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{{Short description|2006 Torchwood episode}} |
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Everything Changes (''Torchwood'')}} |
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Everything Changes (''Torchwood'')}} |
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{{Infobox Doctor Who episode |
{{Infobox Doctor Who episode |
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| number = 01 |
| number = 01 |
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| show = TW |
| show = TW |
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| type = episode |
| type = episode |
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* [[John Barrowman]] – [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] |
* [[John Barrowman]] – [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] |
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* [[Eve Myles]] – [[Gwen Cooper]] |
* [[Eve Myles]] – [[Gwen Cooper]] |
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| writer = [[Russell T Davies]] |
| writer = [[Russell T Davies]] |
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| script_editor = [[Brian Minchin]] |
| script_editor = [[Brian Minchin]] |
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| producer = [[Richard Stokes (producer)|Richard Stokes]]<br |
| producer = [[Richard Stokes (producer)|Richard Stokes]]<br>[[Chris Chibnall]] (co-producer) |
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| executive_producer = Russell T Davies<br |
| executive_producer = Russell T Davies<br>[[Julie Gardner]] |
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| composer = [[Murray Gold]] |
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| production_code = 1.1 |
| production_code = 1.1 |
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| series = [[List of Torchwood episodes#Series 1 (2006/07)|Series 1]] |
| series = [[List of Torchwood episodes#Series 1 (2006/07)|Series 1]] |
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| length = 50 mins |
| length = 50 mins |
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| date = {{Start date|2006|10|22|df=y}} |
| date = {{Start date|2006|10|22|df=y}} |
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| preceding = |
| preceding = |
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| following = "[[Day One (Torchwood)|Day One]]" |
| following = "[[Day One (Torchwood)|Day One]]" |
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}} |
}} |
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"'''Everything Changes'''" is the first [[List of Torchwood episodes|episode]] of the British [[science fiction on television|science fiction television]] programme ''[[Torchwood]]'', which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006. The story was written by show creator and [[executive producer]] [[Russell T Davies]] as an introduction to the show's [[mythos]]. The episode re-introduces [[Captain Jack Harkness]], who had proved popular in the [[Doctor Who (series 1)|first series]] of the 2005 revival of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', as the leader of [[Torchwood Institute|Torchwood]], a team of alien hunters. |
"'''Everything Changes'''" is the first [[List of Torchwood episodes|episode]] of the British [[science fiction on television|science fiction television]] programme ''[[Torchwood]]'', which was first broadcast on the digital channel [[BBC Three]] on 22 October 2006. The story was written by show creator and [[executive producer]] [[Russell T Davies]] as an introduction to the show's [[mythos]]. The episode re-introduces [[Captain Jack Harkness]], who had proved popular in the [[Doctor Who (series 1)|first series]] of the 2005 revival of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', as the leader of [[Torchwood Institute|Torchwood]], a team of alien hunters. |
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The story is told from the perspective of [[Gwen Cooper]] ([[Eve Myles]]), who comes across the Torchwood team through her job as a police officer with the [[South Wales Police]], who are investigating a series of strange deaths in Cardiff. Through Gwen's discovery of Torchwood, the audience are introduced to team members [[Owen Harper]] ([[Burn Gorman]]), [[Toshiko Sato]] ([[Naoko Mori]]) and [[Ianto Jones]] ([[Gareth David-Lloyd]]). [[Suzie Costello]], as played by [[Indira Varma]], had also been billed as a series regular prior to transmission, though in a twist the character was revealed as the murderer and killed off at the end of the episode, with Gwen replacing her as a member of the Torchwood team. |
The story is told from the perspective of [[Gwen Cooper]] ([[Eve Myles]]), who comes across the Torchwood team through her job as a police officer with the [[South Wales Police]], who are investigating a series of strange deaths in Cardiff. Through Gwen's discovery of Torchwood, the audience are introduced to team members [[Owen Harper]] ([[Burn Gorman]]), [[Toshiko Sato]] ([[Naoko Mori]]) and [[Ianto Jones]] ([[Gareth David-Lloyd]]). [[Suzie Costello]], as played by [[Indira Varma]], had also been billed as a series regular prior to transmission, though in a twist the character was revealed as the murderer and killed off at the end of the episode, with Gwen replacing her as a member of the Torchwood team. |
