The Coffee Shop Continuity Errors Ask the Fans

Over the years there have been any number of continuity errors on Torchwood, I can name on one hand the ones I remember the best of, but I'm wondering how many you guys can recall. Some are blindingly obvious while others take a bit of reviewing and hitting the playback button on the remote.

In Meat, when Rhys has his hands tied but when he's shot and falls back, suddenly his tied hands are free!

Which can you remember, and can you settle something for me about Captain Jack Harkness. When Barrowman covered a vlog about shaving on his way to the set, he complained about the fact he has to shave when he clearly doesn't like it, but Captain Jack has to have baby soft skin as he's a 51st century guy.

Now this made me wonder if being of the 51st century, guys don't need to shave, or Jack doesn't, there's barely a blemish on that skin. But if that's the case, why was he sporting side burns in Fragments and sporting a moustache in Miracle Day photos as seen on Angelo Colasanto's mantelpiece?

Kirsty Price Because he has to so there aren’t too many questions about the man who always looks the same he can pretend it's a brother or uncle then. Like with Esther. There was a pic of him but he said it was his dad when Gwen knew full well it wasn’t.

Antje Strauch Heh, interesting question! Maybe he used fake sideburns and moustache to "blend in"? It could totally be possible, if we think that we stem from apes and used to have much more fur, that in a few centuries, people will have even less hair.

As for plot holes, the most notable one that always throws me is how in the pilot Jack comes back to life quietly and surprises Suzie (also in the Doctor Who episode where he lets himself get shot by a Dalek to be able to sneak off undetected) - yet later he has this really loud involuntary gasp.

And of course the "I'm not sleeping" vs. we see him sleeping in the episode with the fairies. Although some fanfiction writers have made that into "needs not really to sleep but rest in a while".

Kirsty Price Maybe the coming back gasp is due to how/why he died. Like with Suzie he knows he needs to stop her hence the quietness, and with Ianto his love has just died so it's tiny. In the building where Rhys and Gwen helped them be ok from John and Gray, it was loud cos he was like what the duck?

Antje Strauch Another continuity glitch would actually be why he was the only one alive in the train when all the soldiers died. Clearly he should have died with them and then awake again, but he is just looking around confused (same goes for when he was with the Doctor in the radiation room). I always wanted to write a story about how he died constantly every few minutes and revived.

Claudia Lindner I was also thinking the way he comes back to life might depend on the circumstances of the death and whether the situation is a danger. He's a 51st century guy after all, so he might be psychic in a way he can take that feeling of a situation into death and coming back to life. Or it's just a continuity glitch.

Carol-Anne Hillman he isn't supposed to change because he is a fixed point in time. He eats so he won't waste way...he drinks to stay hydrated.

Jan Swanton Re sideburns /breathing etc. There is an essay written in the 1930s called 'Where was Hamlet at the time of his death?’ It earnestly discusses whether he was at Wittenberg or Elsinore. It was a pivotal point in the way we look at literature, because after someone had pointed out the Emperor has no clothes on, they also pointed out that Hamlet is a character in a play and doesn't exist outside the scenes he is in.

There is also a play called 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?’ in which a married couple have an imaginary son. They make up, often contradictory things about them. But the 'rule' is, once one of them makes up something about their son, the other must accept it as true.

My point is, Jack has facial hair because he does and sometimes sighs when he resurrects because he does. WE know the facial hair is a dramatic device so audiences can readily 'get' that the scene is taking place outside of the current timeline and the dramatic sigh is just that, dramatic!

For me, the biggest leap of faith that I have immense difficulty with is why Ianto starts an affair with the man who killed his girlfriend. But, prosaically, the reason is 'because he does'.

Finally, thank you thank you Mr Moffatt, when asked about the Dr saying he was half human in the American film, explaining 'He was lying!'

Thank you Antje Strauch – a true star :D who found the actual Vlog video on Youtube. 

Torchwood: The Captain's Vlog | To The Last Man YOUTUBE.COM

Rhiannon Cork There was one I think it was S1 no one was actually wearing comms yet they were still talking to each other.

Claudia Lindner Hmm, one of my favourite continuity glitch spreads about several episodes. Remember when in S1/13 Jack mentions he had to answer call to the government, UNIT etc. all night because of the rift opening Owen did? So it's pretty clear the TW leader has to deal with UNIT quite frequently. And then in S2/1 Gwen brags around to have "led the team" while Jack was away which can't be true, as in S2/6 when Martha visits from UNIT, she asks what UNIT is.  So, no you didn't, Gwen!

Maryanne McGurk Murray I guess a total aside, but I would LOVE to hear theories from Torchwood fans....Countrycide....If Jack is driving to the location...and the keys are left in the SUV, why is Owen blamed for the theft. Jack was driving, he left the keys, no?

Tamie Wiggins Because it's more fun to blame Owen?

Kirsty Price When in doubt blame Owen

Betty Dee Plotholes? Miracle Day probably had the largest of them all.

I'm still wondering about this blood story. So no one before checked if Jack's immortality was in his blood? Seriously? I bet Owen got curious about that one. Also: Getting a blood transfusion with the wrong blood type can do a lot of damage. Why was something like that never addressed in this a story that got dragged out for ages? If Jack's blood type wouldn't match - Rex should have died pretty soon after everything went back to normal. And he was in pain before so I assume that he didn't have a blood type matching Jack's. Still, never got addressed in any way.

I never could make heads or tails out of that "family" story or "the blessing" - how did they know what would happen when they inserted Jack's blood there? HOW???

I can't remember the character's name, the one Bill Pullman played - okay, he got blown up anyway but: Couldn't he have died of the fatal dose they gave him for his execution? Sure, it was month later but some things can't get filtered out of the body. "The Miracle" was more like pressing pause on a recording than stopping it.

Shall I go on?

"Children of Earth" - I think Ianto's sister never got mentioned before. Correct me if I'm wrong but it felt as if they just needed someone with children, so he got a sister. I think Gwen got established as an only child - otherwise siblings would at least have gotten mentioned at her wedding. Even if they got estranged her parents would have never let it just go and not mentioned it. Same with Rhys - only child.

If you think about it Gwen (and Rhys) were the only ones with established family. Tosh's mother got mentioned and appeared on screen but even though later a background story was established (Tosh breaking the law for her mother) they never really explained why they had no contact or very little contact. Yes, there was the grandfather's birthday in "Captain Jack Harkness" - but that was all.

With Owen just Katie got mentioned, never any other family. Ianto just glimpses, like his mother having stayed at that hospital.

Jack is a completely other story - but even there it is still surprising that they came up with Alice in "Children of Earth". A lot of the character's histories didn't get put in the open until one needed them for the storyline. I know that's often something that writers do but still - it's terrible for an actor to play a character for, let's say two years, and all of a sudden find out something so fundamental.

They did tell Gareth David-Lloyd before they started shooting that his character was hiding Lisa in the basement - so he was able to act with that knowledge. Stuff like that give a performance depth - even if I as a viewer don't really see it or realise what it is about - you notice that there is something more.

Janice Adams Those were fakes. Jack likes to look like a normal 21st century human sometimes.

Ginger Crawford For all we know in the 51st century a chemical or device could be used to slow hair growth or to accelerate it. Torchwood has alien technology. He could have used this. You don't need to explain away every little detail. That would make it boring. It's not really a plot hole. A plot hole is when the writer writes something that contradicts his own story or when such a huge chunk of info is missing that it causes the story to make no sense.

Kirsty Price I think they were faked so that people don't get all arsey with Angelo for loving a man who never ages. So it's always different. Maybe?

If you can think of any continuity errors please add them below and let’s keep the thread going.