This first episode was fast, which I liked. It didn’t waste time dealing with what it had to deal with. Somewhere into the second, writer Russell T. Davies decides to go nuts. He brings back Alternate Pete Tyler (Shaun Dingwall), Mickey (Noel Clarke), and Jake (Andrew-Hayden Smith) from the other earth — as well as the Cybermen and the Daleks with a little Torchwood. This is a lot to take in, and not all of it seemed to fit.
We open with Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) giving a short review of her life with The Doctor (first with Christopher Eccelston and then with David Tennant). We then see her on what appears to be a world without color looking forlorn while speaking about the adventure that lead to her “death.” That word caught my interest, and so did the plot of what was to come.
In the present time, The Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose land back in London where her mother Jackie (Camille Coduri) is visited by a relative — one who had passed on a while back, but returned in a ghost form. Apparently, everyone in London had been getting these same visitors who claim to be related in some way to them, but only for a certain window of time. The Doctor, Jackie, and Rose soon find out that it’s tied in with the Torchwood organization (which was first mentioned in “Tooth and Claw” earlier this year) which is led by Yvonne Hartman (Tracy Ann-Oberman).
Torchwood’s purpose is to take alien technology that is discovered and make defense weapons and machinery for protection against forces that would hurt Earth. One of their pet projects had been a sphere that acts as a container. Another is the opening of the ghost gateway, which lets in the ghosts that Jackie and all of London have seen.
When they first arrive inside the Torchwood building, The Doctor and Jackie surrender themselves while Rose hides out in the police box. In their separation, Rose discovers the secret to the inside of the sphere — it contains four Daleks. The Doctor and Jackie discover that the ghosts are really cloaked Cybermen, who are waiting for the right moment to strike — which they do by brainwashing a few of Torchwood’s own. Of course there’s a conflict between them as to who would rule the earth. The Cybermen don’t see their small numbers as a threat, and the Daleks believe the Cybermen are full of it. Unfortunately for the Cybermen, the four Daleks didn’t come without luggage. They brought with them The Genesis Ark, a device which produces more Daleks, thus starting what was to be the ultimate war. Luckily for The Doctor, Jackie, and Rose, help is on the way.
Article comments