Greeks Bearing Gifts (TV story): Difference between revisions

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{{real world}}
{{real world}}
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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image = Beware greeks bearing gifts main.jpg
|image                 = Beware greeks bearing gifts main.jpg
|name = Greeks Bearing Gifts
|series               = ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''
|series = ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''
|season number         = Series 1 (Torchwood)
|season number = [[Series 1 (Torchwood)|Series 1]]
|series episode number = 7
|episode number = 7
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/torchwood-1-episode-7-greeks-bearing-gifts-draft-3-12042006.pdf
|main character= [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]], [[Owen Harper|Owen]], [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]]
|main character       = [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]], [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Owen Harper|Owen]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]]
|enemy = [[Mary (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|Mary]], [[Arcateenian]]s
|enemy                 = [[Mary (Arcateenian)|Mary]]
|setting = [[Cardiff]], [[1812]] and [[2007]]
|setting              = [[Cardiff]], [[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)}}, ''Greeks Bearing Gifts'', {{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 = [[Toby Whithouse]]
|writer               = Toby Whithouse
|director = [[Colin Teague]]
|director             = [[Colin Teague]]
|producer = [[Richard Stokes]]
|producer             = [[Richard Stokes]]
|network=[[BBC Three]]
|network               = BBC Three
|broadcast date = [[26 November (releases)|26 November]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]
|broadcast date       = 26 November 2006
|prev = Countrycide (TV story)
|prev                 = Countrycide (TV story)
|next = They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)
|next                 = They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)
|clip = Reading thoughts - Torchwood - BBC
|clip                 = Tosh held hostage - Torchwood - BBC
|clip2 = Tosh held hostage - Torchwood - BBC
|clip2                 = Tosh Falls For Mary's Charm Greeks Bearing Gifts Torchwood
|clip3                = Tosh Destroys The Pendant Greeks Bearing Gifts Torchwood
|format                = 1x50-minute episode
}}
}}
'''''Greeks Bearing Gifts''''' was the seventh episode in the [[Series 1 (Torchwood)|first series]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''. It focused on [[Toshiko Sato]]. Because Toshiko abused her access to alien [[technology]], it also marked the unwilling reveal of [[Gwen Cooper]]'s [[sex]]ual escapades with [[Owen Harper]] to the rest of the team. This created guilty feelings inside of Gwen, crippling the progression of her affair. It also damaged relations between the team members until a breaking point arose [[Captain Jack Harkness (TV story)|near the conclusion]] of series 1.
'''''Greeks Bearing Gifts''''' was the seventh episode in the [[Series 1 (Torchwood)|first series]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''. It was written by [[Toby Whithouse]], directed by [[Colin Teague]], and focused on [[Toshiko Sato]].


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
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In [[Cardiff]], [[1812]], [[Mary (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|a talkative prostitute]] leads [[Soldier (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|a young soldier]] into the forest. When she provokes him about his [[virginity]], he slaps her twice. A chase ensues. All of a sudden, though, she sees a bright light, and hears a screech. She walks towards the light, but the soldier catches up and [[Firearm|shoots]] her.
In [[Cardiff]], [[1812]], [[Mary (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|a talkative prostitute]] leads [[Soldier (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|a young soldier]] into the forest. When she provokes him about his [[virginity]], he slaps her twice. A chase ensues. All of a sudden, though, she sees a bright light, and hears a screech. She walks towards the light, but the soldier catches up and [[Firearm|shoots]] her.


In [[2007]], the [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] team is at a construction site where a skeleton was found. Mary, the prostitute from [[1812]], is there in modern dress looking on amusedly. A strange object is by the skeleton, its function unknown. [[Toshiko Sato|Toshiko]] reveals that the corpse has been dead for 196 years, eleven to eleven and a half months, while [[Owen Harper|Owen]] identifies it as female. All is going well at Torchwood until Owen and [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] accidentally kick out the plug to Tosh's [[computer]], screwing up a translation program she's running.
Many years later, the [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] team is at a construction site where a skeleton was found. Mary, the prostitute from [[1812]], is there in modern dress looking on amusedly. A strange object is by the skeleton, its function unknown. All is going well at Torchwood until Owen and [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] accidentally kick out the plug to Tosh's [[computer]], screwing up a translation program she's running.