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Upon broadcast the episode earned BBC Three its highest ever viewing figures. Critical reaction to the episode was mixed, with reviewers making both positive and negative comparisons to ''Torchwood''{{'}}s parent show ''Doctor Who''. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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During a murder investigation in Cardiff, Gwen Cooper spies on a |
During a murder investigation in Cardiff, police officer [[Gwen Cooper]] spies on a group of five people called [[Torchwood Institute|Torchwood]], led by Captain [[Jack Harkness]], exiting an SUV. One member, [[List of Torchwood minor characters#Suzie Costello|Suzie]], uses a metal gauntlet to temporarily bring the victim to life and talk to him. Gwen flees when Jack notices her. The next day, Gwen runs into Jack again at a hospital and, following him, finds a sealed-off area where Jack catches a [[Weevil (Torchwood)|Weevil]]. |
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As she escapes, Gwen follows the Torchwood SUV to [[Roald Dahl Plass]], where she loses sight of them. Discovering a local pizza store makes regular deliveries to Torchwood, Gwen disguises herself as a pizza delivery girl. Monitoring her actions, Torchwood willingly let her into their underground hub. Jack shows Gwen around the hub, including the captured Weevil from the hospital. They then leave the hub via a pavement slab lift, which takes them to Roald Dahl Plass in front of the [[Wales Millennium Centre|Millennium Centre]]; the slab makes anyone standing on it unnoticed to passersby. |
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As she leaves the hospital, she spots the Torchwood vehicle and follows it. She learns from her office that the vehicle is unregistered, and that while there was a "Jack Harkness" who disappeared in 1941,<ref>See "[[Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood episode)|Captain Jack Harkness]]".</ref> there is not one currently on record. She follows the vehicle to [[Roald Dahl Plass]], where she continues the pursuit on foot only to lose sight of them as they pass a large fountain. She then learns from [[List of Torchwood minor characters#PC Andy Davidson|her partner Andy]] that all personnel at the hospital have been accounted for. |
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Over drinks, Jack explains that Torchwood is one of several branches, including Torchwood One which was destroyed at [[Canary Wharf]].{{refn|group=N|As depicted in the 2006 ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[Doomsday (Doctor Who)|Doomsday]]". In the 2007 ''Doctor Who'' episode "[[The Sound of Drums]]", Jack confirms that he changed the old Torchwood regime that was destroyed at Canary Wharf.}} They catch "tons" of aliens and scavenge alien technology that are washed up through a [[Rift (Whoniverse)|rift]] in space and time that runs through Cardiff, while preventing others from obtaining them. Jack places an amnesia pill in Gwen's drink, leaving her with no memory of the meeting. |
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Catching sight of a [[pizza delivery]] scooter, she inquires at the local pizza store and learns they make deliveries to Torchwood. Disguised as a pizza delivery girl, she enters a tourist centre where [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]] presses a button to reveal a secret passageway and lets her through. Following it, Gwen eventually finds herself in the Torchwood Hub, where the rest of the Torchwood team members initially try to ignore her entrance but break into fits of laughter, well aware of who she is. Jack shows Gwen around the Hub, including the captured Weevil from the hospital; they then leave the Hub via a [[List of Torchwood items#I|pavement slab lift]], which takes them to Roald Dahl Plass in front of the fountain. |
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⚫ | The next day at work, Gwen is shown a drawing of the murder weapon, which triggers a series of memories. These solidify when she spots a Millennium Centre programme with the word "Remember" in her own handwriting at home. Outside the Millennium Centre, Suzie explains she killed the man Gwen saw resurrected to test the gauntlet. Suzie pulls a gun on Gwen as she is the only one that can link Suzie to the murder weapon. Jack rises from the pavement lift, and Suzie turns and shoots him in the head. Jack then comes back to life. With no chance of escape, Suzie shoots herself in the head. Gwen now remembers everything. |
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Jack explains that a perception filter exists around the spot they are standing, making them invisible to passersby, explaining why Gwen lost track of the team earlier. Jack takes Gwen to a pub, and, over a drink, explains that the purpose of Torchwood is to help monitor and control the flotsam and jetsam of the time-space vortex that falls to Earth through the [[Rift (Whoniverse)|rift]] that exists on the site where the Hub was built. As Gwen wonders why Jack is telling her all of this, he explains that he has placed an [[List of Torchwood items#Amnesia pill|amnesia pill]] in her drink, and that she will have forgotten the information by morning. Gwen races home and tries to type out a message to herself before the pill's effects are complete, but falls asleep; [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]] remotely turns off her computer, causing the message to be lost. |
