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STORY PLACEMENT THIS EPISODE TAKES
PLACE BETWEEN THE TV "ADRIFT."
WRITTEN BY PETER J. HAMMOND
DIRECTED BY JONATHAN FOX BASSETT
RATINGS 0.95 MILLION (BBC3) 2.90 MILLION (BBC2)
RECOMMENDED PURCHASE 'THE COMPLETE SECOND SERIES' BLU-RAY DVD BOX SET (BBCBD0040) RELEASED IN JUNE 2008.
BLURB When an old cinema re-opens, past horrors emerge to stalk the streets of Cardiff. And as bodies are found, somewhere between life and death, Torchwood must act fast. Who are the Night Travellers? And how can Torchwood capture these mysterious killers?
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From Out of the Rain 12TH MARCH 2008 (50-MINUTE EPISODE)
Peter J Hammond seems to get something of a raw deal so far as his Torchwood episodes are concerned. His 2006 episode Small Worlds had the troublesome task of following Chris Chibnall’s thrilling Cyberwoman, and this year his episode comes on the back of four of Torchwood’s greatest episodes to date.
In some respects though, this works in Hammond’s favour. Many casual viewers who could not care less about whether Gwen and Rhys tie the knot or what happens to Owen will no doubt enjoy just being able to tune in and, for once, watch a good old fashioned horror story without having a month’s worth of continuity bludgeoned down their throats.
“That film was beautiful. All those acts performing for us. Part of history, trapped on film forever.”
That said, From Out of the Rain is not completely devoid of character progression. Jack in particular enjoys a very strong outing, Hammond pulling back the veil just that little bit further and letting slip a few more secrets about the former Time Agent’s past. Through an old film recording, Ianto discovers that Jack was once part of a ‘travelling company’ (is that the PC way of saying ‘circus’?), billed as “the man who can’t die”. As the episode progresses, we learn that Jack was not just killing time waiting for the Doctor; he had joined the circus for a reason. Someone had sent him to investigate Ghostmaker and Pearl, the so-called ‘night travellers’….
“A ghost story. They came from out of the rain… left a trail of damage and sorrow wherever they performed.”
Hammond also has to be credited for his intriguing, if somewhat offbeat, plot. Characters escaping from films has long been a staple of the science fiction and horror genres, but I don’t recall it ever being done in Cardiff and certainly not with life-sucking circus vampires! ‘Imagination’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.
The episode also contains some really quite disconcerting imagery – the two catatonic children, for example, who had had their ‘last breath’ sucked out of them. Very nasty.
On balance, I think that I enjoyed From Out of the Rain more than I did Small Worlds. It’s every bit as creepy as Hammond’s 2006 effort was, if not more so. It put me in mind of an old X-Files episode - Humbug -, not in terms of the story but in terms of the look and the feel. Clowns are creepy enough, but travelling folk? Another league entirely. Julian Bleach and Camilla Power may have been portraying two of Torchwood’s more far-fetched villains, but they were certainly playing two of the most memorable.
For me though, the best thing about this episode was the epilogue – Jack’s speech about films gathering dust in lofts and basements. Such an indulgent bit of fan-service, but relevant enough to the story so as not to befuddle those not clued-up on the BBC’s junking policy and its effects on Doctor Who. A remarkably poignant end.
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Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2008
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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