From Out of the Rain
A filmic villain steals breaths to rebuild his audience.
The tenth episode of *Torchwood*'s second series, "From Out of the Rain," first aired on BBC Three on 12 March 2008, with a BBC Two repeat a week later. The story follows the Ghostmaker, a travelling show leader who escapes from the celluloid film in which he was trapped, then steals the final breaths of Cardiff residents to form his audience. At a local cinema, an old black-and-white film of a travelling company repeatedly restarts itself and cannot be turned off. Two figures, the Ghostmaker and a woman named Pearl, step out of the projection screen and become real. Torchwood investigates, and Ianto recalls the absence of two performers from the film. Jack remembers tales of the Night Travellers, who performed only at night and often when locals went missing. An elderly woman named Christina confirms she saw the Night Travellers take her family, saying they came "from out of the rain." The Ghostmaker and Pearl drain victims' last breaths into a silver flask, leaving them near death. The Ghostmaker releases more companions from the film to rebuild his audience. Jack deduces they can be recaptured using a home movie camera. Torchwood rushes to the theatre, where Jack uses the camera to confine the Night Travellers, then tears it open to expose the film to sunlight. In revenge, the Ghostmaker throws the silver flask into the air; Ianto catches and closes it, but only one victim's breath is saved. Torchwood restores that breath to a young boy and stores the flask. Jack suspects more reels of the Night Travellers may exist. The episode's title credits were missing from the BBC HD broadcast. Julian Bleach, who plays the Ghostmaker, later portrayed Davros in the *Doctor Who* episodes "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End." Gerard Carey received a closing credit as Greg from the earlier episode "Meat," though neither he nor his character appears in this episode.
Quick Facts
- Number
- 23
- Serial Name
- From Out of the Rain
- 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
- Director
- Jonathan Fox Bassett
- Writer
- Peter J. Hammond
- Script Editor
- Brian Minchin
- Producer
- Richard Stokes / Chris Chibnall (co-producer)
- Executive Producer
- Russell T Davies / Julie Gardner
- Composer
- Ben Foster
- Production Code
- 2.10
- Series
- Series 2
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The episode centers on the Ghostmaker, a figure from a black-and-white film of a travelling company that comes to life at the Electro cinema in Cardiff. He and a woman named Pearl step out of the projection screen and prey on innocent victims, drawing their last breath into a silver flask and leaving them near death. The Ghostmaker releases more companions from the film to regain their audience. Torchwood, led by Jack, learns from an old woman named Christina that the Night Travellers came 'from out of the rain' and took her family. Jack surmises that if the travellers were released from film, they could be captured by it using a home movie camera. The team rushes to the theatre, and Jack uses a camera to confine the Night Travellers, then rips open the camera and exposes the film to sunlight. In revenge, the Ghostmaker opens the silver flask and throws it into the air; Ianto catches and closes it quickly, but only one victim's breath is saved. The flask is stowed at Torchwood, though Jack suspects more reels of the Night Travellers may exist.
Reader's Guide
From Out of the Rain is notable for its atmospheric horror and its use of classic film as a medium for supernatural threat. The episode explores themes of memory, loss, and the desire for an audience, embodied by the Ghostmaker's theft of last breaths. Julian Bleach's performance as the Ghostmaker is a standout; he would later be cast as Davros, the creator of the Daleks, in the 2008 Doctor Who episodes 'The Stolen Earth' and 'Journey's End'. The episode also features a production quirk: the episodic title credits were missing in the BBC HD broadcast. Additionally, Gerard Carey received a closing credit as Greg, a character from the earlier episode 'Meat', though neither the actor nor his character appeared in this episode. The episode's ambiguous ending, with Jack's hint of more reels, leaves the threat potentially unresolved, adding to its eerie legacy within the Torchwood series.
Did You Know?
- Julian Bleach, who plays the Ghostmaker, was later cast as Davros in the 2008 Doctor Who episodes 'The Stolen Earth' and 'Journey's End'.
- The Ghostmaker steals the last breaths of victims into a silver flask, leaving them with no saliva or tears.
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