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⚫ | The gauntlet is sealed away. Standing on the roof of the Millennium Centre, Jack tells Gwen that he died once, but was brought back to life,{{refn|group=N|As depicted in the 2005 ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[The Parting of the Ways]]".}} and that he can never die. He agrees with Gwen that perhaps Torchwood can do more to help people, and offers her a job, which she accepts. |
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⚫ | The next day at work, Gwen is shown a drawing of the |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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This episode had the working title of "Flotsam And Jetsam". This title was worked into the script when Jack describes the idea of "flotsam and jetsam" falling through the Rift into Cardiff.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} The opening scene, involving the reanimation of a corpse in an alley at night, was adapted from a pitch written by Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner for a possible science fiction series called ''Excalibur'', devised before Davies became responsible for the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who''. In "[[Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Torchwood)|Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]]" Captain John Hart jokes about the name Torchwood and says it should have been named Excalibur.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Cindy |last=White |title=BBC's ''Torchwood'' Has U.S. Roots |url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=43570 |work=[[Sci Fi Wire]] |date=24 August 2007 | |
This episode had the working title of "Flotsam And Jetsam". This title was worked into the script when Jack describes the idea of "flotsam and jetsam" falling through the Rift into Cardiff.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} The opening scene, involving the reanimation of a corpse in an alley at night, was adapted from a pitch written by Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner for a possible science fiction series called ''Excalibur'', devised before Davies became responsible for the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who''. In "[[Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Torchwood)|Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]]" Captain John Hart jokes about the name Torchwood and says it should have been named Excalibur.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Cindy |last=White |title=BBC's ''Torchwood'' Has U.S. Roots |url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=43570 |work=[[Sci Fi Wire]] |date=24 August 2007 |access-date=2007-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015092707/http://scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=43570 |archive-date=15 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[BBC Three]] premiere on 22 October 2006 aired ''Everything Changes'' back-to-back with the second episode, "[[Day One (Torchwood)|Day One]]", in a 100-minute premiere special; the closing credits of both episodes were combined to air at the end. |
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The Weevils, who were introduced in this episode, went on to recur in both ''Torchwood'' and ''[[Doctor Who]]''. |
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===Music=== |
===Music=== |
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The song "[[We Are the Pipettes]]" by [[The Pipettes]] is featured in this episode (as Gwen & Andy arrive to break up a bar fight), "[[She Moves |
The song "[[We Are the Pipettes]]" by [[The Pipettes]] is featured in this episode (as Gwen & Andy arrive to break up a bar fight), "[[She Moves in Her Own Way]]" by [[The Kooks]] (heard in the background at Jubilee Pizza) and "[[Spitting Games]]" by [[Snow Patrol]] (as Owen hits on Linda at the bar). |
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==Broadcast== |
==Broadcast== |
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In the unofficial overnight viewing figures, "Everything Changes" gained an average audience of 2.4 million for its debut showing on BBC Three,<ref name="ratings">{{Cite web|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/overnights/story/0,,1929356,00.html|title=Torchwood scores digital first|publisher=[[Guardian Unlimited]]|format=Requires free registration|first=Jason|last=Deans|date=2006-10-23| |
In the unofficial overnight viewing figures, "Everything Changes" gained an average audience of 2.4 million for its debut showing on BBC Three,<ref name="ratings">{{Cite web|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/overnights/story/0,,1929356,00.html|title=Torchwood scores digital first|publisher=[[Guardian Unlimited]]|format=Requires free registration|first=Jason|last=Deans|date=2006-10-23|access-date=2006-10-23}}</ref> a 12.7% share of the total television audience for its slot.<ref name="beebratings">{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6077078.stm|title=Torchwood scores record audience|publisher=[[BBC News Online]]|date=2006-10-23|access-date=2006-10-23}}</ref> This was the largest audience ever recorded by a BBC Three programme, as well as the highest ever audience for a programme broadcast solely on a [[digital television]] platform that was not either a United States import or a live [[football (soccer)|football]] match.<ref name="ratings" /> The figure also placed "Everything Changes" third in its time slot across all channels, beaten only by the [[analog television|analogue]] channels [[ITV1]] and [[Channel 4]] with ''[[Prime Suspect]]'' and ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' respectively.<ref name="ratings" /> |
