198-566: Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood . The character first appears in the 2005 Doctor Who episode " The Empty Child " and subsequently features in the remaining episodes of the first series (2005) as a companion to the series' protagonist, the Doctor . Subsequent to this, Jack became the central character in
396-590: A soulmate . John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman MBE (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his roles as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who (2005–10; 2020–21) and its spin-off Torchwood (2006–11), and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrowverse (2012–19). Born in Glasgow , Barrowman moved to the US state of Illinois with his family at
594-557: A "Prince Charming ... a virtuous, hardworking assistant DA who keeps getting distracted by women who swoon in his path." Tucker noted Barrowman's character of Peter Fairchild to be "physically an eye-widening cross between John Kennedy Jr. and Hugh Grant". The show lasted for two seasons on CBS , from September 1995 to June 1996. Barrowman then appeared as Peter Williams in Titans (2000). According to writer Joanna Bober, in Titans , Barrowman plays
792-480: A "recreational activity", and considers it "obvious Jack only has eyes and thoughts for Gwen". The novel The House that Jack Built includes a scene where Ianto confides in Gwen that he knows that to Jack he is "just a shag", though discloses that the relationship means more to him. In the same novel, however, he also refers to himself in front of Jack as his " boyfriend ". When Ianto expounds these same insecurities to Jack in
990-456: A "ruthless mogul" who gains "control of the family's private aviation company (a fleet of 'Titans') from his semi-retired father" while increasing the profitability of the company amidst a series of soap opera intrigues. Titans was cancelled after airing eleven episodes. Barrowman was also considered for the role of Will in Will & Grace , but the producers reportedly felt he was "too straight" and
1188-766: A 'Captain's Blog' section which relays Jack's accounts of the events of each episode. The Torchwood Archives by Gary Russell collects much of this online literature for the first two series in hardback form, including the Captain's Blog section of the BBC America website. During Series Four of Doctor Who , the BBC's website also included a section called "Captain Jack's Monster Files" featuring weekly webcast videos narrated by John Barrowman in character as Captain Jack giving "top secret" facts collected by Torchwood about Doctor Who monsters, such as
1386-503: A 2018 Playbill article, Barrowman publicly revealed that during a performance of Sunset Boulevard , he had exposed himself while standing behind a piano. Though hidden from the audience, it was in clear view of the actors on stage. This prompted a letter from the show's composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber , warning him to not "upstage the score with his appendage." Following sexual harassment accusations made against Noel Clarke in April 2021,
1584-657: A British organization dedicated to combating alien threats. He spends over a century waiting to reunite with the Doctor, over which time he becomes the leader of the Torchwood branch in Cardiff . He later reunites with the Tenth Doctor ( David Tennant ) and Thirteenth Doctor ( Jodie Whittaker ) for further stints on Doctor Who . Aspects of the character's backstory —both prior to meeting the Doctor, and during his many decades living on Earth—are gradually revealed over Torchwood (and to
1782-725: A Central City Police officer who arrests Barry and Oliver, rewritten as the Trigger Twins . Barrowman appeared as Ben Carpenter in the low-budget film Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002). His musical abilities are featured in several film roles: as Jack in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely (2004), singing a duet with Kevin Kline on the song " Night and Day "; and as the lead tenor Stormtrooper in The Producers (2005), singing " Springtime for Hitler ". Barrowman co-presented and performed in
1980-549: A Problem like Maria? , Any Dream Will Do and I'd Do Anything . With this experience, he joined the judging panel of Dancing on Ice for the 2020 to 2021 series. In 2006, he was voted Stonewall 's Entertainer of the Year. He hosted the BBC One quiz show Pressure Pad in 2013 and 2014. Barrowman starred in The CW 's Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow as Malcolm Merlyn . Barrowman
2178-499: A Problem like Maria? . In the same year, Barrowman made two television appearances on New Year's Eve: He talked about spirituality and civil partnerships on BBC Television's Heaven & Earth , hosted by Gloria Hunniford , and he appeared as a guest on Graham Norton 's one-off BBC Television programme, The Big Finish , teaming up with Craig Revel Horwood and Louis Walsh to take a lighthearted look at news stories in 2006. On 11 February 2007, Barrowman co-presented coverage of
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#17328518127252376-641: A bad guy. Pegg had previously played Don Chaney in the Eighth Doctor audio play Invaders from Mars . When the Editor announces the Jagrafess's name to the Doctor and Rose, he pronounces it as "The Mighty Jagrafress of the Holy Hadrajassic Maxaraddenfoe." Pegg has stated during interviews that he found this an extremely difficult line to say. Voice artist Nicholas Briggs had recorded voice work for
2574-514: A date, after finding out Gwen is engaged. John Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd opined in an interview at Comic-Con to fan questions that Jack's relationship with Ianto has however brought out Jack's empathy, and helped to ground him. John Barrowman said in an interview that Ianto "brings out the "human" in [Jack]" and "brings out more ... empathy because he’s actually fallen for someone and he really cares about somebody ... [which] makes him warm to other people ... [and] makes him more approachable." In
2772-440: A decades-old conspiracy to manipulate the global economy , as well as political institutions, for unknown purposes. Flashbacks in " Immortal Sins " depict Jack's relationship with Italian thief Angelo Colasanto (Daniele Favilli) in late 1920s New York City, ending in heartbreak after Jack is killed, bled and tortured repeatedly by the local community. In the present day, Angelo's granddaughter Olivia ( Nana Visitor ) explains that
2970-432: A fatal virus; Ianto dies in Jack's arms. To create the signal that will destroy the 4-5-6, Jack is forced to sacrifice Steven. As a result of this, he and Alice sever ties with each other. Six months later, having lost his lover, his grandson and his daughter, he bids farewell to Gwen and is transported aboard an alien ship to leave Earth for parts unknown. In the closing scenes of 2010 Doctor Who special " The End of Time ",
3168-497: A focus on making Jack fun and swashbuckling as opposed to negative and angsty. Davies also expresses that he didn't make the character bisexual "from any principle", but rather because "it would be interesting from a narrative point of view." The bisexuality-related labels " pansexual " and "omnisexual" are also frequently applied to the character. Writer Steven Moffat suggests that questions of sexual orientation do not even enter into Jack's mind; Moffat also comments "It felt right that
3366-514: A force for good or ill?" Actor John Barrowman himself was a key factor in the conception of Captain Jack. Barrowman says that at the time of his initial casting, Davies and co-executive producer, Julie Gardner had explained to him that they "basically wrote the character around [John]". Davies had singled out Barrowman for the part. On meeting him, Barrowman tried out the character using his native Scottish accent, his normal American accent, and an English accent; Davies decided it "made it bigger if it
3564-489: A full "devolution/deconstruction of the traditional hero". In Children of Earth , Jack has to sacrifice his own grandson to save the world. Barrowman was concerned that the storyline could have made the character unpopular. He believes however that Jack was given the tough decision on how to save humanity; the actor says "when I read all of the stuff he had to do, I had to look at it from the point of view of 'I'm Jack Harkness and I'm right'." For Lynnette Porter, Jack's actions in
