Line #113 Series/TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/torchwood-children-of-earth_8204.png]]
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3	The third series of ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', with a format changed from 13 mostly-standalones in series 1 and 2 to a five-part miniseries aired over a week in July 2009.
4
5	It's 1965. A busload of children, on their way to a new orphanage, stops on a country road in the middle of the night. The children dismount and -- except for one -- walk towards a [[LightIsNotGood bright light in the sky]].
6
7	In 2009, the authorities have become alarmed by reports that every child on Earth became motionless at exactly the same time. A few hours later the same thing happens again, but this time the children deliver a chilling message en masse: "We are coming." As Torchwood investigates the affair in Cardiff, in London the Permanent Secretary to the Home Office, John Frobisher, is also trying to manage the crisis. The government then receives a secret transmission from an alien species referred to only as "456" who have apparently made contact with Earth before. Whatever took place on that occasion, it is a secret so terrible that Frobisher orders the death of all those involved in the affair -- which includes Captain Jack Harkness and, by extension, all other members of Torchwood. As the team go on the run, the world waits for the impending arrival of the aliens. Over the next few days, humanity will discover just what lengths it will go -- and to what depths it will sink -- to ensure its own survival.
8
9	This series is considered to be one of the darkest stories in the entire Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}, and many, including the cast and writers, consider ''Children of Earth'' to be the point where Torchwood conclusively stood on its own as a show and not just a spinoff.
10
11	!!This miniseries contains examples of:
12
13	* ActionGirl: Alice Carter and Gwen Cooper have their moments, but of course the prize goes to Agent Johnson.
14	-->'''PC Andy:''' "If she's Anti-Terrorist, [[AmazonChaser I would not mind being Uncle Terrorist]]."
15	* ActionMom: Alice sticks a long kitchen knife in her belt -- and moments later knocks out a kevlar-clad soldier -- the instant she thinks her child is in danger.
16	* AliensSpeakingEnglish: An important plot point, as it's a clue the aliens have been to Earth -- and specifically the United Kingdom -- before. Jack suggests the aliens might simply be speaking the most common language on Earth, but Ianto points out that's actually Mandarin Chinese (though, that said, English is more widespread and understood by more people as a secondary language).
17	* AllGirlsLikePonies: "We want a pony... we want a pony..."
18	* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Well, guy. Jack is willing to surrender to the 456 if it will save Ianto.
19	* AnythingButThat: Jack cries out tremulously, [[spoiler: "Not him!" when the 456 expel the virus into the air and Ianto falls victim.]]
20	* BerserkButton: Jack's [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off the slippery slope]] is implied to be a result of [[spoiler: Ianto's death]], culminating in Jack [[spoiler:[[ThisIsUnforgivable sacrificing his own grandson.]]]]
21	** Meta-example, but when [[spoiler:Ianto was killed]], a significant section of the fandom reacted massively. Want proof? A large number of fans created a ''[[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Ianto_Jones_memorial_at_Mermaid_Quay.jpg shrine]]'' at Cardiff bay, and there are quite a few petitions and campaigns online all with the message to the effect of "[[spoiler:bring Ianto back]] or we will never watch the show again". And plenty followed through.
22	* BewareTheNiceOnes: PC Andy rips off his police uniform and starts punching out the soldiers who are trying to seize [[spoiler:the children]].
23	%% ZCE * BigDamnHeroes: [[TookALevelInBadass Andy Davidson.]]
24	* BlackComedy: Even this season has its moments of humor.
25	** Gwen pistol-whips a fake ambulance officer, next to a poster warning of the consequences of assaulting ambulance officers.
26	** Soldiers kick down the bedroom door of Ianto's brother-in-law and demand to know where he is.
27	-->"Well, you won't find him in my bed, will you? I'm a married man!"
28	** The whole scene where Gwen and Rhys are disguised as undertakers.
29	** When Gwen gets Clem out of jail, there's an anti-drug ad on the wall.
30	** The world is going to hell, and what does Ianto suggest? [[PreClimaxClimax That he and Jack "make the most of" the time they have.]]
31	*** Even funnier: Ianto's reaction to being cockblocked by Rhys cooking beans in the corner: "Bloody beans."
