Andy Goddard]]. It continued to push the boundaries of an after-watershed timeslot and contained strong graphic elements beyond the family-friendly archetypes of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.


Concerned that the [[Cardiff Rift|space-time rift]] is spreading, [[Torchwood 3|Torchwood]] investigate a series of gruesome deaths in the [[Brecon Beacons]] village of [[Brynblaidd]]. What sort of creature could cause such shocking injuries? Stranded without communications or equipment and isolated from one another, the team confront a terrifying enemy.
In terms of the ongoing ''Torchwood'' narrative, it was important for advancing Gwen's burgeoning sexual fling with Owen, which evolved into a stint of cheating on her lover [[Rhys Williams]]. Of perhaps more long-lasting impact was the fact that it gave a clear indication of Tosh's attraction to Owen, and his diffidence towards her — a theme that would pick up steam in the latter half of [[series 2 (Torchwood)|series 2]] and form the emotional basis of their story arc.


==Synopsis==
== Synopsis ==
The separated Torchwood team is at the mercy of hunters, playing a game of cat and mouse in an old village in the Brecon Beacons.
Concerned that the [[Cardiff Space-Time Rift|space-time rift]] is spreading, [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] investigates a series of gruesome deaths located in a small [[Brynblaidd|village]] in the [[Brecon Beacons]]. What sort of creature could cause such shocking injuries? Stranded without communications or equipment and isolated from one another, the team confronts a terrifying enemy.


