"Random Shoes" is the 9th episode of the principal series of the English sci-fi TV series Torchwood, which was initially communicated on the advanced TV station BBC Three on 10 December 2006.
The episode includes the outsider tracker Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) exploring the dubious quick in and out death of the outsider fan Eugene Jones (Paul Chequer) close to Cardiff.
Gwen investigates the death of an alien enthusiast called Eugene Jones in a hit-and-run accident, and is intrigued by photographs of random shoes that are on his mobile phone. Taking an incorporeal form, Eugene follows Gwen to find out how he died, as his memories slowly return.
In 1992, Eugene blanked on an inter-school maths competition, losing it for his school and disappointing his father Shaun; Shaun left that same night, and Eugene and his brother Terry believed he found a new job in America. After receiving an eye that fell to Earth as a consolation prize, Eugene began collecting alien artefacts. He approached Torchwood several times but was always rebuffed.
After discovering Shaun worked at the local convenience store, Eugene decided to try to sell the eye on eBay in order to raise enough money to buy tickets to Australia for his co-worker, Linda. Eugene contacted the buyers and arranged to meet at the Happy Cook restaurant. Arriving there, he found that Gary, a co-worker, and Josh, a DVD store clerk, were the winning bidders. They had raised the price initially to get Eugene's hopes up, but, when the first large bid came in from a collector, they realised that, if they could get the eye, they could resell it for more. Eugene attempted to phone for a cab with his mobile phone, accidentally taking pictures of Gary, Josh and a waitress' shoes in the process, then swallowed the eye and fled the restaurant. He escaped from Gary and Josh, but unwittingly walked right into traffic, causing the accident that killed him.
In the present, Gwen uncovers the truth from Linda, Gary, Josh, and Eugene's mother Bronwen. Jack reveals to Gwen that the eye was probably a Dogon Sixth Eye, which allowed Eugene to gain a fresh perspective on his past life after he ingested it. Gwen calls Shaun and informs him of Eugene's death. Eugene's family and friends gather for his cremation, and Gwen recovers the eye from the ashes and travels to Eugene's wake with the rest of Torchwood. As she watches across the street, Eugene becomes corporeal, and pushes Gwen out of the way of oncoming traffic. Eugene knows he will not live much longer without the eye in his body. As his family watches in amazement at seeing Eugene, Gwen gives him a kiss for saving her life and for being real.
This episode was originally titled "Invisible Eugene" up until two weeks before it aired. It was then changed to its present title. It was still listed as "Invisible Eugene" in the Radio Times and other television listings.
Screenshots of Eugene's website as posted on the Torchwood Institute website suggest it to be hosted on the fictional Cheapserve webhost.[1] Cheapserve has been used before by the Doctor Who production team.
This story bears some structural similarities to the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters," in particular the heavy use of flashbacks and voice-overs by a guest character as narrative devices, as well as focusing on said guest character with minimal contribution by most of the regular cast.
Producer Richard Stokes likened this episode to the 1946 comedy/drama film It's a Wonderful Life, in which the main character is afforded the chance to look back over his own life and reevaluate it, while remaining invisible to the other characters.
Like "Love & Monsters," "Blink," "Midnight" and "Turn Left," this episode is a "double-banked" episode, meaning that it was filmed at the same time as another episode, in this case "Captain Jack Harkness." This explains why this episode focuses so heavily on Gwen out of the regular cast, while the rest of the cast appear only briefly. Conversely, Gwen appears little in "Captain Jack Harkness," which instead heavily features Jack and Tosh.
The restaurant where Gwen talks to Gary's coworker Linda can be identified by decorations as La Tasca, a Spanish tapas chain in the UK.
Referencesedit
^. BBC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2006.
External linksedit
Wikiquote has quotations related to Torchwood.