3762-401: A grade of B−, describing it as "entertaining" and a welcome throwback to the classic series. However, he questioned the developing tradition of the Doctor not being the hero of the episode and noted that there were some dangling threads. Reviewing the episode in 2013, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times was more positive, writing that it "acts brilliantly as a satire of the media." He also praised
3960-515: A graphic novel due to feature Harkness. Jack features in the BBC Books " New Series Adventures " Doctor Who novels The Deviant Strain , The Stealers of Dreams , and Only Human . These novels take place between episodes of the 2005 series of Doctor Who . In The Stealers of Dreams , Jack refers to the Face of Boe as a famous figure in his home era; the producers of the series had not conceptualized
4158-460: A grip of the character on the blank page. Jack's original appearances in Doctor Who were conceived with the intention of forming a character arc in which Jack is transformed from a coward to a hero, and John Barrowman consciously minded this in his portrayal of the character. Following on that arc, the character's debut episode would leave his morality as ambiguous, publicity materials asking, "Is he
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#17328518127254356-764: A guest act for the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium in 2008. Barrowman played the lead in the Robin Hood pantomime at the Birmingham Hippodrome for the 2008–09 season. He presented Andrew Lloyd Webber 's 60th birthday party in London's Hyde Park on 14 September 2008. Exactly one year later, Barrowman succeeded Roger Allam as Zaza/Albin in the West End revival of La Cage aux Folles , at
4554-550: A judge on the Canadian version of How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? in June 2008. In 2008, Barrowman became the presenter for Animals at Work , a children's television show on CBBC that showcases "animals with extraordinary skills that make people's lives easier and safer"; Animals at Work began in 2009 with 26 episodes. In February 2010, Barrowman appeared as a guest host on UK shopping channel QVC In 2011, Barrowman guest hosted
4752-493: A leader, in which he is predominantly more aloof. In Torchwood , he would occasionally inquire or muse about the afterlife and religion, sympathising with a man's desire to die. Returning in Doctor Who Series Three, Jack indicates he now maintains a less suicidal outlook than before. In the second series of Torchwood , Jack became a much more light-hearted character once again, after appearances in Doctor Who where he
4950-557: A lesser extent, Doctor Who ) through the use of flashback scenes and expository dialogue . Jack was the first openly non-heterosexual character in the history of televised Doctor Who . The popularity of the character amongst multiple audiences directly influenced the development of the spin-off series Torchwood . The character became a figure of the British public consciousness, rapidly gaining fame for actor Barrowman. As an ongoing depiction of bisexuality in mainstream British television,
5148-684: A letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence . Barrowman is known for speaking in his American accent while in public but switching back to his original Scottish accent when with his family. This was first publicly revealed when he visited his parents during the making of his 2008 documentary The Making of Me . He also uses it when in Scotland (including during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games opening ceremony) and when speaking to another Scottish person. Barrowman met his husband, Scott Gill, after Gill came to see Barrowman in
5346-407: A loss of potential, stating "You grieve over everything they could have been. Everything you hoped for them." For dramatic purposes within the story, Davies explains that Ianto's death was necessary so that Jack would be damaged enough to sacrifice his own grandson. Gareth David-Lloyd feels that the lack of resolution for the love story is "part of the tragedy". Lynnette Porter feels that Ianto's demise
5544-482: A new greatcoat design. This was partially motivated by Los Angeles' warmer climate; shooting in Wales had necessitated Barrowman be fit in much warmer clothing. The new coat is custom made by Italian designers, and is actually cashmere-blend wool where the previous one had been cotton. Trpcic says that she "just wanted to modernise it, give it a more modern fit, but leave the drape and keep it cape-like". Trpcic felt prepared for
5742-458: A novel featuring Captain Jack, Torchwood: Exodus Code in 2012. In 2018, John and Carole Barrowman teamed up with Legendary Comics and graphic novelist Erika Lewis to create Acursian, featuring a modern-day anti-hero dealing with Celtic mythology. Barrowman worked with Stonewall , a gay rights organisation in the UK, on the "Education for All" campaign against homophobia in schools. In April 2008,
5940-551: A paradox involving his past self. Trace Memory similarly depicts Jack as a freelance Torchwood agent, living and working in the late 1960s. Pack Animals , SkyPoint , and Almost Perfect (October 2008), are made up of more second series adventures, apart from Almost Perfect which is set after Series Two finale "Exit Wounds". Into the Silence , Bay of the Dead , and The House that Jack Built (May 2009), similarly are set between
6138-480: A phenomenon where humans can no longer die; Jack discovers that he has become mortal. Investigating their connection to the so-called "miracle", CIA agent Rex Matheson ( Mekhi Phifer ) renditions Jack and Gwen to America, but joins the team along with CIA colleague Esther Drummond ( Alexa Havins ) after conspirators within the CIA betray them. Jack's investigations into the miracle repeatedly turn up dead-ends, indicating
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6336-480: A positive role model for younger viewers. Barrowman also remarks that "The beauty of Captain Jack, and one of the reasons why I think, as an actor, I've landed on my feet, is that he's popular with one audience in Torchwood and with another in Doctor Who ." In several instances in Torchwood , Jack displays no qualms about killing a person of any species, which within Doctor Who , allows Jack's character to act in ways
6534-685: A primetime BBC game show called The Kids Are All Right . On the show, four adults compete against seven "smart and sassy" children for cash in four rounds "testing their brainpower, knowledge and speed of response". On 16 and 23 February 2008, he presented the National Lottery Draw . On 1 March 2008, Barrowman appeared as a panellist of the Eurovision Song Contest selection show, Eurovision: Your Decision on BBC One with Carrie Grant and Terry Wogan . From 29 April to 1 May, he presented This Morning . Barrowman began featuring as
6732-661: A production of Rope at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1993. They split their time between homes in London , Cardiff , and Palm Springs, California . They entered into a civil partnership on 27 December 2006. A small ceremony was held in Cardiff with friends and family, with the cast of Torchwood and executive producer Russell T Davies as guests. The pair were legally married in California on 2 July 2013, following
6930-535: A public notice warning voters against Conservative Party policy towards the BBC prior to the 2010 general election . In the 2012 presidential election , Barrowman endorsed Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama , who was running for re-election. Barrowman publicly supported Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum , and was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to
7128-513: A real-world perspective, Gary Russell's The Torchwood Encyclopedia (2009) expands on "every fact and figure" for Jack and the Torchwood world. The character is also mentioned Dave Stone 's 2006 Judge Dredd novel Psykogeddon , where a Mega-City News announcer relays a disclaimer from pornographer Jason Kane – a character Stone created for the 1996 Doctor Who novel Death and Diplomacy – stating that any similarity between Kane and "the notorious Cursed Earth brigand 'Captain' Jack Harkness
7326-590: A result of the allegations, a video featuring Barrowman was removed from the Doctor Who: Time Fracture theatre show, Big Finish removed the Torchwood release "Absent Friends" from pre-order and their release schedule, and Titan Comics shelved a graphic novel that was set to feature Captain Jack Harkness . On 23 November 2021, Barrowman appeared on the daytime TV show Lorraine . With regards to