==Plot==
== Plot ==
A young woman, Ellie Johnson, drives along a lonely road winding through the Brecon Beacons at night. She spots what appears to be a body in the road and stops, approaching it cautiously with a baseball bat. Discovering it is just a pile of clothes and a football arranged to look like a body, she retreats to her car, locking herself in, but finds her tires flat and her car keys missing. The car remote activates, unlocking the doors, and a hooded figure reaches in and attacks her…
[[Ellie Johnson|A woman]] is on the [[mobile phone|phone]] with her dad when she loses signal. She stops her [[car]] when she sees something resembling a body laid out on the road. Taking with her a [[baseball bat]], she ventured outside to see if he's okay. As she nears the corpse, she realises it's actually a [[football]] in a hoodie. She sees a flash out of the corner of her eye, and runs back to her car. Her car's not starting, her car keys are gone, and her mobile's not working. Someone from the outside unlocks the doors, and begins to pull her out of the vehicle. She screams out of sheer terror.
The Torchwood team drive their Range Rover SUV along the same country road as Owen complains about the countryside. They are investigating the disappearance of 17 people all within a 20-mile radius, with no apparent pattern as to why these people were taken. Gwen wonders if the Rift has spread out this far, and Jack admits that they do not know, especially since its activity is increasing all the time. Jack decides to begin where Ellie Johnson's mobile phone signal gave out, and tells the others to set up camp.
Owen continues complaining about having to rough it as the team sets up their tents, unaware that they are being watched. Gwen tries to lighten the mood by asking everyone who the last person they kissed was. Despite Gwen's warning look, Owen reveals that his last kiss was Gwen (in "Cyberwoman"), raising everyone's eyebrows. Tosh, whose last kiss was with Owen last Christmas, appears jealous and asks for details, but Gwen simply replies that it was "complicated". Jack asks if the last kiss includes non-humans, making the others squirm, and Gwen comments she never knows if Jack is joking. Ianto then breaks the mood by saying that his last kiss was Lisa. Gwen apologises for her insensitivity in bringing the subject up. Owen suggests going for firewood, and Gwen joins him.
As they walk through the woods, Gwen scolds Owen for revealing their kiss, but Owen retorts that he could tell that her sex life with Rhys is unexciting because Rhys is too familiar. Owen and she, on the other hand, are not cosy, which is why the sex would be amazing, and why Gwen denies their mutual attraction. Although angry, the two nearly get into a clinch before she spots a hooded figure watching them through the trees. They pull their pistols, but the figure gets away. Gwen then sees something on the ground, covered with canvas. It is a body, stripped of its skin and internal organs.
The team gathers around the carcass as Owen does his examination. He concludes that it is a male corpse, and was killed elsewhere before being dumped at that spot. As Jack notes that this does not look like the work of the Weevils, they hear the sound of the SUV starting up. By the time they reach the camp site, they see the SUV being driven away, wrecking their tents as it does so. Ianto tracks the SUV's signal to a small village three and a half miles west. Realising that the carcass was a decoy, and despite suspecting a trap waiting for them, Jack decides to go anyway.
The team come across a village with no apparent signs of life. Jack sends Tosh and Ianto to look for the SUV while the rest investigate the pub, which they find empty. Going into the back kitchen, Gwen finds another body, this one only partially stripped of flesh. Jack and Gwen go on to investigate the next house, finding another body. Gwen begins to get scared, and Jack suggests they go on to the other houses. Meanwhile, Tosh and Ianto come across a locked building, behind which they find game animals hanging on the side of the building and the trees. Ianto points out that the SUV is further up the hill, but turns back to find Tosh gone. When he searches for her, a hooded figure pushes him to the ground.
The next house is locked, and when Gwen yanks the door open, a shotgun blast catches her in the side. Jack rushes in to discover a frightened young man, Kieran, wielding the shotgun. Kieran says that he thought "they" had come back for him but despite Jack's questions, does not elaborate. Owen examines Gwen's wound and finds that, luckily, most of the pellets are lodged near the surface. Kieran babbles that "they" are not human, and are too strong to fight; the only way is to barricade the door. While Owen extracts the pellets, he worries about Tosh and Ianto, but Jack says they can take care of themselves — the four of them will make their stand in the pub.
Tosh and Ianto are locked in an underground room, with chains and hooks hanging from the walls. Tosh finds multiple pairs of shoes and empty clothes tucked into a corner. She then spies a refrigerator, and to her horror, finds that it contains human body parts. The two realise that they are not captives: they are food.
Jack and Owen barricade the doors of the pub while Gwen catalogues what they know about the killings. Owen still believes that the Rift has dumped some kind of alien psychopaths in the countryside. The lights go out as whatever is out there starts to try the doors. The door to the cellar opens, and Jack fires into the darkness. At the same time, Kieran exchanges gunfire with someone coming through the doors. As the others take cover from the gunfire, Kieran is dragged away. Despite Jack's protestations, Gwen insists on going after the others, and Owen follows. Jack goes to the cellar to see who he shot.
A middle-aged woman, Helen, comes through the reinforced door, holding a rifle on Tosh and Ianto. Appearing frightened, she asks about their well-being, and they tell Helen about the other three in the village. Apologising that she cannot help them, she says that she has been sent to collect the two, adding that no one is safe — every ten years, the "Harvest" takes them. Left with no choice, they follow her.
Jack finds a masked, wounded man wearing a hooded raincoat, and interrogates him. Martin laughs at Jack for his ignorance, but Jack warns him that in the past, he was a torturer. Jack applies pressure to Martin's wound, and he begins to talk. Meanwhile, Gwen and Owen encounter Huw, a policeman, who tells them there is a village meeting tonight, which is why he is here. The two spot a light, and head towards it, asking Huw to come along.
Tosh and Ianto are taken into a kitchen where they see body parts on the tables and plastic-wrapped torsos hanging from the ceiling. Tosh asks Helen if these "creatures" look like humans, and a man steps forward, asking, "How else're we gonna look?" As Helen laughs, the two now realise that the creatures are all too human: they are cannibals. The man, Evan, cuffs the two, and reveals that he has also caught Kieran. Ianto head butts Evan, allowing Tosh to escape the house into the woods. Evan pursues her and finally catches up. As he starts to choke the life out of her, Owen appears, holding a gun on Evan. However, Evan seems unperturbed and Huw reveals that he is Evan's nephew. The three Torchwood officers are captured and led back to the house. They find the "vanished" villagers all there and realise that the whole village is involved. Owen describes them as "sick fuckers."
Just as Evan is about to bleed Ianto, Jack crashes through the door with a tractor. He emerges with a shotgun and shoots and disables all of the villagers. Jack is about to execute Evan when Gwen tells him not to do it, because she needs to know the reason why the villagers have done this. Jack relents.
In the pub, Evan explains that the cannibalism is a tradition. Once every decade, they target travellers and butcher them. Gwen wants to understand why they do this, but Evan scoffs at her. However, he offers to tell her something if he can whisper it. She agrees, and he whispers in her ear, "'Cause it made me happy." Jack takes Evan outside to the waiting police, who are taking the rest of the village into custody. Gwen walks off, deeply shaken.
Later, Gwen stands in a bedroom wearing only a man's shirt. She says aloud that she had plans for a normal life, but then she met Torchwood. Her experiences with them have changed how she sees the world, but she cannot share it with anyone. Owen steps forward, undressed, telling her that she can, now, and they kiss passionately.


