Radio Times

• Episode 1/13 Everything Changes

  Policewoman Gwen Cooper senses something's amiss when a secretive team of experts breeze onto the scene of a violent death. But she's not prepared for what she witnesses as the investigators resurrect the murder victim in a bid to identify his killer. In her determination to find out more about the extraordinary squad, Gwen's capabilities and beliefs are about to be challenged in a big way.

  RT Choice (Mark Braxton, 22 October 2006)

  Yes, it's a spin-off, but early evidence suggests Torchwood will live and breathe in its own right. And the gore, swearing and adult content mean that it's on late for a reason. The first episode is slick, scary, funny and expensive looking, but it's also very much an establishing story. With the guided tour dispensed with, however, the fun can really begin. Watch this space… so to speak.

• Episode 2/13 Day One

  Gwen gets a bit cocky on her first day working with the team and inadvertently releases a gaseous alien life form trapped in a fallen meteorite. The sex-addicted alien enters a human host and embarks on a lust-filled jaunt through Cardiff, leaving a trail of deaths in its wake. Can the team defeat the libidinous extraterrestrial before the teenager it has chosen to inhabit dies?

• Episode 3/13 Ghost Machine

  Gwen experiences an echo of Cardiff's wartime past as she retrieves an alien object from a fleeing hoodie. When Owen gets his hands on the artefact, he finds himself powerless to act as he witnesses a brutal crime from long ago - prompting him to embark on a one-man crusade to bring the perpetrator to justice. Then the team make a shocking discovery when they track down the elusive hoodie.

  RT Choice (Mark Braxton, 29 October 2006)

  The opening episodes of this sleek new sci-fi got a bit carried away by their post-watershed status. Now the series can just knuckle down to telling a good story. [It's] proving a shifty creature, switching in a trice from action thriller to horror to domestic drama, but that's a definite plus. And another astonishing turn from Eve Myles as Torchwood novice Gwen underlines her star quality.

• Episode 4/13 Cyberwoman

  As his colleagues head off to have some fun, it becomes clear that Ianto Jones is hiding a terrible secret beneath the Torchwood building. When he asks a Japanese doctor to try to rescue the soul of his half-Cybernised girlfriend, he sets in motion a chain of events that will culminate in bloodshed. Can the team put an end to the nightmare of his own making?

  RT Choice (Mark Braxton, 5 November 2006)

  It'll be interesting to see whether Captain Jack and co can maintain the amazing ratings for this whizzy sci-fi's opening night. Considering the efforts to make this an adult drama, the introduction of crossover elements from Doctor Who - and the inevitable curiosity from young viewers - doesn't seem very well thought through.

• Episode 5/13 Small Worlds

  An old friend contacts Jack with news of fairy sightings. Gwen is sceptical, but when a man is found dead in mysterious circumstances and there's a spate of strange weather conditions, it becomes apparent that Jack has good reason to fear the supernatural forces stalking the Cardiff suburbs. But what can they want with the seemingly normal Pierce family? Meanwhile, Gwen makes a discovery about Jack.

• Episode 6/13

  The Torchwood team head to the Brecon Beacons to investigate a number of disappearances in the area. As Jack, Gwen and Owen discover a slew of gruesome corpses - and one petrified survivor - in a deserted village, Ianto and Tosh are taken prisoner by the terrifying enemy. Gwen questions her feelings for Owen after he forces her to face some home truths.

• Episode 7/13 Greeks Bearing Gifts

  Toshiko is drawn to a woman who gives her an alien pendant that allows her to hear other people's thoughts. Tosh is unprepared for what this newfound ability reveals to her, and it leads her to question her commitment to the team. Her colleagues, meanwhile, study human remains displaying signs of massive chest injuries. Might there be a link between the skeleton and the pendant?

  RT Choice (Mark Braxton, 26 November 2006)

  There's quality here: nice effects, pacy action and fluid photography. But somehow it doesn't gel. Does Torchwood want to be The X-Files or Hollyoaks: after Hours? Seven episodes in, it's still hard to tell.

• Episode 8/13 They Keep Killing Suzie

  The police are baffled by a series of bloody murders with a clear connection to Torchwood, and the team are also stumped. In desperation they bring two of the victims back to life and, in the short time they have to question them, discover a link with erstwhile colleague Suzie Costello. But there are a few surprises in store when they resurrect Suzie…

• Episode 9/13 Random Shoes

  Eugene's been hit by a car. He knows he's dead because he can see the Torchwood team standing over his broken body. So why is he still walking around - albeit invisible to all? Maybe the mystery will be solved if he can remember exactly what happened to him leading up to the hit-and-run. And the only person who can help him do that is Gwen Cooper.

• Episode 10/13 Out of Time

  Three passengers whose plane took off in 1953 touch down in present-day Cardiff, and the team are faced with the daunting prospect of helping them become accustomed to life in 2006. Owen embarks on a romance with pilot Diane, Gwen helps teenager Emma shed her old-fashioned attitudes, and Jack gets to know a man called John who's desperate to find out whether his son is still alive.

• Episode 11/13 Combat

  The team are baffled when several Weevils are kidnapped. What could their abductors want with the savage aliens? Owen embarks on an undercover investigation that leads him to uncover a shocking subculture - but in his current state of mind, he may not be the right man for the job. As Owen's cover is blown, the rest of the team rush to his aid - but does he want their help?

• Episode 12/13 Captain Jack Harkness

  While investigating reports of ghostly music, Jack and Toshiko find themselves stranded in a Forties dance hall. Back at the Hub, Owen and Ianto squabble over how best to rescue the pair, as Gwen heads to the dilapidated building and meets its sinister caretaker. Back in 1941, Tosh's Asian roots make her a target - and Jack is startled to meet an officer called Captain Jack Harkness.

• Episode 13/13 End of Days

  Owen's actions have terrifying consequences, as the time rift fragments and brings chaos around the world. As the team are plagued by voices from the past and visions of the future, their trust in Jack falters, with violent and shocking results. But there's one more surprise in store for the Torchwood team's leader before the day is out…

  RT Choice (Mark Braxton, 1 January 2007)

  The spluttering sci-fi explodes into life in this finale. But if and when Torchwood returns, we're going to have to care a lot more about the characters than we do now.

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