Original Transmission
Cast
Plot Outline from Wikipedia A series of seemingly professional murders in Cardiff prompts Jack to call in UNIT medical specialist Martha Jones for help. She informs him that there have been similar murders throughout the UK. Both Owen and Jack flirt with Martha, causing Gwen to show some jealousy, though she and Martha end up clicking together as great friends. Jack is more open and light- hearted when Martha arrives, dropping hints about their travels with the Doctor. They discover that one of the victims had been cured of diabetes and another of HIV. With this information they trace the killings back to a medical centre named The Pharm. One woman had been attacked but survived and was in a hospital. She has a seizure after admittance and fly-like creatures rise out of her mouth and try to enter Owen and Martha, but die before they get the chance. Martha has no choice but to go undercover as Samantha, a hepatitis sufferer, in order to investigate the centre's real purpose.
While there, she discovers that The Pharm is responsible for the drug "Reset" which is what cured the previously incurable diseases. But the problem with Reset is that it works by releasing alien parasites, called Mayflies, into the human bloodstream - the Mayfly larvae proceed to "reset" the human body, eliminating even incurable diseases such as HIV. The downside to the drug is that the Mayfly larvae eventually hatch and eat the person from the inside. Martha is caught snooping around the mayfly laboratories and the medical director examines her and states that her white blood cells have mutated due to "travel in time and space'. He is curious to see how her immune system will react to Reset and injects her with it.When Torchwood catches the Pharm-hired assassin who is carrying out the murders, they find that he has a mayfly in him as well, after Owen tries to use alien technology to get it out of him. He screws up and the fly bursts out of the assassin's stomach instead. They use the body to get into the Pharm, and Owen and Jack find the medical director and Martha while Ianto, Gwen and Tosh find 'research labs' where alien life-forms are being held captive. The larvae in Martha have killed each other off until only one is left, and Owen manages to use the alien gun to extract it from her safely. He, Martha and Jack meet up with the other three by the Torchwood van and shut down the Pharm. The medical director corners them with a gun and points it at Martha, asking if they really believed he would just step aside and let them get away with that. Owen steps in front of Martha and tries to reason with the man, whom he had formerly respected. He says that they are both rational men, but the medical director shoots him anyway. Jack then shoots him as Martha tries to treat Owen back. After she injects him near the heart, a look of peace comes over Owen's face, and the next second Martha, in tears, says 'He's dead'.
Analysis from Cuisle Reset started well with the arrival of Martha Jones at the Hub. There was some immediately brilliant repartee between her and Jack, Gwen, Owen and Ianto in turn. The scene with Ianto and the ‘red cap’ is a wonderful scene for Gareth David-Lloyd. He is very good at acting with his face, without saying very much, and his face was a picture of joy as he coyly described his love-making with Jack as “avante-garde dabbling”. The scenes with Owen were probably the most important. Owen was the one who had most reason to resent Martha coming in and taking over his autopsy room. But he seemed to get on well with her, striking up a good professional relationship that it would have been nice to see more of.
And one of the few scenes in the first half of the episode not featuring Martha was the one in which Owen and Toshiko finally got over their mutual awkwardness and arranged a date. The shy fumbling in the past weeks actually fitted once this scene concluded. Sadly, their arrangement to meet for a drink and see what might come of it was a familiar narrative device. Everyone who has ever followed WWII films knows that the couple who make promises the day before the ‘big push’ are doomed to tragedy. And so it was with Owen and Toshiko.
These whole business with Copley and his ‘Pharm’ was slightly anti-climax. It was run of the mill infiltration of the bad guy’s lair, made interesting only because of the fantastic contact lens technology, which was a gadget James Bond would die for.
The use of the contact lenses, and the singularity scalpel in the episode is unusual. Two alien gadgets in one episode. There are two schools of thought about that. One, that too much weird alien gadgetry is a bad thing as it leads to too many deus ex machine solutions like the singularity scalpel finally working in order to get the bug out of Martha. The alternative is that, actually, since scavenging alien technology is what Torchwood do, why don’t we see more of it? I think they probably have the balance about right on the whole. Another ongoing issue this episode throws into light, is the relationship of Torchwood to The Doctor! Although the scene between Martha and Jack where they talk about the unrequited love in both their lives is nice, and the line to Owen about ‘being under the same doctor’ worked well, just what IS wrong with the Torchwood team knowing about The Doctor? The whole public enemy thing started by Queen Victoria surely went by the wayside ages ago? Granted, Ianto wouldn’t be happy about being reminded of Canary Wharf, but that is in the past for him by now. WOULD it really hurt to open that can of worms just a little bit?
The final showdown with Copley appearing with a gun and Owen gallantly standing in front of Martha is, on the one hand, touching and wonderful, and on the other, just a little contrived. Obviously, Owen’s ‘death’ is important for the next two stories. But for Copley to just turn up with a gun and shoot is a bit convenient. My primary issue with it is that Torchwood is set in Britain, and we are not a gun culture. I would have been more convinced if it had been a hand to hand fight with Copley pulling a surgical scalpel and plunging it into Owen’s chest. The result would have been the same, but just a tad more convincing.
That necessity to set up the future stories held Reset back a little as a stand alone story. I don’t see it being a favourite that I’ll savour when the box set comes out. But it had its moments. Ianto was in a lot of them. He is a wonderful character. Jack was in a lot of the others. Some critics keep complaining that John Barrowman’s acting is limited. Possibly true. But within those limits he gives the audience what they want. So who cares?
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