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When "Everything Changes" was repeated on analogue channel [[BBC Two]] three days after its BBC Three airing, it won an audience of 2.8 million, a 13% share.<ref name="ratings2">{{Cite web|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/overnights/story/0,,1932151,00.html|title=Torchwood lands on BBC2 with 2.8m|format=Requires free registration|first=Jason|last=Deans|publisher=[[Guardian Unlimited]]|date=2006-10-26| |
When "Everything Changes" was repeated on analogue channel [[BBC Two]] three days after its BBC Three airing, it won an audience of 2.8 million, a 13% share.<ref name="ratings2">{{Cite web|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/overnights/story/0,,1932151,00.html|title=Torchwood lands on BBC2 with 2.8m|format=Requires free registration|first=Jason|last=Deans|publisher=[[Guardian Unlimited]]|date=2006-10-26|access-date=2006-10-26}}</ref> This again placed the episode third in its timeslot, behind ''[[Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series)|Who Do You Think You Are?]]'' on [[BBC One]] and the thriller ''Bon Voyage'' on [[ITV1]].<ref name="ratings2" /> |
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===Reviews and reception=== |
===Reviews and reception=== |
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The website of ''[[The Stage]]'' entertainment industry newspaper gave "Everything Changes" a positive preview in its coverage following the 18 October press screening of the episode. "The first episode is an economical, by the numbers introduction to the team", wrote reviewer Mark Wright. "It's certainly bold, the cast are very pretty and the dialogue has a zippy archness to it. Whether that will become grating after a few episodes remains to be seen, but if you like your sci-fi drama a bit punchier than the whimsical ''Doctor Who'', touch wood, you should find a lot to enjoy in the adventures of ''Torchwood''."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2006/10/torchwood_first_look.php |title=Everything changes—a first look at Torchwood |publisher=[[The Stage]] |first=Mark |last=Wright |date=2006-10-19 | |
The website of ''[[The Stage]]'' entertainment industry newspaper gave "Everything Changes" a positive preview in its coverage following the 18 October press screening of the episode. "The first episode is an economical, by the numbers introduction to the team", wrote reviewer Mark Wright. "It's certainly bold, the cast are very pretty and the dialogue has a zippy archness to it. Whether that will become grating after a few episodes remains to be seen, but if you like your sci-fi drama a bit punchier than the whimsical ''Doctor Who'', touch wood, you should find a lot to enjoy in the adventures of ''Torchwood''."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2006/10/torchwood_first_look.php |title=Everything changes—a first look at Torchwood |publisher=[[The Stage]] |first=Mark |last=Wright |date=2006-10-19 |access-date=2006-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104064435/http://www.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2006/10/torchwood_first_look.php |archive-date=4 January 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref> |
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Previewing the episode for the ''[[Radio Times]]'' listing magazine, Mark Braxton was impressed, but felt that the series would offer better episodes later in the run. "It's slick, scary, funny and expensive looking, but it's also very much an establishing episode", Braxton commented. "With the guided tour dispensed with, however, the fun can really begin."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Braxton|first=Mark|title=Today's Choices – Sunday 22 October|journal=[[Radio Times]]|volume=331|issue=4307|pages=74|publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]]|date= |
Previewing the episode for the ''[[Radio Times]]'' listing magazine, Mark Braxton was impressed, but felt that the series would offer better episodes later in the run. "It's slick, scary, funny and expensive looking, but it's also very much an establishing episode", Braxton commented. "With the guided tour dispensed with, however, the fun can really begin."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Braxton|first=Mark|title=Today's Choices – Sunday 22 October|journal=[[Radio Times]] |volume=331|issue=4307|pages=74|publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]]|date=October 21–27, 2006 }}</ref> |
