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Day One (Torchwood)
Encyclopedia
"Day One" is the second episode of the first series of the British
science fiction television
series Torchwood
. Written by Chris Chibnall
and directed by Brian Kelly
, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three
on 22 October 2006 with the series pilot, "Everything Changes
", and later repeated on terrestiral channel BBC Two
on 25 October.
The episode centres on Gwen Cooper
(Eve Myles
) working her first case with Torchwood Three in Cardiff
. A purple alien gas is loose in the city and takes Carys Fletcher (Sara Lloyd Gregory) host; the gas kills its victims by orgasm
, leaving behind a pile of dust. Over the course of the episode, the team hunt for Carys before the gas kills her. In the end they track her down to a fertility clinic
; the gas leaves Carys to take Gwen host, but is stopped by a portable prison cell and dies out.
Originally entitled "New Girl", the episode was written to interpret Gwen's "first day in hell". On the sex gas, series creator Russell T Davies stated "when we're launching a new adult science fiction drama, it's kind of inevitable you're going to do the sex monster". The episode was filmed during a three to four week period in May 2006, with much of it filmed before the first episode in the same production block. "Day One" was originally seen by 2.3 million viewers, making it one of the highest-rated BBC Three broadcasts of all time, but was met with generally mixed reviews.
(Kai Owen
) is cut short when they witness a meteor
crashing outside Cardiff
. Gwen receives a message on her mobile phone
, and is called into action. As the Army
secures the area, Torchwood investigate the meteor. Colleague Owen Harper
(Burn Gorman
) taunts Gwen by calling her the "new girl". In an attempt to retaliate, she throws a chisel
at him, but misses and cracks open the meteor, allowing a purple gas entity to escape. The gas finds a young woman, Carys Fletcher, outside a nightclub
and takes her host. In the club, a possessed Carys seduces a man and takes him to a restroom, where they proceed to have sex
. At the moment of climax
however, the man dissolves into dust while Carys absorbs the energy that remains.
The Torchwood team become aware of the bizarre death and realises through CCTV
that the gas has taken over Carys. Gwen feels guilty at having caused the man's death, but team leader Captain Jack Harkness
(John Barrowman
) assures her that everybody makes mistakes. Gwen also learns that she is the only team member who's in a relationship, as the others are too busy working to find time. They later find where Carys lives and arrives there before she could harm a postman. When she tries to escape, Owen traps her using a portable prison cell, much to Jack's chagrin, as he forbids using alien technology without his permission.
Carys is placed in a Torchwood holding cell. As tests are run on Carys, Gwen feels uncontrollable urges to kiss her, showing that Carys is emitting high levels of pheromone
s, effectively becoming a "walking aphrodisiac
", but the gas is also slowly killing her. Later, Carys escapes from her cell after succumbing Owen. Jack attempts to apprehend her, but she manages to get hold of a jar containing a severed hand, which Jack finds valuable. He allows her to leave for the jar's safety, but she destroys it anyway.
In an attempt to capture her again, the team run on Toshiko Sato
's (Naoko Mori
) hunch that she will be after her ex-boyfriend; they arrive at his house to find Carys already killed him. Later they discover Carys works as a temp
at a fertility clinic
. They race to the clinic to find Carys has been inside for some time killing some of the clients. After eventually cornering Carys, they find that she has moments before she dies. Jack buys her some time by kissing her, transferring some of his "excess" of life onto her. Gwen offers the gas presence her own body as a host to save Carys; it leaves Carys, but before it could enter Gwen, Jack throws the portable prison cell at it. Since it cannot survive in Earth's atmosphere for long, the gas dies out.
In the end, Carys is reunited with her father. The team returns to Torchwood, and as she leaves for home, Jack advises Gwen not to let the job consume her because her perspective is important to the team. He then encourages Gwen to go home and spend time with Rhys.
The working title
for the episode was "New Girl", which changed to the current "Day One" by the beginning of October 2006. Head writer Chris Chibnall
, who wrote the episode, found that writing the second episode was hard, as there was a challenge to demonstrate how Torchwood works, and set the formula for the rest of the series. He wanted to write an episode that would centre on Gwen about her "first day in hell", and show the audience that Torchwood is unlike any normal job, as one small mistake can have major ramifications on the city. The scene where Gwen accidentally opens the meteor was meant to "extend the metaphor of breaking the photocopier on your first day at work". It is also set to show the separate dynamic between the team and Gwen. Series creator Russell T Davies stated that as the rest of the team are for the aliens, science, technology and mythology, Gwen is for "the people"; she's the only person in the team who cares about what happens to Carys. Eve Myles also noted in the episode's audio commentary
that throughout the episode, it added a mix between her domestic life and the science fiction.
