The Gathering (TV story): Difference between revisions

{{Infobox Story

|main character        = [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Rhys Williams|Rhys]], [[Rex Matheson|Rex]], [[Esther Drummond|Esther]]

|featuring            = Oswald Danes

|featuring2            = Jilly Kitzinger

|featuring4            = Mary Cooper

|featuring5            = Anwen Williams

|enemy                = [[The Three Families]]

|writer                = [[John Fay]]

|broadcast date        = [[2 September (releases)|2 September]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]] (Starz)<br/>[[8 September (releases)|8 September]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]] {BBC One)

|network              = [[BBC One]], [[Starz]]

|clip                  =  

|clip2                =  

|clip3                = The Gathering - Torchwood Miracle Day - BBC One

|epcount = 1|format = 1x55 minute episode<br/>9th in a ten-part story}}{{you may|The Gathering (audio story)|n1=the Big Finish audio story of the same name}}

'''''The Gathering''''' was the ninth episode of [[Series 4 (Torchwood)|Series 4]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''. It was written by [[John Fay]], directed by [[Guy Ferland]] and featured [[John Barrowman]] as [[Jack Harkness]], [[Eve Myles]] as [[Gwen Cooper]], [[Kai Owen]] as [[Rhys Williams]], [[Mekhi Phifer]] as [[Rex Matheson]] and [[Alexa Havins]] as [[Esther Drummond]].

 

 

== Synopsis ==

Two months have elapsed. Back at [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] headquarters, [[Rex Matheson|Rex]] is making progress trying to track down [[the Three Families]]. References to them are few and far between but he soon begins to think that there is a mole in the CIA. After her deportation back to the [[United Kingdom|UK]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] has been working at keeping [[Geraint Cooper|her father]] hidden from the government agents responsible for rounding up all [[Categories of life|Category 1s]]. She has taken to stealing drug supplies from the local pharmacies, knowing she is being watched. Her and Rhys ensure others in the neighbourhood are able to use the pain killers to help their loved ones too.

 

 

Meanwhile, Rex is back working for the CIA, doing everything he can on the inside to uncover the families bloodline. He learns from his superior, Shapiro, that cancer cells have become mortal, so he has resumed his old smoking habit since the risk of death has dropped dramatically. Eventually, he finds an old tale about a man who can't die. He theorises the man we inspired by seeing Jack die and that a family member was later killed. He informs the staff, who confirm the knife is still in the archives, meaning they can trace the blood on the knife to find the family's roots. [[Charlotte Wills]] offers to take the lead, which Rex agrees to. However, she comes back to Rex and Shapiro with no match. However, Rex is not ready to give up on it and insists Charlotte let him look into it on his own, which she hesitantly accepts.

At home, the police do a surprise search on Gwen's house, looking for his father. Gwen feigns her father was taken and burned, with them unable to say goodbye. Despite their efforts, the police check the basement. However, because of Rhys creating a separate room, the police conclude Geraint is not present and leave, the investigator insisting they will return.

Oswald Danes, also on the run, eventually locates Gwen's home. He sneaks in as a delivery man. Gwen initially does not recognise him until her picks up [[Anwen Williams|Anwen]]. She takes her daughter back as Oswald rambles about why he is there. Enraged, Gwen attacks him with a frying pan. Rhys stops her, despite realising who Oswald is. Gwen goes to strike again but Rhys stops her, citing she can't go to jail for murder. Oswald thanks him but Rhys reveals he will kill him instead, rounding on him, daring Oswald to explain why he there before he tells everyone where he is. Oswald says he needs Jack Harkness. He reveals he knows Jack came to her weeks earlier, Gwen helping secure him and Esther in Scotland.

Understanding such, Gwen covertly informs Jack, who drives down. A man across the street notes Gwen's activity. Gwen phones him, confusing the man. Jack appears behind him, holding him at gunpoint. He reveals they have met before and offers him a choice: take [[retcon]] and forget meeting Jack, or be shot and left a Category 1. The man chooses the latter, soon falling unconscious. Jack pauses the man's surveillance before he and Esther enter Jack's house. Rex also connects with them via their laptop.

