Small Worlds (TV story): Difference between revisions

{{Infobox Story

|main character        = [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]], [[Owen Harper|Owen]], [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]]

|enemy                = [[Fairies]]

|setting              = [[Cardiff]], [[2007]]

|writer                = [[Peter J. Hammond]]

|broadcast date        = [[12 November (releases)|12 November]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]

|network              = [[BBC Three]]

|clip                  = The chosen one - Torchwood - BBC

It was the first story to explore [[Jack Harkness|Jack]]'s past in any detail. In particular, it revealed that Jack had been in a relationship with a [[British]] woman in the mid-[[20th century]].

 

It also established a storytelling convention used in every subsequent series of ''Torchwood''. From here forward, Jack's past would occasionally be teased through the use of extended flashbacks that demonstrated how his history tied in to a present-day problem that Torchwood was fighting.

[[Jack Harkness|Jack]] encounters monsters from his past: [[Fairy|fairies]], with the ability to choke people and change the [[weather]], make a series of [[kill]]ings centred around a little girl, the [[Chosen One]]. He also reunites with an old friend, but will [[Estelle Cole]] be safe when she starts to get a little too close to these fairies? And how can [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] stop a force from the dawn of time, masters of [[Earth]], their domain? More importantly, what is so crucial about a little girl named [[Jasmine Pierce|Jasmine]], for whom these creatures will gladly tear the world apart?

An elderly woman walks through the woods at night, speaking into a tape recorder about what she hopes to witness. Peeking round a bush, she sees a number of small glowing winged lifeforms, fluttering and giggling over a small circle of standing stones. Ecstatic at seeing her "little darlings", the woman snaps a few pictures before leaving. She doesn't notice them transform into something a lot more dangerous-looking, something that looks very displeased at being discovered...

At the [[Torchwood Hub]], [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] wakes from a [[nightmare]] of dead [[soldier]]s in a [[train]] carriage with [[rose]] petals spilling out of their mouths. He finds a single rose petal atop his desk. [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]], still in-office, informs Jack about strange weather patterns in the area.

Meanwhile, a young girl, [[Jasmine Pierce]], decides to walk home from [[school]] alone as her mother's boyfriend, [[Roy (Small Worlds)|Roy]], did not arrive on time to pick her up. She encounters a man, [[Mark Goodson]], who tries to lure her into his [[car]]. When Goodson makes a grab for Jasmine, a strong wind kicks up, accompanied by strange, ethereal voices. Goodson retreats into his car while Jasmine continues to skip home to play with her fairy friends in the nearby woods.

Later, a tense Goodson, still hearing the voices, stumbles through the [[Cardiff]] market, stalked by something unseen by the other shoppers. Something strikes at him and he starts to cough up rose petals. He gets himself arrested to seek the safety of a jail cell, which apparently makes the creatures leave him alone. That night, however, he hears wings buzzing as he tries to sleep and, rolling over, screams as the same hostile creature from the woods lunges at him... He is found the next day, dead by [[asphyxiation]], but with no external evidence of strangulation and the CCTV shows only him in his death throes; no sign of the creature. The baffled police summon Torchwood, who find Goodson's mouth filled with rose petals. Jack confirms that Goodson was killed by the fairies as part of their protection of a "[[Chosen One]]", a child who will soon become one of them if Torchwood cannot find her in time. Finding the Chosen One is the only advantage they have over the fairies, who cannot be fought in any other way. They cannot be trapped or killed, and have control over the elements themselves; but the Chosen Ones are important to them.

Late at night, Estelle hears the strange voices. She calls Jack to alert him. However, before Torchwood can arrive, she [[drown]]s in a [[rain]]storm although everything around her is completely dry. Jack mourns her loss, and Gwen makes him admit that it was he who had a relationship with Estelle long ago. Jack explains that he has seen the rose petals before, on a train in [[Lahore]] in [[1909]]. Some of his troops had drunkenly run over a little girl. A week later, all of his men died, their mouths stuffed with petals, and he realised that the young girl had been a Chosen One. Gwen returns home to find her own [[flat]] in disarray, with [[leaves]] and [[rock]] patterns on the floor. The team understand that the fairies are becoming more protective and aggressive, warning Torchwood not to interfere in their affairs.

At her [[Coed y Garreg Primary School|school]] the next day, Jasmine is bullied by two girls and the fairies come to her defence, making a huge gale sweep up around the bullies and sending all the other children fleeing in terror, apart from Jasmine who watches in glee. [[Kate (Small Worlds)|Jasmine's teacher]] manages to push through the gale and grab the girls, making the fairies cease their assault. Torchwood arrives to find the school closing for the day and interrogate Jasmine's teacher. Kate says that no-one was harmed, but the only one not affected by the storm was Jasmine.

Meanwhile, Jasmine's mother [[Lynn Pierce|Lynn]] and Roy are celebrating five years together with a backyard barbecue party. Jasmine helps her mother with the food, and gives disturbing answers to her mother's questions. When Jasmine goes outside, she finds that the backyard has been fenced off by Roy to prevent her from going to the woods. Angry, she bites him. He slaps her and calls her a bitch, which prompts an immediate response from the fairies. The sky begins to turn grey and thunder rumbles, but the party continues. As Roy makes a speech, the fairies reveal themselves in their true form and attack, killing Roy by clogging his throat with the petals.

Torchwood arrives in time to prevent harm to other guests, but Jasmine and the fairies race off to the woods. Jack catches up with her and demands that the fairies not take her away. They refuse, stating that she is their Chosen One and if she is prevented from going, the fairies will kill the entire world in response. Admitting he has no other choice, Jack requests a promise that Jasmine will not be harmed. The fairies respond that she will live forever. Jack lets Jasmine go, and she skips away, surrounded by glowing fairies. Lynn, seeing this, cries angrily and hits Jack over and over. The only thing Jack can do is apologise. Lynn has lost both her boyfriend and her only daughter in one afternoon.

* Captain [[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]

== References ==

* Owen claims that [[Harry Houdini]] believed in the Cottingley fairies. In reality, he didn't and got into frequent discussions with his friend [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] over them.

* Jack wonders if the fairies are part [[Mara]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]], [[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'')

* This episode, with four others, was first released on a DVD entitled ''Torchwood: Series 1, part 1'' on [[26 December (releases)|26 December]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]. It was later released in ''Torchwood: The Complete First Series'' on [[19 November (releases)|19 November]] [[2007 (releases)|2007]].