The idea behind using the sex gas came from Chibnall, but he admitted to having "genuinely no idea where the episode came from". Davies stated "when we're launching a new adult science fiction drama, it's kind of inevitable you're going to do the sex monster." He also emphasised that the episode is not solely about "having a laugh" with the sex gas, as it also has "something to say about the world". The scene where Carys walks down the street featuring sex in advertisements and couples kissing in public was one of Davies' favourite scenes in the episode, as it explores how sexualised the Western world
is. The episode was originally much lighter in tone, however, the majority of the comedic moments had to be cut on the final script, as they got in the way of the plot. Also, Carys was originally meant to have two or three boyfriends, but because of scheduling restrictions, there could only be one. This ended up being beneficial to the episode, as it made it more emotive. There was a scene that would be filmed with Carys and a second boyfriend, but that would be cut and added on the deleted scenes on the DVD
boxset of the first series.
After it was written, BBC
controller of fiction, Jane Tranter
, fed back to the producers and suggested that the Torchwood team take a "breather" and talk about the mysteries behind Captain Jack while having a Chinese
takeway
. Through the read through of the script before filming, Burn Gorman noted that he saw "big smiles" and giggling from several readers because of its content. Sara Gregory read the script with her mother.
The meteor crash site was filmed at a natural erosion site just outside Cardiff, which the location manager
s found by chance, and felt it was the perfect location for a crash site. The producers included an easter egg
in the Torchwood Hub set by including the picture of Craig-y-Nos Castle
, used as a location of Torchwood House in the Doctor Who
episode "Tooth and Claw
"; in the end of the episode the Torchwood Institute
was established by Queen Victoria. To film the scene where Gwen and Carys kiss, actresses Eve Myles and Sara Gregory discussed how they would execute it beforehand and agreed that they have to imagine Gregory as Johnny Depp
, and Myles as Brad Pitt
. To film the exploding rat
sequence, episode director Brian Kelly
filmed a rat in a cage, and then replace it with a fur covered condom
filled with "chicken bits" and red dye to simulate guts, then exploded with a squib
.
were produced by The Mill
. To complete the effect of the gas, 3D artist Paul Burton based his design of the alien from the water creature in The Abyss
.
, just after the first episode, "Everything Changes
". The second episode received overnight viewing figures of 2.3 million with a 13.8% audience share, holding the majority of the audience from the first episode. Together both episodes received the largest multichannel audience for a UK-originated non-sports programme and the at the time largest audience for BBC Three. The finale figure for the episode was 2.498 million viewers. The record would be held until the broadcast of EastEnders Live: The Aftermath
on 19 February 2010. The repeat of "Day One" on analogue channel BBC Two
on 25 October was seen by 2.8 million with a 13% audience share. "Day One" was given an Appreciation Index
of 83.
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy of Den of Geek stated "After the excellent pilot episode, 'Day One' is both a step forward and a step backward. As silly as the idea of a nymphomaniac extra-terrestrial gas is, the cast throw themselves into it with aplomb, quipping their way to the relatively gripping conclusion." Patrick Holm of Total Sci-Fi felt that the second episode "equates the word 'adult' with sex and swearing – more of a playground definition than a serious drama. In the conclusion of his review, Jonathan Capps of Noise to Signal felt that the episode was "certainly nothing to get excited about, but I think it won't be too indicative of later episodes, as we're still getting to know these characters, and that has to take the fore in the first few episodes. However, Chris' [Chibnall] painfully simplistic, heavy handed and often clichéd interpretation of sci-fi (some of Jack's techno-babble is frankly embarrassing) could prove to be a worrying factor later in the series." A reviewer of TV Fodder felt "Day One" was a "great second episode", adding "there doesn't seem to be anything I don't like about this show".
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...
. Written by Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall is a British playwright, television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction series Torchwood....
and directed by Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly (director)
Brian Kelly is a British television director. He has worked on several high-profile British television drama series, including Sea of Souls, Taggart, Monarch of the Glen and Holby City. In 2006 he took charge of directing the first block of episodes of the Doctor Who spin-off series...
, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
on 22 October 2006 with the series pilot, "Everything Changes
Everything Changes (Torchwood)
"Everything Changes" is the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006.-Synopsis:Police constable Gwen Cooper comes across the mysterious organisation known as Torchwood...
