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Fragments (Torchwood)
Encyclopedia
"Fragments" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the second series of British science fiction television
series Torchwood
, which was broadcast by BBC Three
on 21 March 2008.
, who is running late) go to investigate. Searching an abandoned building, the team discover they've been trapped and the building explodes. The explosion causes the team to be trapped in various places; unable to contact each other. Gwen and Rhys
arrive (Rhys having given Gwen a lift), and as they dig everyone out, the team's lives flash before their eyes revealing how Jack, Ianto, Owen, and Toshiko got recruited to Torchwood.
, Jack
is picked up by two women - Alice Guppy and Emily Holroyd - who have noticed his immortality and his numerous references in public to the Doctor
. They examine him, which includes attempting to kill him. Jack recognizes that the technology being used during the interrogation is more advanced than Earth technology of the time. They identify themselves as being Torchwood members and offer Jack a job. Jack initially declines the offer after learning that they view the Doctor as a threat
. He agrees to the assignment after being told that if he doesn't cooperate he will be treated as a threat himself. He takes an assignment, which is to capture an alien. While they have the alien in a small cell, one of the officers pulls out a gun and shoots the alien in the head without warning. Jack disagrees with this policy and refuses the next assignment they try to give him. Jack goes to a bar, where a young female fortuneteller comes to his table and offers to read his cards. After ignoring his refusal, she tells Jack that he will meet the Doctor again...but not for another century
. Needing something to do with himself until then, he returns to Torchwood and opts to join as an employee.
Still working for Torchwood in 1999, Jack returns to the Hub from trying to stop the Millennium Bug (which he claims 'has 18 legs and a poisonous stinger') to discover that Alex, the present team leader, has murdered the rest of the team out of fear of the future. He has in his hand some locket, and claims to have seen the future and killed the rest of the team as an act of mercy (he apologises to Jack that he can't do the same for him). Based on the vision from the locket, Alex states that the next century is when everything changes and that Torchwood isn't ready for it. He then commits suicide, leaving Torchwood to Jack as a "reward for a century of service." With the rest of the team dead, Jack needs a new team.
's story takes place five years earlier when she was working for the Ministry of Defence. After her boss leaves one night, she breaks into the security room where she obtains secret files for a Sonic Modulator. Tosh begins constructing a basic version of the Modulator, and once complete, takes it to an unknown location. She gives it to a woman, one of her mother's captors, in trade for her mother's release; but in seeing Tosh's potential, they decide to have her work for them. Tosh refuses, and so the captors set off the Sonic Modulator, sending an ear-piercing sound around the room and bringing Tosh and her mother to the floor, as their blood vessels begin to pulse violently. At that point, however, UNIT
soldiers break in and arrest them all. Tosh is locked in an empty cell and told that she now has no rights. She is denied communication with anyone, and will not receive any information concerning her mother.
After living in solitary confinement for some time, she is visited by Jack. Jack states that she'll be imprisoned indefinitely unless she agrees to work for him. He recognised the high amount of talent Toshiko had after coming across the Sonic Modulator and realising that the plans she was working from were wrong, meaning Tosh had virtually made it herself. Toshiko agrees to Jack's offer of five years work and is released from prison.
first encounters Jack by helping him fight a Weevil
21 months earlier. Ianto asks for a job, but is rejected by Jack after Ianto was found to have worked for Torchwood London. The next morning, Ianto gives Jack coffee as he exits the Hub. Jack recalls knowledge about Ianto, stating that he researched him after he was able to identify a Weevil. Ianto again asks for a job, as his old job was lost when Torchwood One was destroyed
, but Jack states that he had severed all ties with Torchwood One and refuses. That night, Ianto steps in front of the SUV, and once more asks for a job. After Jack threatens to run him down, Ianto explains he is pursuing a pterodactyl. After a long battle (in which Jack implies he survived KT
), the two manage to sedate the creature. Finding themselves pressed together on the ground, they experience a moment of sexual tension
, before Ianto excuses himself. Jack tells Ianto that he expects to see him at work the following morning.
