Adam (TV story)

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Adam was the fifth episode of Series 2 of Torchwood. It was written by Catherine Tregenna and directed by Andy Goddard. From a production point of view, it marked the last time Tregenna wrote for Torchwood.

It explored Jack Harkness' origins through flashbacks and gave more context to Gray, the mysterious person first mentioned by John Hart in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. It also further developed the relationship between Jack and Ianto.

Synopsis

An alien with the power to change memories infiltrates the team. With Captain Jack caught up in memories of his lost family and Gwen struggling to remember Rhys, it takes Jack's love of Ianto to reveal the truth. Yet there's always a price to pay.

Plot

The Torchwood team is examining a strange box when Gwen Cooper arrives, slightly late because she was spending time with Rhys. Looking around, she sees Adam Smith with the others, and asks in confusion who he is; Adam replies "That's what I said to you on your first day...remember?" When Adam puts a hand on her shoulder, Gwen suddenly has false memories of spending time with Adam, including playing basketball. Smiling, she hugs him.

Adam is then seen changing the Torchwood database to add his file into it. Tosh asks him what he was doing, and he says he was updating details on rift activity. Adam and Tosh then kiss, much to the annoyance of Owen, who is wearing glasses. Meanwhile, Jack is down in the cells when he sees a young boy, which causes him to stop in shock. Gwen calls him, but when Jack turns around again, the boy is gone.

Gwen is then seen in her apartment. Rhys comes up behind her and attempts to give her a hug, but Gwen, thinking he is a stalker, points a knife then a pistol at him and gets Jack to come over to her apartment. We learn that all of Gwen's memories of Rhys have been wiped, to the point that she thinks he put up photos of them together while she was gone. However, Jack and the rest of the Torchwood team simply presume it to be amnesia due to stress.

Owen is seen trying to flirt with Tosh unsuccessfully over beers. Jack is out trying to catch another Weevil down in the sewers, but encounters a strange man whom Jack addresses as "Dad", who tells him to get out. Exiting the sewers in a panic, he meets Adam, who has appeared out of nowhere; but when Jack asks him how he got there, Adam implants false memories of him having come with Jack. Adam asks him what he saw in the sewers, to which he replies simply, "My past." He then further imprints himself on Jack's mind, convincing him he joined the crew because Jack felt he could confide in him. Jack then reveals he remembered a buried memory from his childhood on the Boeshane Peninsula: the day "the most horrible creatures" attacked his home, killing his father. Fleeing with his brother Gray, Jack accidentally let go of his hand, and never saw him again. Stricken anew with guilt from having lost his brother, Jack leaves Adam in the rain.

At the Torchwood Hub, Tosh has found that the box is made of wood. Owen asks after the origins of the box, to which Ianto responds that Jack brought it in. However, Tosh insists that Adam found it in an excavation. Ianto leaves to check his diary for the answer. Owen again tries to flirt with Tosh, culminating in a confession of love, but Tosh reacts with anger and scornfully tells Owen he is not her type. Owen is devastated.

Gwen is seen at a general store with Rhys. When they get to the checkout, the cashier leaves to answer a call, despite clearly being able to see Rhys there. Rhys, angry, begins to go off on a rant, to which Gwen laughs. The outburst reminds her of similar occurrences in their past, and she begins to remember Rhys.

Ianto is flipping through his diary and is shocked to find that it contains no mention of Adam at all. Adam then appears behind him, and Ianto questions who he really is. Adam's hand starts to flicker, and we learn that Adam exists simply from people being able to remember him. To keep his secret safe, Adam decides to implant in Ianto memories of murdering three women, claiming that he had forgotten about the thrill he gets from doing this. Ianto sinks to the floor, crying.

Adam leaves, going to Tosh's flat. To celebrate their anniversary, the pair kiss passionately. Adam briefly stops, asking Tosh how far she'd go to protect him. After she confirms she would die for him, they resume kissing.

Meanwhile, Jack is on a rooftop, pondering why he can suddenly remember the "worst day of his life" despite having buried the memory 150 years ago. He returns to the hub, finding Ianto in a delirious state. Ianto tells him to put him in a vault because he is a monster, confessing that he killed three women. However, Jack refuses to believe it, even after the "best lie detector on the planet" confirms Ianto is telling the truth. He pulls up CCTV footage of the Hub and finds Adam implanting the false memories. Recalling Adam touching him earlier, he deduces that touch is how he changed their memories.

Jack, checking the records, finds that not only do they lack a blood sample of Adam, but his file was last updated only 24 hours ago. The day lights then switch on as the others arrive. Owen brings in a bouquet of flowers for Tosh, apologising for how he acted yesterday. Tosh forgives him, confirming she is happy with Adam, who sits at his desk. Gwen then arrives, revealing her memories of Rhys are still hazy. To comfort them, Adam insists on a group hug. Noticing Ianto has not joined them, Adam goes to touch him, but Ianto knocks his hand back. Jack then approaches and holds Adam at gunpoint. Gwen and Owen are confused by this, as they still believe Adam part of the team, and a distraught Tosh pulls her gun on Jack. Ianto grabs her and Jack quickly sends Adam to the cells.

