Children of Earth: Day Two (TV story)

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Synopsis

Torchwood 3 has been blown up by a bomb planted in Jack Harkness. Gwen, Rhys, and Ianto are on the run. Can they elude the Government and save the planet from the 456?

Plot

After the destruction of the Torchwood Hub

The episode begins where Day One left off, just after the Hub has blown up. Gwen is seized by members of an assassination squad as she emerges from the rubble, and dragged into the back of an ambulance. The men pin her down flat on a stretcher while one of them prepares a needle, but accidently release her when she bites one of the men. Leaping to her feet Gwen holds the men at gunpoint and learns that the people trying to kill the Torchwood staff are from 'the Government.' She escapes home to Rhys and the two go on the run.

The next morning, Johnson finds the remains of Jack Harkness in the ruins of the Hub, not much more than an arm and a head. Jack's body parts are taken to a warehouse in London, where his body begins to reconstruct itself. Meanwhile, Ianto sends a card to his sister, asking her to meet him at the park where he broke his leg as a child, and to bring a laptop computer.

Gwen and Rhys hide in a lorry full of potatoes that is going to London; during the trip, Gwen tells Rhys that she is pregnant. When they arrive in London, Gwen tries to contact John Frobisher. Her call is taken by Lois Habiba. At MI5, Frobisher, Bridget, and Lois witness the creation of an unknown device being built by Mr Dekker to specifications provided by the 456. Lois meets with Gwen and Rhys and tells them that it was Frobisher who issued the kill order on Jack, as well as several others, none of whose names Gwen recognizes. Lois also gives Gwen information about the compound where Jack is being kept, and suggests a way for Gwen and Rhys to gain entry.

Jack, now fully re-formed, is sealed in concrete by Johnson to prevent his escape, since he cannot be killed. Gwen and Rhys, as Lois had suggested, pose as funeral directors come to fetch Rupesh Patanjali's body, which is also being kept at the compound. However, they are caught during their attempt to free Jack. Ianto, who has also arrived in London and has also discovered where Jack was taken, steals a forklift, lifts Jack's cell, and pulls it out of the compound.

Gwen and Rhys escape with Ianto in the forklift. Ianto drops the concrete block into a quarry where it breaks apart, releasing Jack. Back at the MI5 headquarters, the mysterious device is completed: a sealed glass-walled chamber that is filled with a gas atmosphere poisonous to humans. The children of the world again stop and chant: "We are coming -- tomorrow."

Cast

Production Crew

  • Creature Effects and Prosthetics Coordinator – Kate Walshe
  • Creature Effects and Proethetics Supervisor – Rob Mayor

References

  • Ianto's leg was accidentally broken by his father when he was younger.
  • The goverment assumes Torchwood Two has disbanded but is unsure
  • Queen Victoria is known to have created other institutions, although the present goverment is not aware of them
  • Johnson uses the word 'Lazarus' to describe Jack's immortality; this is a Biblical reference to Lazarus, whom Jesus rose from the dead
  • This is the second time that Jack has been shown completely naked, the first time was in Bad Wolf, though on that occasion the BBC had filed a request that the "offensive" parts are either blurred or concealed by props.

Continuity

  • Whilst Lois is on the computer researching Torchwood, The MacLeish Estate and Canary Wharf are mentioned in the article.
  • Gwen and Rhys pretend to be undertakers in order to retrieve Jack. Gwen is a double of Gwyneth, who was the servant to an undertaker. (DW: The Unquiet Dead, Journey's End)
  • A new detail of Jack's immortality is revealed: he can regrow major parts of his anatomy even after experiencing physical destruction, although this is not a quick process. He is able to do so without losing memories, though it is stated that "part of a head" survived the blast, and it's not indicated if that part happened to include his brain.

Story Notes

to be added

Ratings

5.8 million overnight (BBC 1)

Myths

to be added

Filming Locations

  • Darwin Drive (play area), - Where Ianto met his sister
  • AvestaPolarit Steelworks, - Torchwood, London Warehouse

Discontinuity, Plot Holes and Errors

  • Jack was screaming while his cell was filled with concrete, wouldn't this mean that some of it would get into his mouth and solidify there? Also, wouldn't it solidify on the door itself preventing it from being opened? (It took awhile for the concrete to get to the level where it completely covered his mouth (Jack isn't lying on the floor). Concrete is not glue; pulling back the door would be the same as pulling off a mould (indeed the interior of the door leaves an impression on the concrete).)
  • When the concrete-filled cell is pulled out of the wall by the forklift, it appears to be much smaller than what was seen earlier when it was filled with concrete. In fact at some points it doesn't appear wide enough for Jack Harkness to be lying horizontal.( Possibly a trick of the camera angle.)
  • When the concrete cell smashes apart in the quarry, there's no sign of the gurney Jack was lying on. Again, possibly the camera angle obscured its wreckage.)
  • Why was Jack just a skeleton when he started regrowing? His arm at least was shown to be mostly intact and it's highly unlikely that his shoulder and skull piece were reduced to bone. (The rest of his body isn't visible, his arm (and the parts they took away in the small "body" bag) were not destroyed but the rest of his body was and, as time goes on, he grows new parts, reforms first (into that sticky bones we seen) then into a charred man and then back to normal.)
  • Rhys said his car was brand new, but the licence number said it was made in 2008, and the episode is set in 2009.
  • A concrete block would not break falling from that height, but would only chip. (Jack's presence within may have compromised the structural integrity of the concrete.Different dynamics - velocity for example)
  • Why does Gwen never seem to run out of bullets?(it could be the type of gun she carries - alien origins??)
  • Would one bullet really blow up a whole cement mixing lorry.(No. This has been debunked on several websites, most notably "Mythbusters". Most bullets are generally made of copper and lead, which do not spark when striking a surface. A bullet puncturing a gas tank or any part of the engine will not cause an explosion. Car explosions are "movie physics" and rarely occur in real life.)
  • Why would the government hire snipers who were such awful shots even at close range.(Ianto and Gwen were moving at the time, so they may not be the best at firing at moving objects)
  • How did Ianto know exactly where Jack's cell would be? (He watched them pour the cement in, so he knew where he was.)
  • Partly due to the differing nature between Torchwood and DW, Jack's clothing does not survive a bomb blast, even though it survives being incinerated in Journey's End (It's not known that it didn't survive.Jack got out prior to being completely incinerated)

DVD Releases

  • This Episode was released on DVD along with the rest of Children of Earth on the 13th of July, 2009.

External Links

Footnotes

v • e
Torchwood television stories
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Children of Earth: Day One • Day Two • Day Three • Day Four • Day Five
Series 4
Stories listed here are only those that have been officially licensed by the BBC.
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