Introduction
It has to be
said, and anyone who has seen all the episodes of Torchwood will know that
there are some episodes that lack the tech we expect to find in sci-fi and an
example of this is Countrycide. It has to be the least techy of all three
series (there’s going to be another out there somewhere I am sure). So I have
decided now to change how I do things a little as trying to find the gadgets for
every episode is very hard if not impossible, especially if there are none! In this and future issues I shall try to pull
various gadgets and techy things from all points of the series; so touching on
just a few bits here and there. If an episode we are focusing on in the issue
has plenty of techy stuff then the episode name will head the gadgets and
gizmos article.
In this issue
I am focusing on three such items. two specific items from the episode ‘Greeks
Bearing Gifts’ which are The Pendant and The Transporter and also the hand-gun
weapons, both Jack’s and the teams.
As for the
usual ‘What on Earth’ section, this is being left out as all these are either earth
based technologies or there is no ‘earth based’ technology existing that is the
equivalent.
The Pendant
A psychic
pendant, which features in the episode ‘Greeks Bearing Gifts’, was given to Toshiko by Mary, who was
originally a prostitute from 1812 until she was killed and her body taken over
by an escaped alien prisoner from Arcateenian who’d crashed to earth.
The pendant
allowed Tosh to hear the thoughts of those around her, including an estranged
husband who was plotting to kill his wife and child. Tosh found it upsetting
when she could hear what her Torchwood colleagues thought of her, with the
exception of Jack, whom she was unable to read at all.
As time
passed Toshiko’s behaviour had started to change as she was getting more
disturbed and upset by others thoughts. Mary, who was also sleeping with
Toshiko, was also manipulating her emotionally in order to get into Torchwood.
Jack had noticed
the dramatic change in Tosh and realised that it was Mary controlling Toshiko
in some way. After Jack had rid both Tosh and Torchwood of Mary. Toshiko,
herself, destroyed the pendant deciding it was far too dangerous to keep, even
somewhere as secure as the Torchwood Hub.
The Transporter
This was the
device used by the Arcateenian Alien Mary when she crash landed on earth back
in 1812 before she killed and took over the body of the prostitute Mary. She
left this buried, along with the body of a young soldier she had killed by
ripping out his heart.
Almost two
centuries later both the skeleton of the soldier and the transporter were
discovered. Due to the alien nature of the, as of yet unknown, transporter and
the severe damage to the skeleton the team set out to find out what this gadget
was and how the individual had died.
Later, after
Mary was discovered as both being an alien and the killer of the soldier as
well as being the culprit who was manipulating Toshiko, Jack reset the
co-ordinates of the transporter and sending both it and Mary into the heart of
the sun.
Torchwood Issued Hand-Guns
Webley Mk. IV, .38/200 Calibre
Revolver – Captain Jack Harkness
A 51st
century man who is dressed in a World War II Royal Air Force uniform and
carries a 20th century Army Issued hand-gun! In truth this says so
much about this man. He prefers this period of our earth. And why use something
modern when this great hand-gun is just as good; especially in the very
experienced and skilled hands of Captain Jack Harkness. I am very sure Jack
could point, shoot and hit his target if he was very drunk and blindfolded! But
enough about its owner, what about the Webley?
The Mk
revolvers were in issue between 1887 and 1963 (how apt, it became obsolete the
same year Doctor Who started) and was the standard issue service pistol for the
armed forces of the United Kingdom, the British Empire, and the Commonwealth. Its
origins, as you can maybe tell by my previous statement, are British through
and through and was designed by the gun smiths Webley & Scott. It was used
in numerous wars such as the Second Boer War, First World War, Second World
War, Korean War, British colonial conflicts, as well as many others. The Webley
Revolver is also known as the Webley Break-Top Revolver or Webley
Self-Extracting Revolver.
It is a
top-break revolver with automatic extraction, meaning that when you break open
the revolver for reloading it operates the extractor. This will remove the
spent cartridge from the cylinder. Jack’s Mk IV rose to prominence during the
Boer War of 1899–1902. So it’s possible that this was the period when it was
issued to Jack. Due to firing a large .455 calibre, Webley are the most
powerful of the top-break revolvers.
Now as you
will discover in the next section about the hand-guns of Torchwood, they were
all, in some way, modified with alien technology. But whether or not this
applies to Jack’s Webley is unclear. I don’t remember this ever being mentioned
in any of the novels or in the series for that matter. But let’s face it, its
user was modified and due to his longevity, he has become very skilled in his
use of weapons and so is a crack shot!
The Webley Mk IV Specifications:
Weight: 2.4
lb (1.1 kg), unloaded
Length: 11.25 in. (286 mm)
Cartridge: .455
Webley Mk II
Calibre: .455
Webley
Action: Double
Action revolver
Rate of fire: 20–30
rounds/minute
Muzzle velocity: 620
ft/s (190 m/s)
Effective range: 50
yd
Feed system: 6-round
cylinder
Sights: Fixed front blade and rear notch
SIG P228 – Used by the TW Team
My goodness, you’d think
this would have been easy, but no, it was harder than getting blood from the
proverbial stone! There seems to be many
thoughts on what the main hand-guns are used by the Torchwood team, with the
exception of Jack. So, the SIG P228 is just ONE possible. I was starting to get
to the head banging stage and decided that maybe I should just pick one and
look at that.
So here we
go! The SIG P228, the compact version of the P226, which has been modified. The
Torchwood version has TORCHWOOD on the side of the barrel and an extra
attachment underneath the barrel. What the apparent modifications are I have
not been able to find out. But it has been mentioned in the Torchwood novels
that the modifications tend to be alien.
One possible modification
could be the magazine. The normal SIG has a13 round magazine, though you can
use the larger capacity magazine used with the P226, with a 9mm barrel, and it’s possible with the
Torchwood issue this has been increased. I would imagine the type of ammo has
also been modified. One that is far more likely to have impact on most aliens
they encounter. The weight of a normal SIG P228 is about 1.5 Ibs, but with its
modifications I would imagine this has increased.
Other
possible modifications could be such things as the sight. In what way this
could be modified I am unsure; it may have built in zoom or enhanced vision.
Another could be the ammo. Ammo that is good against anything from earth maybe
as much use as a chocolate fireguard against a Weevil or a Nostrovite. Equally
well the ammo you use on a Weevil my not be suitable against the Nostrovite. So
it is possible that the team have alien modified ammo to suit most needs. These
modifications could be acid tips, ammo made of particular alloys (possibly even
alien ones), softer tipped, inner glass casing containing salt water; the
possible list is endless.
Though origin
of this hand gun is Switzerland, it has been adopted by various law enforcement
agencies and the US Army and was used by soldiers with small hands and so is a
favourite of women in the forces due it it’s smaller grip and lightness. It’s a
much easier weapon to handle than some of its much bigger brothers like the
Berretta M62. It is also more reliable and accurate than most.
SIG P228 Specifications of the
unmodified hand-gun:
Weight: 1.5 lbs (.7 kg)
Calibre: 9 mm
Barrel: 3.86 inch (9.65 cm)
Action: Double Action / Double Action Only
Range: 165 ft (50 m)
Payload: 13 + 1
Made in: Switzerland
Bibliography
General Resources:
Torchwood:
The Encyclopedia by Gary Russell
Torchwood
Items: Wikipedia
Webley Mk IV:
Wikipedia
SIG P228:
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_Sauer_P226
(this also includes the SIG P228)
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