List of Torchwood items

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This is a list of extra-terrestrial, supernatural, otherworldly and futuristic items featured in the BBC science-fiction drama Torchwood and its spin-off media.

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] 0-9

3-D glasses 

Originally used by the Tenth Doctor in Doomsday, Jack Harkness now owns a pair which he keeps on his desk (Small Worlds).

[edit] A

Alien knife 

See Life knife

Alien pendant 

A communication device used by the inhabitants of Mary's home planet of Archetine 5. It allows the wearer to hear thoughts and feelings of others. The only known pendant on Earth was destroyed by Toshiko Sato (Greeks Bearing Gifts).^[1]

Amnesia pill 

Used to cause someone to forget recent memories. The amnesia can be cured if the person's memories are triggered by one specific image (and if they are intelligent enough). Jack used this on Gwen Cooper after she first learnt about the Torchwood Hub. It contains a special compound known as B67, also known as "Retcon". The website reveals the pills were developed by Torchwood One under Yvonne Hartman.^[2] It is revealed in End of Days that those dismissed from Torchwood are "Retconned" within 24 hours.

The Amok 

The Amok is a multi-dimensional coin-shaped item which appears to be a recreational game for an alien race. As humans only operate within a four-dimensional world, the incomprehensible dimensions of the Amok cause surrounding humans to go mad with desire to take their turn playing. When in possession of the Amok, humans talk unintelligibly about things being "big big big" and witness blue lights behind their eyelids. The madness is so acute that humans can kill each other or themselves in an attempt to take their turn. When the Torchwood team encounter the Amok in the novel Border Princes by Dan Abnett, they are also affected by it, but eventually manage to contain it safely behind a physical firewall; it is subsequently destroyed in the same novel by Mr Dine. As with all Torchwood spin-off media, the canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

Anti-Droon audio paddle 

A plastic paddle that, when held to the forehead of a Droon host, ejects the Droon forcibly through the nostril of the victim. The paddle is used in the Torchwood spin-off novel Border Princes by Dan Abnett. Like all Torchwood spin-off media, the canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

Anti-Weevil clamps 

A piece of metal tape that, when wound round a captive's ankles or wrists, then pressed together, would meld into an unbreakable loop, mimicking a pair of handcuffs. The loop can only be broken by irradiating it with low-level microwaves. ^[3] Though called Anti-Weevil clamps, they can be used on people or other aliens.

Anti-Weevil spray 

A spray that causes short term pain to Weevils, allowing them to be subdued. It is first seen in Everything Changes. However, by Combat, the Weevils appear to be gaining an immunity to it.^[4]

[edit] B

Bekaran deep-tissue scanner 

An X-ray device of alien-origin used by Owen in his medical analysis. It is capable of producing a photo-realistic X-ray on a tiny screen on the device, that can be viewed at any depth by adjusting the resolution. It appears in the novels Another Life, Border Princes and Slow Decay. Like all Torchwood spin-off media, the canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

Binoculars 

Jack still has the futuristic binoculars that he used in the Doctor Who episode The Empty Child.^[5]

Brudyac psychic receiver 

A small, spherical item, chrome in colour, inserted into the spine of any creature that the Brudyac wishes to control. It allows a Brudyac to take psychic control of the victim, with the only disadvantage being that it uses up the spinal fluid of the victim, requiring them to drink more. The device also injects the Brudyac's food source into the victim's stomach, where it grows. In the novel Another Life by Peter Anghelides, several characters have this device implanted into their spines, among them, Owen and Jack.

[edit] C

Cryo-chamber 

Used by Torchwood to store corpses indefinitely. One of its uses is to provide corpses which can be disfigured and dumped to provide identifiable bodies for people who have been vapourised, eaten or otherwise destroyed by aliens (Day One). The source of the bodies is unclear. The body of Suzie Costello was seen being placed in storage at the end of Everything Changes, although the name of the storage area was not explicitly identified. It might be accessed by ladder on the access tunnel on the floor of Captain Jack's office.

