Countrycide
Encyclopedia
"Countrycide" is an episode of the British
science fiction television
series Torchwood
. It is the sixth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 19 November 2006
team is at the mercy of hunters, playing a game of cat and mouse in an old village in the Brecon Beacons
.
team responds to reports of 17 people missing in the same 20-mile radius in the Brecon Beacons
using the last mobile phone
signal from the last disappearance as their starting point. After stopping at a rural hamburger stand (at which Toshiko declines a hamburger, citing concerns about hepatitis
), they begin to set up camp, and during friendly chatter, Owen
reveals that his last kiss was with Gwen
, prompting the others to get more details. Owen and Gwen quickly go off to get firewood, Gwen scolding Owen for revealing the kiss, when they suddenly see two hooded figures through the trees. They try to chase them but instead find a corpse. As the team investigates it to determine the cause of death, they hear their Range Rover start and drive off without the team. Ianto
tracks the vehicle to a nearby village; Jack
believes that the corpse was a lure to make them come to the village and warns the team to be alert as they split up to investigate.
Jack, Gwen, and Owen search the pub and nearby homes to find a further two corpses, each left in the same manner as the first. Other than that, they are deserted, save for one young man named Kieran who accidentally shoots and wounds Gwen with a shotgun, believing "they" had come back for him. Jack tries to calm Kieran down, but the man insists the only way to protect themselves is to barricade themselves in a building. Jack orders his group to the pub to create a defensive position while Owen tends to Gwen's wound. They learn from Kieran more about the victims, still unsure if they are dealing with aliens from the Rift, but suddenly the lights go out and movement comes from both outside the pub and the pub's cellar. The diversion prevents them from keeping Kieran from being dragged away, and Gwen and Owen try to follow against Jack's orders. Jack stays behind to interrogate Martin, the man he shot from the cellars. Gwen and Owen come across a policeman named Huw who says that he is there for the town meeting that night, and directs the two towards one of the lit buildings in the village.
Meanwhile, Toshiko and Ianto
attempt to find the Range Rover, but both are quickly captured and awake in a cellar, full of old clothes and shoes, and a refrigerator full of human body parts; Toshiko realizes they are to be food for their captors. The cellar door opens, and a scared woman named Helen enters the room holding a shotgun to the two, learns from them of the other Torchwood members, and then tells them that she cannot help them; she has been asked to collect the two for the "Harvest" which happens every ten years. They are taken into a kitchen filled with body parts and corpses. Toshiko quickly realizes that Helen is acting, and that she and others are cannibals
, as a man named Evan begins to handcuff them to be prepared for butchering. Ianto headbutts Evan, allowing Toshiko to escape, pursued by Evan. Evan catches up to Toshiko, but before he can choke her to death, Owen and Gwen, along with Huw, show up to stop him. Evan looks unconcerned as Huw reveals himself to be Evan's nephew, and the two lead the three Torchwood members back to the village at gunpoint.
Just before Ianto is cut open and bled, Jack, having learned of the villager's intent from Martin, bursts through the building on a tractor and disables the assembled villagers. They spare Evan's life to try to learn the truth: that every ten years, the village targets travelers passing through the area and butcher them. When Gwen demands to know why, Evan simply whispers to her "It made me happy." The surviving villagers are taken into custody by the police. After returning to Cardiff
, Gwen begins a sexual relationship with Owen, as he is the only one with whom she can share the experiences that she has been through.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
. It is the sixth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 19 November 2006
Synopsis
The separated TorchwoodTorchwood Institute
The Torchwood Institute is a fictional secret organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the events of "Tooth and Claw". Its prime directive, is to defend the earth against...
team is at the mercy of hunters, playing a game of cat and mouse in an old village in the Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of popular peaks south of Brecon, including South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan, and which together form the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park...
.
Plot
The TorchwoodTorchwood Institute
The Torchwood Institute is a fictional secret organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the events of "Tooth and Claw". Its prime directive, is to defend the earth against...
team responds to reports of 17 people missing in the same 20-mile radius in the Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of popular peaks south of Brecon, including South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan, and which together form the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park...
using the last mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
signal from the last disappearance as their starting point. After stopping at a rural hamburger stand (at which Toshiko declines a hamburger, citing concerns about hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
), they begin to set up camp, and during friendly chatter, Owen
Owen Harper
Owen Harper is a fictional character played by Burn Gorman, and a regular in the BBC television series Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character last appeared onscreen in the Series 2 finale, "Exit Wounds"....
reveals that his last kiss was with Gwen
Gwen Cooper
Gwen Cooper is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off to the long-running show Doctor Who, portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles. The series' lead female character, Gwen has featured in every episode of the sci-fi programme to date as well as two crossover...
, prompting the others to get more details. Owen and Gwen quickly go off to get firewood, Gwen scolding Owen for revealing the kiss, when they suddenly see two hooded figures through the trees. They try to chase them but instead find a corpse. As the team investigates it to determine the cause of death, they hear their Range Rover start and drive off without the team. Ianto
Ianto Jones
Ianto Jones is a fictional character in the BBC television series Torchwood, played by Welsh actor Gareth David-Lloyd. A series regular, Ianto appears in every episode of the programme's first three series, as well as two crossover episodes of Torchwoods parent show, Doctor Who...
tracks the vehicle to a nearby village; Jack
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
believes that the corpse was a lure to make them come to the village and warns the team to be alert as they split up to investigate.
