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“OUT OF TIME: A PLANE FROM THE PAST, A STORY STUCK IN NEUTRAL”

Out of Time sees Torchwood Series 1 heading into its closing chapters with a story that, fittingly for its title, feels somewhat stranded in the wrong era. Instead of the usual romp where we see the characters from the present travel back into the past, this time it’s the past that crashes into the present: a 1950s aeroplane slips through the Cardiff Rift and deposits three bewildered passengers into the chaotic world of 2006.

It’s an intriguing set-up, but the episode’s sleepy, low-energy opening doesn't capitalise on it. The three time travellers react to their loss – realising they were declared dead and can never return to their families – with a muted sadness that matches the episode's plodding pace. Rather than drawing the viewer in, the early scenes seem content to drift melancholically, setting a sluggish tone.

THE FUTURE SHOCK THAT NEVER QUITE LANDS

There’s a sprinkling of humour as the 1950s trio encounter sliding doors, bananas, DVDs, and the other wonders of modernity, but the episode never fully commits to examining the clash of eras. There’s a faint attempt to comment on changes in gender roles and technology, but it’s surface-level at best, and none of the observations really stick.

Instead, the narrative leans heavily on interpersonal drama – particularly Owen’s sudden and awkward romance with Diane. After his initial sleazy attempts to get her into bed, Owen catches the feels, softening in a way that’s surprising but not entirely convincing. This feels even more jarring considering his ongoing (and barely acknowledged) entanglement with Gwen. Diane’s decision to fly off into the Rift again leaves Owen devastated, and the fallout of this will have bigger consequences in the next episode – but here, their lack of chemistry makes the emotional beats fall flat.

Meanwhile, Jack bonds with John over the agony of lost family, leading to the story’s standout scene: John visiting his senile, elderly son, who heartbreakingly doesn’t recognise him. This thread is the most successful part of Out of Time, carrying genuine emotional heft and delivering a rare, moving moment of vulnerability for Jack.

FORGOTTEN CHARACTERS AND FORGOTTEN TENSION

Gwen and Tosh are utterly sidelined here, barely participating beyond a few token scenes. Tosh, especially, feels like an afterthought, while Gwen is mostly there to remind us that yes, Rhys still exists – a fact the show itself had seemed to forget for a few episodes.

There’s no alien threat, no villain, and no looming sci-fi catastrophe – which in theory could have been refreshing. In practice, though, the absence of any real stakes or tension leaves the episode feeling flat. Some additional threat or sci-fi complication might have given the narrative the energy it sorely lacks.

The melancholic piano soundtrack and slow camera pans don’t help matters. Almost every scene is coated in the same mournful atmosphere, which, combined with the understated (and sometimes just plain dull) performances from Louis Delamare, Mark Lewis Jones, and Olivia Hallinan, makes the whole episode feel listless. Hallinan’s turn, in particular, is painfully awkward – her scenes with Cardiff’s teenagers and her constant weeping never feel natural.

A STORY THAT WANTS TO BE A CHARACTER PIECE… BUT ISN'T

It’s clear that Out of Time wants to be a poignant character piece about loss, displacement, and finding a place in an alien world. But it doesn’t quite have the depth or sharpness to pull it off. Without strong guest characters or gripping emotional arcs, the episode simply ambles along, watchable but never particularly compelling.

Still, there’s a beating heart buried in here – mostly in John’s tragic story – that shows what Torchwood can achieve when it taps into raw, human emotion. Unfortunately, it’s too little to lift an episode that feels, for the most part, like it's killing time until the real fireworks of the finale.

📝VERDICT: 4.9/10

Out of Time brings an interesting premise but fumbles it with sluggish pacing, underdeveloped characters, and a lack of tension. Despite one powerful emotional scene between John and his elderly son, most of the story drifts along aimlessly, failing to fully explore its potential. Watchable but ultimately forgettable, this is Torchwood on autopilot.

There is half a good story here, split into one and a half thirds.

1/3 - Jack Harkness and John Ellis' plot was really good. The scene with John and his aged son was incredible, and the scene with the two of them in the car was very strong.

0.5/3 - Gwen and Emma's story was pretty good, but didn't quite seem to fit together as well as Jack and John. It had its moments, both positive and negative

0/3 - Owen and Diane. I don't care about Owen Harper.

I don't care about Owen Harper.

I really like this episode. The fish out of water stuff is great fun, and there's also some lovely emotional moments. It's more of an inner conflict, compared to the usual monster-of-the week. My one gripe is that Diana Holmes' decision to leave Owen and fly back through the rift is all very sudden. It would maybe have worked better had they used this episode to write out Owen and he had gone with her, with the idea that they could go off together on a journey through the rift seeded throughout the episode.

Out of Time is pretty cool and stands out a bit from Series One Torchwood and this spin-off in general, but it shouldn't be. The story itself makes a lot of sense as a spin-off to a show that features time travel so heavily. While many Torchwood stories might have our main characters travelling through time, this one is neat in that it brings people from another time to the present, which doesn't happen nearly as much in Doctor Who overall.

However, since three characters come through the timeline, we essentially have three stories. Diane is paired with Owen, and this is the first time I found his character more interesting after having such and awful introduction in the series. Jack meets a father that finds his son is all grown up and has Alzheimer's, and that unfolds into a story quite heartbreaking and morose. Then Gwen and Rhys have Emma, and it feels like she is largely used to further the drama between Gwen and her partner as her lies around Torchwood begin to build.

This is where Out of Time loses me a bit. Owen and Jack and their time travellers are all done well, but the whole Gwen/Rhys/Emma dynamic feels comparatively weaker. On the whole, this leaves an experience with Out of Time that is positive overall, but a little uneven. There's a lot of melodrama to Out of Time but for once, this feels earned. Travelling through time like this should be upsetting a traumatic, and Out of Time explores that really well. Still, this pairs nicely with the final third of Series One in Torchwood - more thoughtful, experimental episodes that feel like they all work a lot better as a show compared to what we initially got out of the series with gross messes like Cyberwoman and Day One.