Children of Earth: Day Two (TV story)

Children of Earth: Day Two was the second episode in the third series of Torchwood. It was significant for showing the extent of Jack Harkness' regeneration ability, as he was able to survive being blown apart.

Synopsis
Torchwood 3 has been blown up by a bomb planted in Jack Harkness. Gwen, Rhys, and Ianto are on the run. Can they elude the government and save the planet from the 456?

Plot
The Hub has blown up. Gwen is seized by an assassination squad as she emerges from the rubble and dragged into an ambulance. The men pin her flat on a stretcher. One prepares a needle, but they let go of her when she bites one of them. Leaping to her feet, Gwen holds them at gunpoint and learns the people trying to kill the Torchwood staff are from “the government”. She escapes home to Rhys and the two go on the run.

The next morning, Johnson finds the remains of Jack Harkness in the ruins of the Hub, little more than an arm and a head. Jack's remains are taken to a warehouse in London. His body begins to reconstruct itself. Meanwhile, Ianto sends a card to his sister, asking her to meet him at the park where he broke his leg as a child and to bring a laptop computer. The children of the world again stop and chant: “We are coming – tomorrow.”

Gwen and Rhys hide in a lorry going to London; during the trip, Gwen tells Rhys she is pregnant. When they arrive in London, Gwen tries to contact John Frobisher. Her call is taken by Lois Habiba. At MI5, Frobisher, Bridget, and Lois see an unknown device being built by Mr. Dekker to specifications provided by the 456. Lois meets with Gwen and Rhys and tells them it was Frobisher who issued the kill order on Jack and several others, none of whose names Gwen recognises. Lois also gives Gwen information about the compound where Jack is being kept, and suggests a way for Gwen and Rhys to gain entry.

Jack, now fully re-formed and no longer in acute pain, is sealed in concrete by Johnson to prevent his escape. Gwen and Rhys, as Lois had suggested, pose as funeral directors come to fetch Rupesh Patanjali's body, also being kept at the compound. However, they are caught during their attempt to free Jack. Ianto, who has also arrived in London and discovered where Jack was taken, steals a forklift, lifts Jack's cell, and pulls it out of the compound.

Gwen and Rhys escape with Ianto in the forklift. Ianto drops the concrete block into a quarry where it breaks apart, releasing Jack. Back at the MI5 headquarters, the mysterious device is completed: a sealed, glass-walled chamber is filled with a gas poisonous to humans.

Cast

 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
 * Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
 * Lois Habiba - Cush Jumbo
 * Alice Carter - Lucy Cohu
 * Steven Carter - Bear McCausland
 * Bridget Spears - Susan Brown
 * John Frobisher - Peter Capaldi
 * Mr Dekker - Ian Gelder
 * Johnson - Liz May Brice
 * Clem McDonald - Paul Copley
 * Brian Green PM - Nicholas Farrell
 * PC Andy Davidson - Tom Price
 * Rhiannon Davies - Katy Wix
 * Johnny Davies - Rhodri Lewis
 * Anna Frobisher - Hilary Maclean
 * David Davies - Luke Perry
 * Mica Davies - Aimee Davies
 * Holly Frobisher - Julia Joyce
 * Lilly Frobisher - Madeleine Rakic-Platt
 * Recovery Worker - Ashley Hunt
 * Danno - Gary Devonish (uncredited)
 * Operative - Ben Loyd-Holmes (uncredited)
 * Kodak - Osi Okerafor
 * Paramedic - Emmanuel Ighadaro
 * Barmaid - Libby Liburd
 * Sentry - Robert Shelly
 * Guard - Quill Roberts
 * Mother - Fay McDonald
 * Newsreader - Louise Minchin

Individuals

 * Ianto's leg was accidentally broken by his father when he was younger.
 * This is the second time that Jack has been shown completely naked. The first time was in DW: Bad Wolf. On that occasion the BBC had filed a request that the "offensive" parts be either blurred or concealed by props.
 * Queen Victoria created other institutions, although the present government is not aware of them.

Torchwood

 * The government believes Torchwood Two has disbanded but is unsure.

Religion

 * Johnson uses the name "Lazarus" to describe Jack's immortality. This is a Biblical reference to Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead.

Story notes

 * Gwen and Rhys pretend to be undertakers to retrieve Jack. Gwen is a double of Gwyneth (also played by Eve Myles), who was the servant to an undertaker. (DW: The Unquiet Dead, Journey's End)

Ratings

 * 5.8 million overnight (BBC 1)

Filming locations

 * Darwin Drive (play area) - Where Ianto met his sister.
 * Avesta Polarit Steelworks - Torchwood, London Warehouse.

Production errors

 * When the concrete-filled cell is pulled out of the wall by the forklift, it appears to be much smaller than earlier, when it was filled with concrete. At some points it doesn't appear wide enough for Jack Harkness to be lying horizontally.
 * A concrete block would not break falling from that height, but would only chip; when the concrete cell smashes apart in the quarry, there's no sign of the gurney Jack was lying on.
 * When all the children stop at where Ianto and his sister are talking, a girl with blonde hair is still moving around and laughing.
 * Gwen's gun does not run out of bullets.

Continuity

 * Whilst Lois is on the computer researching Torchwood, the MacLeish Estate and Canary Wharf are mentioned in the article.
 * A new detail of Jack's immortality is revealed: he can regrow major parts of his anatomy even after experiencing physical destruction, although this is not a quick process. He does so without losing memories, though it is stated that "part of a head" survived the blast, and it is not indicated if that part happened to include his brain.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after TW: Children of Earth: Day One
 * This story takes place before TW: Children of Earth: Day Three

Home video releases

 * This episode was released on DVD along with the rest of Children of Earth on 13 July 2009.