Theory:Torchwood television discontinuity and plot holes/Children of Earth: Day Five

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This page is for discussing the ways in which Children of Earth: Day Five doesn't fit well with other DWU narratives. You can also talk about the plot holes that render its own, internal narrative confusing.

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• With Day Five being set on a Saturday (if the newspaper Ianto picked up is anything to go by), then why are the children at school? Obviously the government told them to but why would they go?

Not all of them did - and seeing as they missed a day of school, their parents may have wanted them to make up for it. Plus, parents may send children in for the injection they were suppossed to receive. Also it may have been seen as a safe option for the children. Or a typo in the newspaper (due to panic writing).

• Why does Jack's vortex manipulator work?

It didn't, at least not as a teleport. Jack simply used it to send a signal. The ship then teleported him up.

It was fixed in The Stolen Earth and the Doctor didn't break it again like he did in Last of the Time Lords. There's no reason his vortex manipulator shouldn't work.

• How does Jack know when a vessel is passing through the Solar System?

His vortex manipulator has previously been seen to include a communication device, which he presumably used to contact a sufficiently advanced nearby ship. Also, there's a good possibility he was aware of the ship due to his knowledge of Earth's future.

Obviously he didn't use his vortex manipulator to discover it, since Gwen had it at the time.

• The way Gwen talks about the Doctor on her video, you'd think she'd never seen nor met the man.

She only saw him on screen during Journey's End, for a few moments, not much time to form a opinion.

• Why do the soldiers that chase Gwen and the others suddenly stop after the children had used their voices to kill the 456 in Thames House and why does Gwen instantly know that the children saved themselves?

Perhaps the soldiers were informed of the 456's defeat, and relayed the information to the soldiers, ceasing the pursuit. They may have also been informed of the captive children emitting the high pitched soundwave, and relayed that info to Gwen, who they knew was with Torchwood.They may have been shocked by the children emitting this sound enough for them to stop.

• If Gwen doesn't want Jack to leave Earth why does she give him his Vortex Manipulator?

He asked her for it. Even if she knew that he was going to use it to leave, it would have been childish to keep it from him and try to force him to stay against his will. She realises this is what Jack needs.

• Why, so soon after Journey's End, did Jack forget about Mr Smith? Mr. Smith was capable of ringing every mobile in the world; surely he'd be able to broadcast the signal Jack needed?

The children are directly connected to the 456, necessitating to the best of Jack's knowledge that the signal be sent through them. Plus he has no way to contact Sarah Jane.

• The premise of children producing chemicals (not some other form of matter or energy) that give the 456 a "hit" requires suspension of disbelief. While not an immediate solution to the crisis, it would be simple enough to synthesize a drug that would have the same effect. At the very least, it should be possible to "harvest" the necessary "chemicals" from children on Earth without having to surrender them to the aliens or kill them outright. Given the level of technology available in the Doctor Who/Torchwood universe, (clones, terraforming, etc.) there would be several alternatives available, none of which are mentioned in the story.

We never actually see any 456 technology in the story- especially not anything to suggest that they have cloning or terraforming techniques.

The fact that we can synthesize THC doesn't prevent people from smoking marijuana leaves. In fact, I'd say the vast majority of them would still try to buy and use the "organic" drug even if you offered them free and legal THC. For that matter, we can synthesize ethanol, but how many people would choose 8ml of ethanol over a shot of whiskey, a cocktail, a glass of wine, or a can of beer? And it's not just the mythology about "organic" drugs; people are also addicted to the act of rolling and smoking joints (or cutting and snorting lines, or whatever the ritual is for their drug of choice). So, why should alien drug addicts be any different from ours?

• Why didn't Frobisher try and flee with his wife and children? They hadn't gone to school and there was no sign of military in his house to forcibly collect them. He could have bundled them into the back of his car and driven off to hide somewhere. Even if London was blockaded, the military wouldn't have questioned a high-profile civil servant moving around within the city and, at the very least, he could have evaded them for a while, possibly long enough for the 456 to get their 10% and leave. He probably would have been arrested after that, but his wife and children would have been alive and likely unpunished.

There is a possibility that the harvesting of the 10% lasts longer than expected (due to the many parents keeping their kids off) and Frobisher's children would be taken on his arrest. Also, the military may have been approaching Frobisher's house as Frobisher performed the shooting.

As the Prime Minister tells him, this was a PR stunt, meaning the media would have likely followed him and his family and would have been unlikely to give them the slip.

• The resolution only succeeded in getting rid of the particular member of the 456 in the glass case at Thames House. It didn't do anything to deter potential invasion or retaliation from the rest of the species. In an earlier episode, they even discuss destroying the one in Thames House and dismiss it as a way of potentially escalating the threat.

Given the revelation of what the 456 wanted the children for it may be that its tactic relied on an awful lot of bluff and it was not representative of it species. It may even have been solitary drug lord with no support whatsoever except those back home waiting for the "merchandise". It's also possible more damage was done to the 456 than it appeared.

• Would the Doctor really refuse to save 35 million children just because the Earth's governments were willing to hand them over?

No, but Gwen doesn't know that.

Then where was he?

The main premise of the spin-off shows such as Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures is that the Doctor can't always be there to save Earth from every alien invasion, which is why organisations such as UNIT and Torchwood exist, to save the Earth during times in which the Doctor is not present. I don't think the Doctor would have allowed this to happen if he had discovered in time, he certainly wouldn't just allow it to happen out of "shame". Tell me, how could the Doctor have even known the event had even taken place? Most likely scenario is that he discovered it happened after the event had already taken place, meaning that he couldn't prevent it from happening (once you learn about an event that has already happened, you can't prevent it happening), but he almost certainly went after the remaining 456 creatures that fled Earth and put a stop to them.

• Why, when Frobisher shoots his wife or two daughters, only the gunshots can be heard? Surely one of the family would either scream or cry, or Frobisher would have to talk to them and explain the reasons for his actions.

Considering that all three gunshots were fired one after the other, they probably were in too much shock to be able to react. If you're dad pulled out a gun and shot you, your sister and your mum instantly, wouldn't you be too shocker by both the fact its your dad and that he's started shooting?

• Why did Andy remove his police uniform before brawling the army? Surely the bulletproof vest under it would have provided better protection from the soldiers?

It is likely that in the heat of the moment this wasn’t a thought that passed through Andy’s head. The removal of his police uniform was more of a thematic choice to show a disconnect from his “duty” and acceptance of his own individual choice to fight back.

• How come we never hear of what the other governments of the world are doing? We only hear of the plans decided by the UK cabinet and UNIT, with backing from the World Health Organisation. Surely there would be some governments that would refuse to go along with the inoculation cover and refuse to hand over their children?