7524-420: A rival to the series protagonist, the Doctor, simultaneously paralleling the Doctor's detached alien nature with Jack's humanity and "heart". John Barrowman describes the character in his initial appearance as "an intergalactic conman" and also a "rogue Time Agent" which he defines as "part of a kind of space CIA " and alludes to the moral ambiguity of having "done something in his past" and not knowing "whether it
7722-415: A room where she sits down in a chair located in the centre of a round table. The reporters are connected to the computer via a special port installed directly into the brain. The Doctor believes there is a malevolent purpose to the station that is holding back human development. He learns from Cathica that a select few are invited to Floor 500, which is believed to be the highest promotion that can be earned on
7920-797: A semester, before performing at the Opryland theme park in Nashville, Tennessee for two summer seasons. He then transferred to the United States International University in January 1988, where he studied performing arts . As part of a student exchange programme, he returned to the UK in the summer of 1989 to study Shakespeare for six months, where he remained. Barrowman's professional acting career began in London's West End in October 1989, playing
8118-419: A series of Torchwood comics , published by Titan Comics between 2010 and 2017. Barrowman's début fantasy novel titled Hollow Earth , co-written with his sister Carole, was published in the United Kingdom on 2 February 2012 by Buster Books. The novel is about twins Matt and Emily ("Em") Calder who share an ability that allows them to make artwork come to life, due to their powerful imaginations. Their ability
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8316-515: A series of young-adult fantasy novels, Hollow Earth . The second book in the series, Bone Quill , was released 2013, with the third, Book of Beasts published in 2014. A second trilogy, The Orion Chronicles , followed with Conjuror published in 2016, Nephilim in 2017, and Inquisitor in 2018. John Scot Barrowman was born in Mount Vernon , Glasgow , on 11 March 1967, the youngest of three children. His older sister, Carole , later became
8514-618: A series two-set adventure where Jack is kidnapped by unknown assailants and pursued by Gwen. Investigations by a woman named Holly (voice of Eliza Dushku ) establish that Jack was kidnapped by the Three Families so they could acquire entire vats of his blood, which she destroys. In addition to the paperback novels, Jack also appears in Torchwood audio books , the first four being Hidden written by Steven Savile and narrated by Naoko Mori, Everyone Says Hello written by Dan Abnett and narrated by Burn Gorman, released February 2008, In
8712-494: A shark. The initial design was also described as a "lump of meat on the ceiling". "The Long Game" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 7 May 2005. Overnight ratings showed that the episode had been watched by 7.51 million viewers live, a 38.9% audience share. It received a final rating of 8.01 million viewers in the UK, the sixth highest-rated broadcast on BBC One for the week. The episode received an Audience Appreciation Index score of 81. "The Long Game"
8910-402: A show, Torchwood is highly intertextual. The consequence of this is that many sides of Jack are shown across various media. One commentator feels that this emphasises Jack's pivotal place in the development and change of modern science fiction heroes. The character's unexpected popularity with a multitude of audiences, would later shape his appearances both as a traditional " action hero " and as
9108-408: A sibling relationship, a marital relationship and also "the strongest friendship". Episode seven of Miracle Day features a scene where Jack threatens Gwen with violence after she states she would have him killed to save her daughter. Writer Jane Espenson explains that the two characters have different needs and that this means they inevitably "clash like steel blades". Simon Brew of Den of Geek praises
9306-547: A special of the Welsh long running children's animated series. He got the role when he was introduced to his friend's partner who was a Mattel employee at a restaurant in Palm Springs, California . Barrowman played recurring guest character Captain Jack Harkness , a omnisexual time traveller from the 51st century in the BBC science fiction drama Doctor Who when the series was revived in 2005. His first appearance as Harkness
9504-533: A ten-year absence from the show, Jack returned in the twelfth series of Doctor Who in the episode " Fugitive of the Judoon " (2020), where he attempts to contact the Doctor ( Jodie Whittaker ). Using a stolen alien craft, he transports the Doctor's companions Graham O'Brien ( Bradley Walsh ), Ryan Sinclair ( Tosin Cole ) and Yaz Khan ( Mandip Gill ), mistaking each of them for the Doctor. Learning of their identity and
9702-803: A university professor. He lived in Glasgow for the first eight years of his life. His mother was a singer who also worked in a record shop , while his father was employed by the Caterpillar heavy machinery company in nearby Uddingston . In 1975, his father's company relocated the family to the United States, where his father managed the Caterpillar tractor factory in Aurora, Illinois . The family settled in Joliet, Illinois , where Barrowman attended Joliet West High School in
9900-456: A video from a 2015 science-fiction convention surfaced wherein Clarke and Doctor Who co-stars Camille Coduri and Annette Badland discuss the 2005 episode "Boom Town" and reference Barrowman exposing himself. Julie Gardner, an executive producer on Doctor Who and Torchwood, confirmed that she received a complaint about Barrowman's on-set behaviour "around 2008", for which he was reprimanded at
10098-539: A working title: "Adam". Another working title for this story was "The Companion Who Couldn't". According to Davies, the concept of "The Long Game" was originally written in the early 1980s and submitted to the Doctor Who production office. Whether it was ever read by the production team of the time is unclear, as Davies received a rejection from the BBC Script Unit, who advised him to write more realistic television about "a man and his mortgage" instead. Davies reworked
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#173285181272510296-569: Is "a gay basher’s worst nightmare: a queer weapon-wielding, ass-kicking superhero gleefully chewing his way through awesome fight scenes". One academic article refers to Jack as "an indestructible Captain Scarlet figure". In a comparative contrast, where the Doctor is a pacifist, Jack is more inclined to see violent means to reach similar ends. The BBC News website refers to Jack's role within Doctor Who as "[continuing] what began with Ian Chesterton and continued later with Harry Sullivan ". Whereas in
10494-421: Is a "tale of retribution and perhaps redemption" for Captain Jack, who experiences "maximum damage" when his lover Ianto is killed. Davies chose to have Ianto die so that Jack would be damaged enough to sacrifice his grandson in order to destroy the same aliens. When reuniting with the Doctor in the 2007 series of Doctor Who , he is told "don't you dare" when pointing a gun, and scolded when contemplating snapping
10692-473: Is a purely unfortunate coincidence". Jack makes a brief appearance in the 2021 Doctor Who novel The Ruby's Curse by Alex Kingston . During the first series of Torchwood , the Torchwood website, located at torchwood.org.uk, recounted some adventures by Captain Jack through an alternate reality game made up of electronic literature in the form of fictional intercepted blogs, newspaper cutouts and confidential letters and IM conversations between members of
10890-550: Is also featured on many musical theatre recordings, including cover tunes found on his 2007 album Another Side and 2008's Music Music Music . Both albums accrued places on the UK Albums Chart , as did his self-titled John Barrowman (2010), which reached No. 11, his highest chart placing to date. He has published two memoirs and autobiographies, Anything Goes (2008) and I Am What I Am (2009), with his older sister Carole as co-author. The siblings also teamed up to write
11088-506: Is also perhaps his redeeming act in the serial. Russell T Davies referred to a scene in "Last of the Time Lords" as promoting a theory that Jack may one day become recurring character "the Face of Boe" – a large, mysterious disembodied head in a glass case, the oldest creature in the known universe – as a consequence of Jack's immortality and slow aging (surpassed by Ashildr / Me ). The Face of Boe first appeared in