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''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper's television reviewer Sam Wollaston also gave the episode a guarded welcome, although he felt that the attempts to make Cardiff appear glamorous were a failure. "They've done their best to sex the place up—lots of helicopter shots of that posh bit where [[Charlotte Church]] lives, but it still looks like Cardiff, to be honest. No matter—most of the interesting things are going on below the ground... It's not yet clear whether Eve Myles as new Torchwood recruit PC Gwen Cooper can fill [[Billie Piper]]'s boots. Surely not—those boots are two gaping weekend voids that no one can fill. But this looks promising: it's slick, quick and a tiny bit scary. Not much humour yet, which was the lovely thing about ''Doctor Who''. But it's early days; don't jump quite yet."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/comment/0,,1929140,00.html|title=The weekend's TV| |
''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper's television reviewer Sam Wollaston also gave the episode a guarded welcome, although he felt that the attempts to make Cardiff appear glamorous were a failure. "They've done their best to sex the place up—lots of helicopter shots of that posh bit where [[Charlotte Church]] lives, but it still looks like Cardiff, to be honest. No matter—most of the interesting things are going on below the ground... It's not yet clear whether Eve Myles as new Torchwood recruit PC Gwen Cooper can fill [[Billie Piper]]'s boots. Surely not—those boots are two gaping weekend voids that no one can fill. But this looks promising: it's slick, quick and a tiny bit scary. Not much humour yet, which was the lovely thing about ''Doctor Who''. But it's early days; don't jump quite yet."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/comment/0,,1929140,00.html|title=The weekend's TV|work=[[The Guardian]] |last=Wollaston |first=Sam|date=2006-10-23|access-date=2006-10-23}}</ref> |
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''[[The Sunday Times (UK)|The Sunday Times]]'' Culture magazine mentioned ''Torchwood'' as one of the week's highlights and added that it was "arguably better than ''Who''". Less positively, the ''[[The Scotsman|Scotsman]]'' when reviewing the episode said "''Torchwood'' seems to me to be as nonsensical and full of holes and unexciting as the genre always is."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://living.scotsman.com/tv.cfm?id=1557142006|title=Aliens versus yoof|publisher=[[The Scotsman]]|last=Heggie|first=Iain|date=2006-10-21| |
''[[The Sunday Times (UK)|The Sunday Times]]'' Culture magazine mentioned ''Torchwood'' as one of the week's highlights and added that it was "arguably better than ''Who''". Less positively, the ''[[The Scotsman|Scotsman]]'' when reviewing the episode said "''Torchwood'' seems to me to be as nonsensical and full of holes and unexciting as the genre always is."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://living.scotsman.com/tv.cfm?id=1557142006|title=Aliens versus yoof|publisher=[[The Scotsman]]|last=Heggie|first=Iain|date=2006-10-21|access-date=2006-12-19}}</ref> The use of the alien perfume on the young woman and her boyfriend by Owen has drawn criticism of the character online, with some viewers pointing out this is similar to [[date rape]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a84181/cult-spy-catching-up-with-torchwood.html|title= Cult Spy: Catching Up With 'Torchwood'|work=[[Digital Spy]]|first=Ben|last=Rawson-Jones|date=2008-01-13|access-date=2008-05-07}}</ref> |
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==Notes== |
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{{Reflist|group=N}} |
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The episode, starting off series 1, premiered at [[Comic-Con International]] on 26 July 2007, and on [[BBC America]] on 8 September 2007. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/torchwood/sites/episodes/series1/ep01_everythingchanges.shtml "Everything Changes" episode guide entry on the BBC website] |
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/torchwood/sites/episodes/series1/ep01_everythingchanges.shtml "Everything Changes" episode guide entry on the BBC website] |
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{{Torchwood}} |
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{{Weevil stories}} |
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Latest revision as of 17:00, 22 November 2024
01 – "Everything Changes" | |||
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Torchwood episode | |||
Cast | |||
Starring | |||
Others
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Production | |||
Directed by | Brian Kelly | ||
Written by | Russell T Davies | ||
Script editor | Brian Minchin | ||
Produced by | Richard Stokes Chris Chibnall (co-producer) | ||
Executive producer(s) | Russell T Davies Julie Gardner | ||
Music by | Murray Gold | ||
Production code | 1.1 | ||
Series | Series 1 | ||
Running time | 50 mins | ||
First broadcast | 22 October 2006 | ||
Chronology | |||
| |||
"Everything Changes" is the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 22 October 2006. The story was written by show creator and executive producer Russell T Davies as an introduction to the show's mythos. The episode re-introduces Captain Jack Harkness, who had proved popular in the first series of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, as the leader of Torchwood, a team of alien hunters.