's flashback shows him working as a regular doctor and planning a marriage four years previously. His fiancée, Katie, who exhibits signs of Alzheimer's, is discovered to have a brain tumour and is admitted for an operation. Jack enters the theatre, apologising to Owen, and Owen follows. Jack says that an alien parasite was residing in Katie's brain and emitted a toxic nerve gas when threatened, which has killed her and the operating surgeons. Jack attempts to take the brain, but Owen protests and Jack chloroforms him. Owen wakes up in hospital, but because Jack has erased all evidence of himself, Owen has no proof of ever encountering him. After concluding that Owen is suffering from grief, the doctors prescribe him three months' rest. At Katie's grave, Owen finds and confronts Jack, realising he wasn't imagining things. Seeing Owen's potential and love for his job, Jack convinces him to join Torchwood as their medic.
The team escape the building to discover the SUV is missing. Jack receives a holographic message, as pictured, from Captain John Hart, who reveals that he had placed the bombs and shows Jack an image of his brother Gray. He then vows to tear Jack's world apart, so Jack will spend time with him.
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...
, which was broadcast by 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 21 March 2008.
Synopsis
After the team gets signs of an unidentified life form, they (apart from GwenGwen 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...
, who is running late) go to investigate. Searching an abandoned building, the team discover they've been trapped and the building explodes. The explosion causes the team to be trapped in various places; unable to contact each other. Gwen and Rhys
Rhys 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...
arrive (Rhys having given Gwen a lift), and as they dig everyone out, the team's lives flash before their eyes revealing how Jack, Ianto, Owen, and Toshiko got recruited to Torchwood.
Jack's story
In the Victorian eraVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, 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...
is picked up by two women - Alice Guppy and Emily Holroyd - who have noticed his immortality and his numerous references in public to the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
. They examine him, which includes attempting to kill him. Jack recognizes that the technology being used during the interrogation is more advanced than Earth technology of the time. They identify themselves as being Torchwood members and offer Jack a job. Jack initially declines the offer after learning that they view the Doctor as a threat
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...
. He agrees to the assignment after being told that if he doesn't cooperate he will be treated as a threat himself. He takes an assignment, which is to capture an alien. While they have the alien in a small cell, one of the officers pulls out a gun and shoots the alien in the head without warning. Jack disagrees with this policy and refuses the next assignment they try to give him. Jack goes to a bar, where a young female fortuneteller comes to his table and offers to read his cards. After ignoring his refusal, she tells Jack that he will meet the Doctor again...but not for another century
Utopia (Doctor Who)
"Utopia" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007 and is the eleventh episode of series three of the revived Doctor Who series...
. Needing something to do with himself until then, he returns to Torchwood and opts to join as an employee.
Still working for Torchwood in 1999, Jack returns to the Hub from trying to stop the Millennium Bug (which he claims 'has 18 legs and a poisonous stinger') to discover that Alex, the present team leader, has murdered the rest of the team out of fear of the future. He has in his hand some locket, and claims to have seen the future and killed the rest of the team as an act of mercy (he apologises to Jack that he can't do the same for him). Based on the vision from the locket, Alex states that the next century is when everything changes and that Torchwood isn't ready for it. He then commits suicide, leaving Torchwood to Jack as a "reward for a century of service." With the rest of the team dead, Jack needs a new team.
Toshiko's story
ToshikoToshiko 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 story takes place five years earlier when she was working for the Ministry of Defence. After her boss leaves one night, she breaks into the security room where she obtains secret files for a Sonic Modulator. Tosh begins constructing a basic version of the Modulator, and once complete, takes it to an unknown location. She gives it to a woman, one of her mother's captors, in trade for her mother's release; but in seeing Tosh's potential, they decide to have her work for them. Tosh refuses, and so the captors set off the Sonic Modulator, sending an ear-piercing sound around the room and bringing Tosh and her mother to the floor, as their blood vessels begin to pulse violently. At that point, however, UNIT
United Nations Intelligence Taskforce
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
soldiers break in and arrest them all. Tosh is locked in an empty cell and told that she now has no rights. She is denied communication with anyone, and will not receive any information concerning her mother.
After living in solitary confinement for some time, she is visited by Jack. Jack states that she'll be imprisoned indefinitely unless she agrees to work for him. He recognised the high amount of talent Toshiko had after coming across the Sonic Modulator and realising that the plans she was working from were wrong, meaning Tosh had virtually made it herself. Toshiko agrees to Jack's offer of five years work and is released from prison.
