They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)

They Keep Killing Suzie
Main character(s):	Jack, Gwen, Tosh, Owen, Ianto
Main enemy:	Suzie, Max Tresilian
Main setting:	Cardiff, 2007
Key crew
Writers:	Paul Tomalin, Dan McCulloch
Director:	James Strong
Producer:	Richard Stokes
Release details
Premiere broadcast:	3 December 2006
Premiere network:	BBC Three
Torchwood
← Previous	Greeks Bearing Gifts
Next →	Random Shoes

They Keep Killing Suzie was the eighth episode of the first series of Torchwood. It marked the reappearance of Suzie Costello.

It was intended to be the first in a line of seasonal reappearances for the character, but Indira Varma was not available for filming during the production of series two as she was pregnant.

Synopsis

Torchwood is linked to a series of brutal murders around the city. As Jack and the team investigate, it becomes clear somebody wants their attention. What is Pilgrim - and how is it connected to a figure from Torchwood's past? The resurrection days are far from over.

Plot

Torchwood investigates a serial killer writing their name in blood on victims' bodies. During the inquiry, they meet Detective Swanson. A DNA analysis leads to a link between Retcon amnesia pills and the deaths. Gwen finds she can use the Resurrection gauntlet. Using it, they find the killer's name is Max, a member of a neighbourhood religious organisation called Pilgrim. They also find Suzie Costello was a member.

After resurrecting Suzie (apparently permanently), the team finds she overdosed a man with Retcon so severely, he became psychotic. They find Max and lock him in a cell. He is completely unresponsive except when the word "Torchwood" is said, at which he goes into a ten-second rage.

Gwen starts to bond with Suzie. Ianto and Owen discover Suzie is draining Gwen's life. While the rest of the team is in the conference room, Gwen takes Suzie to see her father in Greenleaves hospital. The team plan to follow them, but the Hub goes into lockdown, caused by Max repeating the first quartrain of Emily Dickinson's "The Chariot":

Because I could not stop for Death -

He kindly stopped for me,

The carriage held, but just ourselves -

And Immortality.

As Gwen and Suzie proceed towards the hospital, the rest of the team works out that Suzie had created a plan for her to be brought back to life and escape. Ianto connects his cellular phone to the Water Tower to get reception. Having no one else to call, Jack calls Swanson, asking her to get a book of poetry and read the poems to them, trying to reverse the lockdown. After some time, Toshiko guesses the book's ISBN might be the code, which proves to be correct.

Suzie refuses to die.

Gwen and Suzie arrive at the hospital where Suzie reveals that Gwen is dying in her place. She disconnects her father from the machines keeping him alive. Knowing the team are nearing, she takes Gwen and drives to Hedley Quay, intending to escape on a ferry. Jack and Owen catch up in the Torchwood SUV. Jack shoots Suzie. She does not die, so Jack shoots her again and again, to no avail. Jack realises the connection is being held by the Resurrection gauntlet. Jack tells Toshiko to destroy it to break the connection. Suzie tells Jack that "something is moving in the dark and it's coming ... for [Jack]". When Toshiko destroys the glove, Suzie collapses and Gwen begins to recover.

As Ianto and Jack put Suzie's body back into cold storage, Ianto asks what he should put on the death certificate. Jack answers "Death By Torchwood". Ianto suggests putting a lock on the storage unit in case she goes walking again, but Jack says the resurrections are over. Ianto points out that gloves come in pairs.

Cast

• Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
• Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
• Owen Harper - Burn Gorman
• Toshiko Sato - Naoko Mori
• Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
• Suzie - Indira Varma
• Swanson - Yasmin Bannerman
• Alex Arwyn - Daniel Llewellyn-Williams
• Mark Brisco - Gary Pillai
• Max - Shend
• Suzie's father - Badi Uzzerman

Crew

Created by Russell T Davies

Executive Producers   Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner

Written by Paul Tomalin & Dan McCulloch	Produced by Richard Stokes	Directed by James Strong	Director of Photography Mark Waters	Production Designer Edward Thomas	Visual Effects The Mill
Make-up Designer Marie Doris	Casting Director Andy Pryor CDG	Music Murray Gold Ben Foster	Costume Designer Ray Holman	Edited by Mike Jones