Jack, Gwen, and Owen search the pub and nearby homes to find a further two corpses, each left in the same manner as the first. Other than that, they are deserted, save for one young man named Kieran who accidentally shoots and wounds Gwen with a shotgun, believing "they" had come back for him. Jack tries to calm Kieran down, but the man insists the only way to protect themselves is to barricade themselves in a building. Jack orders his group to the pub to create a defensive position while Owen tends to Gwen's wound. They learn from Kieran more about the victims, still unsure if they are dealing with aliens from the Rift, but suddenly the lights go out and movement comes from both outside the pub and the pub's cellar. The diversion prevents them from keeping Kieran from being dragged away, and Gwen and Owen try to follow against Jack's orders. Jack stays behind to interrogate Martin, the man he shot from the cellars. Gwen and Owen come across a policeman named Huw who says that he is there for the town meeting that night, and directs the two towards one of the lit buildings in the village.
Meanwhile, Toshiko and Ianto
Ianto Jones
Ianto Jones is a fictional character in the BBC television series Torchwood, played by Welsh actor Gareth David-Lloyd. A series regular, Ianto appears in every episode of the programme's first three series, as well as two crossover episodes of Torchwoods parent show, Doctor Who...
attempt to find the Range Rover, but both are quickly captured and awake in a cellar, full of old clothes and shoes, and a refrigerator full of human body parts; Toshiko realizes they are to be food for their captors. The cellar door opens, and a scared woman named Helen enters the room holding a shotgun to the two, learns from them of the other Torchwood members, and then tells them that she cannot help them; she has been asked to collect the two for the "Harvest" which happens every ten years. They are taken into a kitchen filled with body parts and corpses. Toshiko quickly realizes that Helen is acting, and that she and others are cannibals
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
, as a man named Evan begins to handcuff them to be prepared for butchering. Ianto headbutts Evan, allowing Toshiko to escape, pursued by Evan. Evan catches up to Toshiko, but before he can choke her to death, Owen and Gwen, along with Huw, show up to stop him. Evan looks unconcerned as Huw reveals himself to be Evan's nephew, and the two lead the three Torchwood members back to the village at gunpoint.
Just before Ianto is cut open and bled, Jack, having learned of the villager's intent from Martin, bursts through the building on a tractor and disables the assembled villagers. They spare Evan's life to try to learn the truth: that every ten years, the village targets travelers passing through the area and butcher them. When Gwen demands to know why, Evan simply whispers to her "It made me happy." The surviving villagers are taken into custody by the police. After returning to Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Gwen begins a sexual relationship with Owen, as he is the only one with whom she can share the experiences that she has been through.
Continuity
- This is the first episode not to feature a supernatural or extraterrestrial element and also the first not to feature any scenes within the Hub. It does not include any CGI elements at all. The only other Torchwood episode to contain no CGI effects is "Out of TimeOut of Time (Torchwood)"Out of Time" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 17 December 2006. It is the tenth episode of the first series.- Synopsis :...
". It is also the first non-science fictional/supernatural storyline taking place within the televised Doctor Who universe since Black OrchidBlack Orchid (Doctor Who)Black Orchid is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two parts on 1 March and 2 March 1982...
, a Fifth DoctorFifth DoctorThe Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
adventure broadcast in 1982. Even Jack's immortality is not a plot element. - CannibalismCannibalismCannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
also features in the Torchwood novels Another LifeAnother Life (Torchwood)Another Life is a BBC Books original novel written by Peter Anghelides and based on the British science fiction television, Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood. It features all the regular cast of the show.-Plot summary:...
by Peter AnghelidesPeter AnghelidesPeter Anghelides is an English author and dramatist best known for his work on various spin-offs related to the BBC television series Doctor Who.-Work:...
and Slow DecaySlow DecaySlow Decay is a BBC Books original novel written by Andy Lane and based on the British science fiction television, Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood...
by Andy LaneAndy LaneAndrew Lane , who also writes as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist. He has written a number of spin-off novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Finish based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who , as well as assorted non fiction books based...
. However in both of these stories, there is a supernatural explanation. - While they are setting up tents, Jack claims that "no other race in the universe goes camping."
Production
- The programme's title (a punPunThe pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on "countrysideRuralRural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
" and "homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
") is one of several references to the contrast between town and country, emphasised throughout the episode by LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
er Owen's remarks about the countryside. - The word "fuck" is used in dialogue in this episode; when broadcast on CBC in Canada and on BBC America in the U.S. the word was bleeped although other explicit language remains unaltered.
Music
- The song "Monster" by The AutomaticThe AutomaticThe Automatic , are a Welsh rock band. The band is composed of Robin Hawkins on vocals, bass and synthesizers, James Frost on guitar, synthesizers, backing vocals and occasional bass, Iwan Griffiths on drums and Paul Mullen on vocals, guitar and synthesizer - since 2007...
is featured in this episode (when Ellie stops her car to check on the 'body' in the middle of the road at the very beginning of the episode). - Captain Jack's Theme debuts in the scene where Jack drives a tractor straight through the barn doors and fires on the cannibals. Ben FosterBen Foster (orchestrator)Ben Foster is a British composer, orchestrator and conductor who is best known for his work as an orchestrator on the BBC series Doctor Who.- Career :...
used this as an inspiration to create the music, by bashing out on his keyboard "here he comes in a ruddy-great tractor". The theme's onamatopoeic structure made it a big hit from the first two season's original score.
Cast notes
- Owen Teale previously played Maldak in the Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial Vengeance on VarosVengeance on VarosVengeance on Varos is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 19–26 January 1985.-Synopsis:...
(1985).