As of today I have done more than seven thousand push ups in the course of this ridiculous project. So that's something.

Countrycide

Finally, a Chris Chibnall Torchwood story that I genuinely like. In this episode Torchwood does a full-on grotty homage to American siege horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. Notably, this story contains absolutely no science-fictional elements (aside from the fact that the Torchwood Three gang [mistakenly] thinks they are investigating Rift activity). In that sense I suppose it could be considered the first Pure Historical story in the Whoniverse since Black Orchid, although of course it is set in modern day and not in any historical time period.

Basically, the gang investigates a series of mysterious disappearances in the Welsh countryside. Over the course of the story they are first cut off from civilization with the theft of their vehicle, split up into smaller groups, find multiple bloody corpses, and then are picked off one-by-one by the mysterious antagonists. Ultimately, instead of aliens it turns out to just be a village of cannibals who like to pick off random passing strangers and cook them for dinner. It has all the hallmarks of classic 70's grindhouse films, with grisly corpses, body horror, and deranged humanity.

The most chilling moment comes near the end, as Gwen interrogates the head cannibal. She is desperate to understand why he would do what he did. He finally agrees to tell her, but only if he can whisper it into her ear. He then leans forward and says, "'Cause it made me happy...."

Somehow, whereas Chibnall's previous to scripts for the show just felt prurient for the sake of being provocative, this one comes across as a sincere and well-written piece of horror. The sequence where Owen has to pick the buckshot pellets out of Gwen's abdominal wounds is simultaneously painful and intimate, giving his character much-needed depth and relatability. He's still a prick, no mistake, but at least now he has some nuance and relatability.

At this point the only main character who hasn't gotten any real back story or development is Toshiko. Guess who's at the center of tomorrow's story?

STATS:

Featuring: Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, Ianto Jones
Episode(s): Countrycide
Steps Walked: 7,649 today, 3,751,601 total
Distance Walked: 4.05 miles today, 1,961.23 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 56 today, 7,051 total
Sit-ups Completed: 0 today, 1,029 total
Weight: 257.42 lbs (five day moving average), net change -49.88 lbs