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''"What if the rift doesn't just leave stuff behind, what if it takes?"''
{{title dab away}}
 
{{real world}}
{{Template:Infobox Torchwood
{{ImageLinkTV}}
|image = [[Image:Jonah scream.jpg|250px]]
{{Infobox Story SMW
|story name = Adrift
|image                 = Adrift main.jpg
|series = [[Torchwood]] - [[List of Torchwood television stories|TV Stories]]
|series                = ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''
|series number = [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Series 2]]
|season number        = Series 2 (Torchwood)
|number = 24
|series episode number = 11
|enemy = [[Cardiff rift]]
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/torchwood-2-episode-11-adrift-shooting-script-17092007.pdf
|setting = [[Cardiff]], [[2009]]
|main character        = [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]], [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]]
|writer = [[Chris Chibnall]]
|featuring            = Andy Davidson
|director = [[Mark Everest]]
|featuring2            = Rhys Williams
|producer = [[Richard Stokes]]<br>[[Sophie Fante]]<br>[[Chris Chibnall]]
|featuring3            = Owen Harper
|broadcast date = 19th [[March]], [[2008]]
|setting              = [[Cardiff]], [[2000s]]{{note|The [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|second series]] of ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'' is set anywhere from [[2007]]-[[2010]] as a result of [[Aliens of London dating controversy|conflicting evidence]] shown in the episodes  ''[[Ghost Machine (TV story)|Ghost Machine]]'', ''[[Greeks Bearing Gifts (TV story)|Greeks Bearing Gifts]]'', ''[[Random Shoes (TV story)|Random Shoes]]'', ''[[To the Last Man (TV story)|To the Last Man]]'', ''[[Reset (TV story)|Reset]]'', ''[[Adrift (TV story)|Adrift]]'', ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'', ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'', and ''[[The New World (TV story)|The New World]]'', as well as ''[[Meat (TV story)|Meat]]'' placing the series about a year after the start of [[Series 1 (Torchwood)|series 1]].}}
|previous story = [[From out of the Rain]]
|writer               = Chris Chibnall
|next story = [[Fragments]]
|director             = [[Mark Everest]]
}}
|producer             = [[Richard Stokes]], [[Sophie Fante]]
|broadcast date        = 19 March 2008
|network              = BBC Three
|prev                  = From Out of the Rain (TV story)
|next                  = Fragments (TV story)
|trailer              = TORCHWOOD Season 2 Adrift
|clip                  = Lost children from the rift - Torchwood - BBC
|clip2                = Mother and son reunited - Torchwood - BBC
|epcount=|format=1x50-minute episode}}
'''''Adrift''''' was the eleventh episode of [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Series 2]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''. It was written by [[Chris Chibnall]], directed by [[Mark Everest]], and featured prominent [[Wales|Welsh]] actress [[Ruth Jones]] of ''[[Gavin and Stacey]]'' fame. It was a Gwen-heavy plot that also featured a larger-than-normal role for PC [[Andy Davidson]].


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
When a local teenager disappears, Gwen is drawn into an investigation that reveals a darker side of Torchwood. Hundreds of people have disappeared without trace, but Jack is obstructing attempts to find them. The answer seems to lie in the rift -- literally -- and as Gwen follows the trail, she makes a shocking discovery.
When a [[Jonah Bevan|local teenager]] disappears, [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] is drawn into an investigation that reveals a darker side of [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]]. Hundreds of people have disappeared without a trace, but [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] is obstructing attempts to find them. The answer seems to lie in the [[Cardiff rift|rift]] — literally — and as Gwen follows the trail, she makes a shocking discovery.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
[[Jonah Bevan]] is walking home across the [[Cardiff Bay Barrage]] when a bright light appears. Six seconds later he is gone. Seven months later, at the instigation of [[Andy Davidson|PC Andy Davidson]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] is investigating the disappearance of Jonah. Her research reveals there are more cases resembling Jonah's disappearance. [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]] discovers that these disappearances happened during a negative spike of [[Cardiff Space-Time Rift|rift activity]], which were previously discarded as aftershock. Gwen then compiles a list of all missing persons and informs [[Jack Harkness|Jack]]. However, Jack tells Gwen that nothing can be done and orders her to stop the investigation, which she refuses to do.


