Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Torchwood)
Jack returns to face a former lover and a deadly trap.
"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" opens the second series of the British sci-fi show *Torchwood*, airing on BBC Two on 16 January 2008. James Marsters guest-stars as Captain John Hart, a former colleague and ex-lover of alien hunter Jack Harkness (John Barrowman). In the story, John betrays Jack’s Torchwood team as part of a scheme to steal a diamond from a murdered woman.
Chris Chibnall wrote the episode knowing Marsters wanted to appear, crafting the role of John Hart “absolutely” for him. Filming took place in Cardiff in July 2007. The episode drew four million viewers on first broadcast, earned an Appreciation Index of 84, and received generally positive reviews in both the UK and US.
**Plot**
After finding the Doctor and witnessing the end of the world, Jack returns to his Torchwood team and shoots an intoxicated alien Blowfish during a hostage situation. While investigating a murder in a multi-storey car park—where Rift activity is detected on the corpse—Jack gets a surprise call on his vortex manipulator from the killer: his former lover, Time Agent Captain John Hart. Jack meets John at a nightclub to catch up, and John joins Torchwood at the Hub. He tricks the team into finding three cylindrical devices he claims are dangerous bombs needing defusal, but they are actually meant to triangulate the location of a diamond he stole from another former lover.
Torchwood splits into three groups. Gwen and John search the docks; John paralyses Gwen and locks her in a crate, warning she’ll die if not found in two hours. Toshiko and Owen search a warehouse, where John shoots Owen in the hip. Jack and Ianto search an office block; John pushes Jack off the roof when Jack realises the bombs are a con. John then takes a pyramid-shaped object from the Blowfish in the Hub’s morgue. Gwen is rescued, and Jack survives the fall due to his immortality.
Torchwood confronts John, who discovers there is no diamond: his former lover anticipated her death and set a trap for her murderer. The device is a bomb that attaches to the killer—John—and begins a ten-minute countdown. Unwilling to die, John handcuffs himself to Gwen and swallows the key, forcing Torchwood to remove the bomb. Gwen plans to use the Rift at the car park to contain the explosion, at the cost of her own life.
Quick Facts
- Number
- 14
- Serial Name
- Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
- 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
- Ashley Way
- 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
- 2.1
- Series
- Series 2
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The episode opens with Jack Harkness, after finding the Doctor and witnessing the end of the world, returning to his Torchwood team and shooting an intoxicated alien Blowfish involved in a hostage situation. During a murder investigation at a multi-storey car park where Rift activity is detected, Jack receives a call from his former lover, the Time Agent Captain John Hart. John tricks Torchwood into finding three cylindrical devices he claims are bombs, but they are actually part of a plan to locate a diamond he stole from a former lover. The team splits into three groups, and John incapacitates Gwen, shoots Owen, and pushes Jack off a roof. Jack survives due to his immortality. John takes a pyramid-shaped object from the Blowfish in the morgue, but discovers there is no diamond; his former lover set a trap that attaches a bomb to her murderer, John. The bomb begins a ten-minute countdown. John handcuffs himself to Gwen and swallows the key. Gwen plans to use the Rift to contain the explosion, but Jack and Owen inject John with the team's DNA, confusing the device into detaching. Jack throws the bomb into the Rift, where it detonates. John regurgitates the key, frees Gwen, and agrees to leave, but tells Jack he found Gray.
Reader's Guide
The episode was developed after executive producer Russell T Davies received an email from his agent indicating James Marsters' interest in appearing on the series. Chris Chibnall wrote the part of Captain John Hart 'absolutely' for Marsters, aiming to create a conflict for Jack Harkness. Marsters viewed Hart as a doppelganger to Harkness. The first meeting between Jack and John at a nightclub was written to resemble a Spaghetti Western, with a kiss before a fight scene intended to be 'sexy, rather than brutal,' similar to the naked wrestling scene in Women in Love. The fight took a full day to film, with 80% of the acting done by Marsters and Barrowman themselves. The visual effects for the Rift were redesigned for the second series, using orange and gold to appear 'warmer and more magical.' The Blowfish costume was created by Millennium FX, with two versions of the mask: one animatronic and one for the stunt where the blowfish is shot. The episode received generally positive reviews in both the UK and US, with critics noting its fast-paced plot, campy humor, and the chemistry between Marsters and Barrowman.
Did You Know?
- The episode was written by Chris Chibnall with the knowledge that James Marsters wished to appear on the series, and the part of Captain John Hart was written 'absolutely' for him.
- The visual effect for the Rift was redesigned for the second series, using orange and gold to make it appear 'warmer and more magical.'
- The Blowfish in the opening scene was intended by executive producer Russell T Davies to be 'like Finding Nemo, but evil.'
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