Feeling dejected, Toshiko goes to a [[pub]], where Mary approaches her. Mary reveals she knows about Torchwood and about her. She is a "scavenger" or "collector" of [[alien]] artefacts. Toshiko seems to bond with Mary, and reveals her innermost feelings, despite hundreds of Torchwood protocols disallowing this sort of conversation. Mary offers Toshiko [[Telepathy pendant|a pendant]]. When Toshiko puts it on, she begins to hear people's thoughts. Mary asks her to refine this to her thoughts only, and subconsciously allows her desire to kiss her slip. Shocked, Toshiko rips the pendant off her neck. Mary tells her to keep it. Toshiko says she must show it to the other members of Torchwood, Mary predicts she won't.
Feeling dejected, Toshiko goes to a [[pub]], where Mary approaches her. Mary reveals she knows about Torchwood and about her. She is a "scavenger" or "collector" of [[alien]] artefacts. Toshiko seems to bond with Mary, and reveals her innermost feelings, despite hundreds of Torchwood protocols disallowing this sort of conversation. Mary offers Toshiko [[Telepathy pendant|a pendant]]. When Toshiko puts it on, she begins to hear people's thoughts. Mary asks her to refine this to her thoughts only, and subconsciously allows her desire to [[kiss]] her slip. Shocked, Toshiko rips the pendant off her neck. Mary tells her to keep it. Toshiko says she must show it to the other members of Torchwood, Mary predicts she won't.


The next day, Toshiko goes to the Hub and puts the pendant on. She tells Gwen and Owen she has something to show them, but, upon hearing their thoughts, she changes her mind after learning of their affair. Later, when Ianto offers her some [[coffee]], she hears his thoughts, malevolent and bestial. She hears his pain at the loss of [[Lisa Hallett]]. Visibly upset, she takes off the pendant.
The next day, Toshiko goes to [[the Hub]] and puts the pendant on. She tells Gwen and Owen she has something to show them, but, upon hearing their thoughts, she changes her mind after learning of their affair. Later, when Ianto offers her some [[coffee]], she hears his thoughts, which are malevolent and depressed. She hears his pain at the loss of [[Lisa Hallett]]. Visibly upset, she takes off the pendant.


She finds Mary, whom she tells about Owen and Gwen's thoughts — how they pity her. Mary explains that thoughts are complicated. She puts the pendant on Toshiko again, and both end up thinking of [[sex]] together. The two kiss passionately. Later, Toshiko is lying in bed, looking regretful. She tells Mary of her attraction to Owen, and how she was upset by his affair with Gwen. Mary tells her that good can come of the pendant, too. Toshiko asks Mary who she really is. Mary calls herself "[[Philoctetes]]".
She finds Mary, whom she tells about Owen and Gwen's thoughts — how they pity her. Mary explains that thoughts are complicated. She puts the pendant on Toshiko again, and both end up thinking of [[sex]] together. The two kiss passionately. Later, Toshiko is lying in bed, looking regretful. She tells Mary of her attraction to Owen, and how she was upset by his affair with Gwen. Mary tells her that good can come of the pendant, too. Toshiko asks Mary who she really is. Mary calls herself "[[Philoctetes]]".


Toshiko heeds Mary's advice and listens to the thoughts of people in a busy Cardiff street. She hears [[Neil (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|a man]] planning to [[kill]] [[Carol (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|his ex-wife]] and [[Danny (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|son]]. She follows him to their house, and saves their lives.  
Toshiko heeds Mary's advice and listens to the thoughts of people in a busy Cardiff street. She hears [[Neil (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|a man]] planning to [[kill]] [[Carol (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|his ex-wife]] and [[Danny (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|son]]. She follows him to their house, and saves their lives.