==Cast==
The [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] team responds to reports of 17 other people missing in the same 20-mile radius in the [[Brecon Beacons]], using the last mobile phone signal from the last disappearance as their starting point.
*[[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]  
[[File:CampsiteCountrycide.jpg|thumb|left|Torchwood's campsite]]
*[[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]  
After stopping at a rural [[hamburger]] stand, to which Tosh denies a burger, due to fears of hepatitis, they begin to [[Camping|set up camp]]. During friendly chatter, [[Owen Harper|Owen]] reveals that his last [[kiss]] was with [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], prompting the others to get more details. Owen and Gwen quickly go off to get [[Wood|firewood]], Gwen scolding Owen for revealing the kiss, when they suddenly see two hooded figures through the [[tree]]s. They try to chase them, but instead find a rotting corpse, almost stripped to the bone. As the team investigates it to determine the cause of death, they hear [[Torchwood SUV|their SUV]] start and drive off without the team. [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]] tracks the vehicle to a nearby [[Brynblaidd|village]]; [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] believes that the corpse was a lure to make them come to the village, and warns the team to be alert as they split up to investigate.
*[[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]  
*[[Toshiko Sato]] - [[Naoko Mori]]
*[[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]


==Crew==
Jack, Gwen and Owen search the [[pub]] and nearby homes, only to find two further corpses, both similar to the one in the woods. Other than that, the homes are deserted, save for one young man named [[Kieran (Countrycide)|Kieran]] who accidentally shoots and wounds Gwen with a [[Firearm|shotgun]], believing "they" had come back for him.
''to be added''


==References==
Jack tries to calm Kieran down, but the man insists the only way to protect themselves is to barricade themselves in a building. Jack orders his group to the pub to create a defensive position while Owen tends to Gwen's wound. They learn from Kieran more about the victims, still unsure if they are dealing with [[alien]]s from the [[Cardiff Rift|Rift]]. Suddenly, though, as they discuss possibilities, the lights go out and movement comes from both outside the pub and from within the pub's [[cellar]]. The diversion prevents them from keeping Kieran from being dragged away, and Gwen and Owen try to follow against Jack's orders. Jack stays behind to interrogate [[Martin (Countrycide)|Martin]], the man he shot from the cellars. Gwen and Owen come across a [[policeman]] named [[Huw (Countrycide)|Huw]], who says that he is there for the town meeting that night. The man directs the two towards one of the lit buildings in the village.
''to be added''


==Story Notes==
Meanwhile, [[Toshiko Sato|Toshiko]] and Ianto attempt to find the SUV, but are both quickly captured. They awake in a cellar full of old clothes, [[shoe]]s and a refrigerator full of human body parts; Toshiko realises they are to be food for their captors. The cellar door opens, and a scared woman named [[Helen Sherman|Helen]] enters the room holding a shotgun to the two, learns from them of the other Torchwood members, and then tells them that she cannot help them; she has been asked to collect the two for the "Harvest" which happens every ten years. They are taken into a kitchen filled with rotting body parts and corpses. Toshiko quickly realises that Helen is acting, and that she and others are [[Brynblaidd cannibal|cannibals]]. Her husband [[Evan Sherman|Evan]] begins to handcuff them to be prepared for butchering. Ianto headbutts Evan, allowing Toshiko to escape, pursued by Evan. Evan catches up to Toshiko and starts strangling her, but before he can choke her to death, Owen and Gwen, along with Huw, show up to stop him. Evan looks unconcerned as Huw reveals himself to be Evan's nephew, and the two lead the three Torchwood members back to the village at gunpoint, where all the villagers are waiting.
''to be added''
[[File:Cause it made me happy.jpg|thumb|"'Cause it made me happy."]]
Just before Ianto is cut open and [[blood|bled]], Jack, having learned of the villager's intent from Martin, bursts through the building on a [[tractor]], and disables the assembled villagers. They spare Evan's life to try to learn the truth: that every ten years, the village target travellers passing through the area, and butcher them. When Gwen demands to know why, Evan simply whispers to her, "'Cause it made me happy." which Gwen finds to be highly disturbing. The surviving villagers are taken into custody by the police.


