I'm in the minority - I liked this episode. Wouldn't want one like it more than once a season, but it was a nice change of pace. Anyway, caps are mine, yadda yadda yadda.
We open with nerdspeak.
Hello Eugene.
That Torchwood SUV sure is stealthy.
Crime scene in the mist. Does the sun EVER shine in Wales?
The dead guy looks a lot like Eugene!
Tosh is Sympathy Girl all through this episode. That stick up your arse...
"Am I dead?" Brilliant reasoning.
Poor Gwen, ever the bearer of bad tidings.
Dead/Invisible Eugene is just happy to ride in the Torchwood SUV. That's really quite sad.
Eugene has photographed random shoes. I'd love to say that this is IMPORTANT, but although it turns up later in the episode, we never really know WHY.
And now for something completely different: The Flashback!
Eugene has always been a disappointment to his father. The young actor is disappointed to find that he's NOT playing Young Cap'n Jack.
Kindly old science teacher gives Eugene one of his balls. ::cough::
The Eye of...Rassilon? Newt?
Dad went away, and now Eugene is waiting for Starman. Or David Bowie. Hey, wouldn't David Bowie be a kickass guest star?
Eugene has eyes for Gwen. Gwen, being nobody's fool, has eyes for Jack's posterior.
And of course, the nerd has a fat, homely mum. No stereotyping here.
And the other, non-nerd son? Good looking in a petulant little bastard sort of way.
Owen needs a manicure.
If Eugene could be photographed, this would be entitled "My New Job - Torchwood 3.5."
Gwen is the only one to speak to Mrs. Jones on the way out. Awww, she does have a heart.
The head of something that sounds like random letters grabbed from a Scrabble game.
"He was a geek." Yeah, takes one to know one, Owen.
I'd love to say that Owen descending the stairs and finding Gwen with the corpse of someone who moved her is foreshadowing. But I know better.
Gwen has read "Autopsies for Dummies" or seen "X Files" one time too many. Why, incision?
Owen hasn't worn an earring since the second episode, has he?
Hello, Ianto! Aren't you glad you shaved and got all dolled up just to come by and throw a couple of lines into the atmosphere?
Gwen is Concerned. See "Heart, has a."
Jack and Toshiko are interrupted in their study of the alien personal massager.
WTF is with the metallic crayon paperweight?
Owen quacks like a duck.
Jack: Don't MAKE me pull this boardroom over!
Reminder: This Show Is Shot In Cardiff.
Along with snark, Owen excels at multitasking.
Not sure what the frying metaphor is meant to tell us. Anyone? Bueller?
Along with Owen's Mystery Earring, what the hell happened to the rest of Gwen's hair?
Meet Josh. Lying git and all around lousy human being.
Meet Gary. Slightly better.
Eugene thought Gwen was unattainable. Has he ever MET her?
Pheer Eugene's eBay Skillz!
Mr. Jones is alive and well and living above a garage. His wife, Myrtle...oh, wait, wrong story again.
When the Raaaaaaiiin comes, they run and hide their heads.
"It's okay, Eugene. We're stuck in a metaphor but it'll only last another 20 minutes or so."
Jack drops in for some eye exposition. Hello, Jack! Hello, Jack's forearms!
Gwen goes on another road trip with someone who's dead. At least this one isn't trying to kill her.
In which Gary fesses up, sort of.
In which the writers have more fun with the name "Splott."
Halitosis from beyond the grave.
Wow, if you put curtains up in the set for Owen's flat, it doesn't look ANYTHING like it. And using the same music as Gwen and Owen's liason won't remind anyone of what they're looking at, no, not one bit.
Random hand.
Random WTF - y'all have Texaco in Wales? Seriously?
Heh heh heh, we punked Eugene.
Note to writing staff: "boring" is probably not a word you want to use in a script that features hardly any time for the main characters.
See? Eugene took pictures of shoes. We never do find out why.
Next, on Nova: The Eye Within.
"Honest." Yeah, I believe 'em.
If Gwen calls you, it's NOT good news.
I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. Stuntman.
More flowers than people at the funeral.
When I die, if anyone gets up to sing, please set off a fire alarm or something.
Ewwww, you know where it's BEEN!
Hello, stranger! Awww, Owen deigns to be nice for 2 seconds.
Seriously, who peed in Toshiko's cornflakes this morning?
Jack wins the secret prize inside!
Awww, reunion. If Dad's been gone for 14 years, how old is this kid supposed to be?
Jack: "Mine's bigger."
For his eye is on the sewer...
"OMG, Gwen is in mortal peril! Again!"
I never pictured Eugene on top.
Tosh: "First aliens, now a dead guy...is there anyone she won't shag?"
Owen: OI!
See me...
...feel me, touch me...
...heal me.
It's time for the aerial shot.
And the patented Harkness Handhold.
Breathe deep, because the next four episodes are gonna be a bumpy ride.
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Next up: Out of Time
Comments are better than banana milkshakes.