Jonah Bevan is walking home across the Cardiff Bay Barrage when a bright light appears over him. One second later he is gone. Seven months later, at the instigation of PC Andy Davidson, Gwen is investigating the disappearance of Jonah. Her research reveals there are more cases that resemble Jonah's disappearance. Toshiko discovers that these disappearances happen during a negative spike in the rift activity, which were previously discarded as background noise. Gwen is able to compile a list of all missing persons and informs Jack. However, Jack tells Gwen that nothing can be done and instructs her to stop the investigation, which she refuses.
The investigation slowly turns into an obsession and takes a toll on the relationship between Gwen and [[Rhys Williams|Rhys]]. The two have an argument when Rhys wants to discuss having kids and Gwen shuts down the subject, and he warns her that if she starts prioritising Torchwood over their personal lives then their marriage won't last very long. He tells her to deal with her work problems at work and not to bring them home. Returning to the Hub, Gwen interrupts Jack and [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]] during a [[sex|sexual encounter]] and, after apologising, tells Jack that she wants to continue the investigation. Jack sternly refuses, but Ianto secretly gives Gwen a [[GPS]] device with coordinates to a hidden location, leading Gwen to a facility on [[Flat Holm]]. It harbours 17 of the missing people that the rift took and subsequently brought back, including Jonah, the boy she has been looking for. However, he has aged 40 years and is very deformed. Gwen also finds Jack there, and she demands access to Jonah. Jonah tells how he was stuck on a "burning [[planet]]" and how he was taken into a building that was actually a rescue craft, from which he witnessed the burning of a solar system. Afterwards, Jack reveals that he set up the facility when he first took command of Torchwood, in order to care for the victims of the rift, who had previously been locked away in the vaults.


The investigation slowly turns into an obsession and takes a toll on the relationship between Gwen and Rhys. When Ianto secretly gives Gwen a GPS device with a stored hidden location, Gwen finds a facility on Flat Holm. It harbours 17 of the missing people that the rift took and subsequently brought back, including Jonah, the boy she has been looking for. However, he has aged 40 years and is very deformed. Gwen also finds Jack there, and she demands access to Jonah. Jonah tells how he was stuck on a "burning planet" and how he was taken into a building that was actually a rescue craft, from which he witnessed the burning of a solar system. Afterwards, Jack reveals that he set up the facility when he first took command of Torchwood, in order to care for the victims of the rift, who had previously been locked away in the vaults.
Gwen brings [[Nikki Bevan|Nikki]], Jonah's mother, in to see him under the supervision of a facility staff member. At first she is horrified, believing it to be a cruel joke, but Jonah starts telling her things that only he would know. Nikki calms and they hug for a moment, but when Jonah tells the staff member with growing distress that he can feel "it" starting up, she urgently tells Nikki to get away from him. She resists and says that she can take care of him. However Jonah starts screaming, a scream so horrible that everyone flees. Gwen reveals that the scream lasts for 20 hours every day because he looked into the heart of a [[dark star]], which drove him insane.


Gwen brings Nikki, Jonah's mother, in to see him. At first she is horrified, believing it to be a cruel joke, but Jonah starts telling her things that only he would know. Nikki calms and they hug for a moment, but one of the staff tells Nikki to get away from him. She resists and says that she can take care of him. However Jonah starts screaming, a scream so horrible that everyone flees. In a voiceover, Gwen reveals that he screams like that for 20 hours a day because he looked into the heart of a Dark Star, which drove him insane.
A week later, Gwen goes to see Nikki, who implores her not to show the island to anyone else. She states that it would have been better for her to have remembered her son as he was, rather than to know of his true fate. Gwen takes down her notes over the missing. Nikki packs up Jonah's room and, knowing he can never return home, breaks down into sobs. At home that night, Gwen prepares a romantic candle-lit dinner for Rhys and promises to talk about whatever he wants to talk about. Rhys however realises that she is shouldering a massive heartbreak and instead lets her cry into his chest. Going back on his earlier stance, he asks her to tell him what happened and she starts to tell him about Jonah.