32	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: There are lee-ways that the 456 are simply "misunderstood" and don't understand themselves the harm they're doing to [[spoiler:the children]] or that humanity means anything in the universe. They don't seem to be either particularly ashamed or proud of [[spoiler:their addiction]], nor that much reluctant to admit what they use [[spoiler:the children]] for (if they'd anticipate the humans' reactions, maybe they wouldn't have admitted that easily). They show signs of PsychopathicManchild throughout the series.
33	** That said, they do seem pretty sadistic when Torchwood try and call them out on their behaviour and they respond by [[spoiler: killing everyone in the building with a virus]] after saying HumansAreBastards by invoking AMillionIsAStatistic (saying that millions of humans die every day and nobody does anything about it). Their behaviour is more consistent with [[spoiler: a narcissistic drug-addict; its less that they don't "get" humanity's beef and more that they are too high and self-centred to give a damn.]] Essentially, their InsaneTrollLogic reeks of excuses and rationalizations- the truth is, they just want the kids, and didn't need to justify themselves until humanity objected.
34	* BreakingTheFellowship: At the mini-series' end; [[spoiler:Ianto is dead, the grief of losing Ianto and sacrificing his own grandson has driven Jack to explore the world and then leave Earth to explore the stars, and Gwen is soon to be a mother. Torchwood Three is for all intents and purposes gone at the mini-series' end, and it's presented as TheFellowshipHasEnded until ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay''...]]
35	* ButtMonkey: Frobisher has shades of this. At first it's somewhat amusing when his long-time assistant, close confidant and implied ex-lover is deceived into believing he's "mucking about" with a new secretary who's half his age. But it quickly turns horribly tragic and serious later in the story...
36	* CastingGag: Creator/PeterCapaldi playing a politician, albeit one who's the polar opposite of [[Series/TheThickOfIt Malcolm Tucker]].
37	* CrazyHomelessPeople: Clement [=McDonald=], the only one of the 12 children left behind in 1965.
38	* CreepyChild: Try ''every child on Earth'' becoming this.
39	* CruelAndUnusualDeath:
40	** {{Inverted}}; when Jack dies at the end of Day 1 it isn't that painful. But his resurrection, on the other hand, causes him to scream in pain from having to regenerate his entire body, bones, muscles, skin and all.
41	** [[spoiler:Steven]] gets one in Day 5 when his brain is brutally microwaved.
42	* DarkerAndEdgier: The depression and utter hopelessness of the show is ranked up to eleven. The final episode may be the single bleakest moment in the franchise.
43	* DeadStarWalking: The promotional material suggested that Dr Rupesh Patanjali would be joining the team as TheMedic (to replace Owen Harper). He turns out to be TheMole sent to infiltrate Torchwood, and is left dead on the floor so Jack will return directly to Torchwood with his bomb and not waste time trying to find him.
44	* DeathOfAChild: Famously the first onscreen death in the entire [[TheVerse Whoniverse]], and one of the several reasons why ''Children of Earth'' is considered one of the Whoniverse's darkest stories of all. In Day 5, [[spoiler:Jack reluctantly sacrifices Steven, his own grandson, to stop the 456 claiming millions of other children -- specifically, he uses Steven as the needed center of a resonance which fries his brain]]. What makes it worse is [[spoiler:Jack's daughter (Steven's mother) being forced to watch his brutal death and brokenly cradling his body afterwards. At the end, Steven's death is implied to be the final straw that drives Jack to leave Earth]].
45	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Jack's plan is to confront the 456 directly and tell it to bugger off, clearly taking a leaf out of the Doctor's book. Unlike the Doctor, however, that's the extent of his plan. The result is the 456 releasing a virus that kills everyone in the building, [[spoiler:including Ianto]].
46	* DirtyCoward: Prime Minister Brian Green is probably the worst for handing all responsibility to John Frobisher, leaving him to take the blame for any of the government's reprehensible acts. In the end this turns even Bridget Spears and cabinet member Denise Riley against him.
47	** Interestingly, the 456 themselves are revealed to be this, for all the threats they make about wiping out the human race. Once Jack figures out their weakness and kills their ambassador, they flee and are never seen again.
48	* DownerEnding: Although it could have been far, far worse in the larger scheme of things, the series does not end well on a ''personal'' level for any of the heroes.