", and later repeated on terrestiral channel BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 25 October.
The episode centres on Gwen Cooper
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...
(Eve Myles
Eve Myles
Eve Myles is an award winning Welsh actress of stage and screen. She is best known to Welsh audiences for her portrayal of Ceri Owen in the BBC Wales drama Belonging, and to audiences worldwide for her role as Gwen Cooper in the science fiction show Torchwood, a spin-off from Doctor Who.-Personal...
) working her first case with Torchwood Three in 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...
. A purple alien gas is loose in the city and takes Carys Fletcher (Sara Lloyd Gregory) host; the gas kills its victims by orgasm
Orgasm
Orgasm is the peak of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, characterized by an intense sensation of pleasure...
, leaving behind a pile of dust. Over the course of the episode, the team hunt for Carys before the gas kills her. In the end they track her down to a fertility clinic
Fertility clinic
Fertility clinics are staffed medical clinics that assist couples, and sometimes individuals, who want to become parents but for medical reasons have been unable to achieve this goal via the natural course...
; the gas leaves Carys to take Gwen host, but is stopped by a portable prison cell and dies out.
Originally entitled "New Girl", the episode was written to interpret Gwen's "first day in hell". On the sex gas, series creator Russell T Davies stated "when we're launching a new adult science fiction drama, it's kind of inevitable you're going to do the sex monster". The episode was filmed during a three to four week period in May 2006, with much of it filmed before the first episode in the same production block. "Day One" was originally seen by 2.3 million viewers, making it one of the highest-rated BBC Three broadcasts of all time, but was met with generally mixed reviews.
Plot
A date between Gwen Cooper and her boyfriend Rhys WilliamsRhys Williams (Torchwood)
Rhys Alun Williams, portrayed by Kai Owen, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co-habiting boyfriend of principal character Gwen Cooper...
(Kai Owen
Kai Owen
Kai Owen is a Welsh actor of stage and screen, known to Welsh audiences for his numerous roles on Welsh-language television and to worldwide audiences for his portrayal of Rhys Williams in Torchwood....
) is cut short when they witness a meteor
METEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
crashing outside 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 receives a message on her 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...
, and is called into action. As the Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
secures the area, Torchwood investigate the meteor. Colleague Owen Harper
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"....
(Burn Gorman
Burn Gorman
Burn Hugh Gorman is an American-born English actor and musician. Burn is best known for his roles as Owen Harper in Torchwood and as William Guppy in Bleak House.-Personal life:...
) taunts Gwen by calling her the "new girl". In an attempt to retaliate, she throws a chisel
Chisel
A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal. The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it.In use, the chisel is forced into the material...
at him, but misses and cracks open the meteor, allowing a purple gas entity to escape. The gas finds a young woman, Carys Fletcher, outside a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
and takes her host. In the club, a possessed Carys seduces a man and takes him to a restroom, where they proceed to have sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. At the moment of climax
Orgasm
Orgasm is the peak of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, characterized by an intense sensation of pleasure...
however, the man dissolves into dust while Carys absorbs the energy that remains.
The Torchwood team become aware of the bizarre death and realises through CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
that the gas has taken over Carys. Gwen feels guilty at having caused the man's death, but team leader Captain Jack Harkness
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...
(John Barrowman
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
) assures her that everybody makes mistakes. Gwen also learns that she is the only team member who's in a relationship, as the others are too busy working to find time. They later find where Carys lives and arrives there before she could harm a postman. When she tries to escape, Owen traps her using a portable prison cell, much to Jack's chagrin, as he forbids using alien technology without his permission.
Carys is placed in a Torchwood holding cell. As tests are run on Carys, Gwen feels uncontrollable urges to kiss her, showing that Carys is emitting high levels of pheromone
Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
s, effectively becoming a "walking aphrodisiac
Aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire. The name comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sexuality and love. Throughout history, many foods, drinks, and behaviors have had a reputation for making sex more attainable and/or pleasurable...
", but the gas is also slowly killing her. Later, Carys escapes from her cell after succumbing Owen. Jack attempts to apprehend her, but she manages to get hold of a jar containing a severed hand, which Jack finds valuable. He allows her to leave for the jar's safety, but she destroys it anyway.
In an attempt to capture her again, the team run on Toshiko Sato
Toshiko Sato
is a fictional character from the television series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, played by Naoko Mori. After a one-off appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London" , Toshiko is re-introduced as a series regular in the Torchwood 2006 premiere episode "Everything Changes"...