===Ratings===
After returning to [[Cardiff]], Gwen looks outside the windows of Owen's [[flat]] and thinks about how she cannot share any of her Torchwood experiences with anyone, including her boyfriend [[Rhys Williams|Rhys]]. Owen then appears behind her, and reassures Gwen that she can talk to him. They kiss, and begin a long-lasting [[sex]]ual relationship.
''to be added''


===Myths===
== Cast ==
''to be added''
* [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
* [[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
* [[Toshiko Sato]] - [[Naoko Mori]]
* [[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
* [[Rhys Williams]] - [[Kai Owen]]
* [[Evan Sherman]] - [[Owen Teale]]
* [[Helen Sherman]] - [[Maxine Evans]]
* [[Kieran (Countrycide)|Kieran]] - [[Callum Gallaghan]]
* [[Huw (Countrycide)|Huw]] - [[Rhys Op Trefor]]
* [[Ellie Johnson|Ellie]] - [[Emily Bowker]]
* [[Martin (Countrycide)|Martin]] - [[Robert Barton]]


===Location Filming===
== Crew ==
''to be added''
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===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
== Worldbuilding ==
''to be added''
=== Species ===
* [[Weevil]]s don't strip their victims down to a [[carcass]].
* Jack says [[human]]s are the only [[species]] in the [[universe]] to go [[camping]].


==Continuity==
=== Food and beverages ===
''to be added''
* Toshiko declines a [[hamburger]], citing concerns about [[hepatitis]].


==DVD Releases==
=== Popular culture ===
''to be added''
* ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre]]'' is mentioned.
* The song "[[Monster (song)|Monster]]" by [[the Automatic]] can be heard playing on [[Ellie Johnson|Ellie]]'s [[car]] [[radio]].


==See Also==
== Story notes ==
''to be added''
* The episode was repeated on [[BBC Two]], three days later at 9:00pm on Wednesday [[22 November (releases)|22 November]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]].
* This episode is the first episode of Torchwood to be rated 18 by the {{w|Irish Film Classification Office}}, the other being ''[[Random Shoes (TV story)|Random Shoes]]''.
* The town in which the story is set, [[Brynblaidd]], is not actually named in the narrative. However, it was named in the BBC's original description of the episode, and therefore has appeared in virtually all subsequent TV listings, worldwide.
* This episode featured the premiere of "Captain Jack's Theme", which plays during the moment he ploughs a tractor into the barn where his teammates are held captive and starts shooting at the cannibals. An extra in the Series 2 disc set shows [[Murray Gold]] found his inspiration to compose the theme out of this scene by bashing out notes on his piano keyboard to the tune of, "here he comes in a ruddy-great tractor". The onomatopoetic structure of Captain Jack's theme made it a popular hit among the musical scores in the first two ''Torchwood'' series.
** Additionally, a musical track appropriated titled "Tractor Attack" debuts in the ''[[Series 3 (Torchwood)|Children of Earth]]'' series, with parts of Captain Jack's Theme mixed into the musical score. The titles refers back to the tractor scene and Foster's inspiration.
* This episode contains no obvious CGI elements, though there was at least one shot where the production team needed to black out the Cardiff cityscape in the background.
* This is the first episode in which no scenes are set in the [[Torchwood Hub]]. This would not happen again until ''[[Children of Earth: Day Two (TV story)|Children of Earth: Day Two]]'', the episode after the Hub's destruction.
* The cast named this as their favorite episode because they're "sick people" in the words of [[Eve Myles]] and the gruesome, horror film like content appealed to them.
* Ianto's head wound was not make-up, but the result of [[Gareth David-Lloyd]] cracking his head open when the whole cast got very drunk the night before filming. In fact, the make-up artist tried and failed to cover up the cut, so they ended up just showing him get hit in the head instead.


