One of the criticisms often levelled at Steven Moffat’s era of Doctor Who, and indeed the show as a whole, is the lack of female writers.
According to occasional contributor Neil Gaiman, this has been a priority of late, and Season 9 attempted to redress the balance with scripts from Catherine Tregenna and Sarah Dollard.
Tregenna is no stranger to the Cardiff-based production and has a track record in writing for an immortal character. A Welsh playwright and scriptwriter, she has previously penned four Torchwood episodes, as well writing for series such as Law & Order UK, Lewis and DCI Banks. She also has nine Casualty episodes to her name.
Following the success of her recent Doctor Who ep ‘The Woman Who Lived’, which continued the story of Ashildr (Maisie Williams), here is our rundown of Catherine Tregenna’s Torchwood stories.
‘Meat’ (2008)
Working as a delivery driver, Gwen Cooper’s partner Rhys unwittingly discovers a rather unpleasant trade in alien meat. As Captain Jack memorably puts it: “Imprisoned, chained and drugged… welcome to planet Earth.”
This discovery also prompts the long awaited moment where Rhys has to be told the truth about Gwen’s job with Torchwood and the existence of aliens (mainly in Cardiff).
‘Captain Jack Harkness’ (2007)
The penultimate episode of the first season, this was the episode where our Captain Jack Harkness met the original bearer of that name, with the knowledge the real Jack will go to his death the following day.
Trapped in 1941, Jack and Tosh realise they need the rift to be opened to get home and themselves having to work out the correct equations to leave for the remainder of the team to find.
‘Adam’ (2008)
Pulling a stunt worthy of Joss Whedon, we find the Torchwood hub has gained a new member. One who apparently been part of the team for the previous three years.
Adam (Bryan Dick) is an alien capable of manipulating memories and he causes plenty of feelings to be brought into the open, as well as threatening Jack with the loss of crucial memories of his past.
Going one stage further than ST:TNG’s ‘Conundrum’, which deployed a similar tale with an Executive Officer named Kieran MacDuff, the Torchwood production even went the whole hog and even manipulated the credits to include Adam.
‘Out of Time’ (2006)
The tenth episode of the first season, and to our mind Tegenna’s finest, is the thought-provoking tale of three people who come through the rift by aeroplane into the modern day, having set off in 1953.
While the sci-fi provides the set-up, ‘Out of Time’ is a fascinating character study; John Ellis becomes suicidal after discovering his family legacy, despite Jack’s best efforts, while the glamorous pilot Diane embarks on a passionate affair with Owen Harper. Meanwhile, the youngest of the Sky Gypsy’s passengers, Emma-Louise, forms a bond with Gwen who helps her navigate the complexities of modern life.
Heart-breaking in places, the three visitors shine a light on three of the show’s regulars, breaking Owen’s heart, highlighting Jack’s helplessly immortal status and providing a further reason for Rhys to distrust Gwen.
> Buy the complete Doctor Who Season 9 box set on DVD on Amazon.
> Buy the complete Doctor Who Season 9 box set on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Which of Catherine Tregenna’s Torchwood episodes is your favourite? Let us know below…