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Theory:Torchwood television discontinuity and plot holes/Fragments: Difference between revisions
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Theory:Torchwood television discontinuity and plot holes/Fragments (edit)
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{{Discontinuity}} | {{Discontinuity}} | ||
*Jack refers to himself as Jack Harkness in his Victorian-era flashback, but that alias was taken from a Second World War airman. | *Jack refers to himself as Jack Harkness in his Victorian-era flashback, but that alias was taken from a Second World War airman. | ||
: He took the name from a WWII airman, then met the doctor, then went back to the Victorian era. Thus, he had already taken the name before this flashback took place. | ::He took the name from a WWII airman, then met the doctor, then went back to the Victorian era. Thus, he had already taken the name before this flashback took place. | ||
*Jack is "killed" by the blast, Ianto gets at least a hand injury and head wound, and Tosh breaks her arm and some ribs, yet Owen - arguably the most fragile of the group and unable to heal - somehow manages to escape completely unscathed. | *Jack is "killed" by the blast, Ianto gets at least a hand injury and head wound, and Tosh breaks her arm and some ribs, yet Owen - arguably the most fragile of the group and unable to heal - somehow manages to escape completely unscathed. | ||
::Martha had said in an earlier episode that Owen can't bruise, and as was revealed by him cutting his hand open in [[Dead Man Walking]], he doesn't bleed either. If one considers this and the fact that he can't feel pain and was wearing clothes that covered most of his body, he could have suffered considerable physical trauma and he and the viewer would not be aware of it. Also, it might just be a storytelling device -- irony. Also, the explosion was down to chance. Chance doesn't decide which person is most 'fragile.' Another thing is that he may be wearing some form of protection underneath his clothing in order to protect himself more than normal. | ::Martha had said in an earlier episode that Owen can't bruise, and as was revealed by him cutting his hand open in [[Dead Man Walking]], he doesn't bleed either. If one considers this and the fact that he can't feel pain and was wearing clothes that covered most of his body, he could have suffered considerable physical trauma and he and the viewer would not be aware of it. Also, it might just be a storytelling device -- irony. Also, the explosion was down to chance. Chance doesn't decide which person is most 'fragile.' Another thing is that he may be wearing some form of protection underneath his clothing in order to protect himself more than normal. | ||
*The depiction of UNIT as a rather malevolent | *The depiction of UNIT as a rather malevolent organisation that keeps human prisoners in stark conditions (including filthy cells with no beds) with no rights is at odds with the depiction of the organisation in the 1968-89 episodes, as well as the later ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]''/''[[The Poison Sky]]''. | ||
::Jack covers this by referring to the then-current (political/security) climate; UNIT's behaviour parallels real-world criticisms of the United States and others in the War on Terror era. Also, UNIT was never thoroughly profiled; it may have had a dark side, much as Torchwood did. This is also implied in dialogue when [[Martha Jones]] tells the Doctor she wants to change the organization from the inside out in [[The Sontaran Stratagem]]. Also it is not known who is in charge of UNIT at this point in time as the relationship of former UNIT head [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] -- a more benevolent character -- have not been fully established; note, for example, UNIT's involvement with the world-destroying [[Osterhagen Key]] in [[Journey's End]]. There is also nothing in | ::Jack covers this by referring to the then-current (political/security) climate; UNIT's behaviour parallels real-world criticisms of the United States and others in the War on Terror era. Also, UNIT was never thoroughly profiled; it may have had a dark side, much as Torchwood did. This is also implied in dialogue when [[Martha Jones]] tells the Doctor she wants to change the organization from the inside out in [[The Sontaran Stratagem]]. Also it is not known who is in charge of UNIT at this point in time as the relationship of former UNIT head [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] -- a more benevolent character -- have not been fully established; note, for example, UNIT's involvement with the world-destroying [[Osterhagen Key]] in [[Journey's End]]. There is also nothing in The Sontaran Stratagem or The Poison Sky that contradicts the depiction of UNIT in this episode. In fact it reinforces it, with Donna and the Doctor both taking an exceedingly dim view of UNIT and it's practices. | ||
*The killing of the Torchwood 3 team on | *The killing of the Torchwood 3 team on New Years Eve 1999 takes place on the same day as the [[Eighth Doctor]] fought [[The Master#Stealing Bruce's body|the Master]] in [[San Francisco]], an incident punctuated by news coverage of unusual weather and other odd events. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who: the Movie]]'') Yet there's no mention of this at Torchwood, an organisation that should know. | ||