A week later, Gwen goes to see Nikki, who implores her not to show the island to anyone else. Gwen takes down her notes over the missing and Nikki packs up Jonah's room. At home that night, Gwen prepares a romantic candle-lit dinner for Rhys, who lets her cry into his chest.
== Cast ==
* [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
* [[Toshiko Sato]] - [[Naoko Mori]]
* [[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
* [[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
* [[Rhys Williams]] - [[Kai Owen]]
* [[Andy Davidson|PC Andy]] - [[Tom Price]]
* [[Nikki Bevan|Nikki]] - [[Ruth Jones]]
* [[Jonah Bevan|Jonah]] - [[Robert Pugh]]
* Young [[Jonah Bevan|Jonah]] - [[Oliver Ferriman]]
* [[Helen (Adrift)|Helen]] - [[Lorna Gayle]]


==Cast==
=== Uncredited Cast ===
*Captain [[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
*[[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
*[[Toshiko Sato]] - [[Naoko Mori]]
*[[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
*[[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
*[[Rhys Williams]] — [[Kai Owen]]
*PC [[Andy Davidson]] — [[Tom Price]]
*[[Nikki Bevan]] — [[Ruth Jones]]
*[[Jonah Bevan]] — [[Robert Pugh]]
*Young [[Jonah Bevan|Jonah]] — [[Oliver Ferriman]]
*[[Helen]] — [[Lorna Gayle]]
*[[Fisherman]] - [[Peter Carney]]


==Production crew==
* Flat Holm Nurse - [[Chester Durrant]]
* Dweller - [[Philippa Burt]]


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{|width="75%"
== Worldbuilding ==
|-valign="top"
* Positive rift emissions indicate the [[Cardiff rift]] depositing people, things, and objects in [[Cardiff]].
|width="25%"|
* [[Nikki Bevan]] lives at Number 14 [[Cliffs Rise]], [[Penarth]].
 
* [[Big Dave]] is a friend of Rhys.
*[[Executive Producer]]s - [[Russell T Davies]], [[Julie Gardner]]
* [[Caroline Hall]] was born on [[16 April]] [[1972]].
 
* [[Alice Devlin]] was born on [[5 October]] 1972.
*[[Co-Producer]] – [[Chris Chibnall]]
* [[Saeed Taufeeq]] was born on [[25 February]] [[1978]].
 
* [[Jonah Bevan]] was born on [[15 February]] [[1993]].
*[[Associate Producer]] – [[Catrin Lewis Defis]]
* Andy quotes from ''[[Field of Dreams]]''.
 
*Producers – [[Richard Stokes]], [[Sophie Fante]]
 
*Casting Director - [[Andy Pryor]]
 
*Costume Designer - [[Ray Holman]]
 
*Make-Up Designer - [[Marrie Dorris]]
 
*Music – [[Ben Foster]]
 
*Visual Effects - [[The Mill]]
 
*Visual FX Coordinator – [[Jenna Powell]]
 
*3D Supervisor - [[Nicolas Hernandez]]
 
*[[Production Designer]] - [[Edward Thomas]], [[Julian Luxton]]
 
*[[Editor]] - [[William Webb]]
 
*[[Director of Photography]] – [[Toby Moore]]
 
*First Assistant Director - [[Rhydian Davis]]
 
*Second Assistant Director - [[James Dehaviland]]
 
*Third Assistant Director – [[David Chalstrey]]
 
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*Camera Operator - [[Martin Stephens]]
 
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*Production Buyer - [[Clare Keyte]]
 
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*Costume Supervisor - [[Bobbie Peach]]
 
*Make-Up Supervisor - [[Kate Roberts]]
 
*Make-Up Artist - [[Andrea Dowdall]]
 
*Casting Associate - [[Andy Brierley]]
 
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*On-Line Editor – [[Mark Bright]]
 
*Colourist – [[Mick Vincent]]
 
*[[Post Production Supervisor]]s - [[Chris Blatchford]], [[Helen Vallis]]
 
*[[Dubbing Mixer]] - [[Tim Ricketts]]
 
*[[Sound FX Editor]] - [[Howard Eaves]]
|}
 
== References ==
*Positive rift emissions indicate the [[Cardiff rift]] depositing people, things, and objects in [[Cardiff]], whilst a negative reading indicates the removal of such things.
*People taken by the rift are sometimes returned. This has been happening more and more often recently, like the rift is trying to correct its mistakes.