11286-486: Is also used once, in-universe, in the novel The House that Jack Built , when Ianto comments to a woman's remark about Jack, "He prefers the term 'omnisexual'." While in his first several Doctor Who appearances, Jack did not have a set costume, Torchwood established a continual look for Jack which recalled that of his first Doctor Who appearance. The design has been described as "an iconic piece of sci-fi culture". A writer for Wired attributes much of Jack's appeal to
11484-451: Is blown apart in an explosion, but painfully reconstitutes from an incomplete pile of body parts; Gwen and Ianto escape and later rescue Jack from a concrete grave. Jack's daughter Alice ( Lucy Cohu ) and grandson Steven (Bear McCausland) are taken into custody by the assassins. The 4-5-6 demand ten percent of the world's children. Although he handed over twelve children in 1965, Jack refuses to give up any this time around. The 4-5-6 release
11682-424: Is described as both "lethally charming ... good looking and utterly captivating", as well as "flirtatious, cunning, clever and a bit of an action man". Within Doctor Who , Jack's personality is relatively light-hearted, although this changes in Torchwood 's first series, where he becomes a darker character. In Torchwood' s first series, Jack has been shaped by his ongoing search for the Doctor and also by his role as
11880-462: Is good or bad because his memory has been erased". Writer Stephen James Walker notes similarities have been found between Jack and Angel ( David Boreanaz ), the heroic vampire from America's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel ; Alan Stanley Blair of SyFy Portal pointed out that "Back alley fights, knowledge of the paranormal and an unwanted task of defending the helpless are only a few of
12078-444: Is intended as a watershed moment where Jack loses his effectiveness as a hero. At least for a time, a grieving Jack loses his focus and gives up; within a few months, Jack flees Earth and his role as the expected hero. Some fans were displeased by Ianto's death scene and the end of the relationship, and some even accused one the writers of "deliberately egging on the shippers '". Subsequent to Ianto's death, in "The End of Time" (2010),
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#173285181272512276-472: Is introduced wearing a greatcoat in World War II-set episodes, but changes to modern day jeans in contemporary episode "Boom Town" and black leather in futuristic episodes. Davies admits that this was a "bit of a lame idea" and decided that Jack "never looked better than when he was in his World War II outfit". From the pilot of Torchwood onwards, Harkness once again wears period military clothes from
12474-520: Is no longer welcome in the TARDIS . The Doctor leaves with Rose, just as Adam's mother arrives at home; she accidentally activates his port. In the book The Shooting Scripts , Russell T Davies claims that he had originally set out to write this episode from Adam's perspective, watching the adventure unfolding from his point of view (exactly as Rose did in "Rose") and seeing both the Doctor and Rose as enigmatic, frightening characters. He even gave this outline
12672-472: Is reportedly a close friend of Barrowman. Barrowman has acknowledged that, without the support he received in high school, he would most likely "not now be appearing in royal command performances in the West End in front of the Royal family or having Stephen Sondheim ask [him] to play opposite Carol Burnett ". Barrowman spent his senior year shovelling coal for an Illinois power company. His father had arranged
12870-552: Is sought after by antagonists who wish to use it to breach Hollow Earth—a realm in which all demons and monsters are trapped. Two sequels from the same team concerning Hollow Earth followed – The Bone Quill (2013) and The Book of Beasts (2014). This was followed by a second trilogy (the Orion Chronicles ) continuing the adventures of Matt and Em, in Conjuror (2016), Nephilim (2017) and Inquisitor (2018). They also published
13068-444: Is the mark of a grey hero. Davies stated in an interview with SFX that he "loved" the uproarious reaction to Jack's actions, defending the character in saying "He saved every single child in the world! If you would fail to do that then you’re the monster, frankly. It’s this extraordinary treatment that only science fiction heroes get." When Jack is departing Earth, the music playing is titled "Redemption", signifying that his departure
13266-413: Is why he does not act on his feelings, because though Gwen would let him flirt with other people, he could "never afford to do anything more". Gareth David-Lloyd, who played Ianto, feels that for Jack, "there’s two different sorts of love going on there", and that Jack feels for Gwen and Ianto in different ways, although both have helped him become less emotionally isolated. Lynnette Porter feels that part of
13464-532: The BAFTA Film Awards , along with Ruby Wax for E!: Entertainment Television . On 11 and 18 February 2007, Barrowman guest-presented two editions of Elaine Paige on Sunday , a pre-recorded BBC Radio 2 weekly musical theatre and film music showcase. In 2007, Barrowman was a judge on the BBC One TV series Any Dream Will Do , hosted by Graham Norton . The show searched for a new, unknown actor to play
13662-714: The Channel 4 programme Small Animal Hospital and in October 2016, he was a guest team captain for an episode of Celebrity Juice and he guest presented an episode of The One Show . Barrowman's television career began with several appearances in short-lived prime-time soap operas. Barrowman first starred as Peter Fairchild in Central Park West (1995) a show American film critic Ken Tucker calls "a tale of ritzy, ditsy New York City careerists—some struggling to make it, others plotting to retain their status and power." Television critic David Hiltbrand called Barrowman's character
13860-556: The James Bond of the future would bed anyone." Within Torchwood , the character refers to sexual orientation classifications as "quaint". In an interview with the Chicago Tribune , John Barrowman explained that "[He]'s bisexual, but in the realm of the show, we call him omnisexual, because on the show, [the characters] also have sex with aliens who take human form, and sex with male-male, women-women, all sorts of combinations." The term
14058-777: The Minerva Theatre, Chichester in 1993, and he starred as Lieutenant Jack Ross opposite Rob Lowe in the 2005 production of A Few Good Men . Barrowman starred in pantomime productions of Cinderella at the New Wimbledon Theatre (Christmas, 2005–06) and in Jack and the Beanstalk at Cardiff's New Theatre (Christmas, 2006–07). He played the title role in Aladdin at the Birmingham Hippodrome over Christmas 2007–8 and as
14256-638: The Royal Albert Hall in 1996, and he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1998 for originating the role of Cal Chandler in The Fix , a performance he repeated in Cameron Mackintosh 's 1998 gala concert Hey, Mr Producer! . Barrowman played Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard in the West End and, briefly, on Broadway. His only other Broadway credit is in the role of Barry in
14454-595: The Slitheen . A Christmas special 2008 Monster File features Barrowman in new footage as Jack, as does the Cybermen edition added following the airing of " The Next Doctor " on Christmas Day. For Dr Fiona Hobden, the Monster Files' mock-documentary format give an "additional twist" to the interplay between history and fiction. Because Captain Jack narrates, "the story unfolds in the tradition of contemporary historical documentary,
14652-658: The Stephen Sondheim revue Putting It Together (1999–2000) at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre opposite Carol Burnett and George Hearn . In a review of Putting It Together , theatre critic Tom Samiljan noted Barrowman's "fine baritone voice and suave looks". In 2002, Barrowman appeared as Bobby in Sondheim's Company in the Kennedy Center 's Stephen Sondheim Celebration. On 23 March 2002 Barrowman took part in
14850-470: The Supreme Court 's decision to deny an appeal against the reversal of California Proposition 8 . In 2011, Barrowman released his own skin care line, titled HIM. In mid-March 2017, Barrowman and Gill held a "big bad garage sale" in their Palm Springs home, in which they sold Doctor Who and Torchwood memorabilia. Neighbours and fans showed up for the occasion, with Barrowman documenting most of
