Henry Parker

Henry Parker
Species:	Human
Place of origin:	Earth
Appearance:	A Day in the Death
Main actor:	Richard Briers

Henry John Parker was a millionaire entrepreneur living near Cardiff. He was a collector of alien artefacts, and thus monitored by Torchwood Three, although it classified him as "mostly harmless."

Biography

Henry had a full life, travelling the world, fighting in the war, and eventually starting his own business and making a fortune.

After his wife died, he stopped leaving his home. As a result, no one had seen him since 1986. He continued to collect artefacts though, and hired security personal to make his house well-guarded.

Decades later, he was dying from a failing heart. He had had three heart attacks and a failed bypass. By this time, he was eighty-odd years old. Terrified to die, he activated the Pulse, an artefact, taking it into his bed believing it to be a healing device. The pulse started to leak dangerous radiation, and Torchwood stepped in, infiltrating his house and neutralising the device.

Dr Owen Harper, technically dead but reanimated, was assigned to enter Parker's home as his undead state allowed him to get past heat sensors and other security devices. During an ensuing discussion with Harper, Parker revealed intimate, and unexplained, knowledge of the Torchwood 3 team, suggesting some level of recent surveillance. Soon after Harper deactivated the pulse, Parker died of natural causes; Harper attempted artificial respiration to keep the man alive, but was unable to produce breath to do so. (TV: A Day in the Death)

Known artefacts in Parker's collection

Parker was known to have the following artefacts.

• A Dogon eye
• Adweam hunting rifle
• One pair of Myakian wings
• Cyberman arm and chest unit
• Nerauinan timepiece
• Correspondence from the court of Trypticon
• The Pulse
• Ceremonial sword, possibly Fushari
• The Singing Ringing Tree of Paremor
• Mantocristolian jewellery
• An entire intelligent civilisation in a jam jar
• Incomplete Raltean armour that belonged to a high ranking officer
• Hat that once belonged to Robert Mitchum
• 24 chondrite meteorites
• 7 achondite meteorites
• 3 iron meteorites
• 4 stony-iron meteorites
• 17 tektite
• A copy of The Fog by James Herbert, translated into Arcateenian

Similarities to other collectors

Henry Parker shared some similarities with another wealthy collector of alien artefacts, Henry van Statten. (TV: Dalek) Both kept their collections hidden behind massive security, both attempted to use alien tech for their own ends, both included living creatures among their collections, and both collections included pieces of Cybermen. The highest bidder (not counting the fake winning bid) for the Dogon Eye Eugene possessed in Random Shoes, much like Henry, was a collector of alien artefacts (along with Nazi memorabilia and Beanie Babies). All three of the aforementioned collectors are hinted at having a small rivalry (PROSE: The Torchwood Archives).