Feb 7, 2008
17 - "Meat" | |
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Torchwood episode | |
The ever growing alien provides a seemingly unlimited supply of meat. |
|
Writer | Catherine Tregenna |
Director | Colin Teague |
Script editor | Brian Minchin |
Producer | Richard Stokes Chris Chibnall (co-producer) |
Executive producer(s) | Russell T. Davies Julie Gardner |
Production code | 2.4 |
Series | Series 2 |
Length | 50 mins |
Originally broadcast | 6 February 2008 |
Chronology | |
? Preceded by | Followed by → |
"To the Last Man" | "Adam" |
IMDb profile |
"Meat" is the fourth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Two on 6 February 2008.[1]
Contents[hide] |
Rhys Williams is out driving when he is telephoned by a work mate to inform him that one of their firm's lorries has crashed. He drives to the site of the crash and see that one of his employees and friend has died. Torchwood appears on the scene and Rhys spots Gwen.
The Torchwood team confiscates the meat that the lorry was transporting when they suspect it of being alien. Gwen recognises the lorry as one from Rhys' firm. Back at the hub Toshiko rings Rhys' office for information pretending to be the police. At home Rhys texts Gwen asking for her to come home. He attempts to get her to confess to being at the crash site but she is evasive.
He sees Gwen meeting up with Jack near the lift in Roald Dahl Plas and follows her to a factory. While there he is captured by a group of men and taken into the factory. Jack and Gwen see this and mistake his actions for collabaration. The men show Rhys that they have captured a live large creature which is the source of the meat and which continues to grow despite them cutting chunks of its flesh away while it is still alive. He agrees to join them.
Back at their flat Rhys and Gwen argue over her being at the crash and Gwen admits to the nature of her work for Torchwood. Rhys is disbeliving till she shows him around the Hub. With Rhys' help the team manages to inflitrate the factory so they can free the alien creature. The team hides in one of Rhys' vans and Rhys drives them to the factory where the team sneaks in.
They locate the creature and plan to stun gun the men and sedate it so they can move it back to the hub till the Rift reopens. They confirm that the creature is sentient, but the men discover them and in the fights Rhys is shot. The creature becomes distressed and Owen has no other option but to euthanise it when it poses a threat to them by struggling.
They are able to stun the men and feed them amnesia pills. Back at the Hub Owen patches up Rhys' wound and Jack orders Gwen to give Rhys a pill too. She finds that she cannot bring herself to do so and Jack relents, disappointed about this.
The creature in the warehouse reminded me of Chicken Little in the classic SF novel \\\"The Space Merchants\\\" by Pohl and Kornbluth. Of course their 15 yard across living chicken culture that was continually sliced and trimmed to be sold around the world was not sentient, and didn\\\'t have a great big soulful eye.