15048-885: The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1993; as Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard at the Adelphi Theatre from 1994 to 1995; and as Beast in Beauty and the Beast at the Dominion Theatre in 1999. Barrowman was part of the musical Godspell in 1994, and was a soloist in two songs, "We Beseech Thee" and "On The Willows". He was lead vocalist on a rendition of Strike Up the Band in Who Could Ask for Anything More? A Celebration of Ira Gershwin at
15246-511: The docudrama "; in the Monster File for " The Fires of Pompeii ", Harkness' commentary moves the 'reality' of the episode away from the explosion of Vesuvius and the human experience, and to the story itself. From Series Five onwards, the Monster Files are instead presented by River Song ( Alex Kingston ). Jack also appears in the web-based motion comic series Torchwood: Web of Lies (2011), which ties into Miracle Day . The story depicts
15444-532: The " Face of Boe ", suggesting that he may one day become the non-humanoid recurring character of the same name, voiced by Struan Rodger . In Torchwood' s second series (2008), Jack returns with a lighter attitude, and finds his team have continued working in his absence. They are also more insistent to learn of his past, especially after meeting his former partner, the unscrupulous Captain John Hart ( James Marsters ). The episode " Adam " explores Jack's childhood in
15642-573: The "physical death aspect" of Raglan's criteria for a hero. However, Jack instead has several symbolic deaths. For instance, in the last scene of Children of Earth . Porter observes that camera angles emphasise Jack's profile as solitary man atop a hill in Cardiff, departing. This scene of "going away for good" against the backdrop of the city he has long protected, hints at the death of the Captain Jack persona; in Porter's words, "the immortal captain "dies" at
15840-650: The 'Concert for Peace' along with 200 other performers in a gala show at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to express their opposition to the US-led war against Iraq. Barrowman sang 'Being Alive' from 'Company'. Other performers that night were David Tennant , Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench. Barrowman returned to the role of Billy Crocker in Trevor Nunn 's 2003 West End revival of Anything Goes , and appeared in West End non-musical dramas, such as his role as Wyndham Brandon in Rope at
16038-667: The 2005 episode " The End of the World ", watching the final destruction of the long-abandoned Earth by the expansion of the Sun in the Earth year 5,000,000,000; Boe appears in two other episodes, " New Earth " (2006) and " Gridlock " (2007), and is mentioned in other episodes, such as his being "the oldest living creature in the Isop Galaxy" as of the Earth year 200,100, per " Bad Wolf " (2005). Barrowman described himself and David Tennant as being "so excited" to
16236-413: The 2005 revival of the sci-fi series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood . Barrowman has also had a number of guest roles in television programmes both in the US and the UK. He appeared as a contestant on the first series of celebrity ice skating show Dancing on Ice while his theatrical background allowed him to become a judge on Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical talent shows How Do You Solve
16434-448: The 2007 series. Barrowman states that when fans ask him if Jack is really the Face of Boe, he tells them he believes he is and states that he and Davies hold it to be true "in [their] little world"; the link is "unconfirmed" within the text of the show. As to how Jack becomes the Face, Barrowman feels the answer doesn't matter as it is intentionally mysterious. Barrowman likes the characters being connected because it means in spite of how
16632-627: The 2021 New Year's Day special " Revolution of the Daleks ". In 2014, he performed in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow , Scotland . Barrowman's memoir and autobiography, Anything Goes , was published in 2008 by Michael O'Mara Books . His sister, English professor and journalist Carole Barrowman , helped write the book using her brother's dictations. In 2009, Barrowman published I Am What I Am , his second memoir detailing his recent television work and musings on fame. Barrowman's first published work of original fiction
16830-496: The BBC One series The Sound of Musicals (2006). Barrowman took part in the reality television series Dancing on Ice on ITV1 in January and February 2006. Resembling a real ice skating competition, ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean trained celebrities to compete on the show. His skating partner was World Junior Gold Medalist and three-time Russian champion Olga Sharutenko . On 4 February, despite being one of
17028-483: The Boeshane Peninsula, revealing through flashback sequences how his father Franklin (Demetri Goritsas) died and young Jack ( Jack Montgomery ) lost his younger brother Gray (Ethan Brooke) during an alien invasion . Flashbacks in the series' penultimate episode " Fragments " depict Jack's capture by Torchwood in the late 19th century. Initially their prisoner, Jack is coerced into becoming a freelance agent for
17226-435: The Cardiff spacetime rift forever with Jack's device. In 2015, BBC Worldwide granted a licence for Big Finish Productions to produce Torchwood audio plays. Barrowman was the first Torchwood cast member to reprise his role and has appeared in numerous releases, including semi-regular appearances in the monthly range , an ongoing series set after the events of Miracle Day and various special releases . Captain Jack
17424-697: The Christmas special of Never Mind the Buzzcocks ( Series 25, Episode 12 ). In 2012, Barrowman guest presented three episodes of This Morning with Kate Thornton . In July 2012, Barrowman co-hosted the G4's 2012 Live Comic Con in San Diego with Candace Bailey . In 2013, Barrowman began hosting the BBC One game show Pressure Pad and in 2014, he hosted Channel 4 show Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts , which began airing on 17 February 2014. In 2014, Barrowman hosted
17622-456: The Dead". Encountering Ianto's spirit at a haunted location in Wales, Jack and Ianto are permitted a final goodbye. Without Ianto in his life, Jack wishes to be swept up into the Cardiff spacetime rift as it closes in an attempt at suicide. Ianto tricks Jack into leaving the House of the Dead, however, despite the possibility of resurrection. As they are forced to part forever by the closing of the rift,
17820-402: The Doctor and Rose rescue him moments before it explodes. He subsequently travels with the Doctor and Rose in the Doctor's time-travelling spacecraft, the TARDIS . During his time with the Doctor, Jack matures into a hero, and in his final 2005 appearance, he sacrifices himself fighting the evil alien Daleks . Rose brings him back to life while suffused with the power of the time vortex, but when
18018-649: The Doctor and Rose to take him home. The concept of "The Long Game" was originally submitted by Davies to the Doctor Who script office in the 1980s. Davies had also been interested in doing a storyline about a failed companion. In addition, critics have pointed out that the story is a satire on the media. Production for the episode took place in Newport in November and December 2004 and in Coryton, Cardiff in December. "The Long Game"
18216-463: The Doctor initially treats Jack, "Boe becomes his confidante and the one the Doctor returns to for advice and information" which he feels is a "wonderful twist of events". However, Davies chooses not to confirm (within the story's narrative) whether or not Jack really is the Face of Boe, stating "the moment it became very true or very false, the joke dies". He has refused the publication of spin-off novels and comic books that have tried to definitively link
18414-479: The Doctor sets up Jack with a new romantic interest, Alonso Frame (Tovey). Fans of Ianto, who felt cheated by the character's death, disliked this development. GayNZ.com compared the situation to Buffy fans' reaction to Willow's relationship with Kennedy ( Iyari Limon ) in Buffy ' s seventh season , following Tara's death in the show's sixth . Ianto makes a post-death appearance in 2011 audio drama "The House of
18612-415: The Doctor suggests that Jack's orientation is more common in the 51st century, when humankind will deal with multiple alien species and becomes more sexually flexible. Within Doctor Who' s narrative, Jack's sexual orientation is not specifically labelled as that could "make it an issue". On creating Jack, Davies comments "I thought: 'It's time you introduce bisexuals properly into mainstream television,'" with