Cyber-conversion unit

Scavenged by Ianto Jones from the ruins of Torchwood One and installed in the basement of the Hub. It was modified following the instructions of Lisa Hallett, a partially converted Cyberman, to become a life support system for her. It was still somewhat operational and was used to attempt to upgrade Dr Tanizaki but resulted in only his death. It was also used to transplant the brain of Lisa into the body of another woman. When used to upgrade it caused a huge power drain on the Hub (Cyberwoman).

[edit] D

Data-gloves 

These are interface devices capable of digital entry into a computer system. These are reference in Another Life when Owen Harper uses these to enter the MMOG game "Second Reality". Like all Torchwood spin-off media, the canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

Data scanning device 

Described by Toshiko Sato as an "iPod for books", the scanner can be passed across any book in order to take digital images of the pages inside. Toshiko hypothesises that it was left behind by alien archaeologists, so that they could decode documents on the voyage home.^[6] The same prop was also used in Cyberwoman as a lockpick device.

Decontamination sponge 

Described only as looking like a "squat loofah" by Gwen, this item can decontaminate up to six different types of nuclear radiation, even though only 3 types exist on Earth. Because of its effectiveness, Jack has to store it in a lead box at all times it isn't being used. When Owen becomes contaminated in Another Life, he uses the Decontamination sponge to soak up the radiation.

The Depressor 

An alien device salvaged by Torchwood in 1952. It is mentioned on the Torchwood website in a diary fragment of a past Torchwood Three agent. Torchwood team members theorised the device was transmitting a message, not through language but through emotion, and the message was spreading quickly and causing disastrous results all around Cardiff. The device itself directly affected anybody within 40 yards of it, driving them slowly mad. It was named "The Depressor" by one of the scientists studying it. It was filed away in their equipment stores soon after, with a decision on its fate pending.^[7]

Dogon Sixth Eye 

One of thirteen eyes of a reptilian race, the Dogon. Dr. Rajesh Singh under Director Yvonne Hartman of Torchwood One did some research into the eye and was able to identify that it exerts an influence on one who holds it; particularly if ingested, enabling them to look back over their lives with a fresh perspective.^[8] In the episode Random Shoes, Eugene Jones is shown to have come to possess the eye from a teacher who found it after it fell from the sky. After ingesting the eye and dying, Eugene steadily gained more physical contact with the world in his "ghostly" state until he became corporeal and visible once more.^[9] He was then surrounded by a white glow and floated upward, seemingly vanishing into space.

[edit] E

Earpieces 

Bluetooth attachments that act as standard communications devices for Torchwood personnel. One type of earpiece was seen in Army of Ghosts and Doomsday and were altered by the Cybermen to control three reanimated technicians and manipulate them into opening the breach. Another variant was seen throughout the series and worn by all members of Torchwood 3 when in the field, used for communication.

[edit] F

Firing Stock 15 Rifles 

First seen in Doctor Who episodes The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, and later in the background of Torchwood episode Day One, these are fictional projectile weapons used by the Human Empire in the distant future. These rifles are based on P-90's but fire ammunition that is designed to only impact on organic-based targets, preventing accidents in hostile environments. An expedition of the "Torchwood Archives" who landed to conduct investigations on a planet on the other side of the galaxy, had several security guards bearing FS-15 Rifles, and used them to great effect against their rebelling Ood population. Several of these rifles were seen in the background of Torchwood Three in the episode Day One. These presumably fell through the Rift and salvaged.