's (Naoko Mori
Naoko Mori
is a British-Japanese actress known for roles as Sarah, Saffron's "odd" friend in Absolutely Fabulous, Mie Nishikawa in Casualty, and Toshiko Sato in Doctor Who and Torchwood.-Early life:...
) hunch that she will be after her ex-boyfriend; they arrive at his house to find Carys already killed him. Later they discover Carys works as a temp
Temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance", or "part-time"; or the word may be shortened...
at a fertility clinic
Fertility clinic
Fertility clinics are staffed medical clinics that assist couples, and sometimes individuals, who want to become parents but for medical reasons have been unable to achieve this goal via the natural course...
. They race to the clinic to find Carys has been inside for some time killing some of the clients. After eventually cornering Carys, they find that she has moments before she dies. Jack buys her some time by kissing her, transferring some of his "excess" of life onto her. Gwen offers the gas presence her own body as a host to save Carys; it leaves Carys, but before it could enter Gwen, Jack throws the portable prison cell at it. Since it cannot survive in Earth's atmosphere for long, the gas dies out.
In the end, Carys is reunited with her father. The team returns to Torchwood, and as she leaves for home, Jack advises Gwen not to let the job consume her because her perspective is important to the team. He then encourages Gwen to go home and spend time with Rhys.
Writing
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
for the episode was "New Girl", which changed to the current "Day One" by the beginning of October 2006. Head writer Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall is a British playwright, television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction series Torchwood....
, who wrote the episode, found that writing the second episode was hard, as there was a challenge to demonstrate how Torchwood works, and set the formula for the rest of the series. He wanted to write an episode that would centre on Gwen about her "first day in hell", and show the audience that Torchwood is unlike any normal job, as one small mistake can have major ramifications on the city. The scene where Gwen accidentally opens the meteor was meant to "extend the metaphor of breaking the photocopier on your first day at work". It is also set to show the separate dynamic between the team and Gwen. Series creator Russell T Davies stated that as the rest of the team are for the aliens, science, technology and mythology, Gwen is for "the people"; she's the only person in the team who cares about what happens to Carys. Eve Myles also noted in the episode's audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
that throughout the episode, it added a mix between her domestic life and the science fiction.
The idea behind using the sex gas came from Chibnall, but he admitted to having "genuinely no idea where the episode came from". Davies stated "when we're launching a new adult science fiction drama, it's kind of inevitable you're going to do the sex monster." He also emphasised that the episode is not solely about "having a laugh" with the sex gas, as it also has "something to say about the world". The scene where Carys walks down the street featuring sex in advertisements and couples kissing in public was one of Davies' favourite scenes in the episode, as it explores how sexualised the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
is. The episode was originally much lighter in tone, however, the majority of the comedic moments had to be cut on the final script, as they got in the way of the plot. Also, Carys was originally meant to have two or three boyfriends, but because of scheduling restrictions, there could only be one. This ended up being beneficial to the episode, as it made it more emotive. There was a scene that would be filmed with Carys and a second boyfriend, but that would be cut and added on the deleted scenes on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
boxset of the first series.
After it was written, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
controller of fiction, Jane Tranter
Jane Tranter
Jane Tranter is an English television executive who has been the executive vice-president of programming and production at BBC Worldwide's Los Angeles base since January 2009...
, fed back to the producers and suggested that the Torchwood team take a "breather" and talk about the mysteries behind Captain Jack while having a Chinese
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
takeway
Take-out
Take-out or takeout , carry-out , take-away , parcel , or tapau , is food purchased at a...
. Through the read through of the script before filming, Burn Gorman noted that he saw "big smiles" and giggling from several readers because of its content. Sara Gregory read the script with her mother.
Filming
Much of the episode was filmed in the first production block along with "Everything Changes", but much of it was filmed before the pilot. It took place during a three to four week period in May 2006 in and around Cardiff, the city where the series was set. The majority of the episode was filmed during the night, to keep with the style that the majority of the series is set during the night as well. However, because it was approaching summer, where nights are shorter, night sequences had to be shot between 10 pm and 4:30 am during each night of filming. Even the scenes set in the Torchwood hub were mostly filmed at nighttime. The first sequence to be shot was where the team stop Carys from having sex with the postman. However, the sequence had to be shot again twelve days later.The meteor crash site was filmed at a natural erosion site just outside Cardiff, which the location manager
Location manager
The Location Manager is responsible for the finding and securing locations to be used and coordinating the logistics involved for the production to successfully complete its necessary work...
s found by chance, and felt it was the perfect location for a crash site. The producers included an easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
in the Torchwood Hub set by including the picture of Craig-y-Nos Castle
Craig-y-Nos Castle
Craig-y-Nos Castle , is a Victorian-Gothic country house in Britain. Built on parkland beside the River Tawe in the upper Swansea Valley, it is located on the southern edge of Fforest Fawr in Powys. The former estate of opera singer Adelina Patti, part of the complex is now used as a boutique...
