{"id":11801,"date":"2012-12-30T08:03:24","date_gmt":"2012-12-30T13:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=11801"},"modified":"2012-12-30T08:03:24","modified_gmt":"2012-12-30T13:03:24","slug":"torchwood-a-day-in-the-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/12\/torchwood-a-day-in-the-death.html","title":{"rendered":"Torchwood: A Day in the Death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"The episode \u201cA Day in the Death\u201d from the second season of Torchwood<\/a>\"\" has not just vague religious themes or overtones, but explicit reference to the story of Jesus. And so it makes for an interesting starting point for a discussion of religion and science fiction.<\/p>\n

The story focuses on Owen Harper, who died in a previous episode, only to be brought back to life using alien technology, and now, for some reason, he remains conscious and human and active, and yet he is also dead, and so doesn\u2019t age or heal or digest food or feel anything.<\/p>\n

In this episode, Owen explicitly compares himself to Jesus, which is perhaps natural, given his having been dead and yet not dead for three days at this point. \u201cI was brought back \u2013 like Jesus really, except for the beard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The remark is, on one level, just an example of Owen\u2019s typically dark and irreverent sense of humor at work.<\/p>\n

But on another level, the parallels in the episode are unlikely to be accidental. Owen has tasted death, and as a result, is able to provide comfort and support for both an old man who is dying, and a young woman who was widowed on her wedding day, only an hour or so after getting married, and so is contemplating suicide.<\/p>\n

For the former, Henry Parker, Owen helps him not to be afraid of death. Because of his \u201cfear of the dark\u201d that lies beyond death, he prefers to stay alive even though bedridden on life support machines.<\/p>\n

\"\"For the latter, Maggie Hopley, Owen is able to share that beyond death is darkness, and thus if there is even a glimmer of light in her life, which now seems so dark, then she should not jump off the building, as she was contemplating doing. Here are his own words:<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got a choice. If you think that the darkness is too much then go for it. But if there is a chance, just some hope\u2026 It could be having a cigarette, or that first sip of hot tea on a cold morning. Or it could be your mates. If there is even a tiny glimmer of light, then don\u2019t you think that\u2019s worth taking a chance?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s not the message attributed to Jesus, by any means. But Owen coming into her situation, seemingly to join her in jumping and sharing her despair, but instead there to offer a warning and hope, has many elements one would expect of a TV \u201cChrist figure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The episode concludes with the revelation that an alien device that Owen had been investigating in the episode turned out not to be a danger or a weapon but a message, in response to our messages sent into space. Its meaning isn\u2019t clear, but its delivery is still powerful. As Owen puts it, this \u201cinterstellar answer sang to him in the darkness.\u201d And so his final message is that, while we often expect things to turn out badly, particularly if we\u2019ve had particularly troubled or difficult lives, sometimes it really does get better.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve seen this episode, what did you make of it, and in particular the exploration of religious themes? And if you haven\u2019t seen it, apparently you can watch the entire episode online:<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/video\/xp93ok_torchwood-s02e08-a-day-in-the-death_shortfilms<\/a>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The episode \u201cA Day in the Death\u201d from the second season of Torchwood has not just vague religious themes or overtones, but explicit reference to the story of Jesus. And so it makes for an interesting starting point for a discussion of religion and science fiction. The story focuses on Owen Harper, who died in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,104],"tags":[2522,2906,5677,8581,10169,12764],"class_list":["post-11801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity-religion","category-torchwood-science-fiction","tag-death","tag-dying","tag-jesus","tag-owen","tag-religion","tag-torchwood-science-fiction"],"yoast_head":"\nTorchwood: A Day in the Death<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The episode "A Day in the Death" from the second season of Torchwood has not just vague religious themes or overtones, but explicit reference to the story\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/12\/torchwood-a-day-in-the-death.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Torchwood: A Day in the Death\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The episode "A Day in the Death" from the second season of Torchwood has not just vague religious themes or overtones, but explicit reference to the story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/12\/torchwood-a-day-in-the-death.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. 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