==External Links==
=== Ratings ===
''to be added''
* 1.22 million viewers<ref>[https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-10/ BARB Ratings - October, 2006]</ref>


{{TV stub}}
=== Filming locations ===
* [[South Wales Caving Club]]


[[Category:Torchwood episodes]]
=== Broadcasts ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Date
!Time
!Channel
!class="unsortable"|Notes
|-
|[[Sunday]] [[19 November (releases)|19 November]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]
|22:00
|[[BBC Three]]
|First broadcast.
|-
|[[Wednesday]] [[22 November (releases)|22 November]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]
|21:00
|[[BBC Two England]]
|
|-
|[[Monday]] [[12 February (releases)|12 February]] [[2007 (releases)|2007]]
|01:55
|[[BBC Three]]
|
|-
|[[Friday]] [[19 October (releases)|19 October]] [[2007 (releases)|2007]]
|21:00
|[[BBC Three]]
|
|-
|[[Saturday]] [[20 October (releases)|20 October]] [[2007 (releases)|2007]]
|02:40
|[[BBC Three]]
|
|-
|[[Thursday]] [[27 May (releases)|27 May]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]]
|23:00
|[[BBC HD]]
|
|}
 
=== Production errors ===
{{Torchwood discontinuity}}
* When [[Ellie Johnson]] is attacked, the tyres on her car are punctured, but at the end of the scene the tyres are perfectly normal.
 
== Continuity ==
* Owen mentions his last kiss was with Gwen. Ianto also mentions his last kiss was with [[Lisa Hallett]] as displayed in [[TV]]: {{cs|Cyberwoman (TV story)}}.
* Tosh says there isn't a prison cell she can't break out of. She was previously locked in a [[UNIT]] cell, and only got out when Jack recruited her as later seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|Fragments (TV story)}}.
 
== Home video releases ==
[[File:TWS1Part2.jpg|thumb|Series one, part two DVD cover]]
 
=== DVD releases ===
* This episode was first released on DVD, with three other episodes entitled ''Torchwood: Series 1, part 2'' on [[26 February (releases)|26 February]] [[2007 (releases)|2007]].
* It was later released in ''Torchwood: The Complete First Series'' on [[19 November (releases)|19 November]] 2007.
* It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)
 
=== Blu-ray releases ===
* Released in the US with the rest of Series 1 as a Complete First Season set on 16 September 2008.
 
* It was released in the Series 1-3 Blu-ray boxset on 26 October 2009 in the UK. The US release was on 19 July 2011.
* It was also released in the Series 1-4 Blu-ray boxset. (Region 2 release: [[14 November (releases)|14 November]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]])
 
== External links ==
{{dwrefguide|torchwood_06.htm|Countrycide}}
* {{briefhistory|torchwood/2006f.html|Countrycide}}
* {{locguide|countrycide|Countrycide}}
* {{whoniverse|tw1_06|Countrycide}}
 
== Footnotes ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}
 
{{TWTV}}
{{TitleSort}}
 
[[Category:Torchwood television stories]]
[[Category:2006 television stories]]
[[Category:Series 1 (Torchwood) stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in Wales]]
[[Category:Stories set in Wales]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2007]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 2000s]]
 
[[fr:Countrycide]]
[[he:כפר (סיפור טלוויזיה)]]
[[ru:Бойня в деревне]]

Latest revision as of 03:10, 13 March 2024

RealWorld.png

Countrycide was the sixth episode in the first series of Torchwood. It was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Andy Goddard. It continued to push the boundaries of an after-watershed timeslot and contained strong graphic elements beyond the family-friendly archetypes of Doctor Who.

In terms of the ongoing Torchwood narrative, it was important for advancing Gwen's burgeoning sexual fling with Owen, which evolved into a stint of cheating on her lover Rhys Williams. Of perhaps more long-lasting impact was the fact that it gave a clear indication of Tosh's attraction to Owen, and his diffidence towards her — a theme that would pick up steam in the latter half of series 2 and form the emotional basis of their story arc.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

Concerned that the space-time rift is spreading, Torchwood investigates a series of gruesome deaths located in a small village in the Brecon Beacons. What sort of creature could cause such shocking injuries? Stranded without communications or equipment and isolated from one another, the team confronts a terrifying enemy.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

A woman is on the phone with her dad when she loses signal. She stops her car when she sees something resembling a body laid out on the road. Taking with her a baseball bat, she ventured outside to see if he's okay. As she nears the corpse, she realises it's actually a football in a hoodie. She sees a flash out of the corner of her eye, and runs back to her car. Her car's not starting, her car keys are gone, and her mobile's not working. Someone from the outside unlocks the doors, and begins to pull her out of the vehicle. She screams out of sheer terror.