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
''to be added''
* This episode aired 10 minutes after the [[BBC Two]] repeat of ''[[From Out of the Rain (TV story)|From Out of the Rain]]'' at 10:00pm on [[BBC Three]]; and was repeated on BBC Two in its usual 9:00pm timeslot two days later, on Good Friday [[21 March (releases)|21 March]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
* A family friendly pre-watershed edit of this episode aired at 7:00pm, four days later, on Tuesday [[25 March (releases)|25 March]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]] on [[BBC Two]].
* [[Jonah Bevan]] is mentioned as being fifteen years old and born on [[15 February]] [[1993]], placing the story in [[2008]] or [[2009]]. The first meeting of the missing persons support group [[Searchlight (group)|Searchlight]] is on a Monday 27th. The only Monday 27th before Jonah's 16th birthday is on 27 October 2008. [[Aliens of London dating controversy|This clashes with and contradicts dates given in several other stories]].
* The episode took up Block Seven of season two. Filming was "double banked" with Block Five, which consisted of [[From Out of the Rain (TV story)|''From Out of the Rain'']] and [[Fragments (TV story)|''Fragments'']]. This accounted for the lack of availability of some of the regular cast members.
* Discussing the premise of the story, [[Chris Chibnall]] states that "the issue of loss" is what drives the narrative and that he had "always wanted to write a story about people who go missing".
* [[Mark Everest]] noted that "people go missing all the time" and that to tackle this theme was "a brave thing to do".
* [[Russell T Davies]] felt it provided good drama to have a story that would also examine elements of "paranoia" and "fear" and "mistrust" between Gwen and Jack as result of her realising she does not know the full extent of his work within Torchwood.
* [[Russell T Davies]] later stated in ''[[The Writer's Tale]]'' that this was one of the scripts that "paved the way" for ''[[Series 3 (Torchwood)|Torchwood: Children of Earth]];'' his intention being to write ''Torchwood'' characters as "real people" with "families, feuds, aches and pains".
* The episode underwent less rewriting than any other script from the first two series with the final version being essentially a second draft.
* Gwen was initially referred to by her husband's surname, Williams, but [[Eve Myles]] vetoed this idea as she believed that an independent professional woman would want to keep her maiden name.
* A change made in the editing of the episode was the cutting of a short scene hinting at a possible romance between Nikki and Andy. This scene is included in the deleted scenes included in the series two boxset
* [[Ruth Jones]] stated that she was both "excited" and "scared" to appear in the series as it was "a very serious role" and comedy had previously been her "comfort zone".
* [[Richard Stokes]] estimated that [[Robert Pugh]] had to spend between two and two and a half hours in make-up in addition to a twelve-hour filming day to have prosthetics applied to create the appearance of scarring. [[Ruth Jones]] found the prosthetics to be "absolutely fantastic" and "very gruesome".
* The reveal of Jonah's Scream was initially going to be a wholly alien effect with [[Robert Pugh]] just miming on set. However, Pugh was keen to give the scream a go. [[Mark Everest]] states that in the final dub the scream was "tweaked" and "layers were added" although stated that the fundamental basis of it was Pugh "screaming his lungs out".
* Discussing the return of Andy, [[Richard Stokes]] stated that it was always the plan for the production team to give the character greater focus in an episode due to his "comic value", whilst [[Eve Myles]] had joked it was her "personal mission" to get the character back.
* As Flat Holm Island does not allow vehicular access, the production team were restricted in the filming equipment they could take on to the island.