49	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Frobisher is finally driven over the edge when Green orders him to sacrifice his two daughters to the 456 and then act as a scapegoat for the government's vile actions, and he commits PaterFamilicide to spare his daughters such a fate. What makes this more tragic than it already is is that it was all for nought when the 456 are successfully defeated]].
50	* {{Eagleland}}: General Pierce appears to be there either to embody this trope, or he was there to show that America isn't the one doing the evil. He constantly points out that they kept America in the dark.
51	* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Prime Minister's first reaction after the crisis ends is relief that he can blame all their actions on the Americans. This is regarded as the final straw by the other members of his cabinet, who've taken no joy in crossing the MoralEventHorizon. [[invoked]]
52	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: 456 is merely a placeholder name for the aliens, derived from the frequency on which they first contacted humanity. Even when asked directly for the name of its species, the 456 tells Frobisher to just keep using that designation.
53	* EvilDetectingDog: Alice ignores a barking dog, until it suddenly whimpers and goes quiet. Then she starts getting out the kitchen knives.
54	* FanDisservice: Rhiannon's husband Johnny in the nude.
55	* FantasticDrug: Turns out this is why [[spoiler: the 456 want children. After hooking them to their bodies with a life-support system so they can survive in the alien atmosphere, the chemicals produced by human children give the 456 a nice high, and- according to the 456 ambassador — the children feel no pain. [[AndIMustScream But they're conscious the entire time and the one attached to the ambassador, who was one of the orphans from 1965, is bald, emaciated, and ageless.]]]]
56	* ForTheEvulz: The 456 can communicate with Earth easily without making kids speak in unison. It's speculated that they just do that for an intimidation tactic.
57	* FullNameBasis: Jack, with Lois Habiba.
58	* TheGhost: Ianto's father, who died before the show began, once broke his son's leg and provoked his leaving home for London and Torchwood 1. Ianto lies about his profession to impress Jack, and Gwen's mistaken beliefs about the man reveal how little Ianto's colleagues actually know him.
59	* GoodIsNotNice: Although many examples exist, a major one is Agent Johnson, who is following the orders of (we assume) her government, and even [[spoiler: becomes a Torchwood ally towards the end]] but along the way is shown committing several acts of murder, in particular the killing of [[spoiler: Dr. Patanjali. The odds of collateral damage from the Torchwood Hub explosion were also high]].
60	* GovernmentConspiracy:
61	** In the first half of the season, the government are trying to cover up the fact they've had dealings with the 456 before and order [[spoiler:a hit against all of Torchwood Three]] to that end, forcing the team to go on the run.
62	** Later, once the 456 demand [[spoiler:10% of the world's children]], the government plan to [[spoiler:deliver the children to them, and after the children have disappeared they'll tell the world that they didn't know the 456 were going to abduct them, in order to save their own hides]].
63	* GuiltComplex: While Jack is usually seen as a clever, charming, flirtatious and impulsive man who doesn't like dwelling much on the bad stuff, ''Children of Earth'' shows us that there are many things he has been blamed for over the course of his life, which has been long enough to make for a massive Guilt Complex; he just had not spoken his guilt out loud. Most of these things were not his fault at all, but being in a privileged position (as the leader of Torchwood Three, but he also can't die) makes him feel responsible for the lives of those around him.
64	* GunsAkimbo: Gwen Cooper, including a LeapAndFire at one stage.
65	* HeelFaceTurn: When [[spoiler:Agent Johnson]] finds out just what her superiors in the government are up to, she and her Black Ops troops goes from hunting Torchwood to helping them.
66	* HeKnowsTooMuch: Everyone who handled the original 'exchange' back in 1965 is subject to a 'blank page' by the government. As one of these people is Jack Harkness, that means killing everyone in Torchwood 3.
67	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The 456 are finally defeated by [[spoiler: turning the signal they used to kill Clem against them. Moreover, humanity would've never gotten their hands on that signal if the 456 hadn't killed Clem, as it was brand-new to humanity]].
68	* HollywoodSilencer: If you look closely at the sniper rifle when it's being fired at Ianto, there's no actual silencer attached, despite the sound effect.