The Torchwood team responds to reports of 17 other people missing in the same 20-mile radius in the Brecon Beacons, using the last mobile phone signal from the last disappearance as their starting point.

Torchwood's campsite

After stopping at a rural hamburger stand, to which Tosh denies a burger, due to fears of hepatitis, they begin to set up camp. During friendly chatter, Owen reveals that his last kiss was with Gwen, prompting the others to get more details. Owen and Gwen quickly go off to get firewood, Gwen scolding Owen for revealing the kiss, when they suddenly see two hooded figures through the trees. They try to chase them, but instead find a rotting corpse, almost stripped to the bone. As the team investigates it to determine the cause of death, they hear their SUV start and drive off without the team. Ianto tracks the vehicle to a nearby village; Jack believes that the corpse was a lure to make them come to the village, and warns the team to be alert as they split up to investigate.

Jack, Gwen and Owen search the pub and nearby homes, only to find two further corpses, both similar to the one in the woods. Other than that, the homes are deserted, save for one young man named Kieran who accidentally shoots and wounds Gwen with a shotgun, believing "they" had come back for him.

Jack tries to calm Kieran down, but the man insists the only way to protect themselves is to barricade themselves in a building. Jack orders his group to the pub to create a defensive position while Owen tends to Gwen's wound. They learn from Kieran more about the victims, still unsure if they are dealing with aliens from the Rift. Suddenly, though, as they discuss possibilities, the lights go out and movement comes from both outside the pub and from within the pub's cellar. The diversion prevents them from keeping Kieran from being dragged away, and Gwen and Owen try to follow against Jack's orders. Jack stays behind to interrogate Martin, the man he shot from the cellars. Gwen and Owen come across a policeman named Huw, who says that he is there for the town meeting that night. The man directs the two towards one of the lit buildings in the village.

Meanwhile, Toshiko and Ianto attempt to find the SUV, but are both quickly captured. They awake in a cellar full of old clothes, shoes and a refrigerator full of human body parts; Toshiko realises they are to be food for their captors. The cellar door opens, and a scared woman named Helen enters the room holding a shotgun to the two, learns from them of the other Torchwood members, and then tells them that she cannot help them; she has been asked to collect the two for the "Harvest" which happens every ten years. They are taken into a kitchen filled with rotting body parts and corpses. Toshiko quickly realises that Helen is acting, and that she and others are cannibals. Her husband Evan begins to handcuff them to be prepared for butchering. Ianto headbutts Evan, allowing Toshiko to escape, pursued by Evan. Evan catches up to Toshiko and starts strangling her, but before he can choke her to death, Owen and Gwen, along with Huw, show up to stop him. Evan looks unconcerned as Huw reveals himself to be Evan's nephew, and the two lead the three Torchwood members back to the village at gunpoint, where all the villagers are waiting.

"'Cause it made me happy."

Just before Ianto is cut open and bled, Jack, having learned of the villager's intent from Martin, bursts through the building on a tractor, and disables the assembled villagers. They spare Evan's life to try to learn the truth: that every ten years, the village target travellers passing through the area, and butcher them. When Gwen demands to know why, Evan simply whispers to her, "'Cause it made me happy." which Gwen finds to be highly disturbing. The surviving villagers are taken into custody by the police.