[edit] G

Gas masks 

Gas masks from the Doctor Who episodes The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances can be seen in the Hub.^[5] Although supposedly World War II-era masks, they were specially designed by the Doctor Who production team for those episodes and are not replicas of any period equipment.^[10]

Ghost Machine 

An alien device appearing in Ghost Machine, containing nanotechnological quantum transducers that can convert emotional energy left over from significant events into visions of those events. One half of the device allows the user to see the past, while the other allows them to see the future. Jack's report on the Torchwood Institute website speculates that it belonged to a "transdimensional being" that used it like a GPS receiver, locking on to significant events to locate itself while traveling in time and space.^[11] Another memo on the website shows that the team believed that the "ghost shifts" created by Torchwood One in Army of Ghosts made it easier for such residual memory "ghosts" to manifest themselves (although in actual fact they were simply helping Cybermen from a parallel universe to enter the world).^[12]

Glove 

See Resurrection gauntlet

[edit] H

HD CCTV 

First seen in Day One, the scanner uses alien technology to convert a raster CCTV image into a smooth vector image, which can then be magnified in order to identify face shapes.^[13]

Hologram Projectors 

Light emitters that form an illusionary environment around the viewer. These were referenced in the novel Another Life as an interface between Owen Harper and the MMOG game "Second Reality". The projectors appear to be all over the Hub and were improved by Toshiko Sato to photo-like-quality and it is revealed the projectors could be used for training exercises and recruiting new members for Torchwood Three. Like all Torchwood spin-off media, the canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

[edit] I

Invisible lift 

A lift which runs from the Hub to the Roald Dahl Plass. Any person standing on the lift cannot be seen, due to the presence of a "perception filter" that was caused by a "dimensionally transcendental chameleon circuit placed right here on this spot which welded its perception properties to a spatial-temporal rift." The perception filter is similar to the "Somebody Else's Problem field" from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[edit] L

Life knife 

A three-bladed knife used by Suzie Costello to kill people to test the Resurrection Gauntlet in Everything Changes. After Suzie's suicide, the knife was placed in a box in Jack's safe sealed with a "NOT FOR USE" tag. The knife is associated with the glove as they are made of the same metal, and that those killed with the knife are easier for the Glove to resurrect.^[14][15] Stabbing the deceased with the knife can increase the connection with the glove even post mortem. The name "life knife" was coined by Ianto Jones.

Lockpick 

An alien lockpicking device, capable of opening any lock in 45 seconds. The device appears to use the same prop as the data-scanner.

[edit] M

Meteorite core 

The core of the meteorite from which the "sex gas" emerged.^[16] It was taken back to the Hub for analysis.

Miniature CAT scanner 

A miniature CAT scanner used by the team to analyse the inside of alien devices.^[17]

Mirrored box 

A portable alien prison that was used by Toshiko to capture an a alien radiance sprite. It was mentioned in the novel Another Life.

[edit] N

Nuclear Medicine 

A medical technique, used in nearly all hospitals nowadays, comprising techniques such as CAT scanning, MIR scanning, etc.

[edit] O

Organic computer 

Referred to as such only on the Torchwood website, the computer used in the Hub is in fact alive. According to the website, the computer "is as old as Torchwood itself — a piece of organic, living, intuitive technology light years ahead of anything on Earth. It salvaged what it could, and continues at the heart of our work today." The computer managed to salvage information from the fall of Torchwood One, and is capable of incredible intuitive feats such as individual tracking, weather monitoring, GPS-navigation and the detection of all things extraterrestrial.^[18] The computer has been visible several times on the series, where it is shown (as it seen on the Adobe Flash version of the website) to be a pulsating, blue mass with many tentacles networking various pieces of information. In They Keep Killing Suzie, it is established that the computer's membrane can still recognise commands even without power. In Captain Jack Harkness, Owen is confident that the computer's artificial intelligence is smart enough to not require precise codes, and in End of Days, it requests retinal scans to operate the Rift Manipulator.

[edit] P

Perfume 

A perfume used by Owen in Everything Changes that makes the user irresistibly attractive to anyone, male or female. He was using it recreationally without Torchwood's permission and gave it back at the end of the episode.^[19]

Personal digital assistant 

Torchwood Three personnel possess specialised PDAs, seen in Cyberwoman and later referenced in the novel Another Life.

Personal Geiger Counters 

Pocket calculator-sized Geiger counters used by Torchwood in the novel Another Life.

