End of Days (Torchwood)

Lore & Background

Continuing from the events of "Captain Jack Harkness", the episode involves the time-travelling clock seller Bilis Manger manipulating members of a team of alien hunters called Torchwood into opening a rift in time and space which would cause the release of the demon Abaddon. After Owen opened the Rift to rescue Toshiko and Jack, the Rift splinters, bringing individuals from different eras to the present day. Jack orders Torchwood to bring anyone that fell through time into Torchwood's vaults.

Toshiko and Owen investigate cases of the Black Death in a local Cardiff hospital, while PC Andy informs Jack and Gwen that they have a Roman soldier in police custody. Ianto sees his dead girlfriend Lisa in the vaults, who tries to convince him to open the Rift. Jack fires Owen after Owen opens the Rift, not during a heated argument.

Reader's Guide

"End of Days" aired on 1 January 2007, alongside "Captain Jack Harkness". It received total viewing figures of 1.232 million, placing Torchwood number one on the top ten most viewed television series on multi-channel television the week it aired in the United Kingdom. The episode represented Torchwood in three BAFTA Cymru awards, including "Best Drama Series," Ben Foster for "Best Original Music Soundtrack," and Eve Myles for "Best Actress." None of these nominations was won.

The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Brigid Cherry of Total Sci Fi rated the episode 5 out of 10, describing the episode's gaps and dangling plot threads as "downright annoying," and felt preceding episode "Captain Jack Harkness" was more intriguing. Iain Clarke of Strange Horizons thought the episode "showcased every one of the show's worst excesses and precious few of its redeeming features," and that the episode was "heir to the myriad unresolved tensions and neuroses which the characters have exhibited over the course of the season." Paul Clarke of Outpost Gallifrey called the episode an "utter mess," thought Abaddon was less interesting than the Beast in Doctor Who's "The Satan Pit", but praised the episode for Murray Melvin's role as Bilis.

Did You Know?

• The episode was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Ashley Way.
• It aired on BBC Three on 1 January 2007, alongside the previous episode 'Captain Jack Harkness'.
• The episode received three 2008 BAFTA Cymru award nominations, though none was won.
• Total viewing figures were 1.232 million, making Torchwood number one on multi-channel television that week.

Origins & Production Evolution

Torchwood began life as a standalone concept before being reworked into a spin-off of Doctor Who, the long-running BBC science fiction series created by Russell T Davies. The title itself is an anagram of "Doctor Who," a fact that originated as a production ruse during the 2005 revival of that programme. The term was later woven into Doctor Who's second series, establishing a narrative bridge between the two shows. The series premiered on BBC Three on 22 October 2006, deliberately positioned after the watershed to serve adult audiences rather than the family demographic of its parent show. Over its four series, the programme migrated channels three times: from BBC Three to BBC Two for series two, then to BBC One for the five-episode Children of Earth mini-series in 2009, and finally to the American premium cable network Starz for Miracle Day in 2011. A notable production shift occurred when Captain Jack Harkness grew popular with younger viewers, prompting the creation of alternative cuts of series two with adult content removed so the episodes could reach a broader audience. The storytelling format also evolved, moving from a monster-of-the-week structure in the first two series to serial storytelling in the final two.

Cast & Character Dynamics

The show centres on Torchwood Three, the Cardiff-based team of elite black operatives tasked with investigating extraterrestrial incidents on Earth. Captain Jack Harkness, first introduced as a companion of the Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who's inaugural series, leads the group. He is supported by Ianto Jones, a support officer; Dr. Owen Harper; technical expert Toshiko Sato; and Gwen Cooper, a police constable recruited into the team. The second series brought Martha Jones, a former companion of the Tenth Doctor, into the fold, while Gwen's husband Rhys Williams rose to main-character status beginning with series three. The fourth series, Miracle Day, saw a significant cast overhaul: only Harkness, Cooper, and Williams remained from the original ensemble. They were joined by CIA special agent Rex Matheson, analyst Esther Drummond, and death row inmate Oswald Danes. Across all four series, the show maintained a small number of crossover episodes with Doctor Who, reinforcing the two programmes as connected pillars of the broader Whoniverse. The first two series were helmed by head writer Chris Chibnall, while Davies returned as showrunner for the final two, lending a distinct creative shift to the latter half of the run.

Narrative Arcs & Thematic Depth

Each series of Torchwood carried its own distinct narrative engine while weaving together recurring thematic concerns. Series one introduced Gwen Cooper to the world of Torchwood and built a loose arc around the mysterious rift, Owen's grief for Diane—a woman lost in time—and the tangled love triangle between Owen, Gwen, and her boyfriend Rhys. Series two pivoted on Jack's disappearance and eventual return, exploring his hidden past, and introduced the enigmatic and dangerous figure of John Hart. The third series, Children of Earth, shifted to a global scale as the alien race known as the 456 made contact through the world's children, forcing governments to respond, while also deepening the Jack-and-Ianto relationship and Gwen's bond with Rhys. Miracle Day centred on the world's sudden halt of death, rendering everyone immortal, and used that premise to interrogate Jack's own immortality and his past. Throughout, the programme consistently explored existentialism, homosexual and bisexual relationships, and the corruptibility of human institutions, setting it apart from the more family-oriented tone of Doctor Who.

Legacy & Expanded Universe

Torchwood ran for 41 episodes across four series between 22 October 2006 and 9 September 2011, after which the show was placed on an indefinite hiatus in 2012. Despite the hiatus, Captain Jack Harkness continued to appear in Doctor Who, with notable returns in both 2020 and 2021, keeping the character alive in the Whoniverse. The programme's influence extended well beyond the screen through a substantial body of tie-in media, including comics, novels, audio dramas, and the ten-minute companion series Torchwood Declassified, which offered behind-the-scenes access and thematic discussion following each broadcast. Internationally, Torchwood was broadcast in several countries, earning a devoted cult following alongside strong viewing figures and critical acclaim. The show's adult-oriented positioning, its exploration of queer relationships, and its willingness to tackle existential and political themes gave it a distinctive identity within the BBC's science fiction output. Together with Doctor Who, it formed one of the two television pillars of the Whoniverse, and its legacy persists through the continued presence of its characters in the broader franchise.