69	* HollywoodSpelling: Averted -- Gwen asks Ianto to look up both "Clement [=MacDonald=]" and "Clement [=McDonald=]", as she has only heard his name and doesn't know the spelling.
70	* HopeSpot: Most of Day Four lulls you into a false sense of security thinking Torchwood will save the day. Then [[spoiler:Ianto dies]] and things go horribly GrimDark from there.
71	* HumanResources: [[spoiler:The children]] produce chemicals that the 456 use -- not to [[NecessarilyEvil stay alive]], or run technology that can only be PoweredByAForsakenChild, but [[spoiler:[[DrugsAreBad simply to get high]]]].
72	* IconicItem: Ianto, whilst escaping from a ticking bomb, tries to save Jack's coat.
73	* IdiotBall:
74	** Confronted by an alien threat, the government decides to blow up the Torchwood Hub, which is packed to the rafters with alien technology they might employ in Earth's defense.
75	** Government assassins sent to kill Gwen never bothered to research her home address and have to abduct P.C. Andy and force him to lead them there. He gives them the runaround.
76	** The government military base where Jack is imprisoned seemingly has no perimeter security, as Ianto is able to raid the place with a piece of construction equipment. After blocking what is apparently the only exit to the compound, the Torchwood team is able to escape on the slow-moving vehicle with the military seemingly unable to mount any kind of pursuit.
77	** Jack makes his way through the heavily fortified [=MI5=] building to confront the 456. He threatens the aliens, tells them to leave Earth, and then, when the aliens don't leave, Jack doesn't do anything because he didn't actually have a plan to stop the 456.
78	** In episode 5, Jack throws all the government's resources into finding a trump card that'd give them the upper hand over the 456. In other words, the thing he should've done ''before'' the ending of episode 4, wherein [[spoiler: the entirety of Thames House is killed by the 456]] because he has no idea how to defeat them.
79	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Everyone's excuse for [[spoiler:handing over children to aliens]] for an unknown purpose. However, what's originally justified as NecessarilyEvil to save the entire human race quickly becomes [[spoiler:a social eugenics program]].
80	* IfItsYouItsOkay: Ianto explains to Rhiannon that it's not just men, it's just... Jack.
81	* IHaveYourWife: Jack and Frobisher play this with each other.
82	%%* ImminentDangerClue: See EvilDetectingDog.
83	* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: The black-clad soldiers have difficulty hitting fleeing Torchwood members (in one case, a sniper with laser-sighted rifle trying to hit someone running directly away from him at short range).
84	* IndyPloy: Jack tries one against the 456... it is his single-worst blunder of all time.
85	* InsaneTrollLogic: The 456 are masters of this, maybe conditioned by their ValuesDissonance.
86	** First, they go with the theory that "it worked once, it will work again". This is ignoring the fact that the terms of the first arrangement were completely different, as one character partially points out. First, in 1965 they only asked for [[spoiler:12 children]], which was feasible. Secondly, they gave something in apparent bigger value - the salvation for 25 million people. It was a trade. Now they're claiming ''nearly as much as they saved'' while giving ''absolutely nothing'' except "Well, I'll let you live, isn't that enough?"
87	** The British government attempts to pass the buck by pretending they ''didn't know'' what the 456 intended with the children - as if a government that was deluded into sacrificing 10% of the world's children was any less likely to face electoral Armageddon than one did it deliberately.
88	* InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers: [[spoiler:The 456]].
89	-->"[[spoiler:We want ten percent of the children of this world.]]"
90	* {{Irony}}: Alice threatens Johnson with the vengeance of Jack Harkness if her child is harmed, only [[spoiler:to have Jack do it instead]].
91	* KarmaHoudini: Well, considering their actions across the whole mini, the entire UK government getting off with anything less than being publicly lynched could be considered this. But specifically, there is also Bridget Spears, Frobisher's assistant who looks like she'll be coming out of the series smelling of roses, despite being just as loathsome as the rest of her colleagues.
92	** She pales in comparison with Home Secretary Denise Riley, who had the monstrous MoralMyopia to be indignant at the idea that the lottery wouldn't exclude [[spoiler:her relative's children as well as her own]], but was the first to suggest giving the 456 the "expendable" [[spoiler:children]]. And she implies that she expects to succeed Green as Prime Minister after his deeds come to light.