Portable prison cell 

A small device which can create a blue force field around any object, acting as a portable prison cell. The device only has a battery life of one hour. The blue energy field produced by the device resembles the effect from the Chula tractor beam used by Jack Harkness in the Doctor Who episodes The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances.^[20]

Preachers' rifles

Weapons used by the Preachers (Pete, Jake and Mickey/Ricky) on a parallel Earth. These use the emotional inhibitor disabler code in a weaponised fashion and are extremely effective against Cybermen, but not Daleks. These were brought to Rose's Earth by the Preachers, now control of their parallel Torchwood One in Doomsday to fight the invading Cybermen. These are later seen in the background of the Hub in Greeks Bearing Gifts.

Protein sauce 

First seen in Cyberwoman, it is a special enzyme developed by Suzie Costello to capture the Pterodactyl when it came through the Rift. It is later adapted to help the Pterodactyl identify its food.

Power generators 

A form of machinery used in all Torchwood facilities to generate electrical power. In Cyberwoman, Lisa Hallett recharged herself by draining Torchwood Three's power supply through her Cyber-conversion unit.

Physical firewall 

A specially-made barrier to contain hazardous alien objects or materials salvaged by Torchwood. It was referenced in the novel Border Princes as The Amok was stored behind a physical firewall to contain its psychotic influence on all humans around it. Like all Torchwood spin-off media, the canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

[edit] R

Range Rover 

See SUV

Resurrection Gauntlet 

A metal gauntlet (also known as The Glove and jokingly dubbed the Risen Mitten by Ianto Jones) with the ability to bring the dead back to life for a limited time, as seen in Everything Changes. It has a strange but unspecified connection to a knife made of the same metal. The Torchwood Institute website details the testing of the glove, and that Suzie was buying goldfish in bulk and killing them to test the Glove.^[21] Suzie's research showed that the glove was slightly radioactive and that the glove possesses "low psych levels" which allows it to directly respond to brain activity.^[14] It was later established it has an empathic link with its wearer, like "a rope from [the] heart to the glove" and that transfers the life force of the wearer to keep the dead alive. The Glove is more effective on recent, violent trauma victims, prompting Suzie Costello to murder several Cardiff residents in order to improve her proficiency in using it. Following Suzie's suicide, the Glove is placed in Jack's safe and sealed with a "NOT FOR USE" tag.

In They Keep Killing Suzie, it is used to bring Suzie back to life. Jack reveals that the glove was recovered from Cardiff Bay 40 years prior, and theorises that whoever owned it wanted to be rid of it. Gwen is the only one with the degree of empathy required to operate the glove without Suzie. When the glove was used on Suzie, Gwen's life force is slowly drained from her into Suzie and she even began developing the same wound as Suzie in the back of her head where Suzie's was. The only way to break this connection is to destroy the glove, which Tosh does so, saving Gwen and killing Suzie again. However, Ianto points out that "gloves come in pairs", implying that there may be another glove.^[22]

"Retcon" 

See Amnesia pill

Rift Manipulator 

First seen in Captain Jack Harkness and again in End of Days, the Rift Manipulator is a device at the Torchwood Hub with manipulates the Rift. With the use of very precise co-ordinates and algebra, it can be used safely to negotiate minor time travel, but it is incredibly dangerous. Improper usage could cause "fractures in time" with apocalyptic results and due to a "preshock" of the End of Days events^[23] it has many precautions surrounding it's usage, including retinal scans of all Torchwood staff in order to facilitate a full opening of the Rift. It should also be noted that the main part of the manipulator is very similar to the center of the TARDIS.

[edit] S

Severed hand 

A severed humanoid hand in a transparent case filled with a preservative liquid. The hand originally belonged to the Tenth Doctor and was severed by a Sycorax sword during their invasion of Earth (The Christmas Invasion).^[24] Jack is very protective of the hand, saying that it means something only to him. Despite having been severed for some months by the time it is first seen, the hand has not decayed and continues to twitch as if still alive. It is seen to glow as the sound of the TARDIS engines approaches (in the manner of the Tardis key) (End of Days).