=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
''to be added''
* 2.5 million [[BBC Two]] viewers, with an [[AI]] of 87%
* 0.972 million [[BBC Three]] viewers
* 3.49 million viewers<ref>[https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-10/ BARB Ratings - April, 2008]</ref>
 
=== Filming locations ===
* The Island seen in this episode is [[Flat Holm]] (Ynys Echni), 5 miles off the coast of Cardiff. Although the facility seen in ''Adrift'' is, of course, fictional, Flat Holm was for some years in fact the site of a similar "isolation hospital".
* Llwyn Passat, Penarth Marina


=== Myths ===
=== Myths ===
* The rift took Jonah into the [[Last Great Time War]], and the man who saved him was [[the Doctor]] with [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] acting as a rescue craft. ''This was never confirmed in the dialogue.''


*There is belief among fans that the burning planet that Jonah was saved from was [[Gallifrey]], the man who pulled him from the flames was in fact, the Doctor, and the destruction of the entire solar system was part of the [[Last Great Time War]]. As it was shown that [[Dalek Caan]] was able to break the time lock, but at the cost of his sanity, it seems possible that the Rift is able to bypass it also, affecting Jonah's sanity as well. However, there is no evidence to support this theory. And if the Doctor could have saved Jonah from the planet, he certainly would have saved other Time Lords (although, to be fair, the events of the Time War have never been elaborated upon, and it's possible that the [[Eighth Doctor|Eighth]] or [[Ninth Doctor|Ninth]] Doctor may have saved Jonah, be it intentionally or otherwise (such as, for instance, the [[TARDIS]] materializing around him).
=== Production errors ===
 
''to be added''
=== Filming Locations ===
*The Island seen in this episode is Flat Holm( Ynys Echni), 5 miles off the coast of Cardiff. Although the facility seen in ''Adrift'' is, of course, fictional, Flat Holm was for some years in fact the site of a similar "isolation hospital".
*Llwyn Passat, Penarth Marina
 
=== Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors ===
*The team (Gwen in particular) seem surprised that the rift can take people, despite it happening in ''[[Captain Jack Harkness]]'', ''[[End of Days]]'' and ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]''. ''Perhaps it's because this is the first time we see it just happening, and not provoked by pre-existing rift activity, screwing with the rift manipulator, or a well-placed explosion.''
*Why in the world is Jack going to so much trouble to keep anyone else on the team from knowing that the rift takes people and that he helps those who make it back? ''Because of the state they return in.''
**And yet, Ianto is allowed to know, even though he hasn't been on the Torchwood Cardiff team as long as Tosh or Owen, and apparently the organization employs special doctors and caretakers for the people who come back. So why aren't Owen, Tosh, or Gwen allowed to know? ''Jack and Ianto had a special connection from the moment they met and it is heavily implied that they have a relationship and so Jack felt that he could trust the secret to Ianto. Many people would tell their boyfriend in that situation, esp. if he worked with you.'' Ianto is in charge of the archives, and knows all the codes and passwords, including the ones for Jack's secure archive in his office - therefore why wouldn't Jack trust him with the knowledge of Flat Holm Island?


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
*PC Andy Davidson last appeared in ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]''.
{{Torchwood discontinuity}}
*Gwen mentions her wedding which occured in ''[[Something Borrowed]]''.
* Gwen asks Andy why he missed her [[wedding]] to Rhys, which happened in [[TV]]: {{cs|Something Borrowed (TV story)}}.
* Andy says that Gwen was different before she joined Torchwood in the episode [[TV]]: {{cs|Everything Changes (TV story)}}.
* Gwen asks Jack if he would take the chance to reconnect with a lost loved one, a dilemma he recently faced in the events of [[TV]]: {{cs|Adam (TV story)}}.


== DVD releases ==
== Home video releases ==
*This story along with the rest of Torchwood [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Series 2]] has been released in a complete series boxset. It is on the same disc as ''[[Fragments]]'' and ''[[Exit Wounds]]''
* ''{{StoryTitle}}'', along with the rest of [[series 2 (Torchwood)|series 2]], was released in a complete series box set in [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
* It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)


== Footnotes ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}


==See also==
== External links ==
''to be added''
{{dwrefguide|torchwood_24.htm|Adrift}}
 