, used as a location of Torchwood House in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor 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...
episode "Tooth and Claw
Tooth and Claw (Doctor Who)
"Tooth and Claw" is the second episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and was first broadcast on 22 April 2006. In 1879 Scotland, the Doctor and Rose meet Queen Victoria...
"; in the end of the episode the Torchwood Institute
Torchwood 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...
was established by Queen Victoria. To film the scene where Gwen and Carys kiss, actresses Eve Myles and Sara Gregory discussed how they would execute it beforehand and agreed that they have to imagine Gregory as Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, and Myles as Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
. To film the exploding rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
sequence, episode director Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly (director)
Brian Kelly is a British television director. He has worked on several high-profile British television drama series, including Sea of Souls, Taggart, Monarch of the Glen and Holby City. In 2006 he took charge of directing the first block of episodes of the Doctor Who spin-off series...
filmed a rat in a cage, and then replace it with a fur covered condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
filled with "chicken bits" and red dye to simulate guts, then exploded with a squib
Squib (explosive)
A squib is a miniature explosive device used in a wide range of industries, from special effects to military applications. It resembles a tiny stick of dynamite, both in appearance and construction, although with considerably less explosive power...
.
Post-production
"Day One" was the first episode to include a teaser in the beginning with shots from the series. The episode's visual effectsVisual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
were produced by The Mill
The Mill (post-production)
The Mill is a post-production and visual effects company launched in 1990 with offices in London, New York and Los Angeles.The Mill's Film special effects subsidiary, Mill Film, won an Oscar for its work on the film Gladiator. The Mill was the first UK-based post-production company to set up...
. To complete the effect of the gas, 3D artist Paul Burton based his design of the alien from the water creature in The Abyss
The Abyss
The Abyss is a 1989 science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. The original musical score was composed by Alan Silvestri...
.
Broadcast and reception
"Day One" was broadcast on Sunday, 22 October 2006 on BBC ThreeBBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
, just after the first episode, "Everything Changes
Everything Changes (Torchwood)
"Everything Changes" is the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006.-Synopsis:Police constable Gwen Cooper comes across the mysterious organisation known as Torchwood...
". The second episode received overnight viewing figures of 2.3 million with a 13.8% audience share, holding the majority of the audience from the first episode. Together both episodes received the largest multichannel audience for a UK-originated non-sports programme and the at the time largest audience for BBC Three. The finale figure for the episode was 2.498 million viewers. The record would be held until the broadcast of EastEnders Live: The Aftermath
EastEnders Live
"EastEnders Live" is a live episode of the British television soap opera EastEnders, broadcast on BBC One on 19 February 2010. The episode was commissioned as part of the show's 25th anniversary celebrations, and was the first EastEnders episode to be broadcast live...
on 19 February 2010. The repeat of "Day One" on analogue channel BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 25 October was seen by 2.8 million with a 13% audience share. "Day One" was given an Appreciation Index
Appreciation Index
The Audience Appreciation Index is a score out of 100 which is used as an indicator of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by BARB, the organisation that compiles television...
of 83.
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy of Den of Geek stated "After the excellent pilot episode, 'Day One' is both a step forward and a step backward. As silly as the idea of a nymphomaniac extra-terrestrial gas is, the cast throw themselves into it with aplomb, quipping their way to the relatively gripping conclusion." Patrick Holm of Total Sci-Fi felt that the second episode "equates the word 'adult' with sex and swearing – more of a playground definition than a serious drama. In the conclusion of his review, Jonathan Capps of Noise to Signal felt that the episode was "certainly nothing to get excited about, but I think it won't be too indicative of later episodes, as we're still getting to know these characters, and that has to take the fore in the first few episodes. However, Chris' [Chibnall] painfully simplistic, heavy handed and often clichéd interpretation of sci-fi (some of Jack's techno-babble is frankly embarrassing) could prove to be a worrying factor later in the series." A reviewer of TV Fodder felt "Day One" was a "great second episode", adding "there doesn't seem to be anything I don't like about this show".