Static electricity gun 

An alien weapon mentioned in a 1952 Torchwood diary fragment. When discussing the "Depressor", an agent mentioned the gun as "another near miss" and filed away among their equipment stores.

SUV 

The Torchwood Hub's converted SUV

The Torchwood vehicle is a converted large, black Range Rover with tinted windows and blue lights running along the A-frames. The vehicle has a white-on-black non-standard typeface for the registration plate, usually found only on military vehicles and vehicles from before 1973 on British car number plates, and its registration number, CF06 FDU (indicating the vehicle was registered in Cardiff between March and September 2006), does not appear in the DVLA vehicle register (Everything Changes). It contains computers that can connect to the Torchwood Hub and to various databases, including those operated by the police.^[25] One such database, featured in the novel Slow Decay, allows Torchwood to change the traffic lights so that they are on green before they reach them.

[edit] T

TARDIS coral 

Jack has a piece of coral growing in his office which actor John Barrowman identifies as being a piece of the same substance as the TARDIS. Barrowman suggests (as did the Tenth Doctor in The Impossible Planet) that TARDISes are "grown, not built". The piece in Jack's office has been there for approximately 30 years, and in 500 years the "carving process" begins.^[5]

Telepathy pendant 

See Alien pendant

Television sets 

The Hub contains three television sets from Magpie Electricals, seen in the Doctor Who episode The Idiot's Lantern. Jack uses them as scanners for unusual signals.^[5]

Torchwood access barrier 

An internet program created by the Torchwood Institute, it is designed to locate information about aliens on Earth on worldwide computer systems and lock them out to anyone except Torchwood personnel and displays the words "Torchwood: Access Denied" in red letters to unauthorised users. It was seen in School Reunion when Mickey Smith attempted to access photos of UFO sightings. It was alluded to in the novel Another Life by Toshiko Sato, who said Owen Harper had to clear the installation of his new MMOG game "Second Reality" through Torchwood's security program.

Torchwood server 

A computer-control mechanism that regulates all computer use for Torchwood personnel. These appear to be far superior to public servers as Toshiko Sato mentioned in the novel Another Life that Owen Harper's new game "Second Reality" could only be played when the game was logged through the Hub's server; this implies that Torchwood's special servers can prevent back-tracing of any kind and protect private information. Like all Torchwood spin-off media, the canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

Torchwood Stun Gun 

The Torchwood team possess a specially designed stun gun engineered for use on humans and aliens alike. It has both "stun" and "kill" settings.^[26]

Torchwood Sub 

The Torchwood Sub appears in the novel Another Life. It is held in one of the many entrances to the Hub. According to Jack, it only carries two people.

Tracking system 

The Hub has technology capable of detecting and following creatures and objects of alien origin, as seen in Ghost Machine. It does so by providing an overhead-view, wireframe map of Cardiff, with the target and active Torchwood agents displayed. However, it can only detect the target's position and not its appearance, size or nature.

Two person transporter ship 

The ship arrived in the 19th century with Mary and her guard. It came into Torchwood's possession in Greeks Bearing Gifts. It can be reprogrammed to send someone anywhere, for example, the Sun.^[27]

[edit] V

Virtual reality helmets 

These are interface devices capable of digital entry into a computer system. Owen Harper used one of these in the novel Another Life to enter the MMOG game "Second Reality". Like all Torchwood spin-off media, the canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

[edit] W

Wrist device 

Torchwood Three leader Jack Harkness is seen using these devices to control the Invisible Lift in Everything Changes, and tasks Toshiko Sato to re-activate them by restoring power to a circuit breaker during Cyberwoman. It also seems to perform short distance communicational functions.

[edit] See also

• List of Doctor Who items

[edit] References

v • d • e Torchwood
Torchwood main pages
Themes • Criticism • Doctor Who • Whoniverse Torchwood Institute • Cardiff Rift • Weevils
Main characters
Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) • Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) • Owen Harper (Burn Gorman) Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) • Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd)
Torchwood lists
Episodes • Novels • Monsters and aliens • Minor characters • Items