Jack and the others go to the meeting room to discuss Adam. After urging them to remember their true memories from before Torchwood – Gwen of Rhys in high school, Owen of his tenth birthday, Tosh her fondness of maths and Ianto recalling his girlfriend Lisa – Jack hands them all amnesia pills to wipe out their memories of Adam. The only one left, Jack goes to the vaults to have one last talk with Adam. Begging to live, Adam promises to help Jack regain his other, happier memories of his family. Jack agrees, recalling the day he and his father played catch with Gray. However, Adam telepathically implants himself in Jack's revived memory as a stranger who spoiled Jack's day, ruining the happiness of the memory. Adam discloses the nature of the wooden box, it contains his last good memory, of Jack, Jack's father and Gray. Moreover, Adam claims destroying him will remove all Jack's memories of his father. Distraught at losing the real memory, Jack nevertheless takes an amnesia pill, erasing Adam from existence.

The next day, all of the Torchwood team are confused as to why they cannot recall anything from the past 48 hours. Owen is no longer wearing glasses, and claims that Tosh's flowers could not have come from him as he "doesn't do" flowers or apologies; Tosh has also reverted to her old personality. Jack is seen taking Adam's box out of a Torchwood bag, and a small component also falls out. Ianto comes in and Jack gives him his diary, implying he has looked in it by claiming, "Measuring tapes never lie." Seeing the bag is labelled "ADAM'S PROPERTY", he asks Ianto: "Who's Adam?", but Ianto replies that he doesn't know and leaves. Jack, fiddling with the box and the component, manages to open it and finds it to be filled with sand, which he stares at ominously.

Cast

Crew

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



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

Animals

  • Owen tries to give Tosh a screen cleaner in the form of a mouse holding cheese.

Disease and illnesses

  • The team think Gwen has suffered from temporary amnesia.

Food and Beverages

  • Adam implants a false memory of making coffee for Gwen.
  • Rhys was going to make Gwen "spag bol", but claims he couldn't do it because of the garlic involved, saying "can't kiss a girl with garlic breath".
  • Owen makes Tosh smoked salmon sandwiches. Tosh goes to get a beer to drink whilst eating them.

Individuals

  • Gwen and Rhys met at college. Their first kiss was at a supermarket.
  • Owen says he doesn't "do" flowers or apologies.

Locations

Timeline

  • Adam adds himself into the Torchwood records, giving his name as Adam Smith, his birth date as 16 November 1982, and the date that he was recruited into Torchwood as 7 May 2005.

Weapons

  • Gwen threatens Rhys with a knife and a gun.

Story notes

  • A family friendly pre-watershed edit of this episode aired at 7:00pm the following day, Thursday 14 February 2008, on BBC Two.
  • The regular opening flash of sequences is altered, for this episode only, to feature two shots of Adam, furthering the illusion he is part of the Torchwood team.
  • The Boeshane Peninsula and Jack's home are seen. However, the nature of the beings which attacked Jack's family isn't revealed.
  • The sound effects used for the shrieks of the unseen creatures which invaded Jack's home when he was young were the same ones used for the Krillitanes in TV: School Reunion.
  • This story finishes with none of the main characters having any memory of what happened whatsoever, making it the only television story which none of the regulars can remember.
  • Whilst filming the kiss between Jack and Ianto, the crew pulled a prank on John Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd by not calling "Cut!" after they had stopped filming, causing the kiss to continue for more than two minutes before the two actors realised what was going on.

Ratings

  • 3.79 million viewers[1]

Filming locations

  • Talbot Place, Cardiff - exterior Gwen and Rhys' flat
  • The Port Of Cardiff, Cardiff Docks, Wales - Jack comes out of sewers, meets Adam
  • Canal Park, Butetown, Cardiff - Adam following Jack around chatting
  • Coney Beach, Porthcawl - Boeshane Peninsula beach
  • Merthyr Mawr Warren, Merthyr Mawr - beach near (young) Jack's house
  • Waterguard Pub (outside), Harbour Drive, Cardiff - outside (young) Jack's house
  • Fox Street, Splott, Cardiff - Ianto 'remembers' the murder in an alley
  • BBC Studios, Upper Boat, Tonteg Road, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd, Wales
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.

Production errors

To be added

Myths

Continuity

Home video releases

  • Adam, along with the rest of series 2, was released in a complete series box set in 2008.
  • It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)

Footnotes

  1. ↑ BARB Ratings - April, 2008

External links

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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