Out of Time

"How can you travel fifty years in half an hour?"

Writer: Catherine Tregenna 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 17 December 2006

Series: Torchwood 1.10

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

Synopsis

When a plane from 1953 makes an unexpected landing in present-day Cardiff after travelling through a rift in time, there are painful consequent for all involved...

Verdict

Out of Time was an excellent episode to continue our way through the first series of Torchwood! I remembered this one being good and I wasn't let down. There's something of a feeling of a reset in the series at this point following Random Shoes and I get the sense of there being some sort of calm before the storm that's coming at the end of the series. I think that's a good move and I liked how there were no aliens involved here or any puzzle to solve. Obviously, keeping everyone interested in a whole episode where there's no imminent threat is no easy task so the way it was achieved here with pure emotional storytelling was excellent. There was a lot going on and whilst Tosh barely featured, the remainder of the Torchwood team had a lot to do and played significant roles. The arrival of Diane, Emma and John from 1953 was a great pre-credits scene and the idea of this trio coming over five decades into the future was very good indeed. Ianto taking them shopping to the locals Asda was terrific and their reaction to the likes of bananas, DVDs, and raunchy magazines was amusing and I loved how John mentioned the supermarket being incredible with him not long having come off rations back in his own time. That was a good way to firmly establish the changes they would experience in modern day Cardiff. Jack being paired off with John was good and I liked how the 1950s man was struggling with his new surroundings. He wasn't impressed with Torchwood giving them new names as that was all they had now, and then he went to see his son who was very old now and suffering from dementia. John clearly being a football fan was fantastic though and I loved his memories of being able to watch the FA Cup Final. That was really nice. Gwen being paired with Emma worked well and her continuing to cover things up from Rhys meant there was a lot of dissension within that relationship. Emma seeing Rhys when he was naked was amusing and I also liked how she was enjoying singing with the other young girls in the shared accommodation. The highlight of the episode though was undoubtedly Diane. She was a phenomenal character and there's just something special about her that can't quite be pinpointed. For Owen to admit that he loved her after such a short amount of time together was evidence of that. Gemma found the intimate sex scenes and discussion a little off-putting which made me laugh. I was a little sorry for Owen by how she left things without much of an explanation which was a shame for him. John's fate ending in him committing suicide alongside Jack in the car was incredibly powerful but at least he didn't have to die alone. Emma moving off to London after securing a new job was good and I liked Gwen having to explain the new sexually aware society she was now a part of. I can imagine it was quite the culture shock for a young girl like her! Overall, this is a really emotional, powerful and just great episode! 

Rating: 9/10