Meat (Torchwood)

"Meat" is the fourth episode of Torchwood’s second series, airing on BBC Two on 6 February 2008. Catherine Tregenna, who had written for the show’s first series, penned the script; Colin Teague directed, and Richard Stokes produced. The episode features the five original regulars—John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, and Gareth David Lloyd—alongside recurring actor Kai Owen in a key role.

The series follows a small Cardiff-based team of alien hunters called Torchwood. In the first series premiere, Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) joins the organization while keeping her job secret from her boyfriend, Rhys Williams (Kai Owen). In "Meat," these two sides of Gwen’s life collide when Rhys gets caught up in Torchwood’s probe into a shady meat trade, which involves humans exploiting a stranded, harmless alien. Rhys aids Torchwood in capturing the human criminals, and his courage convinces Gwen to stop hiding the truth from him.

Filming took place in and around Cardiff from June to July 2007, as part of the second production block. The team used the episode to give Rhys a bigger role, motivated by their appreciation for Kai Owen’s first-series performances and executive producer Russell T Davies’ belief that the character should appear less gullible in the second series. The alien, a "space whale," was mostly created with computer-generated imagery, except for a visible wound where humans had carved meat from it. Tregenna described the creature as resembling "a giant kebab." A more elaborate design was initially considered, but both Tregenna and Davies felt it would make the alien less fitting for the story.

Consolidated viewing figures show 3.28 million watched the BBC Two debut, rising to 4.74 million when two repeat broadcasts that week are included. Most critics praised Rhys’ expanded role, Kai Owen’s performance, and the realistic acting and dialogue. However, many reviewers criticized the alien’s special effects, with some comparing it to a sock puppet or hand puppet. While some viewers sympathized with the alien’s plight, others found its poor realization made it hard to care.

**Plot** Rhys is driving when his secretary Ruth calls to say one of their transport company’s lorries has crashed. At the scene, he finds his employee and friend Leighton dead, while transporting meat to an abattoir.