Random Shoes on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
April 12, 2024
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Random Shoes is the 9th episode of the principal series of the English sci fi TV series Torchwood which was initially communicated on the advanced TV station BBC Three on 10 December 2006 09 Random Shoes Torchwood episodeCastStarringJohn Barrowman Captain Jack Harkness Eve Myles Gwen Cooper Burn Gorman Owen Harper Naoko Mori Toshiko Sato Gareth David Lloyd Ianto JonesOthersPaul Chequer Eugene Luke Bromley Young Eugene Nicola Duffett Bronwen Jones Roger Ashton Griffiths Mr Garret Steven Meo Josh Celyn Jones Gary Robyn Isaac Linda Gareth Potter Shaun Jones Joshua Hughes Terry Jones Amy Starling Waitress Leroy Liburd Cafe owner Ryan Chappell PeteProductionDirected byJames ErskineWritten byJacquetta MayScript editorBrian MinchinProduced byRichard StokesSophie FanteChris Chibnall co producer Executive producer s Russell T DaviesJulie GardnerMusic byBen FosterProduction code1 9SeriesSeries 1Running time49 minsFirst broadcast10 December 2006 2006 12 10 Chronology Preceded by They Keep Killing Suzie Followed by Out of Time List of Torchwood episodesThe episode includes the outsider tracker Gwen Cooper Eve Myles exploring the dubious quick in and out death of the outsider fan Eugene Jones Paul Chequer close to Cardiff Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 2 1 Music 3 Outside references 4 References 5 External linksPlot editGwen investigates the death of an alien enthusiast called Eugene Jones in a hit and run accident and is intrigued by photographs of random shoes that are on his mobile phone Taking an incorporeal form Eugene follows Gwen to find out how he died as his memories slowly return In 1992 Eugene blanked on an inter school maths competition losing it for his school and disappointing his father Shaun Shaun left that same night and Eugene and his brother Terry believed he found a new job in America After receiving an eye that fell to Earth as a consolation prize Eugene began collecting alien artefacts He approached Torchwood several times but was always rebuffed After discovering Shaun worked at the local convenience store Eugene decided to try to sell the eye on eBay in order to raise enough money to buy tickets to Australia for his co worker Linda Eugene contacted the buyers and arranged to meet at the Happy Cook restaurant Arriving there he found that Gary a co worker and Josh a DVD store clerk were the winning bidders They had raised the price initially to get Eugene s hopes up but when the first large bid came in from a collector they realised that if they could get the eye they could resell it for more Eugene attempted to phone for a cab with his mobile phone accidentally taking pictures of Gary Josh and a waitress shoes in the process then swallowed the eye and fled the restaurant He escaped from Gary and Josh but unwittingly walked right into traffic causing the accident that killed him In the present Gwen uncovers the truth from Linda Gary Josh and Eugene s mother Bronwen Jack reveals to Gwen that the eye was probably a Dogon Sixth Eye which allowed Eugene to gain a fresh perspective on his past life after he ingested it Gwen calls Shaun and informs him of Eugene s death Eugene s family and friends gather for his cremation and Gwen recovers the eye from the ashes and travels to Eugene s wake with the rest of Torchwood As she watches across the street Eugene becomes corporeal and pushes Gwen out of the way of oncoming traffic Eugene knows he will not live much longer without the eye in his body As his family watches in amazement at seeing Eugene Gwen gives him a kiss for saving her life and for being real Production editThis section s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions June 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message This episode was originally titled Invisible Eugene up until two weeks before it aired It was then changed to its present title It was still listed as Invisible Eugene in the Radio Times and other television listings Screenshots of Eugene s website as posted on the Torchwood Institute website suggest it to be hosted on the fictional Cheapserve webhost 1 Cheapserve has been used before by the Doctor Who production team This story bears some structural similarities to the Doctor Who episode Love amp Monsters in particular the heavy use of flashbacks and voice overs by a guest character as narrative devices as well as focusing on said guest character with minimal contribution by most of the regular cast Producer Richard Stokes likened this episode to the 1946 comedy drama film It s a Wonderful Life in which the main character is afforded the chance to look back over his own life and reevaluate it while remaining invisible to the other characters Like Love amp Monsters Blink Midnight and Turn Left this episode is a double banked episode meaning that it was filmed at the same time as another episode in this case Captain Jack Harkness This explains why this episode focuses so heavily on Gwen out of the regular cast while the rest of the cast appear only briefly Conversely Gwen appears little in Captain Jack Harkness which instead heavily features Jack and Tosh Music edit The songs Starman by David Bowie and Hope There s Someone by Antony and the Johnsons are featured in this episode Eugene s father sings Danny Boy at the funeral Outside references editThis section s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions June 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Internet auction website eBay is mentioned but the actual website used in the episode is not eBay s own The DVD Owen is watching is the 1960s version of the BBC science fiction drama A for Andromeda In the video shop the show playing is Walking with Dinosaurs The restaurant where Gwen talks to Gary s coworker Linda can be identified by decorations as La Tasca a Spanish tapas chain in the UK References edit Torchwood External Hub Interface Investigation Eugene BBC Archived from the original on 3 December 2007 Retrieved 10 December 2006 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Torchwood Random Shoes on Tardis Wiki the Doctor Who Wiki Random Shoes episode guide entry on the BBC website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Random Shoes amp oldid 1178650060, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
