Fragments (21 Mar. 2008)

As the team is trapped in the rubble of a building, their paths to joining Torchwood are revealed.

Director:

Jonathan Fox Bassett

Writers:

Russell T. Davies (creator), Chris Chibnall

Stars:

John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Barrowman	...	Captain Jack Harkness
Eve Myles	...	Gwen Cooper
Burn Gorman	...	Owen Harper
Naoko Mori	...	Toshiko Sato
Gareth David-Lloyd	...	Ianto Jones
Kai Owen	...	Rhys Williams
Amy Manson	...	Alice Guppy
Heather Craney	...	Emily Holroyd
Paul Kasey	...	Blowfish / Weevil
Skye Bennett	...	Little Girl
Julian Lewis Jones	...	Alex
Simon Shackleton	...	Bob
Gareth Jones	...	Security Guard
Clare Clifford	...	Milton (as Claire Clifford)
Noriko Aida	...	Toshiko's Mother

Storyline

Jack, Owen, Toshiko, and Ianto track signs of alien life to an abandoned building, only to find that it is a trap as a series of bombs explode. As the team lies trapped in the ruins of the building, the scene shifts to show how each of them joined Torchwood. Jack's encounter with Torchwood comes in the Victorian era, when two female operatives bring him in to query him as to the whereabouts of the Doctor. Jack confesses that he is waiting in Cardiff in the hope of encountering the Time Lord. Although initially repulsed by Torchwood's procedures, he agrees to join after being told that over a century will pass before he encounters the Doctor again. He remains a member until the eve of the millennium, when he takes over Torchwood after the previous team leader murders the other team members. Toshiko is shown working in the Ministry of Defense, where she steals the plans for a sonic weapon. After building it she delivers it to two people holding her mother hostage, but all are captured ...

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 March 2008 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Wales, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 50 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the parts Toshiko uses to build the device is a simple single coil guitar pickup.

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Goofs

Jack Harkness mentions eating dinosaur meat after the asteroid hit. Torchwood shares continuity with Doctor Who which is a continuation of Doctor Who in which the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by the crash of a deep space cargo freighter from 65 million years in the future in Doctor Who: Earthshock: Part 4.

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Quotes

[Alex, a fellow Torchwood employee of Jack's, has shot all their colleagues]
Captain Jack Harkness: Alex, listen. It's going to be okay.
Alex: No. It's not. It's really not. I looked inside. It showed me what's coming. They were mercy killings. It's the kindest thing I could do. So none of us see the storm. I'm sorry I can't do the same for you. 21st century, Jack. Everything's gonna change. And we're not ready.
[shoots himself]
Captain Jack Harkness: Alex!

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Connections

References Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

User Reviews

A terrific trip down memory lane for the Torchwood team

In this penultimate episode from the second season, the Torchwood team are lured into a potentially fatal trap when a building they are exploring is wired to explode. Covered in debris and fighting to survive, the various team members remember how they were first introduced to Torchwood.

This is a great episode and its fragmented nature works well. The episode builds to a terrific climax, leaving the viewer ravenous for the final episode.

9 out of 10. This has been a cracking series and I dearly hope that many more seasons will follow.