93	* KillThePoor: The actions taken by the British government verge on this. [[spoiler: When aliens require 10% of the children of the world, the government eventually decides to take those 10% from the most impoverished sections of society. One politician in particular implies that, given the world's overpopulation in general, this may not be a bad thing at all in the long run.]]
94	* KnightOfCerebus: In Days One and Two, Johnson. [[spoiler: She kills Jack and Rupesh, blows up the Torchwood Hub, effortlessly tracks down everyone involved with Torchwood, and has Jack ''encased in concrete''. She has a HeelFaceTurn later, however.]]
95	* KryptoniteFactor: Johnson's people believe the Torchwood Hub is somehow linked to Harkness' immortality, and hope that by destroying it they will destroy him. They're smart enough not to rely on this however, and make sure to throw his remains in a cell just in case they're wrong.
96	* LaserGuidedKarma: John Frobisher (and possibly Prime Minister Brian Green).
97	* LaserSight: Both Ianto and Gwen see the laser-sight of the backup assassin trying to shoot them.
98	* LastNameBasis: The first names of Agent Johnson and Mr Dekker are never revealed.
99	* MamaBear: Alice threatens to kill Johnson if she harms her child, and even though the latter is an ActionGirl she takes this threat seriously.
100	* MassOhCrap: The politicians have a couple. Torchwood Three joins in with them when they see [[spoiler:the child from 1965 hooked up to the 456 ambassador]]. Later, when the politicians realize that the 456 [[spoiler:want the children and are hooking them up to their bodies because the kids are an inter-galactic narcotic supply]].
101	* MeaningfulEcho: "I can survive anything... [[spoiler: but you ''can't''."]]
102	* AMillionIsAStatistic: People are willing to accede to the 456's demands as long as it's not [[spoiler:''their'' children]] being handed over, or [[spoiler:someone they know]]. [[spoiler:Children]] are even referred to as "units" by the Cabinet.
103	-->'''Jack:''' "It was easier if you didn't know their names."
104	* MoodDissonance: 456 hisses, thrashes against the sides of its container and projectile-vomits green goo, yet speaks in the deep, calm voice of its translator. Those listening are noticeably spooked.
105	* MrExposition: Lois Habiba. The third series drew in a lot of new viewers and the producers seemed to have anticipated this. Lois was used to explain the origins of Torchwood to anyone who hadn't seen the first two series.
106	* TheNeedsOfTheMany:
107	** The government begin attempting to justify [[spoiler:handing 10% of the world's children over to the 456]] this way, making justifications that it'll reduce overpopulation and it'll enable them to get rid of social liabilities from poor backgrounds whom they think won't contribute anything meaningful to society.
108	** [[spoiler:In the finale, Jack tearfully sacrifices his own grandson to save 35 million other children from the fate the 456 will grant them]].
109	* NoNameGiven: It's never actually stated which government organisation Johnson works for.
110	* TheNoseKnows: Clem can smell that Gwen is [[spoiler: pregnant]] and that Ianto is "queer".
111	* NightmareFetishist: Mr. Dekker clearly enjoys some of the creepier aspects of his job a bit too much. [[spoiler: Probably his creepiest example would be chuckling while commenting that the child they use as the key point of their plan to kill the 456 using a radio broadcast on a frequency lethal to them will "fry"]].
112	* OffingTheOffspring: The series features the kidnapping of children to send to the 456, at the approval of the government. At the conclusion, [[spoiler:one child is sacrificed horribly to avert this]]. [[spoiler: That child is Jack Harkness' grandson.]] [[spoiler: And Jack had to use the machine to kill him. With vibrations. Over the course of several agonizing minutes. All while listening to his daughter screaming for her son]].
113	* OnlyTheLeadsGetADownerEnding: [[spoiler:The 456 end up defeated, the children of Earth are saved from their fate of being turned into a FantasticDrug, and the corrupt British government are given punishment for their actions in the whole fiasco. However, of the three main protagonists, Ianto is dead, and Jack had to sacrifice the life of his own grandson to defeat the invasion, breaking down his relationship with his daughter for good. In the end, Jack, unable to live with the guilt, departs Earth, and Torchwood is thus disbanded]].