Ianto's story
IantoIanto 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...
first encounters Jack by helping him fight a Weevil
Weevil (Torchwood)
Weevils are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the British science fiction television series Torchwood, first appearing in the episode "Everything Changes". As Jack Harkness explains in that episode, the name "Weevil" is applied to them by Torchwood, but as communication with them is...
21 months earlier. Ianto asks for a job, but is rejected by Jack after Ianto was found to have worked for Torchwood London. The next morning, Ianto gives Jack coffee as he exits the Hub. Jack recalls knowledge about Ianto, stating that he researched him after he was able to identify a Weevil. Ianto again asks for a job, as his old job was lost when Torchwood One was destroyed
Doomsday (Doctor Who)
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
, but Jack states that he had severed all ties with Torchwood One and refuses. That night, Ianto steps in front of the SUV, and once more asks for a job. After Jack threatens to run him down, Ianto explains he is pursuing a pterodactyl. After a long battle (in which Jack implies he survived KT
Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event
The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, formerly named and still commonly referred to as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event, occurred approximately 65.5 million years ago at the end of the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period. It was a large-scale mass extinction of animal and plant...
), the two manage to sedate the creature. Finding themselves pressed together on the ground, they experience a moment of sexual tension
Sexual tension
Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two people interact and one or both feel sexual desire, but the consummation is postponed or never happens....
, before Ianto excuses himself. Jack tells Ianto that he expects to see him at work the following morning.
Owen's story
OwenOwen 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"....
's flashback shows him working as a regular doctor and planning a marriage four years previously. His fiancée, Katie, who exhibits signs of Alzheimer's, is discovered to have a brain tumour and is admitted for an operation. Jack enters the theatre, apologising to Owen, and Owen follows. Jack says that an alien parasite was residing in Katie's brain and emitted a toxic nerve gas when threatened, which has killed her and the operating surgeons. Jack attempts to take the brain, but Owen protests and Jack chloroforms him. Owen wakes up in hospital, but because Jack has erased all evidence of himself, Owen has no proof of ever encountering him. After concluding that Owen is suffering from grief, the doctors prescribe him three months' rest. At Katie's grave, Owen finds and confronts Jack, realising he wasn't imagining things. Seeing Owen's potential and love for his job, Jack convinces him to join Torchwood as their medic.
The team escape the building to discover the SUV is missing. Jack receives a holographic message, as pictured, from Captain John Hart, who reveals that he had placed the bombs and shows Jack an image of his brother Gray. He then vows to tear Jack's world apart, so Jack will spend time with him.
Continuity
- For dating of this episode, see the Chronology.
- The Little Girl reappears in this episode. She was last seen in the episode "Dead Man WalkingDead Man Walking (Torchwood)"Dead Man Walking" is the seventh episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three and BBC HD on 20 February 2008; it made its terrestrial debut on BBC Two on 27 February.-Synopsis:...
". She tells Jack that the Doctor is coming, but "the century will turn twice" before that time. Jack's reunion with the Doctor occurs at the end of "End of DaysEnd of Days (Torchwood)"End of Days" is the thirteenth episode and the first series finale of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It originally aired on BBC Three on 1 January 2007, alongside the previous episode, "Captain Jack Harkness". The episode was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by...
" & the start of "UtopiaUtopia (Doctor Who)"Utopia" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007 and is the eleventh episode of series three of the revived Doctor Who series...
". - Toshiko's mother, as played by Noriko Aida, reappears in this episode, having last been seen in "End of DaysEnd of Days (Torchwood)"End of Days" is the thirteenth episode and the first series finale of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It originally aired on BBC Three on 1 January 2007, alongside the previous episode, "Captain Jack Harkness". The episode was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by...
". - Toshiko's "sonic modulator" device based on stolen design plans bears superficial similarities to the Doctor's sonic screwdriverSonic screwdriverThe sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lockpick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans,...
, and its ear-splitting effect is similar to that produced by holding together two similar sonic devices in Doctor Whos 2008 episode "Partners in CrimePartners in Crime (Doctor Who)"Partners in Crime" is the first episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 5 April 2008. The episode reintroduced comedienne Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, who previously appeared in "The Runaway Bride"...
