Everything Changes (TV story)

Everything Changes was the first episode of Torchwood. Though not a pilot, it carried many of the narrative burdens of one. It introduced the programme's regular characters, as well as recurring elements such as the Hub, Myfanwy, retcon and the Torchwood S.U.V..

Written by Russell T Davies, it had the distinction of being his only writing credit until series 3. It also bore certain structural commonalities with Rose, Davies' first episode of Doctor Who. Whereas the earlier script had introduced the mysterious Ninth Doctor through the eyes of Rose Tyler, Everything Changes introduced its audience to the mysterious figure of Captain Jack Harkness through female protagonist Gwen Cooper. Indeed, long-standing fans of Davies' work would have recognised the structure from as far back as, RTD's mid-1990s kids' TV programme.

The story was notable for an attempted bit of subterfuge. Indira Varma was included in the opening titles to suggest that her character, Suzie Costello, was going to be a regular. Her death in the episode was meant to surprise the audience. Because BBC Three decided to air the first two episodes on the same night, however, the effect fell flat. Nevertheless, it did establish another recurring element of the programme: even main characters could die in Torchwood. By the end of series 3, the characters of only two of the top-line stars listed in this episode would still be alive.

Synopsis
The Torchwood Three team arrives at the scene of a brutal murder. PC Gwen Cooper's curiosity is challenged by their attitude; their approach and their technology is at odds with everything she believes in. As she investigates them, she begins to uncover a dark, mysterious and dangerous world right in the heart of Cardiff.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Owen Harper - Burn Gorman
 * Toshiko Sato - Naoko Mori
 * Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
 * Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
 * Suzie Costello - Indira Varma
 * Young cop - Guy Lewis
 * P.C. Andy - Tom Price
 * SOCO - Jason May
 * Body - Rhys Swinburn
 * Yvonne - Olwen Medi
 * D.I. Jacobs - Gwyn Vaughan Jones
 * Officer - Dion Davis
 * Hospital porter - James Thomas
 * Weevil - Paul Kasey
 * Security Guard - Mark Heal
 * Pizza lad - Gary Sheppeard
 * Man - Gwilym Havard Davies
 * Woman - Cathryn Davis

Individuals

 * Jack mentions investigating Chandler and Bell.

Species

 * There are a couple of hundred Weevils living in the sewers beneath Cardiff. Their origin and name are unknown due to their inability to communicate.

Technology

 * Captain Jack Harkness' explanation for the "not-being-seen" square at Roald Dahl Plass is that they have detected signs of a perception filter.
 * Jack's vortex manipulator remotely controls the paving-stone lift up to Roald Dahl Plass.

Torchwood

 * Jack explains to Gwen that the base in Cardiff is actually Torchwood Three. Torchwood One was in London, but it was destroyed during the Battle of Canary Wharf. Torchwood Two is in Glasgow and is run by a very strange man. Torchwood Four has gone missing, but they’re hoping to find it again sometime soon.

Vehicles

 * The S.U.V. registration number is CF06 FDU.

Story notes

 * Everything Changes was transmitted back to back with the next episode Day One on its UK premiere.
 * This story had two working titles: The Valley of Death and Flotsam And Jetsam. The former was the earliest title.
 * As the first post-watershed production of the Doctor Who franchise, the episode features several firsts, including the first use of the F-word in a televised Doctor Who franchise production.
 * A pre-credits sequence of Gwen and Jack on top of the Millennium Centre in a flash forward to the end of the story was cut but appears on the deleted scenes of the series one box set.
 * This first episode uses the very human character of Gwen in much the same way Doctor Who did with the character of Rose Tyler in 2005, taking the viewer along for the journey.
 * A scene showing John Tucker being chased and murdered was shot but dropped.
 * Two alternative scenes were shot showing Gwen being retconned — the one in a traditional bar was dropped in favour of the Buffalo Bar that was used for transmission.
 * 'Buffalo' was a password used by the Ninth Doctor to access UNIT files.
 * Retcon is a reference to 'retroactive continuity', a means of covering up plot discrepancies used in many sci-fi shows. Other names considered for Retcon were Goldfish or Scooter.
 * Several scenes were trimmed from the episode for broadcast on the CBC in Canada, including a scene in which Owen, using the pheromone spray, also seduces the blonde's angry boyfriend.
 * It has been suggested that Owen's use of the pheromone spray was effectively "date rape".
 * This is the only episode where Indira Varma has her name included in the opening credits. This was done to keep viewers from anticipating that her character would die in this episode, by making her seem like a regular cast member.