When she returns to the Hub, Owen is being teased by the others for misidentifying the skeleton: it was actually a man — not a woman — who died of an unidentified trauma — ''not'' a gunshot wound. Tosh asks Jack about Philoctetes, and he tells her his story: in Greek mythology, the [[archer]] was exiled to the island of Lemnos, to be left there alone for ten years.
When she returns to the Hub, Owen is being teased by the others for misidentifying the skeleton: it was actually a man — not a woman — who died of an unidentified trauma — ''not'' a gunshot wound. Tosh asks Jack about Philoctetes, and he tells her his story: in Greek mythology, the [[archer]] was exiled to the island of Lemnos, to be left there alone for ten years.
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Mary tells Toshiko to read [[Jack Harkness|Jack]]'s thoughts about the item found with the skeleton. Toshiko tries and fails to read his thoughts; Jack seems to notice when she tries. She tells Mary this, and decides that she must show the pendant to her co-workers. Mary, however, convinces her to change her mind by showing her her true form: she is an [[Arcateenian|alien]] exiled from [[Arcateen 5|her home world]]. Toshiko offers Torchwood's help, but Mary refuses. Humans' way is invasion, not help. She thinks she will simply be assessed, and then locked up in the base's prison cells.
Mary tells Toshiko to read [[Jack Harkness|Jack]]'s thoughts about the item found with the skeleton. Toshiko tries and fails to read his thoughts; Jack seems to notice when she tries. She tells Mary this, and decides that she must show the pendant to her co-workers. Mary, however, convinces her to change her mind by showing her her true form: she is an [[Arcateenian|alien]] exiled from [[Arcateen 5|her home world]]. Toshiko offers Torchwood's help, but Mary refuses. Humans' way is invasion, not help. She thinks she will simply be assessed, and then locked up in the base's prison cells.


Mary instead asks Toshiko to sneak her into the Hub to retrieve the artefact, which could finally take her home. The two enter to find Jack holding the transporter. He explains that it is a two-man transporter for a guard and and a prisoner. Mary explains that she killed the guard, then took the body of the young prostitute Mary, and has been ripping out people's hearts to feed her human form.
Mary instead asks Toshiko to sneak her into the Hub to retrieve the artefact, which could finally take her home. The two enter to find Jack holding the transporter. He explains that it is a two-man transporter for a guard and a prisoner. Mary explains that she killed the guard, then took the body of the young prostitute Mary, and has been ripping out people's hearts to feed her human form.


She takes Toshiko at knife point, and demands that they return the transporter. Jack gives it to her. It automatically turns on, and she disappears. Jack had reprogrammed the device to teleport to the centre of the [[sun]]. Later, Toshiko is confronted by Owen and Gwen about what she heard. Toshiko says that it was none of her business. Owen storms off. Gwen admits that her affair with Owen is wrong, but that she can't stop. She says that Tosh seemed happier with Mary in her life, and that she should not let everything that has happened bring her down.
She takes Toshiko at knife point, and demands that they return the transporter. Jack gives it to her. It automatically turns on, and she disappears. Jack had reprogrammed the device to teleport to the centre of the [[sun]]. Later, Toshiko is confronted by Owen and Gwen about what she heard. Toshiko says that it was none of her business. Owen storms off. Gwen admits that her affair with Owen is wrong, but that she can't stop. She says that Tosh seemed happier with Mary in her life, and that she should not let everything that has happened bring her down.


Jack and Toshiko sit by the fountain above [[the Hub]] and discuss the pendant. Toshiko believes that it may be the most powerful artefact ever found by Torchwood, and asks Jack for his advice. He says it is her choice. She crushes the device with her foot. She asks why she could not read Jack's mind. Jack denies knowing why but admits he could tell she was trying. She tells him that it felt like she was trying to read the mind of a dead man. He doesn't respond. He comforts her about her experiences, wipes away her tears, and silently walks away.
Jack and Toshiko sit by the fountain above the Hub and discuss the pendant. Toshiko believes that it may be the most powerful artefact ever found by Torchwood, and asks Jack for his advice. He says it is her choice. She crushes the device with her foot. She asks why she could not read Jack's mind. Jack denies knowing why but admits he could tell she was trying. She tells him that it felt like she was trying to read the mind of a dead man. He doesn't respond. He comforts her about her experiences, wipes away her tears, and silently walks away.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
* [[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
* [[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
* [[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
Line 358: Line 360:
}}
}}


