Adam (TV story)

Adam was the fifth episode in the second series of Torchwood.

Plot
A creature of The Void is drawn through the Cardiff rift by the intense field memories which are had by each member of the Torchwood team. It's Adam and its power is to tamper with the memories of its preys, for draining its own life force. The loss of memory of the victims means his own survival. Adam is able both to implant memories and to alter the already existing ones of the people, merely by touching them with its hands. By such means, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Toshiko, and Ianto believe that Adam had been with them since Jack formed of the team, three years ago. However, Adam has gotten with them just 48 hours before.

Beside surviving, Adam toys with their minds. Jack retrieves his childhood memories, about his last moments with his father and brother, at the Boeshane Peninsula. Gwen forgets about her husband Rhys. Owen becomes an introversive geek and he has a crush on Toshiko. Toshiko unleashes her personality to start a passionate relationship with the same Adam, slighting Owen. Ianto, who discovers Adam's maneuver by not finding him in his everyday diary, is harassed by him, so Ianto believes that he has slain three young women.

It's Jack's trust on Ianto that leads him to investigate the security feed of Torchwood. Jack discovers then that Adam has been tampering with each one of his team, during the latest 48 hours. Adam is captured them into a cell. Jack orders that all his team would swallow an amnesia pill to forget all what Adam has done on them. Except him, they do so. At the holding cells, Jack confronts the now weakened Adam for the last time then. Desperately, Adam attempts so Jack keep his altered memories, through threats and mental torture, but Jack takes his pill nonetheless. Adam dies then.

On the next day, in the Torchwood team nobody understands why two days are missing in their minds. The lone evidence of those days is a floral arrangement and a note of love of Owen, for Toshiko, but Owen dismisses it with a scorning commentary.

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
 * Adam Smith — Bryan Dick
 * Jack's Father — Demetri Goritsas
 * Jack's Mother — Lauren Ward
 * Young Jack — Jack Montgomery
 * Gray — Ethan Brooke
 * Young Adam — Rhys Myers
 * Weevil - Paul Kasey
 * Murdered Woman - Jo Malaren

Production crew
to be added

Story notes

 * The plot element of the group's memories being altered and a "new member" suddenly appearing among them is similar to the plot of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Conundrum" and the Torchwood novel Border Princes.

Ratings
to be added

Myths

 * It suggested amongst the internet community that Adam Mitchell would return in this episode. (It was false.)
 * As Adam Smith came from the Void it is widely believed that the Daleks and Cybermen could too.

Filming Locations
to be added

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * On the vials containing blood samples from all Torchwood members, some of the names are wrong. When Jack grabs them (after Ianto confesses to being a serial killer), four labels are visible and two have the first and last names reversed. From left to right, they read: "Cooper, Gwen"; "Toshiko, Sato"; "Harper, Owen"; and "Ianto, Jones".
 * Rhys Williams shows no sign of injury following the previous story.Opening dialouge clearly shows that Gwen and Rhys have been to France, allowing Adam to infiltrate Torchwood, meaning several weeks would have passed.
 * Although all the members of Torchwood takes Retcon to forget Adam, Rhys Williams does not despite having briefly met Adam. Adam did not touch Rhys, therefore he wasn't a permenant part of Rhys' memories.
 * How can Adam be seen on the videos if he needs to make himself part of their mermories to be real? Shouldn't the videos just show no-one? No, as Rhys is able to see Adam without being manipulated, meaning he has corporeal form and therefore can be seen by CCTV cameras. The videos only show Adam touching his victims, not their memories.
 * The episode suggests that Jack's memories of his father and younger brother are repressed, yet in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang he reacts when John Hart mentions his brother, Gray. Perhaps the actual knowledge of the individuals are still present -- i.e. Jack knows he has a father and a presumably deceased brother named Gray -- but the actual memories of the individuals have been repressed.
 * Adam claims he's been with Torchwood for three years, yet when he enters his false data into the computer, he types 2000 as the year in which he joined Torchwood. That would place this episode in the year 2003, which is not in keeping with established continuity that would more correctly place this episode in 2008 or later.

Continuity

 * Jack first mentioned his home, the Boeshane Peninsula, in DW: Last of the Time Lords. (See also Face of Boe).

DVD releases

 * This story along with the rest of Torchwood Series 2 was released in a complete series boxset.