* {{briefhistory|torchwood/2008k.html|Adrift}}
==External links==
* {{whoniverse|tw2_11|Adrift}}
*{{dwrefguide|torchwood_24.htm|Adrift}}
* {{locguide|adrift|Adrift}}
*{{briefhistory|torchwood/2008k.html|Adrift}}
{{TWTV}}
*{{locguide|adrift|Adrift}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[fr:Adrift]]
[[he:נסחף (סיפור טלוויזיה)]]


{{Torchwood series 2}}
[[Category:Torchwood television stories]]
[[Category:Torchwood episodes]]
[[Category:Series 2 (Torchwood) stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in Cardiff]]
[[Category:Stories set in Penarth]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2009]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 2000s]]
[[Category:2008 television stories]]

Latest revision as of 03:50, 22 October 2024

RealWorld.png

Adrift was the eleventh episode of Series 2 of Torchwood. It was written by Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Everest, and featured prominent Welsh actress Ruth Jones of Gavin and Stacey fame. It was a Gwen-heavy plot that also featured a larger-than-normal role for PC Andy Davidson.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

When a local teenager disappears, Gwen is drawn into an investigation that reveals a darker side of Torchwood. Hundreds of people have disappeared without a trace, but Jack is obstructing attempts to find them. The answer seems to lie in the rift — literally — and as Gwen follows the trail, she makes a shocking discovery.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Jonah Bevan is walking home across the Cardiff Bay Barrage when a bright light appears. Six seconds later he is gone. Seven months later, at the instigation of PC Andy Davidson, Gwen is investigating the disappearance of Jonah. Her research reveals there are more cases resembling Jonah's disappearance. Tosh discovers that these disappearances happened during a negative spike of rift activity, which were previously discarded as aftershock. Gwen then compiles a list of all missing persons and informs Jack. However, Jack tells Gwen that nothing can be done and orders her to stop the investigation, which she refuses to do.

The investigation slowly turns into an obsession and takes a toll on the relationship between Gwen and Rhys. The two have an argument when Rhys wants to discuss having kids and Gwen shuts down the subject, and he warns her that if she starts prioritising Torchwood over their personal lives then their marriage won't last very long. He tells her to deal with her work problems at work and not to bring them home. Returning to the Hub, Gwen interrupts Jack and Ianto during a sexual encounter and, after apologising, tells Jack that she wants to continue the investigation. Jack sternly refuses, but Ianto secretly gives Gwen a GPS device with coordinates to a hidden location, leading Gwen to a facility on Flat Holm. It harbours 17 of the missing people that the rift took and subsequently brought back, including Jonah, the boy she has been looking for. However, he has aged 40 years and is very deformed. Gwen also finds Jack there, and she demands access to Jonah. Jonah tells how he was stuck on a "burning planet" and how he was taken into a building that was actually a rescue craft, from which he witnessed the burning of a solar system. Afterwards, Jack reveals that he set up the facility when he first took command of Torchwood, in order to care for the victims of the rift, who had previously been locked away in the vaults.

Gwen brings Nikki, Jonah's mother, in to see him under the supervision of a facility staff member. At first she is horrified, believing it to be a cruel joke, but Jonah starts telling her things that only he would know. Nikki calms and they hug for a moment, but when Jonah tells the staff member with growing distress that he can feel "it" starting up, she urgently tells Nikki to get away from him. She resists and says that she can take care of him. However Jonah starts screaming, a scream so horrible that everyone flees. Gwen reveals that the scream lasts for 20 hours every day because he looked into the heart of a dark star, which drove him insane.

A week later, Gwen goes to see Nikki, who implores her not to show the island to anyone else. She states that it would have been better for her to have remembered her son as he was, rather than to know of his true fate. Gwen takes down her notes over the missing. Nikki packs up Jonah's room and, knowing he can never return home, breaks down into sobs. At home that night, Gwen prepares a romantic candle-lit dinner for Rhys and promises to talk about whatever he wants to talk about. Rhys however realises that she is shouldering a massive heartbreak and instead lets her cry into his chest. Going back on his earlier stance, he asks her to tell him what happened and she starts to tell him about Jonah.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited 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

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]]

