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TARDIS Guide

Overview

First aired

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Production Code

1.3

Written by

Helen Raynor

Directed by

Colin Teague

Runtime

50 minutes

Time Travel

Past, Present

Tropes (Potential Spoilers!)

LGBTQA+

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Cardiff, Earth, Wales

UK Viewers

1.77 million

Synopsis

When Gwen retrieves an alien object from a fleeing man in a hoodie, she's haunted by a vision of a lonely young boy. As the team tracks down the object's owner, Owen experiences an even more terrifying vision and a long-buried crime resurfaces.

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Reviews

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4 reviews

I actually enjoyed this! Doctor Who and Spinoffs can usually do one thing well, and that's a ghost story. Owen even approaches something that might be character development


This episode is more what Torchwood should be. It tackles adult themes in a mature rather than childish manner, and has a strong sci-fi premise regarding an alien device that projects echoes from the past. Powerful, gripping and moving drama.


This review contains spoilers!

S1E3

Ghost Machine

 

8/10

 

Now THIS should have been episode 2. The alien device is fascinating and used well throughout. We get some great moments for Owen this episode. I'd forgotten how it ended, but I really did like this ending. It's not quite how either Bernie nor Gwen expected it to go. Great episode, definitely watch.


A pretty solid way to soften the blow of Day One, I suppose. Not my favourite Torchwood episode, certainly, but I enjoy the stuff with Gwen and still think she is a solid part of the series' early days. Her onboarding with Torchwood is still what I take away most from these first few episodes. Owen's arc feels like we are still deep in the edge-lord tendencies of the show which is something I think a lot of the series would struggle with (outside of that one obvious exception). So it kind of left a mediocre impression on me, especially because it kind of fizzles out with an ending I found pretty silly.


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Statistics

AVG. Rating289 members
3.39 / 5

Trakt.tv

AVG. Rating518 votes
3.77 / 5

The Time Scales

AVG. Rating74 votes
3.70 / 5

Member Statistics

Watched

771

Favourited

23

Reviewed

4

Saved

1

Skipped

0

Owned

6

Quotes

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Transcript Needs checking

[Hub]

(Toshiko Sato is using CCTV to guide her comrades around Cardiff.)

TOSH: Owen, Gwen. Left into the alley. Right, thirty metres.

[Alley]

GWEN: What is it? What can you see?


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