114	* PaedoHunt: Johnny Davies goes PapaWolf on a couple of government surveillance officers doing suspicious monitoring in his neck of the woods. He rightfully accuses them as perverts and sics a posse of teens on the "couple of paedos", who swamp the ever-loving crap out of their car, blocking their windows as well. Actually a clever move of ObfuscatingStupidity- it's so Rhiannon can escape the neighborhood unnoticed by the government suits. And it's a ProperlyParanoid accusation in that type of slum, so no one will question his motive for calling out the wrath of the neighborhood watch.
115	* PaterFamilicide: [[spoiler: Frobisher does this on Day Five.]]
116	* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Jack to [[spoiler: Ianto]].
117	-->'''Jack:''' [[spoiler: Ianto? Ianto?]] Don't leave me, please. Please.
118	* PoweredByAForsakenChild: The 456's "message". This was also used against them in the end.
119	* PowerPerversionPotential: Apparently, Gwen and Rhys have been using the Torchwood camera contact lenses for "fun". Yes, ''this'' kind of fun.
120	** Apparently Jack and Ianto beat them to it. "Yeah, been there, done that. It ''is'' fun."
121	* {{Plaguemaster}}: The 456 seem to have a specialty in virology, [[spoiler: exchanging an anti-virus to a mutated Indonesian Influenza for the twelve children in 1965, and killing Ianto and almost all of Thames House with one as well.]]
122	* PlausibleDeniability: Getting this is Prime Minister's Green top priority in everything he does.
123	* PragmaticVillainy: Furthering the AlternateCharacterInterpretation, Denise Riley stating 'what everyone was thinking' qualifies for this - no one in the Cabinet is going to sign [[spoiler:their children up]] to be taken by the 456, and if there's no other choice, why not get rid of [[spoiler:the underperforming children]] who are likely to become the [[spoiler:'future drain on society']] and protect the future leaders?
124	* PunchClockVillain: Most of the UK government is portrayed this way (''especially'' Frobisher); it's one of the major themes of the miniseries.
125	* PyrrhicVictory: For Jack. [[spoiler:The children of Earth are all saved, but his grandson is dead and his relationship with his daughter is implicitly destroyed forever]].
126	* RememberTheNewGuy: Jack's never-seen-or-mentioned-before daughter and grandson. It is stated that she asked him to stay away due to [[Really700YearsOld his condition]].
127	** However, this wasn't entirely out of left field. Jack reveals he's been in relationships numerous times before (and we even get to meet some of these people), and he mentions how painful he finds it that he can't age while they will, so the [=CoE=] reveals did come with some hefty foreshadowing.
128	* RuleOfScary: Lampshaded.
129	--> '''Frobisher:''' "When they can communicate like this, in this kind of detail, why do the thing with the children?"
130	--> '''Mr. Dekker:''' "Because they can. And because they want to scare us."
131	* SadisticChoice: The 456 give humanity quite the ultimatum: [[spoiler: hand over 10% of their world's children within one day or their entire species will be wiped out.]]
132	* SelfImposedExile: At the end of, Jack leaves Earth in self-loathing after [[spoiler:his lover Ianto died and he was forced to kill his own young grandson]], due to an alien invasion partially caused by his earlier morally questionable dealings.
133	* SexySecretary: {{Exploited}} by Lois, who misleads Bridget into thinking she and Frobisher have been having "''private'' conversations" so she can accompany them to Thames House.
134	* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler:John Frobisher]]'s murder-suicide, though only senseless in hindsight.
135	* SinisterSurveillance: For once Torchwood are on the receiving end. By a government unit with the same software and intel.
136	* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Cabinet member Denise Riley, who says "what everyone here is thinking". None of the government big shots want [[spoiler:their own children handed over]], and if they're exempt, why not get rid of the ratbag element of society?
137	* SleazyPolitician: Brian Green is an obvious example. His very first scene features him ordering Frobisher to murder several people, but then telling him to make sure his name was not on the orders. Of course, most of the politicians seen during this story are equally bad.
138	* TheSocialDarwinist: The British government's method of [[spoiler:choosing which children will be sacrificed by starting with the most underprivileged schools]] verges on an outright eugenics program.
139	* SoundOnlyDeath: John Frobisher's [[spoiler:PaterFamilicide]].