Collectively, they soon discover a connection in two places, [[Shanghai]] and [[Buenos Aires]], and set out to find the source of [[the Blessing]]. [[Jilly Kitzinger]] is already in Shangai, having been drawn into the secret families. With the help of Oswald and Rhys, Jack and Esther figure out that Jilly is being used to mistranslate news clips from before the Miracle regarding the destruction of blood banks, with Rex confirming the translations have been altered to change the meaning entirely. They changed a patient's line from "The Blessing saved my life" to "it is a blessing my life was saved". As such, they deduce the families and the Blessing are in both Shanghai and Buenos Aires where Rex has tracked the possible location of a man who was in the [[cellar]] in [[1928]] when Jack was repeatedly killed. The man in Shanghai, who died before the Miracle after burning down the blood bank but not before living for awhile, is shown to have said that "[[the Blessing]] saved me", which causes them to realise it's there but leaves them confused about why the one in Buenos Aires was blown up.

However, their conversation is interrupted by the police barging in again, the investigator revealing they have brought heat sensors this time to ensure they don't miss anything. Jack briefly considers handing Oswald Danes to the police as a distraction but Danes protests Jack would be arrested as well for knowing him. Eventually, the police discover Gwen's dad in the basement and take him away despite Gwen and her mother's protests. The incident fuels Gwen's desire to combat the families even more.

Rhys realises that the two cities are antipodes, exact opposites of the world and that the Blessing must run between them. Rex informs Shapiro he must go rogue on the mission to find the Families himself because he suspects there is a mole in the CIA. Shapiro reluctantly agrees, telling Rex to get in touch should he need anything.

Splitting up, Esther, carrying her stockpile of Jack's blood, travels to Buenos Aires and meets up with Rex while Gwen, Jack and Oswald travel to Shanghai using old Torchwood connections after Gwen's father is taken away again. In Shanghai, the group discovers that Jack's blood is being mysteriously drawn from his wound into the ground, implying a connection between Jack's blood and the Blessing.

== Cast ==

* [[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]

* [[Rex Matheson]] - [[Mekhi Phifer]]

* [[Esther Drummond]] - [[Alexa Havins]]

* [[Rhys Williams]] - [[Kai Owen]]

* [[Oswald Danes]] - [[Bill Pullman]]

* [[Jilly Kitzinger]] - [[Lauren Ambrose]]

* [[Mary Cooper]] - [[Sharon Morgan]]

* [[Geraint Cooper]] - [[William Thomas]]

* [[Allen Shapiro]] - [[John de Lancie]]

* [[Noah Vickers]] - [[Paul James]]

 

* [[Blue-eyed man|Blue Eyed Man]] - [[Teddy Sears]]

* [[Ralph Finch|Finch]] - [[Ian Hughes]]

* [[Young man (The Gathering)|The Young Man]] - [[Adam Silver]]

* [[Chinese man (The Gathering)|Chinese Man]] - [[Willis Chung]]

* [[Surveillance guy (The Gathering)|Surveillance Guy]] - [[Danny Szam]]

* [[Old man (The Gathering)|Old Man]] - [[Gilbert Wynne]]

=== Uncredited ===

* [[Radio announcer (The Gathering)|Radio Announcer]] - [[Russell T Davies]]

== Crew ==

|ScienceAdvisor=John Sotos, M.D.  

-->

|UKProducer=Brian Minchin

== References ==

* Gwen tries searching for [[the Blessing]] on the website [[Search (website)|Search]].

* Rhys mentions the rolling blackouts from the energy crisis of the [[1970s]]. The baby boom that came afterwards was a result of people [[Sex|taking advantage]] of the dark.

* The [[Emergency Powers Act]] enacted after [[Miracle Day]] allows the search of private property based on suspicion of harbouring a Category 1 person without a warrant.

* There was a fire in the [[Manhattan Central Repository]], destroying its records.

* Gwen brings back [[chicken]] and [[chips]], saying that [[fish]] is too expensive.

* [[Retcon]] is used on the man keeping the Cooper residence under surveillance.

* [[Ralph Finch|Finch]] uses a brand new app for [[thermal imaging]].