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Science and technology ===
=== Science and technology ===
* When Jack is studying the alien device, he finds traces of [[ilmenite]], [[pyroxene]] and even [[dark matter]].
* When Jack is studying the alien device, he finds traces of [[ilmenite]], [[pyroxene]] and even [[dark matter]].
* The [[x-ray]] of a [[Cybus Cyberman]] is seen behind Owen in the autopsy room.
* The [[x-ray]] of a [[Cybusman|Cybus Cyberman]] is seen behind Owen in the autopsy room.


=== People ===
=== People ===
* [[Michael Hamilton]] still sees [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybus Cybermen]] outside his house.
* Detective Inspector [[Henderson (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|Henderson]] handles Neil's case, and passes the info on to Jack.
* Tosh uses the pendant to save [[Carol (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|Carol]] and [[Danny (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|Danny]] from [[Neil (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|Neil]]. Detective Inspector [[Henderson (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|Henderson]] handles the case, and passes the info on to Jack.
* Gwen recalls a boy named [[Trevor Kendall]].
* Gwen recalls a boy named [[Trevor Kendall]].
* Owen reads about [[Iffy Okoli]]'s case.
=== Species ===
=== Species ===
* Mary belongs to a species named [[Arcateenian]]s. They communicate [[telepathic]]ally through [[telepathy pendant|pendants]] like the one given to Tosh.
* Arcateenians communicate [[telepathic]]ally.


=== Organisations ===
=== Organisations and companies ===
* Toshiko is preparing a list for [[UNIT]].
* Toshiko is preparing a list for [[UNIT]].
* [[JJB Sports]], [[T.K. Maxx]] and [[Superdrug]] are companies in Cardiff.


=== Cultural references to the real world ===
=== Cultural references to the real world ===
* Tosh compared the hole in the skeleton's chest to "that bit in ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' where that thing bursts out of [[John Hurt]]." Hurt later played the [[War Doctor]].
* Tosh compared the hole in the skeleton's chest to "that bit in ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' where that thing bursts out of [[John Hurt (in-universe)|John Hurt]]."
* As a cover-up to discover about [[Philoctetes]], Tosh pretends that she participated in a [[pub quiz]]. When naming the [[pub]], ''[[The Prince of Tides]]'' is all that can come to her.
* As a cover-up to discover about [[Philoctetes]], Tosh pretends that she participated in a [[pub quiz]]. When naming the [[pub]], ''[[The Prince of Tides]]'' is all that can come to her.
* Gwen called Owen "[[Amanda Burton]]".
* Tosh hears the thoughts of a man pretending to be a [[James Bond]] villain.
* As Mary enters the Torchwood base, she recites the first few lines of ''[[Kubla Khan (poem)|Kubla Khan]]'' by [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]].
=== Influences ===
* The [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (franchise)|''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'']] episode "[https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Earshot Earshot]", where [[Buffy Anne Summers|Buffy Summers]] develops telepathy and finding that reading other people's minds comes with a price.


