Greeks Bearing Gifts (Torchwood)
Encyclopedia
"Greeks Bearing Gifts" is an episode of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...

 series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...

. It is the seventh episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 26 November 2006.

Synopsis

Faced with sudden telepathic abilities, Toshiko
Toshiko Sato
is a fictional character from the television series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, played by Naoko Mori. After a one-off appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London" , Toshiko is re-introduced as a series regular in the Torchwood 2006 premiere episode "Everything Changes"...

 finds a mixed blessing when the dark secrets of others are revealed to her.

Plot

The Torchwood
Torchwood Institute
The Torchwood Institute is a fictional secret organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the events of "Tooth and Claw". Its prime directive, is to defend the earth against...

 team is called to a building site where a human skeleton and a rusted alien artifact have been discovered in the ground. Owen
Owen Harper
Owen Harper is a fictional character played by Burn Gorman, and a regular in the BBC television series Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character last appeared onscreen in the Series 2 finale, "Exit Wounds"....

 initially identifies the skeleton as a woman who died from a gunshot, having been buried for nearly two centuries. Back at the Hub, Owen and Gwen
Gwen Cooper
Gwen Cooper is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off to the long-running show Doctor Who, portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles. The series' lead female character, Gwen has featured in every episode of the sci-fi programme to date as well as two crossover...

 flirt incessantly, distracting Tosh
Toshiko Sato
is a fictional character from the television series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, played by Naoko Mori. After a one-off appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London" , Toshiko is re-introduced as a series regular in the Torchwood 2006 premiere episode "Everything Changes"...

 enough to make her step out and go to a nearby pub for a drink. There, Tosh meets the blond, beautiful, and funny Mary, who introduces herself as a "Scavenger", a person who collects alien artifacts. Mary explains she knows a significant amount of information about Torchwood and about Tosh, implying that research on the internet and intercepted radio transmissions have turned up this presumably classified information. She self-deprecatingly references "IT guys" and enthusiasts and talks eagerly of Torchwood and aliens. Tosh is lonely enough to overlook the implausibility of Mary's story (and its implications of stalking) and to sit chatting with Mary at the pub. After a few drinks, Mary shows Tosh a pendant that gives the wearer mind-reading powers, which she claims has been in her family for years. Tosh is remarkably unsuspicious about the pendant's origins, given its attributes and tendency to glow in the dark. Wearing the necklace, Tosh is initially overwhelmed by the thoughts of others in the bar, but when Mary urges her to filter them out, she focuses on Mary's thoughts. At that moment, Mary appears to be thinking only of kissing Tosh. Blushing, Tosh accepts the pendant as a gift, noting she plans to show it to her colleagues at Torchwood. Mary asks her not to - claiming, in fact, that she knows Tosh will not share the information.

Tosh returns to the Hub to investigate the pendant, but is shocked when she reads the thoughts of Owen and Gwen. Not only are they flirting, but they are dismissive - if not contemptuous - of Tosh; her work, her attitude, and even her clothes. Gwen worried about Owen's 'smell' on her clothing after the two had shagged in his car earlier, and Owen thinking about what Gwen did while in the car together. Tosh is hurt and angry (about both the insults and Owen's affair with Gwen); she races home, only to find Mary waiting for her. Tosh tries to return the pendant, but Mary insists she wear it, and lets Tosh read her mind, again showing a romantic interest in Tosh. Tosh and Mary break into a kiss and spend the night together. Tosh wakes up feeling guilty about what she did, but Mary insists that the pendant can be used for good. Tosh asks Mary who she really is, and Mary replies "Philoctetes
Philoctetes
Philoctetes or Philocthetes according to Greek mythology, the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer, and was a participant in the Trojan War. He was the subject of at least two plays by Sophocles, one of which is named after him, and one each by both...