The story is told from the perspective of Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), who comes across the Torchwood team through her job as a police officer with the South Wales Police, who are investigating a series of strange deaths in Cardiff. Through Gwen's discovery of Torchwood, the audience are introduced to team members Owen Harper (Burn Gorman), Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). Suzie Costello, as played by Indira Varma, had also been billed as a series regular prior to transmission, though in a twist the character was revealed as the murderer and killed off at the end of the episode, with Gwen replacing her as a member of the Torchwood team.
Upon broadcast the episode earned BBC Three its highest ever viewing figures. Critical reaction to the episode was mixed, with reviewers making both positive and negative comparisons to Torchwood's parent show Doctor Who.
Plot
[edit]During a murder investigation in Cardiff, police officer Gwen Cooper spies on a group of five people called Torchwood, led by Captain Jack Harkness, exiting an SUV. One member, Suzie, uses a metal gauntlet to temporarily bring the victim to life and talk to him. Gwen flees when Jack notices her. The next day, Gwen runs into Jack again at a hospital and, following him, finds a sealed-off area where Jack catches a Weevil.
As she escapes, Gwen follows the Torchwood SUV to Roald Dahl Plass, where she loses sight of them. Discovering a local pizza store makes regular deliveries to Torchwood, Gwen disguises herself as a pizza delivery girl. Monitoring her actions, Torchwood willingly let her into their underground hub. Jack shows Gwen around the hub, including the captured Weevil from the hospital. They then leave the hub via a pavement slab lift, which takes them to Roald Dahl Plass in front of the Millennium Centre; the slab makes anyone standing on it unnoticed to passersby.
Over drinks, Jack explains that Torchwood is one of several branches, including Torchwood One which was destroyed at Canary Wharf.[N 1] They catch "tons" of aliens and scavenge alien technology that are washed up through a rift in space and time that runs through Cardiff, while preventing others from obtaining them. Jack places an amnesia pill in Gwen's drink, leaving her with no memory of the meeting.
The next day at work, Gwen is shown a drawing of the murder weapon, which triggers a series of memories. These solidify when she spots a Millennium Centre programme with the word "Remember" in her own handwriting at home. Outside the Millennium Centre, Suzie explains she killed the man Gwen saw resurrected to test the gauntlet. Suzie pulls a gun on Gwen as she is the only one that can link Suzie to the murder weapon. Jack rises from the pavement lift, and Suzie turns and shoots him in the head. Jack then comes back to life. With no chance of escape, Suzie shoots herself in the head. Gwen now remembers everything.
The gauntlet is sealed away. Standing on the roof of the Millennium Centre, Jack tells Gwen that he died once, but was brought back to life,[N 2] and that he can never die. He agrees with Gwen that perhaps Torchwood can do more to help people, and offers her a job, which she accepts.
Production
[edit]This episode had the working title of "Flotsam And Jetsam". This title was worked into the script when Jack describes the idea of "flotsam and jetsam" falling through the Rift into Cardiff.[citation needed] The opening scene, involving the reanimation of a corpse in an alley at night, was adapted from a pitch written by Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner for a possible science fiction series called Excalibur, devised before Davies became responsible for the 2005 revival of Doctor Who. In "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" Captain John Hart jokes about the name Torchwood and says it should have been named Excalibur.[1] The BBC Three premiere on 22 October 2006 aired Everything Changes back-to-back with the second episode, "Day One", in a 100-minute premiere special; the closing credits of both episodes were combined to air at the end. The Weevils, who were introduced in this episode, went on to recur in both Torchwood and Doctor Who.
Music
[edit]The song "We Are the Pipettes" by The Pipettes is featured in this episode (as Gwen & Andy arrive to break up a bar fight), "She Moves in Her Own Way" by The Kooks (heard in the background at Jubilee Pizza) and "Spitting Games" by Snow Patrol (as Owen hits on Linda at the bar).