General production staff Production Executive - Julie Scott Co-producer - Chris Chibnall Associate Producer - Terry Reeve Assistant Producer - Sophie Fante Production Managers - Debbi Slater, Marcus Prince Location Manager - Paul Davies Location Scout - Nicky James Unit Manager - Geraint Havard Jones Production Co-ordinator - Carmelina Palumbo Assistant Production Co-ordinator - Kate Powell Production Secretary - Margarita Felices Script Secretary - Helen Pugsley Senior Production Accountant - Endaf Emyr Williams Production Accountant - Ceri Tothill Accounts Assistants - Debi Griffiths, Beth Britton, Kath Blackman Script department Script Editor - Brian Minchin Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Nick Brown 2nd Assistant Director - Guy de Glanville 3rd Assistant Director - Rhian Salisbury Runners - Glen Coxon, Llywarch Davies Continuity - Llinos Wyn Jones Camera Operator - Gareth Hughes Focus Puller - Duncan Fowlie Grip - Dai Hopkins Camera Assistant - Mani Blaxter Paliwala Boom Operator - Jeff Welch Gaffer - Dave Fowler Best Boy - Steve Slocombe	Art department Chief Supervising Art Director - Stephen Nicholas Supervising Art Director - Keith Dunne Art Department Production Manager - Jonathan Marquand Allison Art Department Co-ordinator - Matthew North Associate Designer - Matthew Savage Production Buyer - Ben Morris Concept Artists - Ian Bunting, Peter McKinstry Design Assistants - Ben Austin, Al Roberts Standby Props - Brian Patrick Henry Standby Carpenter - Will Pope Standby Art Director - Dafydd Shurmer Standby Rigger - Keith Freeman Property Master - Nick Thomas Props Storeman - Charlie Malik Specialist Prop Maker - Mark Cordory Props Maker - Penny Howarth Construction Manager - Matthew Hywel-Davies Construction Chargehand - Scott Fisher Graphics - BBC Wales Graphic Design Costume department Costume Supervisor - Charlotte Mitchell Costume Assistants - Bobby Peach, Sarah Morgan	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Supervisor - Claire Pritchard Make-up Artists - Sarah Astley-Hughes, Kate Roberts Prosthetics - Neill Gorton, Millennium Effects Movement Stunt Co-ordinator - Tom Lucy Casting Casting Associate - Andy Brierley General post-production staff Post-production Supervisors - Helen Vallis, Chris Blatchford Post-production Co-ordinator - Marie Brown Assistant Editor - Matt Mullins On-line Editor - Matthew Clarke Special and visual effects Visual FX Producers - Will Cohen, Marie Jones Visual FX Supervisor - Dave Houghton On-set VFX Supervisor - Barney Curnow Colourist - Mick Vincent Sound Sound Recordist - Jeff Matthews Dubbing Mixer - Tim Ricketts Supervising Sound Editor - Doug Sinclair Sound Effects Editor - Howard Eaves Sound Editor - Paul McFadden

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.

References

Objects

• The Resurrection gauntlet is used by Gwen to revive Suzie Costello.

Story notes

• This episode was originally known as They Keep Killing to preserve the surprise of Suzie Costello's return.
• The story's title may have been inspired by an episode of The Avengers entitled "They Keep Killing Steed".
• This episode contains the first reference to a sexual relationship between Ianto and Jack.
• This episode also makes the first explicit reference to Jack's bisexuality in Torchwood (it had already been established in Doctor Who).
• This episode reveals that there is some form of afterlife in the Doctor Who mythos. Suzie was apparently stuck in the dark, indicative of a purgatory-like domain. Suzie does not elaborate on whether there is a Heaven or Hell beyond this darkness, but that something was lurking around in the dark, hunting for Jack.
• As is routine for Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and the revived Doctor Who itself, a "NEXT TIME" trailer for the next episode is shown at the end of the episode.

Ratings

• 1.1 million viewers

Filming locations

to be added

Production errors

• The second victim can be seen breathing whilst the camera pans over the couple lying on the bed the second time.
• When Suzie and Gwen arrive at the dockside, the time of day changes from night to day.
• When Gwen begins to receive Suzie's wounds, she does not get one under her chin, where Suzie shot herself, but does gets one in the back of her head.

Continuity

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.

• A resurrection gauntlet last appeared in Everything Changes and would again do so in Dead Man Walking. The latter episode would revisit the theme of reviving the dead on a permanent basis.
• Suzie mentions something moving in the darkness, and says it is coming for Jack. This foreshadows Jack's confrontation with Abaddon in End of Days.
• Retcon was first seen being used to cause Gwen to forget Torchwood in the first episode of this series, TV: Everything Changes.

Home video release

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 2007. It was later released in Torchwood: The Complete First Series on 19th November 2007.

External links

• They Keep Killing Suzie at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• They Keep Killing Suzie at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
• The Keep Killing Suzie at The Locations Guide

Footnotes