". Tosh takes Mary's advice and wears the necklace in the midst of a crowded street. She hears the thoughts of many people, including those of a man who is planning a murder; Tosh is able to stop him. She returns to the Hub to find that Owen is being teased by the others about misidentifying the skeleton; it was actually that of a man who died of an unidentified trauma. Tosh asks Jack
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...

 about the name "Philoctetes", and he explains that it is a reference to Greek mythology; Philoctetes was an archer who was exiled on the island of Lemnos
Lemnos
Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...

 during the Trojan War.

Tosh meets with Mary again, who starts to ask questions about the artifact found with the skeleton. When Tosh says she doesn't know anything about it, Mary manipulates her into trying to find out, suggesting that Jack is withholding information from her. Tosh asks Owen about the artifact; she can hear his thoughts and learns that he has no more information than she does. (She continues to overhear Owen and Gwen thinking about their ongoing affair). She then asks Jack about the artifact, but learns nothing - except that she cannot read Jack's mind. Her attempt to do so seems to alert Jack, however. Tosh returns to Mary, who reveals herself to be an alien: she says that she is an exiled dissident, that the pendant she gave Tosh is their way of communicating, and the artifact is a transporter that brought her to Earth and her way to leave the planet. Tosh offers Torchwood's help, but Mary refuses. She does not want to become a figure of study for Torchwood and instead insists that Tosh bring Mary to the Hub so she can retrieve the artifact directly. Meanwhile, Owen's investigation of the skeleton reveals multiple cases of similar trauma reported in the last two centuries.

Tosh brings Mary into Torchwood, where they find Jack holding the artifact; he knows that Mary is an alien - and a murderer. Jack explains that the artifact is a two-person transporter for a guard and a prisoner. Through flashbacks, Mary explains that when the transporter landed in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 in 1812, she killed her guard and then took the body of a human woman, killing others to keep her human form through the centuries. Mary takes Tosh hostage at knife-point and demands the transporter. Tosh is still wearing the pendant, and hears her colleagues' panicked thoughts - as well as clear and calm telepathic instructions from Jack, who tells her not to move. Jack makes the trade, and when he is standing next to Mary, she notes that he "smells different" from the others. "What are you?" she asks, and Jack responds "I don't know." As soon as Mary holds the artifact, it activates and disappears, taking her with it. Jack explains that he programmed the device to teleport to the center of the sun. As the team recovers, Gwen and Owen argue outside Jack's office over who is going ask her. Owen asks what Tosh knows (about them) Tosh apologizes to Gwen and Owen for her behavior, it being none of her business, and then, Jack asks what she wants to do with the pendant, she smashes it on the pavement. They discuss the fact that Tosh was unable to read Jack's mind, and Tosh describes the attempt as hearing only silence, like trying to read the mind of a dead man.

Continuity

  • For the dating of this episode, see the Chronology.
  • The officer is killed in 1812 (per caption), and Toshiko calculates his skeleton has been there for "196 years, 11 to 11 1/2 months", placing the episode in 2009 with the concurrent Doctor Who
    Doctor Who
    Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

    timeline. This is in potential contrast with "Ghost Machine
    Ghost Machine (Torchwood)
    "Ghost Machine" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the third episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 29 October 2006.-Synopsis:...

    " in which Tommy Flannigan had arrived in Cardiff in 1941 and says he has made the city his home for sixty-six years (he also explained that he was taken out to the countryside upon arrival in 1941, so the 66 years could be counted from his subsequent return to the city).
  • A pair of 3-D glasses, originally used by the Tenth Doctor
    Tenth Doctor
    The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...

     in "Doomsday
    Doomsday (Doctor Who)
    "Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...

    " and seen in "Small Worlds
    Small Worlds (Torchwood)
    "Small Worlds" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the fifth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 12 November 2006...

    ", makes another fleeting appearance. Also visible is a rifle used against the Dalek
    Dalek
    The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...

    s in "Doomsday
    Doomsday (Doctor Who)
    "Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...

    ", and a replica of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver
    Sonic screwdriver
    The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lockpick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans,...

     can be seen on Toshiko's desk. The Sycorax Leader's staff and sword from Doctor Who episode "The Christmas Invasion
    The Christmas Invasion
    "The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...