Broadcast
[edit]In the unofficial overnight viewing figures, "Everything Changes" gained an average audience of 2.4 million for its debut showing on BBC Three,[2] a 12.7% share of the total television audience for its slot.[3] This was the largest audience ever recorded by a BBC Three programme, as well as the highest ever audience for a programme broadcast solely on a digital television platform that was not either a United States import or a live football match.[2] The figure also placed "Everything Changes" third in its time slot across all channels, beaten only by the analogue channels ITV1 and Channel 4 with Prime Suspect and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen respectively.[2]
When "Everything Changes" was repeated on analogue channel BBC Two three days after its BBC Three airing, it won an audience of 2.8 million, a 13% share.[4] This again placed the episode third in its timeslot, behind Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC One and the thriller Bon Voyage on ITV1.[4]
Reviews and reception
[edit]The website of The Stage entertainment industry newspaper gave "Everything Changes" a positive preview in its coverage following the 18 October press screening of the episode. "The first episode is an economical, by the numbers introduction to the team", wrote reviewer Mark Wright. "It's certainly bold, the cast are very pretty and the dialogue has a zippy archness to it. Whether that will become grating after a few episodes remains to be seen, but if you like your sci-fi drama a bit punchier than the whimsical Doctor Who, touch wood, you should find a lot to enjoy in the adventures of Torchwood."[5]
Previewing the episode for the Radio Times listing magazine, Mark Braxton was impressed, but felt that the series would offer better episodes later in the run. "It's slick, scary, funny and expensive looking, but it's also very much an establishing episode", Braxton commented. "With the guided tour dispensed with, however, the fun can really begin."[6]
The Guardian newspaper's television reviewer Sam Wollaston also gave the episode a guarded welcome, although he felt that the attempts to make Cardiff appear glamorous were a failure. "They've done their best to sex the place up—lots of helicopter shots of that posh bit where Charlotte Church lives, but it still looks like Cardiff, to be honest. No matter—most of the interesting things are going on below the ground... It's not yet clear whether Eve Myles as new Torchwood recruit PC Gwen Cooper can fill Billie Piper's boots. Surely not—those boots are two gaping weekend voids that no one can fill. But this looks promising: it's slick, quick and a tiny bit scary. Not much humour yet, which was the lovely thing about Doctor Who. But it's early days; don't jump quite yet."[7]
The Sunday Times Culture magazine mentioned Torchwood as one of the week's highlights and added that it was "arguably better than Who". Less positively, the Scotsman when reviewing the episode said "Torchwood seems to me to be as nonsensical and full of holes and unexciting as the genre always is."[8] The use of the alien perfume on the young woman and her boyfriend by Owen has drawn criticism of the character online, with some viewers pointing out this is similar to date rape.[9]
Notes
[edit]- ^ As depicted in the 2006 Doctor Who episode "Doomsday". In the 2007 Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums", Jack confirms that he changed the old Torchwood regime that was destroyed at Canary Wharf.
- ^ As depicted in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Parting of the Ways".
References
[edit]- ^ White, Cindy (24 August 2007). "BBC's Torchwood Has U.S. Roots". Sci Fi Wire. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
- ^ a b c Deans, Jason (23 October 2006). "Torchwood scores digital first" (Requires free registration). Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
- ^ "Torchwood scores record audience". BBC News Online. 23 October 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
- ^ a b Deans, Jason (26 October 2006). "Torchwood lands on BBC2 with 2.8m" (Requires free registration). Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 26 October 2006.
- ^ Wright, Mark (19 October 2006). "Everything changes—a first look at Torchwood". The Stage. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
- ^ Braxton, Mark (21–27 October 2006). "Today's Choices – Sunday 22 October". Radio Times. 331 (4307). BBC Worldwide: 74.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (23 October 2006). "The weekend's TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
- ^ Heggie, Iain (21 October 2006). "Aliens versus yoof". The Scotsman. Retrieved 19 December 2006.
- ^ Rawson-Jones, Ben (13 January 2008). "Cult Spy: Catching Up With 'Torchwood'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
External links
[edit]- Everything Changes on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
- "Everything Changes" episode guide entry on the BBC website