Ratings

 * 2.52 million viewers

Filming locations

 * Millicent Street, Cardiff, Wales (Resurrection in the rain)
 * NCP Tredegar Street, Cardiff, Wales (Gwen spies on Torchwood resurrecting)
 * NCP Cardiff Rapports, Cardiff, Wales
 * Old Natwest Bank, Cardiff (Entrance of police station)
 * Dorset Street, Cardiff, Wales
 * Cornwall (pub), Cardiff, Wales (Pub where Gwen and Andy break up fight)
 * Newport Road Lane, Cardiff (Location where Gwen first sees Torchwood SUV)
 * A4232 (Grangetown/Butetown Link), Cardiff (Gwen in pursuit of the Torchwood SUV)
 * Mumbai Bay Takeaway, James Street, Cardiff (Jubilee Pizza, where Gwen goes, tracking down Torchwood)
 * Cardiff Castle, Cardiff (Part of the tunnel entrance into Torchwood)
 * Icon, Cardiff, Wales (Location where Owen tries the spray)
 * Buffalo Bar, Cardiff, Wales (Bar where Jack and Gwen have a beer, prior to him retconning her)
 * St Mary's Street, Cardiff
 * Altolusso, Bute Terrace, Cardiff (One of the tall building shots with Jack standing on top)
 * King Edward VII Avenue (A4161 underpass), Cardiff (Location where Gwen runs home after her meeting with Jack and her subsequent retconning)
 * Mermaid Quayside, Cardiff Bay (The tourist information shop/entrance to Torchwood)
 * Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff (Exterior of Torchwood)
 * BBC Studios, Upper Boat Studios, Upper Boat Tonteg Road, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd

Production errors

 * A poster advertising a Doctor Who exhibition in Cardiff can be briefly seen in a background shot.

Continuity

 * Torchwood was first referred to in DW: Bad Wolf.
 * Torchwood (as Torchwood One) made its first 'physical' appearance in DW: Army of Ghosts. A weapon fired by them appeared earlier in DW: The Christmas Invasion.
 * Torchwood was formed in DW: Tooth and Claw.
 * It is implied that Jack's immortality is a side effect of his resurrection by Rose near the end of DW: The Parting of the Ways.
 * Captain Jack was last seen on the Game Station in DW: The Parting of the Ways.
 * The Cardiff rift first appeared in DW: The Unquiet Dead.
 * Jack continues to wear his vortex manipulator on his wrist.
 * Jack mentions the Sycorax spaceship over London (DW: The Christmas Invasion) and the Battle of Canary Wharf (DW: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday'').
 * Rhys also mentions his mother talking to him about the Christmas events. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)
 * Toshiko Sato first appeared in DW: Aliens of London.
 * Although not explicitly stated, the hand that Jack treasures and keeps in a jar is later revealed to be the Tenth Doctor's - lost in a fight with the Sycorax in DW: The Christmas Invasion following his regeneration.
 * Jubilee Pizza is a brand visually referenced earlier in DW: Dalek, which is itself a behind-the-scenes reference to the Big Finish audio Dalek story by Rob Shearman, BFA: Jubilee.
 * The perception filter properties of the paving stone are implied to be a side effect of the events of DW: Boom Town, when the TARDIS stood on that spot. This is the first mention of a perception filter in any Doctor Who-related narrative; the concept was subsequently used in Doctor Who proper.

Timeline
For Jack Harkness, Owen and Ianto:
 * Everything Changes occurs after their flashbacks in TW: Fragments.
 * Everything Changes occurs before TW: Day One.

For Gwen:
 * Everything Changes occurs before TW: Day One.

For Toshiko:
 * Everything Changes occurs after DW: Aliens of London.
 * Everything Changes occurs before TW: Day One.

Home video releases
This episode, with four others, was first released on a DVD entitled Torchwood: Series 1, part 1 on 26 December 2006. It was later released in Torchwood: The Complete First Series on 19th November 2007.