18810-438: The Doctor's companions, they repel a new Dalek invasion of Earth. Jack then chooses to stay on Earth and reconnect with Gwen Cooper. In May 2021, following reports of the actor's alleged misconduct , a video featuring Barrowman as Harkness was removed from the stage show Doctor Who: Time Fracture , Big Finish removed the Torchwood release "Absent Friends" from pre-order and their release schedule, and Titan Comics shelved
19008-412: The Doctor's recent regeneration into a woman, he returns them to Earth, passing them a warning to give to the Doctor about the "lone Cyberman ", before he teleports away after the ship's onboard nanogenes attack him. He returned in the 2021 New Year's episode " Revolution of the Daleks ", in which he breaks the Doctor out of a Judoon prison, recovering his vortex manipulator in the process. Later, alongside
19206-412: The Doctor. Jack recruits policewoman Gwen Cooper ( Eve Myles ) to the team of experts after she discovers them; there are hints of romantic feelings between the two, but Gwen has a boyfriend and Jack enters a sexual relationship with the team's general factotum Ianto Jones ( Gareth David-Lloyd ). Despite having worked with him for some time, his present-day colleagues know very little about him; over
19404-404: The Editor and Jagrafess, but Pegg's performance was almost enough to make up for it. Overall he felt that the story "presents a few too many simple ideas, with the cumulative effect that this is a story that feels slight at best, underdeveloped at worst. The episode is hardly a failure, but it could have been so much more." In Who Is the Doctor , a guide to the revived series, Graeme Burk described
19602-468: The Face of Boe remained "conjecture", and that the possibility remained that Jack would not survive Miracle Day , adding "You know how I love killing people off." In a Doctor Who Magazine interview, Barrowman described Jack's love for Ianto as "lustful", and explained "I don't think he'd settle down with Ianto. He might do, but he'd let Ianto know that he [Jack] has to play around on the side". The Torchwood Series Two premiere sees Jack ask Ianto out on
19800-484: The Jagrafess controls the lives of the people on the planet below by manipulating the news. Meanwhile, Adam discovers that he can gain access to information about Earth's future. He has an information port installed in his brain and uses Rose's phone to call his answering machine at home and transfer data to it. The port also allows the Jagrafess into Adam's mind. The Jagrafess learns about the Doctor and makes plans to kill him. The Doctor, aware of Cathica's presence outside
19998-546: The Jagrafess, but his contribution was not used because it sounded too similar to the Nestene Consciousness (which Briggs had voiced in " Rose "). "The Long Game" was produced singularly in the series' fourth production block. Filming in the studio took place at the Unit Q2 warehouse in Newport from 30 November to 3 December, on 7 December, and from 10 to 15 December 2004. The spike room set (used for Floors 139 and 500),
20196-534: The London Blitz . Although posing as an American volunteering in the Royal Air Force , Jack is actually a former "Time Agent" from the 51st century who left the agency after inexplicably losing two years of his memory. Now working as a con man, Jack is responsible for unwittingly releasing a plague in London in 1941. After the Doctor cures the plague, Jack redeems himself by taking an unexploded bomb into his ship ;
20394-565: The Master's neck. Witnessing the murder of his colleague Owen in Torchwood , Jack shoots his killer in the forehead, killing him in an act of swift revenge. Whilst the Doctor scolds Jack for joining the Torchwood Institute (an organisation he perceives as xenophobic and aggressive), Jack maintains that he reformed the Institute in the Doctor's image; Jack himself had initially been critical of
20592-555: The Opera , Sunset Boulevard , and Matador . After appearing in Sam Mendes ' production of The Fix , he was nominated for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical and, in the early 2000s, returned to the role of Billy Crocker in the revival of Anything Goes . His most recent West End credit was in the 2009 production of La Cage aux Folles . Alongside his theatrical career, Barrowman has appeared in films such as
20790-535: The Playhouse Theatre. Barrowman was one of the original hosts of Live & Kicking , a children's Saturday morning variety show on the BBC . During this time, he became known for his catchphrase, "it's a dirty rat!", which he used during a phone-in game set in a haunted house. From 1993 to 1994, Barrowman reported on technology news as the host of the Electric Circus segment of the show. He appeared on
20988-576: The Quickstep. In September 2012 Barrowman was a guest host on Attack of the Show! . On 12 November 2018, Barrowman was confirmed to be participating in that year's series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! . He eventually finished third behind Emily Atack and Harry Redknapp . Also in 2018, Barrowman provided the voice of the villainous Hollywood star Flex Dexter in Fireman Sam: Set for Action!
21186-608: The Scientology". In the show, Jack "tracks down—and occasionally beds—ETs with the help of his quartet of bedazzled groupies—slash—Experts in Their Fields: One's a doctor, one's a cop, one's a scientist, and one... makes coffee and late nights piping hot. It's like the Justice League of Extended-Pinkie Nerds." Barrowman continued to guest star in Doctor Who in 2007, appearing in " Utopia ", " The Sound of Drums ", and " Last of
21384-460: The Selkie", expands on Captain Jack's characterisation. Barrowman comments that "We’d already agreed to tell a story that showed a side of Jack and a part of his history that hadn’t been explored too much in other media. I wanted to give fans something original about Jack." Torchwood Magazine also ran with the ten-part Rift War! storyline from April to December 2008. The first Torchwood comic "Jetsam"
21582-568: The Shadows by Joseph Lidster and narrated by Eve Myles, released September 2008, and The Sin Eaters written by Brian Minchin and narrated by Gareth David-Lloyd, released September 2008. Joseph Lidster also wrote a BBC Radio 4 Torchwood drama, " Lost Souls " which aired in Summer 2008 as an Afternoon Play featuring the voices of John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd and Freema Agyeman. Set after
21780-489: The Time Lords ". He also participated in a Doctor Who special on the BBC's The Weakest Link . In 2008, Barrowman appeared in the two-part 2008 series finale, " The Stolen Earth "/" Journey's End " and reprised the role of Captain Jack Harkness in the "Doctor Who: Tonight's the Night" special. In 2010, Barrowman returned to Doctor Who with a cameo in " The End of Time " along with other previous stars. Series 3 of Torchwood
21978-463: The Torchwood Three crew. Written by James Goss , the first series' website sheds some light on Jack's backstory in the years he worked for Torchwood . For the second series in 2008, a second interactive Torchwood online game was devised, scripted by series writer Phil Ford , and as with the 2006 website contained some information on Jack's unseen adventures. The BBC America Torchwood also has
22176-488: The United States on the BBC America network. In November 2013 he appeared in the one-off 50th anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot . Since 2015 he has continued to appear in an ongoing series of Torchwood audio plays for Big Finish Productions . In January 2020, Barrowman made a surprise appearance in " Fugitive of the Judoon ", the fifth episode of Doctor Who 's twelfth series . He appeared again in
22374-618: The above, Barrowman stated: Satellite 5 " The Long Game " is the seventh episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 7 May 2005 on BBC One . It was written by executive producer Russell T Davies and directed by Brian Grant . In the episode, the alien time traveller the Ninth Doctor ( Christopher Eccleston ) and his companion Rose Tyler ( Billie Piper ), having been joined by near-future genius Adam Mitchell ( Bruno Langley ), land on Satellite 5 in
22572-422: The adult-themed Torchwood , which aired from 2006 to 2011. Barrowman reprised the role for appearances in Doctor Who in its third , fourth , and twelfth series , as well as specials " The End of Time ", and " Revolution of the Daleks ". In contrast to The Doctor, Jack is more of a conventional action hero , as well as outwardly flirtatious and capable of acts which The Doctor would view as less than noble. In
