STORY PLACEMENT

 THIS EPISODE TAKES

 PLACE BETWEEN THE TV

 EPISODES "THEY KEEP

 KILLING SUZIE" AND

 "OUT OF TIME."

 

 WRITTEN BY

 JACQUETTA MAY

 

 DIRECTED BY

 JAMES ESKRINE

 

 RATINGS

 1.08 MILLION (BBC3)

 2.26 MILLION (BBC2)

 

 WORKING TITLE
 INVISIBLE EUGENE

 

 RECOMMENDED 

 PURCHASE

 'THE COMPLETE FIRST 

 SERIES' BLU-RAY DVD

 BOX SET (BBCBD0015)

 RELEASED IN JUNE 2008.

 

CLICK TO ENLARGE

  

 BLURB

 WHEN EUGENE WAKES TO

 FIND HIMSELF (a) DEAD

 AND (B) INVISIBLE, HE
 KNOWS ONLY GWEN

 COOPER CAN HELP HIM.

 

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Random Shoes

10TH DECEMBER 2006

(50-MINUTE EPISODE)

 

 

                                                       

 

 

Jacquetta May’s beautifully-titled episode Random Shoes is Torchwood’s answer to Love & Monsters. It is slightly less silly and has much more pathos than its Doctor Who counterpart, but as a general rule I would say that if you liked that particularly controversial episode, then you will like this too. It’s also worth noting that this is the first episode of the series not to contain much in the way of adult material. Indeed, the odd “twat” aside, there

little here that could offend anyone descended from Mary Whitehouse.

 

 

Essentially a two-hander between Eve Myles (Gwen) and Paul Chequer (Eugene), Random Shoes is the story of Eugene’s life. Eugene was a maths genius as a kid, but somewhere it all went wrong. His parents split up and eventually Eugene ended up working in a call centre, becoming obsessed with alien ephemera and then ultimately being royally shafted by all his mates. And then he ate his alien eye. And then he got run over.

 

And then he had the chance to look back on his whole life and see it for exactly what it was.

 

 

As Elton was obsessed with the Doctor in Love & Monsters, here Eugene is head over heels in love with Gwen. Both Myles and Chequer give wonderful, emotive performances

that really pay off in the final five minutes or so of the episode; the ending is incredibly poignant. Although Eugene’s character journey may be wholly unoriginal, unlike Elton, Eugene’s epiphany comes too late. Somehow he is given form and is able to prevent

Gwen from being run over. Everyone can see him. He’s alive after all! The viewer wants

the happy ending so badly… and then Gwen kisses him goodbye and he ascends.

 

“Please don’t go Eugene…”

 

Random Shoes is a tear-jerker, plain and simple. If Greeks Bearing Gifts was one for the Dads, then this is one for the ladies.

 

“In an average lifetime, the human heart will beat two million times. You’ll produce over eight thousand gallons of saliva and grow three hundred and fifty miles of hair. You’ll eat the equivalent in weight of six elephants. The average life is full of near misses and absolute hits, of great love and small disasters. It’s made up of banana milkshakes, loft installation and random shoes. It’s dead ordinary and truly, truly amazing.

What you’ve got to realise is, it’s all here now. So breathe deep and swallow it whole, because take it from me - life just whizzes by and then all of a sudden it’s-”

 

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006

 

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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