The Gathering (TV story): Difference between revisions

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{{title|{{#sub:''{{PAGENAME}}|(|-10|}}'' (TV story)}} <!--If this title is disambiguated with (TV story), replace this with {{title|{{#sub:''{{PAGENAME}}|(|-10|}}'' (TV story)}}-->{{real world}}{{Infobox Torchwood
{{title dab away}}
|story name      = {{#sub:{{PAGENAME}}|(|-10|}}
{{real world}}
|image           =  
{{ImageLinkTV}}
|series           = [[Torchwood]] - [[List of Torchwood television stories|TV stories]]
{{Infobox Story SMW
|series number   = [[series 4 (Torchwood)|4]]
|image                 = Torchwood Glares at Oswald.jpg
|number           = 40
|series               = ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''
|featuring       = [[Jack Harkness]]<br>[[Gwen Cooper]]<br>[[Rex Matheson]]<br>[[Esther Drummond]]<br>[[Rhys Williams]]<br>[[Oswald Danes]] (joins)
|season number         = Series 4 (Torchwood)
|enemy            = [[The Three Families]] (unseen)<br>[[Jilly Kitzinger]]<br>[[Oswald Danes]] (defects)<br>[[Finch (The Gathering)|Finch]]
|series episode number = 9
|setting          =
|main character       = [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Rex Matheson|Rex]], [[Esther Drummond|Esther]], [[Oswald Danes|Oswald]], [[Rhys Williams|Rhys]]
|writer           = [[John Fay]]
|featuring            = Jilly Kitzinger
|director         = [[Guy Ferland]]
|featuring2            = Mary Cooper
|producer         = [[Kelly A Manners]]
|featuring3            = Geraint Cooper
|broadcast date   = [[2nd September]] [[2011]]
|featuring4            = Anwen Williams
|previous story  = [[End of the Road]]
|featuring5            = Noah Vickers
|next story      = [[The Blood Line]]
|enemy                = [[Ralph Finch]]
}}'''''{{#sub:{{PAGENAME}}|(|-10|}}'''''<ref>As with all episodes of ''[[Torchwood: Miracle Day]]'', the episode title was not given onscreen, but comes instead from the official [[Starz]] [http://www.starz.com/originals/Torchwood ''Miracle Day'' website]</ref> was the <!--insert ep number here-->penultimate episode of ''[[Torchwood: Miracle Day]]''.
|setting              = [[Wales]], [[Scotland]], [[Langley|CIA Headquarters]], [[Shanghai]] and [[Buenos Aires]], [[2011]]
|writer               = John Fay
|director             = [[Guy Ferland]]
|producer             = [[Kelly A Manners]]
|broadcast date       = 2 September 2011
|network              = Starz
|prev                  = End of the Road (TV story)
|next                 = The Blood Line (TV story)
|trailer              =
|clip                  = The Blessing is Revealed The Gathering Torchwood Miracle Day
|clip2                = "It's Calling You, Jack!" The Gathering Torchwood Miracle Day
|clip3                = The Gathering - Torchwood Miracle Day - BBC One
|format = 1x55-minute episode<br/>Part 9 of 10
}}{{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]] and directed by [[Guy Ferland]], and featured a landmark moment for show creator [[Russell T Davies]], who had his very first in-universe role in a ''Doctor Who''-related production: his voice can be heard in the opening moments of the episode as a radio announcer. It advanced the story two months from the [[End of the Road (TV story)|previous episode]], and presented an apocalyptic scenario as the economies of the world collapsed as a result of the [[Miracle Day]] phenomenon.


== Synopsis ==
==Synopsis ==
''to be added''
The culprits of the Miracle are now known: [[the Three Families]].
 
Two months later, the world has further devolved into chaos, with everyone no longer caring about anyone other than themselves. The Category Ones are no longer a concern, with them all being burned without a care.
 