140	* SoundtrackDissonance: When [[spoiler:the children]] are seized.
141	* StealthInSpace: The one thing hampering even the idea of fighting back is that the government can't locate any spaceships in orbit, even with the alien tech they've scavenged over the past few years.
142	** Of course it didn't help that they blew up Torchwood's stash of alien tech (Arguably the largest such collection on Earth) right at the start, either.
143	* StuffBlowingUp: The show blows up [[spoiler: the ElaborateUndergroundBase and Jack Harkness himself.]]
144	* SuperSenses: Clement's brain was somehow altered by the aliens, giving him the ability to [[TheNoseKnows smell]] if someone is lying. Or pregnant. Or gay.
145	* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham: PlayedForDrama and Lampshaded by Gwen when she wonders why the Doctor doesn't come to help as [[spoiler: the military starts rounding up the children]]. The real-world reason is that this show isn't family-friendly the way ''Doctor Who'' is and they didn't want to attract the wrong audience by having him show up in it; in-universe the Doctor isn't all-knowing and generally can't control where/when he goes anyway -- also, he can't alter certain fixed points in time, which this may be. But Gwen isn't aware of all this...so she believes the reason is that [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters he's too ashamed of humanity when it acts the way it's acting now]] to help.
146	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Lois Habiba for Martha Jones (who was originally intended to appear in it), though she plays a more naive, innocent version. No doubt that if it was actually Martha in the position, she would have been far more forthcoming in helping Torchwood in the beginning.
147	* TrashTheSet: The Torchwood Hub gets blown to smithereens, with Jack in the middle, so that the studio could be used to accommodate the Eleventh Doctor's first console room.
148	* VanInBlack: The dark gray Land Rovers used by Johnson's mooks. Also lampshaded in a scene where Ianto thinks a black van is sneaking up on him, but it turns out to be delivering newspapers.
149	* VerbalTic: Clem's "Isn't it?", caused by [[spoiler: the suppressed memory of asking Jack, "It's safe though, ''isn't it?''" before stepping into the 456's light as a kid]].
150	* VideoWill: Gwen leaves one in the final episode for anyone who's still around to see it.
151	* WhamEpisode: Day Four.
152	** Every episode of the season to an extent is its own Wham Episode. Day One features the children's chants and [[spoiler:the destruction of the Torchwood HQ]], Day Two has Jack's extremely painful looking [[spoiler: coming back to life after exploding]], Day Three has the introduction of the 456 and their demands, Day Four has [[spoiler: the death of Ianto]], and Day Five has [[spoiler: the nightmarish actions of the British government and Jack's heartbreaking solution.]]
153	* WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife: The whole army vs. its people was utterly ''useless'', as would have been [[spoiler: handing the children to the aliens]], or worse, ''not handing them''.
154	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The representatives from other countries seem to be completely forgotten about in the latter half of the mini-series, with the story focusing entirely on the British government's response to 456. (This is especially absurd given that 456 wanted 10% of ''all'' the children on Earth, so the British government playing ball is surely irrelevant if any other country refuses.)
155	** The fate of everything in the Hub when it blows up (including Jack's brother Gray in cold storage, Myfanwy and the Weevils in the cells) is never clarified.
156	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Alice now looks older than her father Jack.
157	%%% Please no natter about the actors' chronological ages.
158	* WhatTheHellHero: Jack faces a few moments of this, especially from Ianto, when his role in the 1965 dealings with the 456 is revealed.
159	** Agent Johnson gets a preventative dose of this from [[spoiler: the doctor she is about to murder.]]
160	* WhosLaughingNow: Frobisher's children laugh off how they were "Possessed by the Devil!", chanting, [[AllGirlsLikePonies "We want a pony... we want a pony..."]] at their parents as a joke. They're shown to be a lot more shaken the next time it happens, given that they would have UnPaused to find their panicked father screaming in their face.
161	* WhyAmITicking: Jack is 'killed' so he can be cut open and a bomb hidden inside his body, in order to destroy both him and the Torchwood Hub.
162	* WrittenInAbsence: Creator/FreemaAgyeman's commitment to ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'' meant that Martha couldn't appear, so it's explained that she's on her honeymoon.

Context Series / TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth