Escape to LA (TV story)

Escape to LA
Main character(s):	Jack, Gwen, Rhys, Rex, Esther, Oswald
Featuring:	Vera, Jilly, Sarah
Main enemy:	The Gentleman
Main setting:	Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Cardiff, 2011
Key crew
Writers:	Jim Gray, John Shiban
Director:	Billy Gierhart
Producer:	Kelly A Manners
Release details
Premiere broadcast:	29 July 2011
Premiere network:	Starz
Torchwood
← Previous	Dead of Night
Next →	The Categories of Life

Escape to LA was the fourth episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Synopsis

Torchwood follow PhiCorp to California to continue the fight, but walk straight into a trap. Elsewhere, Oswald Danes and Jilly Kitzinger face off against their own adversaries.

Plot

to be added

Cast

• Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
• Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
• Rex Matheson - Mekhi Phifer
• Esther Drummond - Alexa Havins
• Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
• Oswald Danes - Bill Pullman
• Dr. Vera Juarez - Arlene Tur
• Mr Peterssen - Brian Guest
• Ellis Hartley Monroe - Mare Winningham
• Bisme Katusi - Juanita Jennings
• Sarah Drummond - Candace Brown
• Nicolas Frumkin - Kelvin Yu
• Male Nurse - Desean Terry
• Thin Old Man - Roger Vernon Burton
• Voice of The Cousin - Chris Butler
• Woman - Katsy Chappell
• Young Mother - April Clark
• Lobby Guard - Anthony Dilio
• Burly Guard - David Fofi
• The Gentleman - C Thomas Howell
• Spanish Newscaster - Teresa Garza
• Jilly Kitzinger - Lauren Ambrose
• Maurice - Roy Lee Jones
• Veronica - JoKnell Kennedy
• Japanese Newscaster - Masami Kosaka
• Simran - Ronobir Lahiri
• Sick Man - Michael D Nye
• Scared Old Woman - Barbara Mallory
• Landlord Brian - Keith Russell
• Chauffeur - Christian Svensson
• Candice - Randa Walker
• Male Newscaster - David Grant Wright

Crew

Created by Russell T Davies

Executive Producers   Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter

Co-executive producers   Vlad Wolynetz and John Shiban

Written by Jim Gray & John Shiban story by Jim Gray	Produced by Kelly A Manners	Directed by Billy Gierhart	Director of Photography Nathaniel Goodman	Production Designer Gregory Melton	Visual Effects Lion Visual Effects, Inc.
Key Make-up Artist Todd McIntosh	Casting by John Frank Levey, CSA and Melanie Burgess	Score Murray Gold assistant composer Stu Kennedy	Costume Designer Shawna Trpcic	Edited by Hunter M. Via, A.C.E.	Key Hair Stylist Susan Boyd
Science Advisor - John Sotos, M.D.

General production staff Production Executive - Shelley Stevens Associate Producer - Skip Schoolnik Location Manager - Brad Bemis Unit Production Manager - Robert D. Nellans Production Accountant - Vince Robinette Transportation Coordinator - Heath Culp Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Polly Mattson 2nd Assistant Director - Carla Bowen Script Supervisor - Anne Melville Camera Operator - Jeff Greeley Key Grip - Isaac Chee Chief Lighting Technician - Don Mosley	Art department Set Decorator - Natali Pope Set Designer - Arthur Chadwick Property Master - Eric Bates Construction Coordinator - Chris Forster Computer Graphics - Twisted Media	Make-up and prosthetics Special Make-up Effects - Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger General post-production staff Post-production Supervisor - Kenneth Requa High Definition Post-Production - Modern Videofilm, Inc. Special and visual effects Visual FX Supervisor - Michael D. Leone Sound Production Sound Mixer - Julian Howarth Supervising Sound Editor - Walt Newman Co-supervisor - Ken Young Music Editor - Tom Trafalski Re-recording Mixers - Dan Hiland, Gary Rogers Post-Production Sound - Warner Bros.

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".

References

to be added

Story notes

• A supporting character in this episode has the last name Katusi. This was going to be Esther's last name before Alexa Havins was cast.

Ratings

• UK: 5.19 million

Filming locations

• It appears that the beach locations were shot in Venice Beach, CA. (e.g., when Gwen is on the phone with Rhys.)

Production errors

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.

• At the beginning of the mission to infiltrate Phicorp, Rex asks Esther if all the systems are online. Esther says yes, and the signal looks good; the computer screen, however, states the I-5 is offline.

Continuity

• Jack introduces himself as John Smith, the alias often employed by the Doctor. (DW: The Wheel in Space, Spearhead from Space et. al.)
• When Gwen attempts an American accent, Jack tells her she should never try it again, similar to what the Tenth Doctor tells his companions. (DW: Tooth and Claw, The Shakespeare Code, The Unicorn and the Wasp)
• When Ellis Hartley Monroe takes centre stage at the hospital instead of Danes, Jilly describes it as a "timing malfunction". This was also the term used when the Master took control of the Doctor's TARDIS before landing in San Francisco on 30 December 1999. (DW: Doctor Who (1996))

Timeline

• This story takes place after TW: Dead of Night.
• This story takes place before TW: The Categories of Life.

Home video releases

This episode was released worldwide in a box set containing all ten episodes of Torchwood: Miracle Day. In the United Kingdom, it was released on Region 2 DVD and Region Free Blu-ray on 14 November 2011. In Australia, it was released in Region 4 DVD and Region B Blu-Ray on 1 December 2011. In New Zealand, the same sets were released on 7 December 2011. In North America, it was released on Region 1 DVD and Region Free Blu-Ray on 3 April 2012.

Footnotes