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
* At this point in the series, all the current members of Torchwood Three have had a same-sex kiss: [[Owen Harper|Owen]] and [[Colin (Everything Changes)|Colin]] in ''[[Everything Changes]]'', [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] and [[Carys Fletcher|Carys]] in ''[[Day One]]'', [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] and [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]] in ''[[Cyberwoman]]'' (although Ianto was apparently dead on that occasion), and [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]] and [[Mary (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|Mary]] in this episode.
* The episode was repeated on [[BBC Two]], three days later at 9:00pm on Wednesday [[29 November (releases)|29 November]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]].
* At this point in the series, all the current members of Torchwood Three have had a [[homosexuality|same-sex]] [[kiss]]: Owen with [[Colin (Everything Changes)|Colin]] in ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'', Gwen and [[Carys Fletcher]] in ''[[Day One (TV story)|Day One]]'', Jack with Ianto in ''[[Cyberwoman (TV story)|Cyberwoman]]'', and Tosh and [[Mary (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|Mary]] in this episode.
* Tosh identifies the [[Soldier (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|soldier]] from [[1812]] has been dead for 196 years, 11 to 11 and a half months. This would place the episode in [[2009]]. [[Aliens of London dating controversy|This date clashes with and contradicts dates given in several other stories]].
* Tosh refers to actor [[John Hurt]] and his role in the film ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]''. Hurt would later go on to play the [[War Doctor]], starting in [[TV]]: ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]''.


=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
* 1.3 million viewers
* 1.31 million viewers<ref>[https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-10/ BARB Ratings - October, 2006]</ref>


=== Filming locations ===
=== Filming locations ===
''to be added''
''to be added''
=== Broadcasts ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Date
!Time
!Channel
!class="unsortable"|Notes
|-
|[[Sunday]] [[26 November (releases)|26 November]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]
|22:00
|[[BBC Three]]
|First broadcast.
|-
|[[Wednesday]] [[29 November (releases)|29 November]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]
|21:00
|[[BBC Two England]]
|
|-
|[[Monday]] [[19 February (releases)|19 February]] [[2007 (releases)|2007]]
|01:55
|[[BBC Three]]
|
|-
|[[Friday]] [[26 October (releases)|26 October]] [[2007 (releases)|2007]]
|21:00
|[[BBC Three]]
|
|-
|[[Thursday]] [[3 June (releases)|3 June]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]]
|23:55
|[[BBC HD]]
|
|}


=== Production errors ===
=== Production errors ===
{{Torchwood discontinuity}}
''to be added''
''to be added''


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
{{Torchwood discontinuity}}
* Owen mentions someone named [[Michael Hamilton]] is still recovering from what occurred during the [[Battle of Canary Wharf|ghost incident]], saying that he's still seeing Cybermen outside his mother's house. The Cybermen and the incident happened in [[TV]]: {{cs|Army of Ghosts (TV story)}} and {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}.
* An [[Arcateenian]] appears in [[TV]]: ''[[Invasion of the Bane]]''.
* Toshiko's observations of Ianto's thoughts reveal he is still in turmoil after the death of [[Lisa Hallett]], who died in [[TV]]: {{cs|Cyberwoman (TV story)}}.
* Owen mentions someone named Michael Hamilton is still recovering from the events of [[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'', saying that he's still seeing Cybermen outside his mother's house.
* When Jack and Toshiko discuss her saving the woman and her son, anti-Cyberman guns can be seen behind them. These were first used in [[TV]]: {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}.
* Toshiko's observations of Ianto's thoughts reveal he is still in turmoil after the death of [[Lisa Hallett]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Cyberwoman]]'')
* Ianto panics at the thought of Tosh dying, privately declaring, ''"Not again."'' given the events of [[TV]]: {{cs|Everything Changes (TV story)}}.
* Owen and Gwen are still having an affair without Rhys knowing. This affair began in [[TV]]: {{cs|Countrycide (TV story)}}.


== Home video releases ==
== Home video releases ==
[[File:TWS1Part2.jpg|thumb|Series one, part two DVD cover]]
[[File:TWS1Part2.jpg|thumb|Series one, part two DVD cover]]
* 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.
 