At the same time, Torchwood continues looking into [[the Blessing]], while Rex and the CIA look into finding a lead to the identities of the Three Families' members.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
Esther and Jack are on the run in Scotland. While in Scotland, Esther has been taking blood from Jack since they suspect it is significant to the Miracle, the families, and The Blessing. Jack's own blood bank is stored in a metal briefcase in case it becomes useful. Eventually when Oswald Danes travels to Gwen Cooper's home in Cardiff with information about a man behind the Miracle, the team reconvene in the Cooper residence.
Two months have elapsed. 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. She and Rhys ensure others in the neighbourhood are able to use the painkillers to help their loved ones too.


Torchwood discover that Jilly Kitzinger was hired by PhiCorp to rewrite the English translations of foreign news clips, including a man in Shanghai who is actually saying he was saved by The Blessing.
[[Esther Drummond|Esther]] and [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] are hiding in [[Scotland]] while he recovers from his gunshot wound. Esther argues that they should go even further north, fearing the local butcher is becoming suspicious of why she keeps needing blood. Jack remarks on how Esther has hardened over the past two months. Esther puts a bag of Jack's blood in a freezer with others; Jack claims his blood is not what makes him immortal, but Esther insists on storing it anyway.


Esther notes blood banks were burnt down shortly before the Miracle in two of the most populous cities in the world: Shanghai and Buenos Aires. Rhys, examining a globe, realizes that they are the exact opposite points on the Earth.
Meanwhile, [[Rex Matheson|Rex]] is back working for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], doing everything he can on the inside to uncover the [[The Three Families|Families]]' bloodline. His superior, [[Allen Shapiro|Shapiro]], has resumed his old smoking habit with the risk of death gone. Rex finds a pulp story from 1935 about an undying man, and theorises that the author, [[Victor Podesta]], was inspired by seeing Jack tortured at [[Mr Giardano]]'s shop. The Podesta family has since disappeared, but the CIA archives contain a knife used in the murder of [[John Podesta]], meaning they can trace the blood on the knife to find the family's roots. [[Charlotte Wills]] offers to take the lead, but 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 reluctantly allows.


Meanwhile, police authorities under reinstated Category legislation have the authority to enter homes if residents are under suspicion of harboring Category One's. Considered legally dead, any Category One's are taken into custody and held until such a time that they can be incinerated in the ovens. Gwen's father has been hidden behind some wood paneling in the basement. When an inspector returns a second time with a new thermal imaging application on his smart phone, he removes Gwen's father. Gwen begs them to leave him alone, but nothing can be done. She reminds Jack and the others that all she wants is to stop the Miracle and have this authoritarian disaster end.
At home, the police do a surprise search on Gwen's house, looking for [[Geraint Cooper|her father]]. Gwen claims he was taken and burned, with them unable to say goodbye. Despite their efforts, the police check the basement. They cannot find Geraint, hidden in a secret room, but the investigator insists they will return.


Rhys' discovery of two geographic points running across the center of the Earth reflects the logo of PhiCorp - a circle with a line running through it. They decide to split up and investigate: Rex and Esther travel to Buenos Aires; Jack, Gwen, and Oswald (who knows too much information to be released and who is at risk of being murdered by Rhys if he stays in the Cooper residence) are smuggled by gun runners into Shanghai. As Jack puts it, Torchwood has now gone global.
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 he picks up [[Anwen Williams|Anwen]]. Enraged, Gwen attacks him with a frying pan. Rhys stops her, but says he will kill him instead, daring Oswald to explain his presence before Rhys 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. Gwen covertly informs Jack and Esther, who arrive; Jack helps to neutralise [[Surveillance guy (The Gathering)|the man]] surveilling Gwen's house before entering.