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

  • This episode aired 10 minutes after the BBC Two repeat of From Out of the Rain at 10:00pm on BBC Three; and was repeated on BBC Two in its usual 9:00pm timeslot two days later, on Good Friday 21 March 2008.
  • A family friendly pre-watershed edit of this episode aired at 7:00pm, four days later, on Tuesday 25 March 2008 on BBC Two.
  • Jonah Bevan is mentioned as being fifteen years old and born on 15 February 1993, placing the story in 2008 or 2009. The first meeting of the missing persons support group Searchlight is on a Monday 27th. The only Monday 27th before Jonah's 16th birthday is on 27 October 2008. This clashes with and contradicts dates given in several other stories.
  • The episode took up Block Seven of season two. Filming was "double banked" with Block Five, which consisted of From Out of the Rain and Fragments. This accounted for the lack of availability of some of the regular cast members.
  • Discussing the premise of the story, Chris Chibnall states that "the issue of loss" is what drives the narrative and that he had "always wanted to write a story about people who go missing".
  • Mark Everest noted that "people go missing all the time" and that to tackle this theme was "a brave thing to do".
  • Russell T Davies felt it provided good drama to have a story that would also examine elements of "paranoia" and "fear" and "mistrust" between Gwen and Jack as result of her realising she does not know the full extent of his work within Torchwood.
  • Russell T Davies later stated in The Writer's Tale that this was one of the scripts that "paved the way" for Torchwood: Children of Earth; his intention being to write Torchwood characters as "real people" with "families, feuds, aches and pains".
  • The episode underwent less rewriting than any other script from the first two series with the final version being essentially a second draft.
  • Gwen was initially referred to by her husband's surname, Williams, but Eve Myles vetoed this idea as she believed that an independent professional woman would want to keep her maiden name.
  • A change made in the editing of the episode was the cutting of a short scene hinting at a possible romance between Nikki and Andy. This scene is included in the deleted scenes included in the series two boxset
  • Ruth Jones stated that she was both "excited" and "scared" to appear in the series as it was "a very serious role" and comedy had previously been her "comfort zone".
  • Richard Stokes estimated that Robert Pugh had to spend between two and two and a half hours in make-up in addition to a twelve-hour filming day to have prosthetics applied to create the appearance of scarring. Ruth Jones found the prosthetics to be "absolutely fantastic" and "very gruesome".
  • The reveal of Jonah's Scream was initially going to be a wholly alien effect with Robert Pugh just miming on set. However, Pugh was keen to give the scream a go. Mark Everest states that in the final dub the scream was "tweaked" and "layers were added" although stated that the fundamental basis of it was Pugh "screaming his lungs out".
  • Discussing the return of Andy, Richard Stokes stated that it was always the plan for the production team to give the character greater focus in an episode due to his "comic value", whilst Eve Myles had joked it was her "personal mission" to get the character back.
  • As Flat Holm Island does not allow vehicular access, the production team were restricted in the filming equipment they could take on to the island.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

  • The Island seen in this episode is Flat Holm (Ynys Echni), 5 miles off the coast of Cardiff. Although the facility seen in Adrift is, of course, fictional, Flat Holm was for some years in fact the site of a similar "isolation hospital".
  • Llwyn Passat, Penarth Marina

Myths[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

to be added

Continuity[[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.
  • Gwen asks Andy why he missed her wedding to Rhys, which happened in TV: Something Borrowed [+]Loading...["Something Borrowed (TV story)"].
  • Andy says that Gwen was different before she joined Torchwood in the episode TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"].
  • Gwen asks Jack if he would take the chance to reconnect with a lost loved one, a dilemma he recently faced in the events of TV: Adam [+]Loading...["Adam (TV story)"].

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

  • Adrift, along with the rest of series 2, was released in a complete series box set in 2008.
  • It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ The second series of Torchwood is set anywhere from 2007-2010 as a result of conflicting evidence shown in the episodes Ghost Machine, Greeks Bearing Gifts, Random Shoes, To the Last Man, Reset, Adrift, Fragments, Exit Wounds, and The New World, as well as Meat placing the series about a year after the start of series 1.

Citations[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ BARB Ratings - April, 2008

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

v • e
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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