After returning to Cardiff, Gwen looks outside the windows of Owen's flat and thinks about how she cannot share any of her Torchwood experiences with anyone, including her boyfriend Rhys. Owen then appears behind her, and reassures Gwen that she can talk to him. They kiss, and begin a long-lasting sexual relationship.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

Food and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

Popular culture[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The episode was repeated on BBC Two, three days later at 9:00pm on Wednesday 22 November 2006.
  • This episode is the first episode of Torchwood to be rated 18 by the Irish Film Classification Office, the other being Random Shoes.
  • The town in which the story is set, Brynblaidd, is not actually named in the narrative. However, it was named in the BBC's original description of the episode, and therefore has appeared in virtually all subsequent TV listings, worldwide.
  • This episode featured the premiere of "Captain Jack's Theme", which plays during the moment he ploughs a tractor into the barn where his teammates are held captive and starts shooting at the cannibals. An extra in the Series 2 disc set shows Murray Gold found his inspiration to compose the theme out of this scene by bashing out notes on his piano keyboard to the tune of, "here he comes in a ruddy-great tractor". The onomatopoetic structure of Captain Jack's theme made it a popular hit among the musical scores in the first two Torchwood series.
    • Additionally, a musical track appropriated titled "Tractor Attack" debuts in the Children of Earth series, with parts of Captain Jack's Theme mixed into the musical score. The titles refers back to the tractor scene and Foster's inspiration.
  • This episode contains no obvious CGI elements, though there was at least one shot where the production team needed to black out the Cardiff cityscape in the background.
  • This is the first episode in which no scenes are set in the Torchwood Hub. This would not happen again until Children of Earth: Day Two, the episode after the Hub's destruction.
  • The cast named this as their favorite episode because they're "sick people" in the words of Eve Myles and the gruesome, horror film like content appealed to them.
  • Ianto's head wound was not make-up, but the result of Gareth David-Lloyd cracking his head open when the whole cast got very drunk the night before filming. In fact, the make-up artist tried and failed to cover up the cut, so they ended up just showing him get hit in the head instead.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 1.22 million viewers[1]

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Broadcasts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Date Time Channel Notes
Sunday 19 November 2006 22:00 BBC Three First broadcast.
Wednesday 22 November 2006 21:00 BBC Two England
Monday 12 February 2007 01:55 BBC Three
Friday 19 October 2007 21:00 BBC Three
Saturday 20 October 2007 02:40 BBC Three
Thursday 27 May 2010 23:00 BBC HD

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • When Ellie Johnson is attacked, the tyres on her car are punctured, but at the end of the scene the tyres are perfectly normal.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Owen mentions his last kiss was with Gwen. Ianto also mentions his last kiss was with Lisa Hallett as displayed in TV: Cyberwoman [+]Loading...["Cyberwoman (TV story)"].
  • Tosh says there isn't a prison cell she can't break out of. She was previously locked in a UNIT cell, and only got out when Jack recruited her as later seen in TV: Fragments [+]Loading...["Fragments (TV story)"].

Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series one, part two DVD cover

DVD releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This episode was first released on DVD, with three other episodes entitled Torchwood: Series 1, part 2 on 26 February 2007.
  • It was later released in Torchwood: The Complete First Series on 19 November 2007.
  • It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)

Blu-ray releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Released in the US with the rest of Series 1 as a Complete First Season set on 16 September 2008.
  • It was released in the Series 1-3 Blu-ray boxset on 26 October 2009 in the UK. The US release was on 19 July 2011.
  • It was also released in the Series 1-4 Blu-ray boxset. (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011)

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ Episodes 1-10 of the first series of Torchwood are set anywhere from 2006-2009 as a result of conflicting evidence shown in the episodes Ghost Machine [+]Loading...["Ghost Machine (TV story)"], Greeks Bearing Gifts [+]Loading...["Greeks Bearing Gifts (TV story)"], Random Shoes [+]Loading...["Random Shoes (TV story)"], To the Last Man [+]Loading...["To the Last Man (TV story)"], Reset [+]Loading...["Reset (TV story)"], Adrift [+]Loading...["Adrift (TV story)"], Fragments [+]Loading...["Fragments (TV story)"], Exit Wounds [+]Loading...["Exit Wounds (TV story)"], and The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"]. As episode 10, Out of Time [+]Loading...["Out of Time (TV story)"], is set at the end of December, this means that episodes 11-13 are almost certainly set the year after episodes 1-10.

Citations[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ BARB Ratings - October, 2006
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Torchwood television stories
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Children of Earth: Day One • Day Two • Day Three • Day Four • Day Five
Series 4
Stories listed here are only those that have been officially licensed by the BBC.
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