2.02: Sleeper

[Pyan]

Another thing, why were they even called out to investigate a violent burglary. They seemed to arrive even before the police had interviewed anyone, and there was no suggestion yet of strange wounds, or anything sinister to the way they had been thrown out of the window.

As they went into the house, didn't PC Andy say something on the lines of

" Something odd here...looks like one that would be in your line"

(I've only seen it once, so I can't vouch for the exact words)

I don't think it was made clear whether TW was brought in officially, or it was Gwen getting an unofficial tip-off from her old mates in the police.

 

[Dave]

...it was Gwen getting an unofficial tip-off from her old mates in the police.

If it is that then it partly explains it. I forgot PC Andy said that.

 

[Adasunshine]

Not only that, but it seemed unnecessary - it's not as if it actually stopped then being shot, or anything.

Yes, but it wasn't until they deactivated the thingimajig (decent English that is) that the shots were effective.

xx

 

[Dr.Jackson]

Despite the plot holes that distracted me a bit, and the feeling that I'd seen this all somewhere before, I quite liked the episode.
It seems to be an odd thing that we've all liked two consecutive episodes of Torchwood and some are actually defending it rather than ripping it into confetti..... The Masters' Archangel Network must still be running!

As Dave pointed out, they don't seem to have this whole secret organisation thing worked out. If anything they've gotten worse at it this series, if random women know who they are on sight.... Less black-ops, more white-ops?

Yes, but it wasn't until they deactivated the thingimajig (decent English that is) that the shots were effective.

xx

Very true, the first lot of bullets only made holes in his shirt, like when Clark Kent gets shot in his civvies.
I did find it odd that they would have their personal shield on all the time, surely this wouldn't be necessary unless they were susceptible to our germs (as in War of the Worlds) and a drain on power (unless its' solar powered, or is that just the engineer in me thinking?).

Also, like Adasunshine and Ursa major, I got the impression that the people were aliens who were integrated into society with false memories so that they wouldn't give away information if they were captured, be it by Time Agents, not-so-secret organisations, or the police. I thought they were pretty much the vanguard for an invasion force, like the Sontarans - information gathering, threat assessment etc. and sending information back before being activated for operations.

 

[Ice fyre]

Ok to address a few points

1. I would suggest out on the point of powering there could be many options. An internal power source, perhaps a small nuclear or fusion powered. Solar would also be possble, but why not power from what she eats, food powers our bodies, she was mainly biological. An advanced culture (far enough ahead to fabricate an essentially biological android and to plant them with weapons and a false background), would have figured out the problem of powering this long ago.

2. It being on all the time would be expalined as keeping the unit from harm, they were maybe expensive to make and they wouldnt want a dead one turning up. The chances of detection were small, but remmber were not dealing with humans here, the motivations will be subtly different.

3. There was a chap who for years wandered round airports after nicking a pilots uniform and flew for years as a co pilot, if you've got a brass neck you can bluff your way round almost anything. How long did her husband know her, how long were they together. The unit would be programmed to do almost anything to avoid detection, avoiding the doctor and basic lying would be the first things the unit would be programmed to do.

4, The wife of the emergency co-ordinator was killed to stop her becomming a rallying point and to stop her telling the athorities what had happened. Cardiff was perhaps a dry run of what could be awaiting somewhere like London. They started with a smaller but modern city on the target planet to see if the cells could remain viable for long enough for the operation to be completed.

Overall a rather good episode, but I agree with the Terminator 2 comparisons.

 

[Lenny]

I re-watched this episode last night, and one line stood out. Jack was saying something about "What happens when the rest get here?" (the sleepers being the advance guard of the invasion, if you will), and the fella at the mine said, "They're already here".

Ten episodes later... nothing.

Should we expect something in Episode 13? Or even Series 3?