Torchwood 1x11 - "Combat"
 

Plot Summary
Savage aliens are being kidnapped from the streets of Cardiff and Torchwood want to know why. Owen is sent undercover to find out who's behind it and soon befriends the charismatic Mark Lynch. Beneath the veneer of city life, Owen discovers a shocking subculture: can he avoid being sucked in?

Episode written by Noel Clarke

(Yes, we're including writers now. I did start it on a previous episode of TW but nobody continued the trend)

I enjoyed this episode, had enough tension to keep me going and enough action to make it interesting.

Toshi's finally entered the "not annoying" area of character definition too!

I know this is the second week in a row that I've given an episode Fantastic rating, but I loved it, I loved watching how Owen was slowly being sucked into the sub culture and the bit at the end had me wondering.
I also noticed that at the end of the opening credits that Noel Clarke (Mickey, Rickey) wrote it, I must say, after watching this, I think he is an excellent writer. He should stay on for next season, maybe he could write an episode of Doctor Who. I'm telling ya, if he did, it would recieve a lot of recognition. I was totally sucked into plot.
Next week, we get a double episode (like at the beginning), and I must say, by what the trailer goes, it looks like it'll be the best yet (a brilliant rating is in store for that I think.

I thought it was a good episode, although it was sort of strange that suddenly Owen wants to die... 8/10.

The only woman he ever loved left him forever in the previous episode, I think it's quite understandable that he felt there was nothing left.

Quite a good episode overall, Noel Clark isn't a bad writer after all.

he must feel similar to the Doctor then, don't you think?

It was a very deep story and I must say I'm impressed with Noel Clarke's ability as a writer. A very enjoyable episode -- a strong 8/10 from me.

Yeah it was good writing.

I wonder what'll happen in the finale next week, I hope it's good.

From what I could tell in the trailer, the Jack Harkness they meet isn't John Barrowman. Maybe Jack killed him and took his place?

we never get a good look at his face, I thought it was, just with a different hair style

Ditto. It's Barrowman with 1940's hair, rather than post-1940's hair. ;)

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/7647/cjlq7.jpg

Believe me, it's not John Barrowman :P.

PS: Don't say "but it's a different guy!". He's wearing the same costume, with the same rank insignia and the same hairstyle :P.

PPS: I checked IMDb (yeah real reliable...) for cast lists, and they don't even have Mark Lynch credited for Combat...big help there. Any more reliable (complete) cast listing where we can check this out?

well, if it is someone else, then I say that they've took Jack's place

Yeah, I could have told you it was definitely not John Barrowman.

More like Jack took theirs in his capacity as a conman.

A point of interest - the poster in the trailer shows the episode as taking place on January 20th 1941. Jack has been established as disappearing on January 21st 1941. The Empty Child was set in 1941 as well.

true, but if that's so then why is he still using that name, especially in Doctor Who when it was well established that he was a conman. Maybe it's a coincidence that they have the same name, maybe they're related. Oh, I don't know, that conman thing is a good point

We have no idea whether "Jack Harkness" was his real name or not, only that he was using it in the 40s. He may have continued using the name as a matter of convenience, possibly having forgotten his real name after the Time Agents stole his memory. He would then just assume identities as a conman. When he moved to Torchwood, either he continued using the name Jack out of convenience again, or he got used/attatched to the name, or he felt it was one of his last remaining "links" to the Doctor.

Or it could just be his real name :P.

I think it's to do with the missing two years of Jack's memory. It's probable that this guy is either another conman and has stolen Jack's identity, or Jack stole his identity... or something like that. :P

As for the rank insignia he's wearing that could get confusing because US Army Air Corps ranks and RAF ranks are different, and the equivalent in the RAF is Flight Lieutenant so whatever.... we dont even see the guy's rank insignia in the preview anyway, because they would be around his tunic cuff's so why am I even going on about it. :P

True, but he is wearing the insignia of the RAF on the top left of his jacket. Captain Jack in the series has always worn the insignia of the RAF (which brings up confusion as there isn't any such rank as "Captain" in the RAF, the closest is Group Captain, which is never shortened to just "Captain").

Fun Fact: "Captain Jack" is urban slang for heroin.

:D (Ten characters.)

we're getting girly here.

We are...?

oh, no. I was confusing Heroin with Heroine.
Getting a little druggy here, aren't we?

Actually Captain is his American Army Air Corps rank, as he is an American volunteer that has been sent to Britain, likely part of the RAF Eagle's Squadron which was made up of American volunteers.

He wouldn't have been referred to as Captain however, as the Eagle Squadrons were under the jurisdiction of the RAF and used their applicable ranks. Jack would have been a Flight Lieutenant as his equivalent rank, though he wore the insignia of a Sqaudron Leader in his first appearances, meaning his USAAC ranking would have been Major. In Torchwood he wears the insignia of Group Captain which would have made his USAAC ranking as Colonel. In the Lahore flashback of Torchwood he was wearing the three pips of a UK Captain, the only possible way he could have gotten the title.

It's really just one huge continuity mess that can't easily be resolved.

A big mess indeed...

Thing is they just made it worse by trying to fix it, like giving him the "Group Captain" badge and stuff.

Yeah cause even if he was a Group Captain then they wouldn't call him Captain.