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 and Esther have joined Torchwood out of necessity. The team successfully acquire the phone from CIA director Friedkin, through which Friedkin received mysterious orders to exterminate Torchwood. The team follow leads and uncover a stockpile of painkillers at the pharmaceutical corporation PhiCorp, indicating they knew the Miracle was going to happen. At a loose end, Jack takes the night off and picks up a man in a bar, and Rex seeks solace in his surgeon, Vera Juarez. Juarez tells Rex that PhiCorp representative Jilly Kitzinger has invited her along to an important meeting tomorrow; Rex recruits Juarez to listen in for Torchwood, while Gwen goes on mission with the special Torchwood contact lenses and steals information from Kitzinger's computer. The meeting turns out to be a seminar, where the PhiCorp CEO announces plans to make painkillers legal to purchase without prescription. At Torchwood HQ, Rex and Esther receive a mysterious phonecall from Friedkin's anonymous superiors and figuring their base has been compromised, realise that Torchwood must now leave D.C. Released murderer Oswald Danes struggles to fit in the real world, and after being assaulted by police officers accepts Kitzinger's earlier offer of representation. He attends a select board meeting at PhiCorp. PhiCorp award him personal security on the condition he promotes their new painkiller legislation on national television to his growing following. Suspicious of Danes, Jack confronts him at the TV station. Jack gets Danes to admit that he does not feel forgiveness, but also that he enjoyed the rape and murder of his 12-year-old victim; Jack realises from this speech that Danes has a deathwish that is being denied him. Danes' security assaults Jack and releases him onto the streets just as Danes tells the world about the need for PhiCorp's painkiller legislation.

Cast

 * Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Rex Matheson - Mekhi Phifer
 * Esther Drummond - Alexa Havins
 * Rhys Williams - Kai Owen
 * Oswald Danes - Bill Pullman
 * Jilly Kitzinger - Lauren Ambrose
 * Dr. Vera Juarez - Arlene Tur
 * Brian Friedkin - Wayne Knight
 * Brad - Dillon Casey
 * Congressman Morganthall - Richard Gilliland
 * Carla - Tasha Ames

Drugs and medicines

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

Individuals

 * Esther Drummond has an older sister, whom she cares for.
 * 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 is also referenced.
 * Rex describes Jack as being a man in his 40s.

Technology

 * Gwen uses the Torchwood contact lenses, (which she retained 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 in their use by Lois Habiba in Children of Earth.)
 * Jack states they are from a moon in a distant galaxy.

Theories and concepts

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

Weapons

 * Gwen uses traffic spikes 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.

Ratings
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Myths
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Filming locations
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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.

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 the same thing done to him by the Ninth Doctor in DW: Boom Town.

DVD releases
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Blu-ray releases
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