* [[D. Sinclair]] translates a sentence from both [[Mandarin]] and [[Wu Chinese]] to [[English language|English]] for Rex.

* Jack mentions a [[Skullion]] trading route in the black market.

* Gwen uses [[diamorphine]] on her father.

* A man named [[Huw Jenkins]], who had a bad back, was put in Category 1.

* [[Matty Sheldon]] offered Rhys a job driving Category 1s.

* Gwen warns her mother about a raid on [[Oystermouth Road]].

* One of the books [[Victor Podesta]] authored is called ''[[The Devil Within]]'', which talks about [[Satan]] and [[blood]], likely inspired by the night he saw Jack repeatedly killed and resurrected in a cellar decades ago.

* Rhys remarks he could say the word "[[Jesus]]" and not be in [[Jerusalem]] when he dismisses the idea [[the Blessing]] is located in [[Shanghai]] just because the word is connected to the city. He changes his mind when he sees the Blessing could be linked to more than one location.

* Jack's [[blood]] is drawn toward the Blessing, some of which is agitated inside his body to the point it exacerbates his wounds trying to get out. Likewise, [[Rex Matheson]] feels similar discomfort from his chest wound, but no bleeding.

== Story notes ==

* [[Russell T Davies]]' voice is heard as a radio newscaster.

* The first time we see the footage of the Chinese man in the hospital, the [[Mandarin]]-to-English subtitles read: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry". This is one of the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s frequent statements.

=== Ratings ===

* US: 1.16 million

=== Filming locations ===

=== Production errors ===

* When Rhys mentions Jesus, his mouth doesn't match the audio on the word Jerusalem.

== Continuity ==

* Gwen mentions "two quid a kid". [[Ianto Jones]]' brother-in-law, [[Johnny Davies]], mentioned how "ten quid a kid" should be the slogan for their creche. ([[TV]]: ''[[Children of Earth: Day Three (TV story)|Day Three]]'')

* [[Sarah Jane Smith]] had previously encountered [[Skullion]]s who were sold as slaves in a black market trade in alien artefacts. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Man Who Never Was (TV story)|The Man Who Never Was]]'')

* [[Victor Podesta]] was one of the men present at Jack's torture in [[1927]]. He went on to write a book about what he saw. ([[TV]]: ''[[Immortal Sins (TV story)|Immortal Sins]]'')

* Gwen asks Oswald if he really did say "she should have run faster". ([[TV]]: ''[[The New World (TV story)|The New World]]'')

* The guy that watches Gwen and Jack is given [[Retcon]] to forget them. He has previously used Retcon on several people. ([[TV]]: ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'' - ''[[Something Borrowed (TV story)|Something Borrowed]]'', ''[[The New World (TV story)|The New World]]'')

* Jack later learned that the Three Families were actually being controlled by [[the Committee]], a group of aliens from the planet [[Erebus]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Forgotten Lives (audio story)|Forgotten Lives]]'')

== Home video releases ==

* This episode was released worldwide in a box set containing all ten episodes of ''Torchwood: Miracle Day''. In the United Kingdom, it was released on Region 2 DVD and Region Free Blu-ray on [[14 November (releases)|14 November]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]].<ref>[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Torchwood-Miracle-Day-Eve-Myles/dp/B005A5I9V2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314885858&sr=8-1 Amazon.co.uk listing]</ref> In Australia, it was released in Region 4 DVD and Region B Blu-Ray on [[1 December (releases)|1 December]] 2011.<ref>[http://www.ezydvd.com.au/blu-ray/torchwood-miracle-day-blu-ray/dp/6107286 EZYDVD.com.au listing]</ref> In New Zealand, the same sets were released on [[7 December (releases)|7 December]] 2011.<ref>[http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Blu-ray/Torchwood-Miracle-Day-4-Disc-Set/19261826/ Mightyape.co.nz listing]</ref> In North America, it was released on Region 1 DVD and Region Free Blu-Ray on [[3 April (releases)|3 April]] [[2012 (releases)|2012]].<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Torchwood-Miracle-Day-John-Barrowman/dp/B007AFS118/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336194370&sr=8-1 Amazon.com listing]</ref>

* It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)

== Footnotes ==