Meanwhile, Jilly Kitzinger is given an entirely new identity by the families as "Lucy Statten Meredith", effectively ceasing to exist under her former identity, and is promoted to a position in Shanghai. Meeting an unidentified member of the families, she is complimented on her storytelling skills and informed that she was hired to essentially write world history for the families. She is taken to The Blessing, which is revealed to be a massive crack or fissure running through the centre of the planet Earth.
Oswald stole [[Jilly Kitzinger]]'s laptop and has been tracking her. He says she has been sending information to someone called Harry Bosco, but Esther reveals "[[Harry Bosco]]" is not the name of a man but a process: subtly mistranslating information in order to change the underlying meaning. With Rex's help through a remote connection, they discover that a news clip Jilly processed has been changed, by degrees, from a burn victim saying "The Blessing saved my life" to "It is a godsend my life was saved." The man had burned down a blood bank in [[Shanghai]] four days before [[Miracle Day|the Miracle]]; they find a second clip reporting that a blood bank was destroyed by fire in [[Buenos Aires]] one day earlier. Rex points out that one of the men who witnessed Jack's immortality later died there. However, their conversation is interrupted by the police, who find Geraint using thermal imaging and take him away to the camps.


In Shanghai, Gwen discovers that Jack has not recovered from his gunshot wound and is, in fact, fairing worse after traveling. Undressing the bandages, Gwen assesses his wound and a drop of blood falls to the floor of the apartment they are staying in. It begins traveling across the floor, as if magnetized by an invisible force, and Gwen speculates Jack's blood is being drawn to The Blessing - Jack is connected to the phenomenon of The Blessing.
Rhys realises that the two cities are [[Antipode|antipodes]], on exactly opposite sides of the world, and that the Blessing must run between them. The group decide to split up, sending Rex and Esther to Buenos Aires and Jack, Gwen and Oswald to Shanghai, to find out what the Blessing is. Shapiro reluctantly agrees to let Rex go "off grid", suspecting they have a mole; Charlotte is notified when Rex and Esther enter Argentina, and sends a message to the Families.


==Cast==
Jilly has been sent to Shanghai by the Three Families, said to handle politics, finance and media respectively. [[The Mother]] takes her to see the Blessing, which appears as a huge cleft in the rock running all the way through the centre of the Earth. It has strange physical properties, and induces a strong mental reaction which has caused some people to commit [[suicide]]; the Mother claims it "shows you to yourself." Also in Shanghai, Jack's wound has gotten worse, and the team discovers that his blood is being mysteriously drawn from it into the ground, towards the Blessing.
*[[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
 
*[[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
== Cast ==
*[[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
*[[Rex Matheson]] - [[Mekhi Phifer]]
*[[Rex Matheson]] - [[Mekhi Phifer]]
*[[Esther Drummond]] - [[Alexa Havins]]
*[[Esther Drummond]] - [[Alexa Havins]]
*[[Rhys Williams|Rhys]] - [[Kai Owen]]
*[[Rhys Williams]] - [[Kai Owen]]
*[[Oswald Danes]] - [[Bill Pullman]]
*[[Oswald Danes]] - [[Bill Pullman]]
*[[Jilly Kitzinger]] - [[Lauren Ambrose]]
*[[Jilly Kitzinger]] - [[Lauren Ambrose]]
*[[Sarah Drummond|Sarah]] - [[Candace Brown]]
*[[Mary Cooper]] - [[Sharon Morgan]]
*[[Mary Cooper]] - [[Sharon Morgan]]
*[[Geraint Cooper]] - [[William Thomas]]
*[[Geraint Cooper]] - [[William Thomas]]
*[[Charlotte Willis|Charlotte]] - [[Marina Benedict]]
* [[Charlotte Wills]] - [[Marina Benedict]]
*[[Allen Shapiro]] - [[John de Lancie]]
*[[Allen Shapiro]] - [[John de Lancie]]
*[[Noah Vickers|Noah]] - [[Paul James]]
*[[Noah Vickers]] - [[Paul James]]
*[[Blue-Eyed Man]] - [[Teddy Sears]]
*[[Blue-eyed man|Blue Eyed Man]] - [[Teddy Sears]]
*[[The Mother Colasanto]] - [[Frances Fisher]]
* [[The Mother]] - [[Frances Fisher]]
*[[Finch (The Gathering)|Finch]] - [[Ian Hughes]]
*[[Ralph Finch|Finch]] - [[Ian Hughes]]
*[[The Young Man]] - [[Adam Silver]]
*[[Young man (The Gathering)|The Young Man]] - [[Adam Silver]]
*[[Chinese Man]] - [[Willis Chung]]
*[[Chinese man (The Gathering)|Chinese Man]] - [[Willis Chung]]
*[[Surveillance Guy]] - [[Danny Szam]]
*[[Surveillance guy (The Gathering)|Surveillance Guy]] - [[Danny Szam]]
*[[Chinese Worker]] - [[Jesse Wang]]
* [[Chinese worker (The Gathering)|Chinese Worker]] - [[Jesse Wang]]
*[[Old Man]] - [[Gilbert Wynne]]
*[[Old man (The Gathering)|Old Man]] - [[Gilbert Wynne]]
 