::Time zones: midnight in the UK occurred many hours before midnight in San Francisco, and most of the odd weather and other events surrounding the Master's scheme did not manifest until only a few hours prior to the New Year in San Francisco. It's possible Torchwood would have been made aware of the events "off screen", though Jack would likely have been preoccupied with the murder of his team. Also, [[Torchwood One]] is still active at this point and would more likely have handled this issue. Plus Torchwood works for the British Empire and therefore would not go to America, unlike UNIT. At around the time Torchwood Three's members are killed, the Eighth Doctor would have only been meeting [[Grace Holloway]] for the first time, long before any major events transpired. The most that Torchwood would know at this point is that a man with two hearts had died in San Francisco, if that had even been reported. We also don't know what [[Alex Hopkins]] knew - he might have been well aware of these events but since he had snapped and was in the process of killing his team, it might have been irrelevant; Jack, for his part, was occupied by a mission. | ::Time zones: midnight in the UK occurred many hours before midnight in San Francisco, and most of the odd weather and other events surrounding the Master's scheme did not manifest until only a few hours prior to the New Year in San Francisco. It's possible Torchwood would have been made aware of the events "off screen", though Jack would likely have been preoccupied with the murder of his team. Also, [[Torchwood One]] is still active at this point and would more likely have handled this issue. Plus Torchwood works for the British Empire and therefore would not go to America, unlike UNIT. At around the time Torchwood Three's members are killed, the Eighth Doctor would have only been meeting [[Grace Holloway]] for the first time, long before any major events transpired. The most that Torchwood would know at this point is that a man with two hearts had died in San Francisco, if that had even been reported. We also don't know what [[Alex Hopkins]] knew - he might have been well aware of these events but since he had snapped and was in the process of killing his team, it might have been irrelevant; Jack, for his part, was occupied by a mission. | ||
:::That said, the TV movie (albeit bending time zones somewhat) seems to suggest ''something'' unusual happened in the UK late that night.[http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/02/25/the-world-united/12/] | :::That said, the TV movie (albeit bending time zones somewhat) seems to suggest ''something'' unusual happened in the UK late that night.[http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/02/25/the-world-united/12/] | ||
*The team think about how they came to join Torchwood while they are trapped. But how could Jack think back when he is apparently killed by the blast? | *The team think about how they came to join Torchwood while they are trapped. But how could Jack think back when he is apparently killed by the blast? | ||
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*When Jack enters the Hub, the Doctor's hand can be seen. How did Jack already have possession of the hand prior to the events of ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]''? | *When Jack enters the Hub, the Doctor's hand can be seen. How did Jack already have possession of the hand prior to the events of ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]''? | ||
::If I am right in assuming you mean in the flashback, Jack does not have the Doctor's hand. What is actually seen are two of the same type of chamber holding different things - when Gwen first joins Torchwood, she sees three of the chambers on the table. Euguene also comments on the face/head of a monster that sits behind the Doctor's hand, they are still present in | ::If I am right in assuming you mean in the flashback, Jack does not have the Doctor's hand. What is actually seen are two of the same type of chamber holding different things - when Gwen first joins Torchwood, she sees three of the chambers on the table. Euguene also comments on the face/head of a monster that sits behind the Doctor's hand, they are still present in Series 2 after Jack has returned to the Hub without the Doctor's hand. | ||
*Jack mentions meteors killing the dinosaurs. [[Earthshock]] | *Jack mentions meteors killing the dinosaurs. [[Earthshock]] seems to state that it was actually a spaceship. | ||
::Jack probably didn't know this, he may not be 100 per cent accurate on actual Earth History bearing in mind he comes from the distant future and that a spaceship wouldn't be on record as causing dinosaurs to become extinct. It's also possibly this reference was a joke. | ::Jack probably didn't know this, he may not be 100 per cent accurate on actual Earth History bearing in mind he comes from the distant future and that a spaceship wouldn't be on record as causing dinosaurs to become extinct. It's also possibly this reference was a joke. | ||
*Tosh's handcuffs disappear without explanation when she's first put in her cell. | *Tosh's handcuffs disappear without explanation when she's first put in her cell. | ||
::She may be good at picking locks and getting them off. | ::She may be good at picking locks and getting them off. | ||
:::Or maybe it's because they were taken off before she got shoved into her cell | :::Or maybe it's because they were taken off before she got shoved into her cell | ||
[[Category:TW TV discontinuity]] | [[Category:TW TV discontinuity]] | ||
