1.01: City Life

City Life was the first episode of the first series of Torchwood: Lincoln City, The original pilot episode was scrapped in favour of making this the first episode however though not a pilot, City Life carries many of the narrative burdens of one. It introduced two of the series' regular characters (Lewis and Zach) whilst establishing Shane as a main character despite him being a bit of a mystery at this point, it also introduced a big recurring element that being the "Lincoln City Base" used by the Torchwood: Lincoln City team.

It was released on the 30th April 2019 along with Episodes 2 and 3 as they were written in advance and in a unique twist, the season is written like the reader was watching it on television.

## Episode

The episode starts with a shot of an abandoned building with what sounds to be something growling inside, muffled screaming can be heard as well. A car then pulls up and Shane and his friends (Lewis and Zach) come out of it and cautiously head towards the building as they approach the door it falls silent and the three look at each other. Lewis kicks down the door to find nothing which confuses them, they whisper about what could be inside the building. The audience then get a jump scare as the three are jumped by an alien called a Hoix, the three panic due to the close proximity of the savage alien, Lewis and Zach open fire on the creature with their guns but the Hoix just jolts. Lewis says "What the fuck?" in a very surprised way, the hoix, now clearly angered charges at the two before Shane tasers the alien with a pole that's been charged through his lightning abilities. He comically says "I didn't need that to start my day" the title sequence then rolls.

Following the titles, the three can be seen dragging the now captured Hoix into a cell in the basement. The hoix can be seen on the floor clearly unconscious, the three head back upstairs. They come back to hear the words "Rift activated" several times over the speakers. Zach asks Shane what the rift is, Shane explains that the rift is basically a bridge connecting our world (Earth) with others in the universe. The underground base begins to shake which wakes up the hoix which looks for a way out of its cell, Lewis looks on the system and he says that this is the most violent rift activity in recorded history. Shane asks if the original Torchwood dealt with anything like this but Lewis denies this after looking at some records. A bright light then appears and fills the base dazing the team due to how bright it is.

During this, the camera shows Lewis and a flashback occurs, it shows him at a place called LAGAT College, which is a place that helps people with their next steps in life and gain valuable skills for future jobs. He can be seen sitting in the corner of a room whilst his other group members converse around the table thats in the middle of the room, He is quiet and doesnt say anything, the camera goes blurry, some time has then passed as he is now confident and is able to talk to his group mates including Zach. The camera cuts back to Zach in the base and another flashback occurs, this time it is revealed that Zach once used to live in Spain with his family and were happy, they lived there for many years but then as the flashback next shows they moved to London which doesnt please Zach at the time, more time passes and we then find out Zach moved to Lincoln and a few months later had started also learning at LAGAT College. Lewis is clearly visible in the last scene as Zach looks around the room where the group are.

The flashback then stops and Lewis and Zach are surprised to see that the light from the rift has gone, but so has Shane. They check the CCTV but nothing can be determined from it because of the rift. Lewis and Zach debate over where hes gone and head down to the basement. The Hoix has surprisingly also vanished as the door in the back of the cell has been torn off its hinges. The two head up to the city in search. They take a moving platform to street level which comes out in the middle of City Square. Lewis and Zach are then shocked to see many people dead around the, what should be, invisible platform. Zach says to Lewis "Weve been compromised" and the two start looking around.

Elsewhere a man can be seen using a public toilet and can hear scratching on the door as if something wants to come in he laughs at whatever it is and taunts what he believes to be a person saying "Do you not know how doors work?" He continues to taunt whilst washing his hands, he then opens the door and is met by the roar of the escaped Hoix who can then be seen (in a rather graphic scene) biting into the man's throat and chest. The man just stands there blankly, blood dripping from his mouth as the hoix continues to feast on him.

Shane can then be seen back at the abandoned building from earlier out of curiosity, he searches around calmly only to find a dead body with its throat visibly ripped out. He says that this hoix has been starved and is going on a rampage and that someone had brought it through the rift on purpose. During this it cuts between Shane in the building and the Hoix killing and eating random people on the streets of the city.

Shane returns to the city in a taxi which is then attacked by the Hoix, the taxi driver is killed and then dragged out the car by the savage alien. Shane escapes and hides around the other side of the taxi, Lewis and Zach see him following a montage of them searching around and finding just dead bodies with all sorts of gory injuries, the Hoix is distracted by feeding on the taxi driver and then sees Shane and tries to attack him, Shane gets slashed by one of the Hoix's claws the impact causing him to fall to the floor. He seems to be losing blood from the scratch so hes zoning in and out. The Hoix is ready to kill but then gunfire can be heard as Lewis and Zach open fire on the creature, the amount of bullets is too much for the hoix and the alien dies.

Shane is then helped back to the base and after a while his wound has been healed up, although not 100 percent he insists to keep going, Lewis and Zach reluctantly agrees. The computer beeps suggesting someone is trying to communicate with them. The three are confused and press a button to show who it is. A hologram of Kasuti, a friend of Shane's, appears in front of them, she congratulates the team for passing her "test" as she then goes on to claim responsibility for all the events (opening the rift, releasing the Hoix etc...) she states that she wanted to see if Shane had chosen the correct people for protecting the city and possibly even Earth, she admits that her plan was a little extreme and if Shane ever encounters her again she is more than prepared to feel "Torchwood's wrath" as she knows what she did not only put the three guys in danger but also the entire city. The three look at each other astounded as the hologram ends

Following this, night time falls and Lewis and Zach go home. A final flashback then occurs which Lewis and Zach have at the same time, it shows them back at LAGAT College as the tutor of the group announces three new members to the group, two people walk in and the third person is Shane who Lewis and Zach befriend after a few weeks which leads them to the point there at now.

Shane can then be seen back at the base looking at Kasuti's profile, he is unsure whether he should put Kasuti in the cells for what she did, he debates whether or not he should his facial expressions suggest a long and hard mental debate in which he seemingly thinks abut the consequences for both her and even himself and even this branch of Torchwood he has setup. He thinks about it but then he just turns off the computer system and shuts down the base for the night.

## Characters

* Shane
* Lewis
* Zach
* Kasuti