=== 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 (releases)|14 November]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]])
 
=== Blu-ray releases ===
* Released in the US with the rest of Series 1 as a Complete First Season set on [[16 September (releases)|16 September]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
 
* It was released in the Series 1-3 Blu-ray boxset on [[26 October (releases)|26 October]] [[2009 (releases)|2009]] in the UK. The US release was on [[19 July (releases)|19 July]] [[2011 (releases)|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 ==
== External links ==
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* {{briefhistory|torchwood/2006g.html|Greeks Bearing Gifts}}
* {{briefhistory|torchwood/2006g.html|Greeks Bearing Gifts}}
* {{locguide|greeksbearinggifts|Greeks Bearing Gifts}}
* {{locguide|greeksbearinggifts|Greeks Bearing Gifts}}
* {{whoniverse|tw1_07|Greeks Bearing Gifts}}
== Footnotes ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
=== Sources ===
{{reflist}}
{{TWTV}}
{{TWTV}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[fr:Greeks Bearing Gifts]]
[[he:יוונים עם מתנות (סיפור טלוויזיה)]]
[[ru:Дары данайцев]]


[[Category:Torchwood television stories]]
[[Category:Torchwood television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1812]]
[[Category:Stories set in Cardiff]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2007]]
[[Category:2006 television stories]]
[[Category:2006 television stories]]
[[Category:Weevil television stories]]
[[Category:Series 1 (Torchwood) stories]]
[[Category:Series 1 (Torchwood) stories]]
[[Category:SOTO ok]]
[[Category:Stories set in Cardiff]]
[[Category:SH ok]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1812]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 2000s]]
[[Category:Arcateenian stories]]
[[Category:Arcateenian stories]]
[[Category:Jack Harkness television stories]]
[[Category:Weevil television stories]]
[[Category:Television stories that use the Murray Gold Torchwood theme]]
 
[[de:{{StoryTitle}}]]
[[fr:Greeks Bearing Gifts]]
[[ru:Дары данайцев]]

Latest revision as of 20:35, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

Greeks Bearing Gifts was the seventh episode in the first series of Torchwood. It was written by Toby Whithouse, directed by Colin Teague, and focused on Toshiko Sato.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

Tosh is given an alien pendant which lets her hear other people's thoughts. As the Torchwood team puzzle over a centuries-old skeleton, the pendant forces Tosh to question her commitment to Torchwood. Is her new-found ability a blessing or a curse?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

In Cardiff, 1812, a talkative prostitute leads a young soldier into the forest. When she provokes him about his virginity, he slaps her twice. A chase ensues. All of a sudden, though, she sees a bright light, and hears a screech. She walks towards the light, but the soldier catches up and shoots her.

Many years later, the Torchwood team is at a construction site where a skeleton was found. Mary, the prostitute from 1812, is there in modern dress looking on amusedly. A strange object is by the skeleton, its function unknown. All is going well at Torchwood until Owen and Gwen accidentally kick out the plug to Tosh's computer, screwing up a translation program she's running.

Feeling dejected, Toshiko goes to a pub, where Mary approaches her. Mary reveals she knows about Torchwood and about her. She is a "scavenger" or "collector" of alien artefacts. Toshiko seems to bond with Mary, and reveals her innermost feelings, despite hundreds of Torchwood protocols disallowing this sort of conversation. Mary offers Toshiko a pendant. When Toshiko puts it on, she begins to hear people's thoughts. Mary asks her to refine this to her thoughts only, and subconsciously allows her desire to kiss her slip. Shocked, Toshiko rips the pendant off her neck. Mary tells her to keep it. Toshiko says she must show it to the other members of Torchwood, Mary predicts she won't.

The next day, Toshiko goes to the Hub and puts the pendant on. She tells Gwen and Owen she has something to show them, but, upon hearing their thoughts, she changes her mind after learning of their affair. Later, when Ianto offers her some coffee, she hears his thoughts, which are malevolent and depressed. She hears his pain at the loss of Lisa Hallett. Visibly upset, she takes off the pendant.

She finds Mary, whom she tells about Owen and Gwen's thoughts — how they pity her. Mary explains that thoughts are complicated. She puts the pendant on Toshiko again, and both end up thinking of sex together. The two kiss passionately. Later, Toshiko is lying in bed, looking regretful. She tells Mary of her attraction to Owen, and how she was upset by his affair with Gwen. Mary tells her that good can come of the pendant, too. Toshiko asks Mary who she really is. Mary calls herself "Philoctetes".