===Uncredited ===
*[[Radio announcer (The Gathering)|Radio Announcer]] - [[Russell T Davies]]


==Crew==
==Crew==
Line 74: Line 96:
|Casting=John Frank Levey, CSA
|Casting=John Frank Levey, CSA
|Casting2=Melanie Burgess
|Casting2=Melanie Burgess
|DOP=
|DOP=Nate Goodman
|Editor=
|Editor=Michael N. Knue, A.C.E.
|ProductionDesigner=Gregory Melton
|ProductionDesigner=Edward Thomas
|ProductionDesigner2=
|ProductionDesigner2=
|UnitProductionManager=
|UnitProductionManager=Robert D. Nellans
|1stAD=
|1stAD=W. Scott Wolf
|2ndAD=
|2ndAD=Matt Buckler
|3rdAD=
|3rdAD=
|Score=Murray Gold
|Score=Murray Gold
|AssistantComposer=Stu Kennedy
|AssistantComposer=Stu Kennedy
|CostumeDesigner=Shawna Trpcic
|CostumeDesigner=Shawna Trpcic
|CameraOperator=
|CameraOperator=Brian Bernstein
|ChiefLightingTechnician=Don Mosley
|ChiefLightingTechnician=Don Mosley
|KeyGrip=Isaac Chee
|KeyGrip=Isaac Chee
|SetDesigner=
|SetDesigner=Arthur Chadwick
|SetDecorator=Natali Pope
|SetDecorator=Natali Pope
|LocationManager=
|LocationManager=Brad Bemis
|TransportationCoordinator=Heath Culp
|TransportationCoordinator=Heath Culp
|ConstructionCoordinator=
|ConstructionCoordinator=Steve Desantis
|KeyMake-upArtist=Todd McIntosh
|KeyMake-upArtist=Todd McIntosh
|KeyHairStylist=Susan Boyd
|KeyHairStylist=Susan Boyd
|ScienceAdvisor=John Sotos, M.D.  
|ScienceAdvisor=John Sotos, M.D.
|PropertyMaster=
|PropertyMaster=Eric Bates
|ProductionAccountant=Vince Robinette
|ProductionAccountant=Vince Robinette
|FirstAssistantAccountant=
|FirstAssistantAccountant=Bethany Andriuzzo
|TaxCreditAccountant=
|TaxCreditAccountant=Jonathan Ross (crew)
|ScriptSupervisor=
|ScriptSupervisor=
|ProductionSoundMixer=Julian Howarth
|ProductionSoundMixer=Julian Howarth
|AssistantEditor=
|AssistantEditor=Yoshie Ishiguro
|ProductionExec=
|ProductionExec=Shelley Stevens
|SupervisingSoundEditor=Walt Newman
|SupervisingSoundEditor=Walt Newman
|Co-supervisor=
|Co-supervisor=Ken Young
|MusicEditor=
|MusicEditor=Tom Trafalski
|Re-recordingMixer=Dan Hiland
|Re-recordingMixer=Dan Hiland
|Re-recordingMixer2=Gary Rogers
|Re-recordingMixer2=Gary Rogers
|PostProdSupervisor=
|PostProdSupervisor=Peter M. Tassler
|PostProdAssistant=
|PostProdAssistant=Kris Saintsing
|SpecialMake-upFX=Greg Nicotero
|SpecialMake-upFX=Greg Nicotero
|SpecialMake-upFX2=Howard Berger
|SpecialMake-upFX2=Howard Berger
Line 129: Line 151:
some episodes also had credits for UK crews.  That section begins below.
some episodes also had credits for UK crews.  That section begins below.
Do not fill in unless there are credits which explicitly specify a "UK Crew".
Do not fill in unless there are credits which explicitly specify a "UK Crew".
Note that Torchwood credits don't carry a "US crew" tag because — and this is
Note that Torchwood credits don't carry a "US crew" tag because it's a US show.
hard for some to accept — it's a US show.
 