22770-462: The age of eight. Encouraged by his high school teachers there, he studied performing arts at the United States International University in San Diego before landing the role of Billy Crocker in Cole Porter 's Anything Goes in London's West End . Since his debut, he has played a number of roles in various musicals both in the West End and on Broadway , including Miss Saigon , The Phantom of
22968-409: The benefit of hindsight, I understand that upset may have been caused by my exuberant behaviour and I have apologised for this previously. Since my apology in November 2008, my understanding and behaviour have also changed. At no point was I ever made aware of any sexual harassment, bullying, or sexually predatory behaviour on set and I was certainly not aware of the allegations about Noel Clarke. As
23166-459: The book's fictional narrator. The book is composed of fictitious archive notes, personnel forms, photographs, newspaper clippings and staff memos, and offers revelations about the character which would later be confirmed by the television series. For example, Archives first mention Jack's lover Lucia Moretti, who is mentioned in Children of Earth . In a similar vein to The Torchwood Archives but from
23364-404: The casts of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures in the two-part crossover finale of the 2008 Doctor Who series, " The Stolen Earth " and " Journey's End ". Jack is summoned along with other former companions of the Doctor to assist him in defeating the mad scientist Davros ( Julian Bleach ) and his creation, the Daleks. Jack parts company from the Doctor once again, having helped save
23562-424: The character became a role model for young gay and bisexual people in the UK. Jack is featured in various Doctor Who and Torchwood books and has action figures created in his likeness. Jack Harkness first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who two-part story, " The Empty Child " and " The Doctor Dances ", when Rose Tyler ( Billie Piper ), a companion of the Ninth Doctor ( Christopher Eccleston ), meets him during
23760-508: The children's television game show, The Movie Game from 1994 to 1996, taking over from Jonathon Morris . Barrowman was one of the regular presenters on Channel 5 's afternoon show 5's Company from 1997 to 1999. Barrowman read bedtime stories on the CBeebies channel between 1 and 5 May 2006. That summer, Barrowman was on a Judges panel with Andrew Lloyd Webber , David Ian , and Zoë Tyler on BBC One's music talent show How Do You Solve
23958-505: The classic series the female "companions" were sometimes exploited and sexualised for the entertainment of predominantly male audiences, the producers could reverse this dynamic with Jack, citing an equal need amongst modern audiences to "look at good looking men". John Barrowman linked the larger number of women watching the show as a key factor in this. Jack is bisexual , and is the first televised Doctor Who character to be openly anything other than heterosexual. In Jack's first appearance,
24156-401: The coat: "I think it has lots to do with that coat he always wears. Coats are cool, just like fezzes and bow ties and Stetsons. The only difference is that Captain Jack doesn't ever tell you his coat is cool. It just is ." In fact, in her essay "Fashioning Masculinity and Desire", Sarah Gilligan attributes Torchwood ' s popularity—as well as that of the character—to the costume. She credits
24354-458: The concurrently airing second series of Torchwood . The Twilight Streets suggests Jack was a freelance Torchwood agent in the 1940s, who disagreed with their methods but was persuaded by the love of an ex-boyfriend, Greg. The novel also explained that during the events of the Doctor Who episode " Boom Town " (which was set in Cardiff), Jack placed a lockdown on Torchwood activity so as not to create
24552-410: The condition is arthritis . No trace of this motivation remains in the finished programme, although Grant discusses it as if it were still present. Langley and Grant also reveal that the "frozen vomit" that Adam spits out in one scene was in fact a "kiwi and orange ice cube". Simon Pegg had grown up with Doctor Who and considered it a "great honour" to guest star. He was pleased at being cast as
24750-450: The control room set, and the suburban house set were recorded at the former BT building in Coryton, Cardiff on 6, 8, and 9 December. The house set was later rebuilt for recording in the Newport warehouse on 15 December. The Jagrafress was entirely made of computer-generated imagery animated by The Mill . It was given a shark -like design, with the intention that it would "snap out" like
24948-431: The correlations between the two characters." Jack has also been compared to the title character of America's Xena: Warrior Princess , which featured lesbian subtext between Xena ( Lucy Lawless ) and her close friend Gabrielle ( Renee O'Connor ). Polina Skibinskaya, writing for AfterElton.com , an American gay men's website, notes both are "complex characters" haunted by their past misdeeds. Furthermore, like Xena, Jack
25146-458: The couple declare their love for one another for the first and last time. Barrowman states in a behind-the-scenes featurette that Gwen brings a "little bit of soul" back to Jack, following her recruitment. In a 2007 interview, Eve Myles, who plays Gwen, describes the relationship between Jack and Gwen as a "palpable love" and opines that "with Jack and Gwen, it’s the real thing and they’re going to make you wait for that." The first two series suggest
25344-543: The course of the series they discover that he cannot die. Jack was once a prisoner of war , and was an interrogator who used torture. In the Torchwood Series 1 finale " End of Days ", Jack returns to the TARDIS. This immediately leads into the 2007 Doctor Who episode " Utopia ", where he joins the Tenth Doctor ( David Tennant ) and his companion Martha Jones ( Freema Agyeman ). Jack explains he returned from Satellite 5 to
25542-403: The critically injured Doctor gives each companion a farewell before his impending regeneration . Finding Jack in an exotic alien bar, he leaves him a note containing the name of Titanic crew member Alonso Frame ( Russell Tovey ), sitting on Jack's left side; the two proceed to flirt. The fourth series, Miracle Day (2011), an American co-production, sees Jack return to Earth to investigate
25740-484: The day on his social media accounts. In February 2008, talking about Barrowman's on-set behaviour, Doctor Who co-star Freema Agyeman said in an interview to The London Paper newspaper, "John will walk about with his chap [penis] hanging out, having conversations with people." On 30 November 2008, Barrowman exposed himself while on-air during an episode of Radio 1's Switch programme. The BBC and Barrowman subsequently apologised for any offence caused. In
25938-534: The descendants of three local businessmen who wished to purchase Jack's powers—"the Three Families"—are responsible for the miracle, using Jack's blood in conjunction with what they call "the Blessing". In " The Gathering ", the team ultimately track down the Families and the Blessing, which is revealed to be an antipodal geological formation connected to the Earth's morphic field running from Shanghai and Buenos Aires ;
26136-606: The dreamworld the Music Meister sets up. Despite announcing in May 2017 that he is leaving the Arrowverse television franchise, Barrowman returned as Malcolm Merlyn in the second part of the Elseworlds crossover, hallucinated by Barry Allen, situated in a universe rewritten by the Book of Destiny where Allen is perceived to be Oliver Queen. When reality is rewritten again, Merlyn is situated as
26334-515: The dynamic between Gwen and Jack in series four, describing them as "a terrific double act" and states that " Torchwood is at, or near, its best when the two of them are working in tandem". "He always loses them. He outlives them. They die. He watches them get old. That bothered him in Series One [of Torchwood ], but now he's come to terms with that, I think ... so now he just sleeps around !" —John Barrowman on why his character could never find
26532-506: The episode as "entertaining, if unspectacular." He called Pegg the best guest star so far, and stated that Langley did a "superb job" at conveying Adam, but he felt that the episode did not have much else beside the failed companion storyline. Burk criticised the satire for not being subtle enough and borrowing from other stories such as Nineteen Eighty-Four . He also remarked that it was a shame Adam's motives were cut, as well as development between Rose and Adam. Burk's coauthor Stacey Smith?
