Ghost Machine

"They left me all on my own."

Writer: Helen Raynor

Format: TV

Broadcast: 29 October 2006

Series: Torchwood 1.03

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

Synopsis

Gwen ends up with an alien object which shows vision of the past to the Torchwood team. As they try to find its owner, Owen learns of a murder that happened over four decades ago, and a murderer that is still at large.

Verdict

Ghost Machine was a great episode of Torchwood to continue my rewatch through the first series! I remember this one being a little better than it was but that's part of the beauty of watching an episode again for the first time in eight years! I've changed a lot in that time and so have my preferences and thoughts which was clear with my view on this episode. One thing in particular that I will mention before I get into the positives was the pace. I thought that could have been sped up considerably to make for a more exciting episode, but I do understand that the slower style helped with the emption behind its events. This was a really strong story for Gwen and it's great to see her settled into her new role at Torchwood immediately as the episode starts as she and Owen are on the chase in the centre of Cardiff. Her determination is one of my favourite assets of hers and I was stunned to hear Gemma say that she found her annoying as I asked for her thoughts after the episode finished. I couldn't believe it. I think Gwen's great and this story was a fine example in my opinion. We see the difficulties of her trying to juggling Torchwood and her at home life with Rhys and I thought her use of the ghost machine to see a past memory of the pair having a fun moment was wonderful. That was a really nice and touching moment. It came as a nice refresh after the instances we had seen Gwen and Owen initially use it. Gwen being taken back to 1941 and seeing a little boy evacuated from London during the Second World War and him being abandoned was awful, but it didn't pale in comparison to what Owen was forced to witness at the hands of Ed Morgan. I liked that the machine didn't only allow you to see the past, but feel it. The effects that had were incredible. Owen wanted to bring Ed to justice all of these years later and I thought this research via phone book was a lot of fun. Jack was clearly in charge throughout the episode which brought a good dynamic and the sexual tension in the scene where he demonstrates to Gwen how to use the gun was excellent. Bernie was a fun character and capturing the Splott region of Cardiff was very amusing given my knowledge of the city. The way Owen found him by chance was good as well. I really liked the twist that there was a second half of the ghost machine and this one showing the future rather than the past was fantastic. Gwen seeing herself holding a knife with blood-covered hands was startling and that coming into reality with Ed Morgan plunging himself at her was a very sudden moment. Gemma audibly gasped next to me which showed me how good of a moment it was. I thought Eve Myles was outstanding in that fade out shot after reacting to what had happened right in front of her and she was completely helpless. As a whole, this was a pretty simple plot that was very effective and brought some really good character development after the previous episode established it being Gwen's first day on the job. She was settled now. Tosh's tech skills firmly being on display in the episode was terrific as well and I like how much of an important but subtle role she plays in proceedings. The ghost machine ending up in the secured Torchwood archives felt right and Ianto always brings a good deal of humour in these early episodes which is fun to see. Overall, a very good episode!

Rating: 8/10