Toshiko heeds Mary's advice and listens to the thoughts of people in a busy Cardiff street. She hears a man planning to kill his ex-wife and son. She follows him to their house, and saves their lives.

When she returns to the Hub, Owen is being teased by the others for misidentifying the skeleton: it was actually a man — not a woman — who died of an unidentified trauma — not a gunshot wound. Tosh asks Jack about Philoctetes, and he tells her his story: in Greek mythology, the archer was exiled to the island of Lemnos, to be left there alone for ten years.

Mary is teleported into the sun.

Mary tells Toshiko to read Jack's thoughts about the item found with the skeleton. Toshiko tries and fails to read his thoughts; Jack seems to notice when she tries. She tells Mary this, and decides that she must show the pendant to her co-workers. Mary, however, convinces her to change her mind by showing her her true form: she is an alien exiled from her home world. Toshiko offers Torchwood's help, but Mary refuses. Humans' way is invasion, not help. She thinks she will simply be assessed, and then locked up in the base's prison cells.

Mary instead asks Toshiko to sneak her into the Hub to retrieve the artefact, which could finally take her home. The two enter to find Jack holding the transporter. He explains that it is a two-man transporter for a guard and a prisoner. Mary explains that she killed the guard, then took the body of the young prostitute Mary, and has been ripping out people's hearts to feed her human form.

She takes Toshiko at knife point, and demands that they return the transporter. Jack gives it to her. It automatically turns on, and she disappears. Jack had reprogrammed the device to teleport to the centre of the sun. Later, Toshiko is confronted by Owen and Gwen about what she heard. Toshiko says that it was none of her business. Owen storms off. Gwen admits that her affair with Owen is wrong, but that she can't stop. She says that Tosh seemed happier with Mary in her life, and that she should not let everything that has happened bring her down.

Jack and Toshiko sit by the fountain above the Hub and discuss the pendant. Toshiko believes that it may be the most powerful artefact ever found by Torchwood, and asks Jack for his advice. He says it is her choice. She crushes the device with her foot. She asks why she could not read Jack's mind. Jack denies knowing why but admits he could tell she was trying. She tells him that it felt like she was trying to read the mind of a dead man. He doesn't respond. He comforts her about her experiences, wipes away her tears, and silently walks away.

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]]

Science and technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

People[[edit] | [edit source]]

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

Organisations and companies[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cultural references to the real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

Influences[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 1.31 million viewers[1]

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

to be added

Broadcasts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Date Time Channel Notes
Sunday 26 November 2006 22:00 BBC Three First broadcast.
Wednesday 29 November 2006 21:00 BBC Two England
Monday 19 February 2007 01:55 BBC Three
Friday 26 October 2007 21:00 BBC Three
Thursday 3 June 2010 23:55 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.

to be added

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Owen mentions someone named Michael Hamilton is still recovering from what occurred during the ghost incident, saying that he's still seeing Cybermen outside his mother's house. The Cybermen and the incident happened in TV: Army of Ghosts [+]Loading...["Army of Ghosts (TV story)"] and Doomsday [+]Loading...["Doomsday (TV story)"].
  • Toshiko's observations of Ianto's thoughts reveal he is still in turmoil after the death of Lisa Hallett, who died in TV: Cyberwoman [+]Loading...["Cyberwoman (TV story)"].
  • When Jack and Toshiko discuss her saving the woman and her son, anti-Cyberman guns can be seen behind them. These were first used in TV: Doomsday [+]Loading...["Doomsday (TV story)"].
  • Ianto panics at the thought of Tosh dying, privately declaring, "Not again." given the events of TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"].
  • Owen and Gwen are still having an affair without Rhys knowing. This affair began in TV: Countrycide [+]Loading...["Countrycide (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, 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.

Sources[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ BARB Ratings - October, 2006
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Torchwood television stories
Series 1
Series 2
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Children of Earth: Day One • Day Two • Day Three • Day Four • Day Five
Series 4
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