-->
|UKProducer=
|UKLineProducer=
|UKProductionExecutive=
|UKUnitManager=
|UK1stAD=
|UKProductionCoordinator=
|UKProductionDesigner=
|UKMake-UpDesigner=
|UKAssociateCostumeDesigner=
|UKProductionAccountant=
|UKLocationManager=
|UKCasting=
|UKSpecialEffects=
|UKAerialUnit=
|UKGrip=
|UKGrip2=


-->|UKProducer=Brian Minchin
|UKLineProducer=Debbi Slater
|UKProductionExecutive=Julie Scott
|UKUnitManager=Paul Davies
|UK1stAD=George Walker
|UKProductionCoordinator=Sam Baker
|UKProductionDesigner=Edward Thomas
|UKMake-UpDesigner=Claire Pritchard-Jones
|UKAssociateCostumeDesigner=Lindsay Bonaccorsi
|UKProductionAccountant=Sarah Hulls
|UKLocationManager=Gareth Skelding
|UKCasting=Andy Pryor CDG
|UKSpecialEffects=Real SFX
|UKAerialUnit=Flying Pictures
|UKGrip=John Robinson
|UKGrip2=Clive Baldwin
|UKDOP=Nathaniel Goodman
|UKSoundRecordist=Gareth Meirion Thomas
}}
}}


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
''to be added''
*Gwen tries searching for [[the Blessing]] on the website [[Search (website)|Search]].
* Gwen hides her looted drugs in [[Jubilee Pizza]] boxes.
*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.
* [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]] and Shanghai, [[China]] are [[antipode]]s.
* [[The Blessing]] is a sentient vein in the depths of the planet [[Earth]] that stretches from Shanghai to Buenos Aires. Those who approach it will encounter sensations of dread, possibly brought on by its attempts to communicate. People who stare at it directly will be given messages that can either uplift them or drive them insane, even to [[suicide]].
*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 ==
==Story notes==
''to be added''
*[[Russell T Davies]]' voice is heard as a radio newscaster.


=== Ratings ===
===Ratings===
''to be added''
* UK: 4.64 million (Final BARB ratings)<ref>[https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-10/ BARB Ratings - June, 2011]</ref>
*US: 1.16 million


=== Myths ===
===Filming locations===
''to be added''
''to be added''


=== Filming locations ===
===Broadcasts===
''to be added''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Date
! Time
!Channel
! class="unsortable" |Notes
|-
|[[Thursday]] [[8 September (releases)|8 September]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]]
|21:00
|[[BBC One]]
| First broadcast.
|-
|[[Tuesday]] [[13 September (releases)|13 September]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]]
|00:20
|[[BBC HD]] & [[BBC Two]] except [[BBC Two Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland]]
|
|-
|[[Tuesday]] [[13 September (releases)|13 September]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]]
|00:50
|[[BBC Two Northern Ireland]]
|
|}


=== Production errors ===
===Production errors===
{{Torchwood discontinuity}}
{{Torchwood discontinuity}}
''to be added''
*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 displayed in [[TV]]: {{cs|Children of Earth: Day Three (TV story)}}.
*[[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, as seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|Immortal Sins (TV story)}}.
*[[Sarah Jane Smith]] had previously encountered [[Skullion]]s who were sold as slaves in a black market trade in alien artefacts, as seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Man Who Never Was (TV story)}}.


