Countrycide
A Welsh village harvests travellers every ten years.
"Countrycide" is the sixth episode in the first series of the British sci-fi show *Torchwood*. It first aired on BBC Three on 19 November 2006. The story takes place in a small Welsh village, where the residents are cannibals. Once every ten years, they trap and kill travelers who pass through, butchering them for food. The episode drew 1.22 million viewers.
The plot begins when the Torchwood team investigates reports of seventeen people missing in a twenty-mile area of the Brecon Beacons. They track the last missing person’s mobile phone signal. While gathering firewood, Gwen and Owen spot two hooded figures. Chasing them leads to a corpse, and while the team examines it, their SUV is stolen. Ianto tracks the vehicle to a nearby village. Jack concludes the corpse was a decoy to lure them there.
Inside the village pub and nearby homes, Jack, Gwen, and Owen find two more bodies. They also meet a young man named Kieran, who accidentally shoots Gwen with a shotgun, thinking “they” had returned for him. Kieran tells them about the victims, but the team remains unsure if aliens are involved. The lights go out, and noises come from both the cellar and outside. Kieran is dragged away; Gwen and Owen follow him against Jack’s orders. Jack interrogates Martin, a man he shot in the cellar.
Meanwhile, Toshiko and Ianto try to find the SUV but are captured. They wake up in a cellar filled with old clothes, shoes, and a refrigerator packed with human body parts. Toshiko realizes they are meant to be food. A woman named Helen enters with a shotgun. After learning about the other Torchwood members, she says she cannot help them—she is collecting people for the “Harvest,” which occurs every ten years. They are taken to a kitchen full of body parts and corpses. Helen is revealed as one of the cannibals, and a man named Evan handcuffs them for butchering. Ianto headbutts Evan, letting Toshiko escape into the woods. Evan catches and strangles her, but Owen and Gwen arrive with a policeman named Huw. Huw turns out to be Evan’s nephew, and the two lead the Torchwood members back to the village.
Just before Ianto is cut open and bled, Jack crashes a tractor through the building and wounds the assembled cannibals with a shotgun. The team spares Evan’s life to learn the truth: every ten years, the village targets travelers and butchers them.
Quick Facts
- Number
- 06
- Serial Name
- Countrycide
- Show
- TW
- Cast
- John Barrowman – Captain Jack Harkness / Eve Myles – Gwen Cooper / Burn Gorman – Owen Harper / Naoko Mori – Toshiko Sato / Gareth David-Lloyd – Ianto Jones
- Guests
- Kai Owen – Rhys Williams / Owen Teale – Evan Sherman / Maxine Evans – Helen Sherman / Calum Callaghan – Kieran / Rhys ap Trefor – Huw / Emily Bowker – Ellie / Robert Barton – Martin
- Director
- Andy Goddard
- Writer
- Chris Chibnall
- Script Editor
- Brian Minchin
- Producer
- Richard Stokes / Chris Chibnall (co-producer)
- Executive Producer
- Russell T Davies / Julie Gardner
- Composer
- Murray Gold / Ben Foster
- Production Code
- 1.6
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The episode follows the Torchwood team as they investigate 17 missing people within a 20-mile radius in the Brecon Beacons. Using a mobile phone signal from the last disappearance, they encounter hooded figures, a corpse, and eventually find their SUV stolen. Tracking the vehicle to a nearby village, they discover more corpses and a young man named Kieran, who accidentally shoots Gwen with a shotgun.
The team learns the village is populated by cannibals who conduct a "Harvest" every ten years, targeting travellers. Toshiko and Ianto are captured and awaken in a cellar full of old clothes, shoes, and a refrigerator full of human body parts. They are taken to a kitchen to be butchered, but Ianto headbutts one captor, allowing Toshiko to escape briefly before being recaptured by a policeman named Huw, who is revealed to be the nephew of one of the cannibals.
Jack eventually rescues Ianto by bursting through the building on a tractor and wounding the cannibals with a shotgun. When Gwen demands to know why they kill, one cannibal, Evan, claims it makes him happy. The villagers are taken into custody by the police.
Reader's Guide
"Countrycide" stands as a key episode in Torchwood's first series, shifting from alien threats to human horror. Its depiction of a rural Welsh village as a site of systematic cannibalism subverts pastoral expectations, drawing on horror tropes to explore themes of isolation and savagery. The episode's focus on human evil rather than extraterrestrial menace distinguishes it within the series, and its 1.22 million viewership reflects its impact on the BBC Three audience. Critical attention, as seen in references from academic works on television horror and Welsh mythology, underscores its cultural resonance. The episode's legacy includes its examination of how ordinary people can commit atrocities, a theme that resonates beyond science fiction.
Did You Know?
- The episode was viewed by 1.22 million people.
- The village's cannibals harvest travellers every ten years.
- Toshiko and Ianto are captured and find a refrigerator full of human body parts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main plot of Countrycide?
Torchwood tracks down seventeen missing people in the Brecon Beacons by following a missing person's phone signal. They uncover a small Welsh village whose residents secretly trap and butcher passing travelers for food. The village carries out this grim harvesting ritual on a ten-year cycle.
Who are the antagonists in Countrycide?
The entire population of a small Welsh village acts collectively as the threat. They are cannibals who lure in travelers, kill them, and consume them as part of a ritual repeated once every decade.
Where and when does Countrycide take place?
The story is set in a remote village in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. The episode is the sixth in Torchwood's first series and first aired on BBC Three on 19 November 2006.
How does the Torchwood team become involved in Countrycide?
The team is investigating a string of seventeen disappearances across a twenty-mile stretch of the Brecon Beacons. While collecting firewood, Gwen and Owen spot something that leads them deeper into the village's dark secret.
How well did Countrycide perform in the ratings?
The episode drew 1.22 million viewers when it aired on BBC Three in November 2006.
More in Torchwood episodes 1-24
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