    " are visible next to the Doomsday Rifle. Presumably the sword was retrieved with the severed hand of the Doctor or from The Sycorax Leader with the staff.
  • A man of questionable mental state is said to be having visions of Cybermen
    Cyberman
    The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...

    .
  • Jack has asked Toshiko to prepare "a list" for UNIT
    United Nations Intelligence Taskforce
    UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...

    , the first verbal mention of that organisation in the series. This refers to a deleted scene
    Deleted scene
    In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...

     in which Jack explains that UNIT wants Torchwood to handle a certain alien problem, and Jack wants Tosh to draw up a list of reasons why they can't.
  • Jack speaks to the Prime Minister on the telephone asking why documents listing Torchwood operations are being given to the opposition, believed to be Harold Saxon (i.e, the Master
    Master (Doctor Who)
    The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....

    ). This may explain how the Master knows about Jack in the Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums
    The Sound of Drums
    "The Sound of Drums" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 23 June 2007, and is the twelfth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...

    ," and how the Master is able to send the rest of the Torchwood team on what he describes as "a wild goose chase" in the same episode.
  • Some scan images of the Cyberwoman are in the autopsy room where the body they find is being held.
  • Toshiko now knows about the affair between Gwen and Owen, first seen at the end of "Countrycide
    Countrycide
    "Countrycide" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the sixth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 19 November 2006-Synopsis:...

    ".
  • An alien of the same race as Mary appears in The Sarah Jane Adventures
    The Sarah Jane Adventures
    The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...

    pilot episode "Invasion of the Bane
    Invasion of the Bane
    -Sladen and Doctor Who:Elisabeth Sladen, who previously played Sarah Jane between 1973 and 1976. In 1981, she was offered the role again to ease the transition between the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, which she declined, but agreed to star in the pilot for the spin-off series K-9 and Company, which...

    ", albeit this time as a "star poet". The episode clarifies that Mary's home planet is called "Arcateen 5" and that they are largely a peaceful race. Although this particular species has been referenced in the Torchwood novel Something in the Water
    Something in the Water
    Something in the Water is a BBC Books original novel written by Trevor Baxendale and based on the British science fiction television, Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood. It features all the regular cast of the show. It was published on 6 March 2008...

    as "Arcateenians", the Sarah Jane website originally referred to this alien species as the "Butterfly People".
  • Mary recites Toshiko's biographical summary to her, stating that Toshiko was born in London in July 1975, and that her grandfather had worked at Bletchley Park
    Bletchley Park
    Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...

    . Toshiko's personnel record, shown in "Exit Wounds
    Exit Wounds (Torchwood)
    "Exit Wounds" is the thirteenth and final episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, and was broadcast on BBC Two on 4 April 2008.-Synopsis:...

    ", records her birth date as 18 September 1981. Toshiko's grandfather, a Japanese man, being able to work at Bletchley Park is inconsistent with both reality and her paranoia about being captured when transported to 1941 in "Captain Jack Harkness".

Music

  • The songs "Spitting Games
    Spitting Games
    "Spitting Games" is the lead single from Snow Patrol's third album, Final Straw, released on 15 September 2003.It was featured on the video game MVP Baseball 2004 and numerous Club Football 2005 titles. The track was also featured in "Everything Changes", the first episode of the Doctor Who...

    " by Snow Patrol
    Snow Patrol
    Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...

     (when Mary introduces herself to Toshiko, last heard in "Everything Changes
    Everything Changes (Torchwood)
    "Everything Changes" is the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006.-Synopsis:Police constable Gwen Cooper comes across the mysterious organisation known as Torchwood...

    "), "Sing" by Travis
    Travis (band)
    Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...

     (when Tosh tells Mary about alien cultures & artefacts, last heard in "Ghost Machine
    Ghost Machine (Torchwood)
    "Ghost Machine" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the third episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 29 October 2006.-Synopsis:...