== Continuity ==
==Home video releases==
* Gwen hides her looted drugs in [[Jubilee Pizza|Jubilee pizza]] boxes. ([[DW]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'', [[TW]]: ''[[Everything Changes]]'')
*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.)


== Home video releases ==
== Footnotes==
===DVD releases===
{{reflist|3}}
''to be added''
{{TWTV}}
===Blu-ray releases===
''to be added''
==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
''to be added''
{{TV stub}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{cat|Torchwood television stories}}
 
{{cat|series 4 (Torchwood) stories}}
[[Category:2011 television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in Swansea]]
[[Category:Stories set in Swansea]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2011]]
[[Category:Stories set in Scotland]]
[[Category:Stories set in Scotland]]
[[Category:Stories set in China]]
[[Category:Stories set in China]]
[[Category:Stories set in South America]]
[[Category:Stories set in the United States]]
[[Category:Stories set in Argentina]]
[[Category:Torchwood television stories]]
[[Category:Series 4 (Torchwood) stories]]
 
[[de:The Gathering]]

Latest revision as of 20:26, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

You may be looking for the Big Finish audio story of the same name.

The Gathering was the ninth episode of Series 4 of Torchwood. It was written by John Fay and directed by Guy Ferland, and featured a landmark moment for show creator Russell T Davies, who had his very first in-universe role in a Doctor Who-related production: his voice can be heard in the opening moments of the episode as a radio announcer. It advanced the story two months from the previous episode, and presented an apocalyptic scenario as the economies of the world collapsed as a result of the Miracle Day phenomenon.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

The culprits of the Miracle are now known: the Three Families.

Two months later, the world has further devolved into chaos, with everyone no longer caring about anyone other than themselves. The Category Ones are no longer a concern, with them all being burned without a care.

At the same time, Torchwood continues looking into the Blessing, while Rex and the CIA look into finding a lead to the identities of the Three Families' members.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Two months have elapsed. After her deportation back to the UK, Gwen has been working at keeping her father hidden from the government agents responsible for rounding up all Category 1s. She has taken to stealing drug supplies from the local pharmacies, knowing she is being watched. She and Rhys ensure others in the neighbourhood are able to use the painkillers to help their loved ones too.

Esther and Jack are hiding in Scotland while he recovers from his gunshot wound. Esther argues that they should go even further north, fearing the local butcher is becoming suspicious of why she keeps needing blood. Jack remarks on how Esther has hardened over the past two months. Esther puts a bag of Jack's blood in a freezer with others; Jack claims his blood is not what makes him immortal, but Esther insists on storing it anyway.

Meanwhile, Rex is back working for the CIA, doing everything he can on the inside to uncover the Families' bloodline. His superior, Shapiro, has resumed his old smoking habit with the risk of death gone. Rex finds a pulp story from 1935 about an undying man, and theorises that the author, Victor Podesta, was inspired by seeing Jack tortured at Mr Giardano's shop. The Podesta family has since disappeared, but the CIA archives contain a knife used in the murder of John Podesta, meaning they can trace the blood on the knife to find the family's roots. Charlotte Wills offers to take the lead, but 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 reluctantly allows.

At home, the police do a surprise search on Gwen's house, looking for her father. Gwen claims he was taken and burned, with them unable to say goodbye. Despite their efforts, the police check the basement. They cannot find Geraint, hidden in a secret room, but the investigator insists 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 he picks up Anwen. Enraged, Gwen attacks him with a frying pan. Rhys stops her, but says he will kill him instead, daring Oswald to explain his presence before Rhys 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. Gwen covertly informs Jack and Esther, who arrive; Jack helps to neutralise the man surveilling Gwen's house before entering.

