Dead of Night (TV story)

Dead of Night was the third episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Synopsis
Torchwood goes on the run and finds a new enemy, but as they launch a raid on PhiCorp headquarters, Jack must confront the mysterious Oswald Danes.

Plot
Rex Matheson has broken into Friedkin's house, while a news show that Oswald Danes has been seen by the world as an expert. Friedkin tells that "they" have been around for decades. He shoots near Friedkin's ear, nearing making him deaf. Rex escapes with Gwen and Jack. Rex reveals a cell phone, which was used to contact Friedkin.

A parade of masked men and women, who call themselves the Soulless, march throughout D.C., carrying candles. Jack, meanwhile, has located Rhys and Gwen. Shes gives mobiles purchased off Jack's account. They find that they cannot trace the call. They've hit a vine and and are tracing 500,000 calls. Jack, instead, decided to search for the cause of the morphic field. Esther finds that the CIA has blocked off a warehouse in D.C.. They steal a car, and head over.

They reach 3rd on Boston Avenue. They knock out a guard and find the warehouse is just millions of painkillers from PhiCorp. Rex discovers millions more, and it dawns on them PhiCorp must have been ready for the Miracle. The NIH has realised that aborted pregnancies or miscarriages are impossible. Some countries consider putting contraceptives in their their water supplies. Jilly attempts to bring Vera to PhiCorp, and Vera agrees to come over later.

Rex decides to meet his former instructor at Freeville Hotel. When he gets near, he notices that the CIA have already entered. They decide, to again, enter PhiCorp on their own. Rex leaves after an argument with Jack. Along the way to PhiCorp, Jack finds his arm is infected and decides to go drink. He meets Brad there, who loves his trench coat. Rex goes to Vera for his wound to be dressed again againand they have sex. Jack and Brad also have sex.

Oswald, menwhile, is being harassed by people who want him dead. Even the police officers beat him up. Rex asks Vera for help, but she refuses. Esther finds Rhys and Arwen's imprisonment area and sends a Skype to Gwen. At the same time, Jack is calling Gwen, and is confused when she hangs up.

Jilly Kitzinger again tries to take Oswald for her employers. He agrees to take the flight to Dallas. In the morning, Vera decides that she'll try to help Rex. Rex returns to Gwen, Jack and Esther. Gwen will be fitted with the camera contact lenses, since they are isomorphic. Vera is surprised when Gwen shows up instead of Rex. They find that Oswald's there, Rex says not to follow him. Oswald is taken to the people in dark suits. They find that PhiCorp has distributed worldwide. A senator legislates that drugs do not have to be prescribed.

Jack confronts Oswald in his home, and threatens him with a gun before revealing to be empty. Earlier, he saw a video which Oswald claimed he felt forgiven. Jack questions him why he said that and why he went to PhiCorp. Jacks says that Oswald is searching for execution. Jack says he'll broadcast the message, and Oswald calls for his guards to take Jack.

On the broadcast, Oswald says that PhiCorp is to be joined. He calls for the people to join him.

Cast

 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Rex Matheson - Mekhi Phifer
 * Esther Drummond - Alexa Havins
 * Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
 * Oswald Danes - Bill Pullman
 * Dr. Vera Juarez - Arlene Tur
 * Brian Friedkin - Wayne Knight
 * Congressman Morganthall - Richard Gilliland
 * Carla - Tasha Ames
 * Nurse - Michelle Wong
 * George Sayer - Richard Augustine
 * Local Reporter - Thea Andrews
 * Brad - Dillon Casey
 * Cop - Maurice Webster
 * Dr Rosenbloom - David Youse
 * Jilly Kitzinger - Lauren Ambrose
 * Dr Murphy - Brian Treitler
 * Sunroof Screamer - Jason Medwin
 * Senior TV Anchor - Mitchell Edmonds
 * Candice Perlmutter - Randa Walker
 * Young Man - Daryl Crittenden
 * Preacher - George Murdock
 * Atlanta Cop - Matt Eyde
 * Phi-Corp Rep. - Ted Mattison
 * Woman Tourist - Mary Garripoli

Drugs and medicines

 * PhiCorp has been stockpiling pain-killing drugs for over a year.

Individuals

 * Esther Drummond has an older sister for whom she cares.
 * Esther's job at the CIA was to read and search through blogs.
 * Jack Harkness has protected sex with a bartender called Brad.
 * Ianto Jones is referenced in dialogue, and the deaths of past Torchwood members are also referenced.
 * Rex describes Jack as being a man in his forties.
 * Rex is sitting in front of the Garfield Building when Vera calls.

Technology

 * Gwen uses the Torchwood contact lenses (which she kept following Torchwood's destruction) to infiltrate PhiCorp. She claims they are isomorphic, but this is a lie (as spotted by Esther and also as indicated by their use by Lois Habiba in Children of Earth).
 * Jack states they are from a distant moon of a distant star.


 * Gwen talks to Rhys on a signal routed through Paraguay.

Theories and concepts

 * Jack states the PhiCorp warehouse is bigger on the inside.
 * Jack mentions doing a search for morphic fields.

Weapons

 * Gwen uses a spike strip to stop a police car.

Story notes

 * The two sex scenes in the episode, one involving Jack and Brad, and another involving Vera and Rex, were seen in the US (Starz), Canadian (Space) and Australian (UKTV) broadcasts, but were edited in the UK (BBC) broadcast, with the scene between Rex and Vera excised completely.
 * This is the first time in any of the Doctor Who spin-offs or main show that a woman's posterior is seen fully. In other shows like Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, only a brief plumber's crack is shown.
 * Unlike broadcasts of Doctor Who and previous series of Torchwood this series was broadcast in the United States, Australia and Canada before the United Kingdom.
 * United States - 22 July 2011
 * Australia and Canada - 23 July 2011
 * United Kingdom - 28 July 2011

Ratings

 * UK: 5.49 million

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * Note the car that Rex is driving when he pulls away from Gwen and Jack, leaving them behind. It's a four door car. In the next shot of Rex driving down the freeway the model of the car has changed and is now a two door car.
 * Noticeable continuity errors involving arm and prop placement are seen in the sequence where Vera smokes a cigarette as she speaks to Jilly.
 * The Eye-5's lip-reading software goofs when Gwen demonstrates them to Rex; when it plays back what Rex says to test it, the computer says Resenting instead of Representing.

Continuity

 * When Rex decides what the team should do, Jack rhetorically asks him who's giving the orders. Rex then asks Jack what they should do, and Jack repeats Rex's suggestion. Jack had a similar exchange (only with roles reversed) with the Ninth Doctor in TV: Boom Town.
 * When Jack, Gwen and Rex discover the massive stockpile of painkillers that PhiCorp has stored, Jack comments that the building is "bigger on the inside than on the outside", referring to the Doctor's TARDIS.
 * Rex made a joke in the previous episode to to Vera, asking if her ex-husband called her to ask for drugs and sex; he joked "right now, I'll settle for the drugs". This episode showed the him fullfilling the later half of his joke.

Home video releases
This episode was released worldwide in a box set containing all ten episodes of Torchwood: Miracle Day. In the United Kingdom, it was released on Region 2 DVD and Region Free Blu-ray on 14 November 2011. In Australia, it was released in Region 4 DVD and Region B Blu-Ray on 1 December 2011. In New Zealand, the same sets were released on 7 December 2011. In North America, it was released on Region 1 DVD and Region Free Blu-Ray on 3 April 2012.