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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.
- You may be looking for the Big Finish audio story of the same name.
Synopsis
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
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
- Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
- Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
- Rex Matheson - Mekhi Phifer
- Esther Drummond - Alexa Havins
- Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
- Oswald Danes - Bill Pullman
- Jilly Kitzinger - Lauren Ambrose
- Mary Cooper - Sharon Morgan
- Geraint Cooper - William Thomas
- Charlotte Wills - Marina Benedict
- Allen Shapiro - John de Lancie
- Noah Vickers - Paul James
- Blue Eyed Man - Teddy Sears
- The Mother - Frances Fisher
- Finch - Ian Hughes
- The Young Man - Adam Silver
- Chinese Man - Willis Chung
- Surveillance Guy - Danny Szam
- Chinese Worker - Jesse Wang
- Old Man - Gilbert Wynne
Uncredited
Crew
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Created by Russell T Davies |
| Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter |
| Co-executive producer Vlad Wolynetz |
General production staff
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Art department
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Make-up and prosthetics
Special and visual effects Sound |
| General production staff |
Camera, lighting and sound departments
Casting |
Make-up Costume Effects |
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| 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. |
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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
- 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
- Russell T Davies' voice is heard as a radio newscaster.
Ratings
- UK: 4.64 million (Final BARB ratings)[1]
- US: 1.16 million
Filming locations
to be added
Broadcasts
| 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
- 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: 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
- 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.)