Combat (Torchwood)
Encyclopedia
"Combat" is an episode in the British
science fiction television
series Torchwood
, which was broadcast on 24 December 2006. It is the eleventh episode of the first series. Weevils
are being abducted by humans. As Owen goes undercover to find out who is committing these crimes, he meets Mark Lynch. Facing demons of his own, Owen becomes embroiled in the fightclub-like subculture of which Lynch is a part.
is chasing a Weevil
through the streets of Cardiff
. He passes the restaurant where Gwen
and her boyfriend, Rhys
are having a dinner. Gwen wants to help Jack and after an angered Rhys orders her to stay, she leaves with Jack. The two witness the Weevil being captured by unknown men.
Several hours later, Toshiko
tracks the van to a deserted warehouse. She and Jack go to investigate and find the body of a man who has been mauled by a Weevil; the dead man's phone rings, and a distorted voice warns Jack to drop the case. Owen
, who is still recovering from Diane Holmes's departure
, is reluctantly enlisted to look into the estate agent overseeing the warehouse.
Gwen ends her affair with Owen, and then comes clean about it after administering a memory-altering drug to Rhys to ensure he'll forget the conversation. Rhys doesn't forgive her before falling asleep due to the drug's effects, and Gwen is distraught.
Meanwhile, Jack and Ianto
follow reports of suspicious Weevil-like injuries and interrogate one of the victims at the hospital. The man refuses to talk, and after being pressured by Jack claims that if he talks, "They'll kill me."
After getting into a fight at a bar, Owen and one of the estate agents form a sort of friendship. Mark reveals he knows Owen is not who he pretends to be, but wants to show him what happens with captured Weevils anyway.
The Weevils are used for a fight club, where they are pitted against willing men in a one-on-one fight. Each combatant puts down $1000, and the person who lasts the longest in the cage wins the pot. The people in the fight club are men with disposable income trying to find meaning in their lives. Mark considers Owen weak since he disapproved and he forces him to fight. Owen agrees to fight a Weevil, and he initially stands without fear and does not challenge the Weevil until it strikes him. The rest of his team storm into the complex and pull him out before the Weevil can finish him off. They bust the operation, but Mark gets into the cage with the Weevil Owen was previously fighting to prove he too can show no fear. Jack warns Mark and smiles as he watches the Weevil kill him.
Owen admits to Jack that he did not want to be rescued and later goes to Torchwood's captive Weevils, intimidating them.
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...
, which was broadcast on 24 December 2006. It is the eleventh episode of the first series. Weevils
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...
are being abducted by humans. As Owen goes undercover to find out who is committing these crimes, he meets Mark Lynch. Facing demons of his own, Owen becomes embroiled in the fightclub-like subculture of which Lynch is a part.
Plot
JackJack 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 chasing 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...
through the streets of 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...
. He passes the restaurant where 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...
and her boyfriend, 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...
are having a dinner. Gwen wants to help Jack and after an angered Rhys orders her to stay, she leaves with Jack. The two witness the Weevil being captured by unknown men.
Several hours later, Toshiko
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"...
tracks the van to a deserted warehouse. She and Jack go to investigate and find the body of a man who has been mauled by a Weevil; the dead man's phone rings, and a distorted voice warns Jack to drop the case. 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"....
, who is still recovering from Diane Holmes's departure
Out 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 :...
, is reluctantly enlisted to look into the estate agent overseeing the warehouse.
Gwen ends her affair with Owen, and then comes clean about it after administering a memory-altering drug to Rhys to ensure he'll forget the conversation. Rhys doesn't forgive her before falling asleep due to the drug's effects, and Gwen is distraught.
Meanwhile, Jack 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...
follow reports of suspicious Weevil-like injuries and interrogate one of the victims at the hospital. The man refuses to talk, and after being pressured by Jack claims that if he talks, "They'll kill me."
After getting into a fight at a bar, Owen and one of the estate agents form a sort of friendship. Mark reveals he knows Owen is not who he pretends to be, but wants to show him what happens with captured Weevils anyway.
The Weevils are used for a fight club, where they are pitted against willing men in a one-on-one fight. Each combatant puts down $1000, and the person who lasts the longest in the cage wins the pot. The people in the fight club are men with disposable income trying to find meaning in their lives. Mark considers Owen weak since he disapproved and he forces him to fight. Owen agrees to fight a Weevil, and he initially stands without fear and does not challenge the Weevil until it strikes him. The rest of his team storm into the complex and pull him out before the Weevil can finish him off. They bust the operation, but Mark gets into the cage with the Weevil Owen was previously fighting to prove he too can show no fear. Jack warns Mark and smiles as he watches the Weevil kill him.
Owen admits to Jack that he did not want to be rescued and later goes to Torchwood's captive Weevils, intimidating them.
Continuity
- When Mark Lynch searches the Internet for information on Owen, he uses a search engineSearch engineA search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
called search-wise.net. While the site actually exists, it was created specifically for use in television programmes and films. Search-wise.net was also seen in "RoseRose (Doctor Who)"Rose" is the first episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, the episode was first broadcast on 26 March 2005....
" where Rose TylerRose TylerRose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
uses it to search for the DoctorNinth DoctorThe Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
. - Mark tells Owen that "Something's coming. Out there in the darkness, something is coming." Suzie Costello says something similar in "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:...
", mentioning something moving in the darkness beyond death and that it is coming for Jack. This presence is revealed when the second glove is used in "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:...
". - After drugging Rhys and confessing her affair with Owen, Gwen begs for forgiveness in much the same manner as she jokingly did 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...
".
Production
- Noel ClarkeNoel ClarkeNoel Anthony Clarke is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who...
, who wrote this episode, is better known for playing Mickey SmithMickey SmithMickey Smith is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Noel Clarke.Mickey is introduced as the boyfriend of the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, and a recurring character on the programme...
in the 2005 and 2006 series of the revived 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...
. He is the first actor with an ongoing role in Doctor Who to write a televised episode of a Doctor Who-universe production, although previous Doctor Who actors Colin BakerColin BakerColin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
and Ian MarterIan MarterIan Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...
wrote the Doctor Who MagazineDoctor Who MagazineDoctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
comic strip The Age of Chaos and novels based upon the series after his tenure on the show, respectively. Mark GatissMark GatissMark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
has also starred inThe Lazarus Experiment"The Lazarus Experiment" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 5 May 2007 and is the sixth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It stars David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones as his companion, played...
and written for the show since its 2005 revival.
Music
- The song "Over and OverOver and Over (Hot Chip song)"Over and Over" was the first single from Hot Chip's second album The Warning. It was released twice in the UK in 2006 - first reaching number 32 in March and number 27 in October.-Music video:...
" by Hot ChipHot ChipHot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...
plays in the background during a scene in the bar. - The deceased man, Hodges, has a Crazy FrogCrazy FrogCrazy Frog, originally known as Adam King, is a computer-animated character created in 2003 by Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba!, the animation was originally created to accompany a sound effect produced by Daniel Malmedahl in 1997 while attempting to imitate the sound of a...
ring toneRing toneA ringtone or ring tone is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming call or text message. Not literally a tone, the term is most often used today to refer to customizable sounds used on mobile phones.-Background:...
on his mobile phone. - The song "AssassinBlack Holes and RevelationsBlack Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
" by MuseMuse (band)Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
plays in the background when Owen first enters the warehouse.