", airing just over two weeks later. - This is the first time the DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
has been explicitly named in the series. - A blowfish alien, similar to the one seen in "Kiss Kiss, Bang BangKiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Torchwood)"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is the first episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Two on 16 January 2008....
", appears in flashback sequences involving Jack's first mission for the Torchwood Institute. - Captain Jack radios orders to an offscreen Suzie Costello in Ianto's flashback, although Ianto's arrival in the scene prevents the character from being given any lines. She kills herself soon thereafter in "Everything ChangesEverything 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...
". Suzie was last mentioned in the episode "Dead Man WalkingDead Man Walking (Torchwood)"Dead Man Walking" is the seventh episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three and BBC HD on 20 February 2008; it made its terrestrial debut on BBC Two on 27 February.-Synopsis:...
", and last seen upon her resurrection in the Series One episode "They Keep Killing SuzieThey Keep Killing Suzie"They Keep Killing Suzie" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the eighth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 3 December 2006.-Synopsis:...
". - In his flashback, Ianto Jones refers to his girlfriend, Lisa Hallett, as having died during the Battle of Canary Wharf. Lisa is seen again as a partly-converted CybermanCybermanThe Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
in the Series One episode "CyberwomanCyberwoman"Cyberwoman" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Strong, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 5 November 2006, and later repeated on terrestrial channel...
". - While the interior of Torchwood 3's base of operations at the turn of the 20th Century is depicted in Jack's early flashback scenes, its location within Cardiff is unspecified. Roald Dahl PlassRoald Dahl PlassRoald Dahl Plass is a public plaza in Cardiff Bay, part of Cardiff, Wales. It is named after Cardiff-born author Roald Dahl, and is located on the coast along the south of the city centre. The square is home to the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre, a performing arts centre...
was an active coal-shipping dock until after World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. - As in Jack's flashback scenes in "Small WorldsSmall Worlds (Torchwood)"Small Worlds" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the fifth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 12 November 2006...
", the Edwardian Era photographs of Jack show him in the uniform of an ArmyBritish ArmyThe 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...
captainCaptain (British Army and Royal Marines)Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
, three grades lower than the RAFRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
group captainGroup CaptainGroup captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
's rank he wears in and after 1941. - The parasite that kills Owen's fiancée appears to be the same alien species as the one Jack and Angelo encounter in the Miracle Day episode, Immortal SinsImmortal Sins"Immortal Sins" is the seventh episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, and was broadcast in the United States on Starz on 19 August 2011.-Plot summary:...
. - Alex's multiple murders and suicide take place hours before the Doctor Who tele-movie; given the time zones between Cardiff and San Francisco, both are set on New Year's Eve 1999.
- Alice and Emily tell Jack that the Torchwood Institute was founded to protect the Empire from the DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
and other phantasmagoria, and they kill aliens whom they deem "a threat to the Empire". They are following Queen Victoria's charter of the institute, as depicted in "Tooth and ClawTooth 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...
". - Jack tells Alice and Emily that the Doctor uses the Cardiff space-time rift to refuel the TARDISTARDISThe TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
, which he learned in "Boom TownBoom Town (Doctor Who)"Boom Town" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 4 June 2005. The Doctor, Rose and Jack travel to modern-day Cardiff and meet up with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey...
". - The Torchwood emblem (a letter T within a hexagon) on the stationary Alice uses is the same in 1918, as shown in "To the Last ManTo the Last Man (Torchwood)"To the Last Man" is the third episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Two on 30 January 2008.-Synopsis:...
". - In 1999/2000 and 2007, Jack is shown wearing the vest he later wears in the first series (set shortly after the 2007 scenes).
- Immediately before killing himself, Alex tells Jack, "The 21st century, Jack; everything's going to change, and we're not ready." This parallels Jack's voiceover at the start of each episode of Series One and Two: "The 21st century is when everything changes, and [you've got to be / Torchwood is] ready."
- An on-screen caption places the episode 21 months after Ianto convinces Jack to hire him in the aftermath of "DoomsdayDoomsday (Doctor Who)"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
".