Oswald stole Jilly Kitzinger's laptop and has been tracking her. He says she has been sending information to someone called Harry Bosco, but Esther reveals "Harry Bosco" is not the name of a man but a process: subtly mistranslating information in order to change the underlying meaning. With Rex's help through a remote connection, they discover that a news clip Jilly processed has been changed, by degrees, from a burn victim saying "The Blessing saved my life" to "It is a godsend my life was saved." The man had burned down a blood bank in Shanghai four days before the Miracle; they find a second clip reporting that a blood bank was destroyed by fire in Buenos Aires one day earlier. Rex points out that one of the men who witnessed Jack's immortality later died there. However, their conversation is interrupted by the police, who find Geraint using thermal imaging and take him away to the camps.

Rhys realises that the two cities are antipodes, on exactly opposite sides of the world, and that the Blessing must run between them. The group decide to split up, sending Rex and Esther to Buenos Aires and Jack, Gwen and Oswald to Shanghai, to find out what the Blessing is. Shapiro reluctantly agrees to let Rex go "off grid", suspecting they have a mole; Charlotte is notified when Rex and Esther enter Argentina, and sends a message to the Families.

Jilly has been sent to Shanghai by the Three Families, said to handle politics, finance and media respectively. The Mother takes her to see the Blessing, which appears as a huge cleft in the rock running all the way through the centre of the Earth. It has strange physical properties, and induces a strong mental reaction which has caused some people to commit suicide; the Mother claims it "shows you to yourself." Also in Shanghai, Jack's wound has gotten worse, and the team discovers that his blood is being mysteriously drawn from it into the ground, towards the Blessing.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff


Camera and lighting department

Art department


 Make-up and prosthetics


General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound

UK crew
General production staff
 Camera, lighting and sound departments

Casting

 Make-up

Costume

Effects


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.
          

The Starz broadcast carried a final credit of "Originally Developed and Produced by BBC Cymru Wales". The BBC One broadcast says, instead, "BBC Worldwide Productions for BBC Cymru Wales and STARZ Originals".


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Gwen tries searching for the Blessing on the website Search.
  • Gwen hides her looted drugs in Jubilee Pizza boxes.
  • Rhys mentions the rolling blackouts from the energy crisis of the 1970s. The baby boom that came afterwards was a result of people 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.
  • Finch uses a brand new app for thermal imaging.
  • D. Sinclair translates a sentence from both Mandarin and Wu Chinese to 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.
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina and Shanghai, China are antipodes.
  • The Blessing is a sentient vein in the depths of the planet Earth that stretches from Shanghai to Buenos Aires. Those who approach it will encounter sensations of dread, possibly brought on by its attempts to communicate. People who stare at it directly will be given messages that can either uplift them or drive them insane, even to suicide.
  • 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[[edit] | [edit source]]

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • UK: 4.64 million (Final BARB ratings)[1]
  • US: 1.16 million

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

to be added

Broadcasts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Date Time Channel Notes
Thursday 8 September 2011 21:00 BBC One First broadcast.
Tuesday 13 September 2011 00:20 BBC HD & BBC Two except Northern Ireland
Tuesday 13 September 2011 00:50 BBC Two Northern Ireland

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

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 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 displayed in TV: Children of Earth: Day Three [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day Three (TV story)"].
  • 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, as seen in TV: Immortal Sins [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"].
  • Sarah Jane Smith had previously encountered Skullions who were sold as slaves in a black market trade in alien artefacts, as seen in TV: The Man Who Never Was [+]Loading...["The Man Who Never Was (TV story)"].

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

  • 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 2011.[2] In Australia, it was released in Region 4 DVD and Region B Blu-Ray on 1 December 2011.[3] In New Zealand, the same sets were released on 7 December 2011.[4] In North America, it was released on Region 1 DVD and Region Free Blu-Ray on 3 April 2012.[5]
  • It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ BARB Ratings - June, 2011
  2. ↑ Amazon.co.uk listing
  3. ↑ EZYDVD.com.au listing
  4. ↑ Mightyape.co.nz listing
  5. ↑ Amazon.com listing
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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
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