    "), "Drag" by Placebo
    Placebo (band)
    Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...

     (when Mary tells Tosh about the pendant and tells her to keep it) and "Suddenly I See
    Suddenly I See
    "Suddenly I See" is a song by British singer-songwriter KT Tunstall and is featured on her debut album, Eye to the Telescope. It was released on 29 August 2005 as the third single from the album, charting at #12 in the UK Singles Chart . The single was a hit in Australia where it charted at #6 on...

    " by KT Tunstall
    KT Tunstall
    Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...

     (when Mary kisses Tosh in the cafe then asks about the object from the building site) are featured in this episode.

Outside references

  • The phrase "Beware Greeks bearing gifts
    Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes
    Timeo Danaos et dona ferentēs is a Latin phrase from Virgil's Aeneid . It has been paraphrased in English as the aphorism "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts", though its literal meaning, "I fear the Greeks, even those bearing gifts", carries a somewhat different nuance to the usual English...

    " refers to the Trojan horse
    Trojan Horse
    The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...

     described in Virgil's The Aeneid.
  • James Bond
    James Bond
    James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

     and the film Alien
    Alien (film)
    Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...

    are referenced.
  • Jack makes a reference to the American television series Quincy, M.E.
    Quincy, M.E.
    Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC...

    when Owen is first examining the skeleton at the building site ("Good job, Quincy").
  • Mary quotes the poem Kubla Khan
    Kubla Khan
    Kubla Khan is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in Christabel, Kubla Khan, and the Pains of Sleep in 1816...

    by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...

    . The historical Kublai Khan
    Kublai Khan
    Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...

     appeared in the First Doctor
    First Doctor
    The First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a...

     serial Marco Polo
    Marco Polo (Doctor Who)
    -CD and DVD releases:*In 2003, a three-CD set of the audio soundtrack was released, as part of Doctor Who's 40th anniversary. This CD set is unique in containing a map of Cathay as represented during the period of the Doctor's visit to China, and also explaining historical inaccuracies...

    (1964).
  • The overheard thought "Six cigarettes today and all of them post-coital... glorious." is a quote from Bridget Jones's Diary
    Bridget Jones's Diary (film)
    Bridget Jones's Diary is a 2001 British romantic comedy film based on Helen Fielding's novel of the same name. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver, and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love", Mark Darcy...

    .
  • When Tosh enters the autopsy room, Gwen sings a part of Dem Bones
    Dem Bones
    Dem Bones, Dry Bones or Dem Dry Bones is a well-known traditional spiritual song, used to teach basic anatomy to children. The melody was written by African-American author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson . Two versions of this traditional song are used widely, the second an abridgment of the...

     to Owen ("The leg bone's connected to the... hip bone") after his prediction about the skeleton (female
    Female
    Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...

     died from a gunshot wound) have proven entirely false (it is a male with unknown chest trauma, with only GSW ruled out).
  • Gwen teases Owen by calling him "Amanda Burton
    Amanda Burton
    Amanda Burton is an award-winning actress from Northern Ireland. Burton is best known for her high-profile television roles as Karen Fisher in Waterloo Road , Sam Ryan in the BBC crime drama series Silent Witness, Clare Blake in The Commander, Beth Glover in Peak Practice, and Heather Black in the...

    ", in reference to that actress's role as a pathologist in the BBC drama series Silent Witness
    Silent Witness
    Silent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...

    . She also imitates the sound played when contestants give an incorrect answer in the game show Family Fortunes
    Family Fortunes
    Family Fortunes is a British game show, based on the American game show Family Feud. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002 before being revived by the same channel in 2006 under the title of All Star Family Fortunes...

    .
  • There are at least five versions of the story of "Philoctetes
    Philoctetes
    Philoctetes or Philocthetes according to Greek mythology, the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer, and was a participant in the Trojan War. He was the subject of at least two plays by Sophocles, one of which is named after him, and one each by both...

    "

External links

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