Day One

"You'd have put out the welcome banners. Now, first of all, she's no little girl. From where I'm standing, all the right curves in all the right places. But she is Torchwood. We both are. And we'd appreciate it if you'd leave us do the real work."

Writer: Chris Chibnall
Format: TV
Broadcast: 22nd October 2006
Series: Torchwood 1.02

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto

Synopsis

Gwen's first day on her new job at Torchwood sees Cardiff's night-life at the mercy of a gaseous alien who consumes its victims during orgasm, leaving behind only dust. And it's all her fault - she let it escape a fallen meteorite. The gas is devouring its teenage host. She's fighting for control as the alien inside takes down victim after victim. Torchwood tracks the alien to a sperm bank, but too late for the patrons within. Soon, if they don't act quickly enough, it'll be too late for everyone else too...

Verdict

Day One is a brave and bold episode. It's the first story in canonical Doctor Who to, that I can remember, even reference sex let alone have an gaseous alien killing people at the point of orgasm! The fact that it's new, explicit and definitely not one for the kids, the episode was brilliant! A fantastic plot and I think it's actually great to have sex in the Whoniverse. It's a part of life and nothing can change that, so why shouldn't it occur in the Doctor Who world? I really loved the story and the shining light definitely was Gwen in her first day at her new job. She was responsible for letting the sex hungry gas out into Cardiff, so she was going to fix it and she did excellently. I really loved the trust and help the other team members gave Gwen, particularly Jack. He'd seen something special in her in Everything Changes and understood that one mistake caused by some banter with Owen wasn't going to affect her. The scenes between Gwen and Carys were certainly enjoyable! The character of Carys was fantastic and it was clear the alien inside her was challenging her for control. It was quite sad. The resolution of Jack's doing to defeat the gaseous entity, caused my a mass amount of courage from Gwen, was excellent. Overall, a great, brave plot and something new in the canonical Whoniverse!

Rating: 9/10