26730-750: The events of the 2008 series, Jack and his team make their first international adventure to CERN in Geneva, as part of Radio 4's special celebration of the Large Hadron Collider being switched on. The special radio episode's plot focuses on the Large Hadron Collider's activation and the doomsday scenario some predicted it might incite, as well as the team's mourning of Toshiko and Owen's recent deaths. Between 1 and 3 July, Radio 4 aired three further audio dramas in The Afternoon Play slot, bridging
26928-536: The ex-boyfriend at the center of the Angie Bolen ( Drea de Matteo ) mystery." On 23 February 2010 Barrowman announced on The One Show that his contract had been extended to a total of six episodes. Barrowman starred in the ABC drama series pilot Gilded Lillys created and produced by Shonda Rhimes . Since 2012, Barrowman has portrayed Malcolm Merlyn , one of the main antagonists in The CW series Arrow . Barrowman
27126-426: The exciting life she once led beside him. Whilst Miracle Day lead writer Russell T Davies states in response to a question posed by AfterElton that he "hates" the idea of romantic tension between Gwen and Jack, executive producer Julie Gardner answers by stating "They love each other. Of course they do." Myles believes that in series four, Gwen and Jack have a "love-hate-love relationship" resembling in different ways
27324-439: The extent where they "jumped up screaming" when they read Jack's line regarding the Face of Boe, remarking "It was probably the most excitable moment we had during the shooting of that series." The Face of Boe had originally been a throwaway line in a script for "The End of the World"; because creating the character seemed expensive, the Face of Boe was nearly discarded and replaced. However, special effects designer Neil Gorton loved
27522-507: The favourites to win, Barrowman and Sharutenko faced Stefan Booth and his partner Kristina Lenko in the skate off and were eliminated by the judges' by a vote of 3 to 2. He was one of five celebrity guests on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special (2010), and achieved both the top score and also first place when the audience vote had been counted. His professional partner was Kristina Rihanoff and they danced
27720-404: The gap between Series 2 and 3. " Golden Age " introduced Jack's ex-lover Duchess Eleanor (Jasmine Hyde), the leader of Torchwood India, which Jack closed down in 1924. " The Dead Line " features another ex-girlfriend of Jack's, Stella Courtney ( Doña Croll ). 2011 audio drama series The Lost Files was released to tie in with Miracle Day . "The Devil and Miss Carew" and "Submission" are set in
27918-436: The greatcoat with helping to fashion the character's masculinity, and argues that Jack's costume creates its own discourse "through which costume drama and Post Heritage cinema 's escapism flows". During Jack's initial appearances in Doctor Who , Russell T Davies held a "half-hearted" theory that Jack would dress specific to the time period he was in, to contrast the Doctor who dresses the same wherever and whenever he goes. He
28116-509: The group placed posters on 600 billboards that read, "Some people are gay. Get over it!" Barrowman contributed his support to the project asking people to join him: "Help exterminate homophobia. Be bold. Be brave. Be a buddy, not a bully." That same month, Barrowman spoke at the Oxford Union about his career, the entertainment industry, and gay rights issues. The event was filmed for the BBC programme The Making of Me , in an episode exploring
28314-408: The guest cast and characters and Adam's departure. In 2011, Den of Geek's Mark Harrison wrote that "In retrospect, 'The Long Game' is an underrated and perfectly enjoyable mid-series episode," praising Adam's departure. Reviewing "The Long Game" for The A.V. Club in 2013, Alasdair Wilkins gave it a grade of "B−". He found it "inessential" and commented that it was not very clear on the motives of
28512-408: The heart of a "quintessentially middle-class conservative town". His high school music and English teachers changed the future course of his life, with his music tutor instilling in him a love for performing, and his English teacher encouraging him to rise to his true artistic potential. His English teacher moved him into a programme for gifted children and coached him for the school's speech team. With
28710-415: The idea and pushed to make sure the character lived. Davies loved Gorton's design and to his surprise, the character was written into future episodes and became pivotal in the third series. In a spin-off novel, The Stealer of Dreams (2005), Captain Jack makes a reference to the Face of Boe as a famous figure. Davies conceived the idea that the two characters might be connected midway through the production of
28908-410: The job (and similar jobs for his brother and sister) to give him the experience of manual labour . His father told him, "If you want to do manual labour for the rest of your life, you'll know that when you do it; it's a choice. But if you don't like it, you'll understand the importance of educating yourself and–if you decide what you want to do–being good at your craft or your skill." Barrowman worked for
29106-515: The job of redesigning the coat because of her prior work on Firefly , tailoring for Nathan Fillion 's Captain Malcolm Reynolds : "I'm kind of used to iconic captain's coats and the importance of staying loyal to what the fans expect and to what we need". Journalist Maureen Ryan commented that the new coat is "greatly improved" and the redesign "gives the coat the kind of movement and swagger Jack brings with him on every adventure". The character
29304-403: The lead character cannot. Barrowman remarks, "He'll do things the Doctor won't do ... [such as] fight. Jack will kill. And the Doctor, in a way, knows that, so he lets Jack do it. I'd say Jack's the companion-hero." A flashback in the third series of Torchwood shows Captain Jack sacrificing twelve children to aliens in order to save millions of lives. Davies feels that the third series of Torchwood
29502-411: The military uniform reinforces the idea that the character "likes his Captain Jack Harkness identity". Julie Gardner describes the coat as "epic and classic and dramatic", while director Brian Kelly believes it gives Jack "a sweep and a presence". For Miracle Day , Davies commissioned new costume designer Shawna Trpcic (previously costume designer for Angel , Firefly and Dollhouse ) to create
29700-508: The moral failings of a 19th-century Torchwood. Actor Gareth David-Lloyd describes the 19th century Torchwood as "quite ruthless and quite evil" and "on the other side" from Jack and the Doctor. Through Jack, whose perspective is widened by his experiences in other planets and times, the organisation was able to grow less jingoistic . One academic article, which compares Torchwood to the American drama series 24 , opines that Jack's attitudes make
29898-470: The musical biopic De-Lovely (2004) and musical comedy The Producers (2005). Before venturing into British television, he featured in the American television dramas Titans and Central Park West , but is better known for his acting and presenting work for the BBC ; this includes his work for CBBC in its earlier years, his self-produced entertainment programme Tonight's the Night , and his BAFTA Cymru -nominated role of Captain Jack Harkness in
30096-430: The omnipolitical, omnisexual, omnicultural world of Jack Harkness." Porter finds, however, that like Bauer, Jack saves the world using similarly morally grey means when he tortures Beth the sleeper agent, in " Sleeper ", in order to avert an interplanetary attack. Although science fiction heroes have, Porter argues, "grown greyer over time", Jack represents as of Children of Earth a culmination of this trend, resulting in
30294-576: The organization, and eventually becomes leader of Torchwood Three at midnight on 1 January 2000. The series finale features the return of Captain John and Jack's brother Gray (Lachlan Nieboer), who, after a lifetime of torture by aliens, wants revenge on Jack. While Jack manages to repair his friendship with Captain John to some degree, he is forced to place his brother in cryogenic stasis after Gray kills his teammates Toshiko Sato ( Naoko Mori ) and Owen Harper ( Burn Gorman ). Jack subsequently appears alongside
30492-465: The possibility of a Jack and Boe connection until mid-way into the production of the 2007 series. The first wave of BBC Books Torchwood novels, Another Life , Border Princes , and Slow Decay (published January 2007), are set between episodes of the first series of Torchwood . The novels Trace Memory , The Twilight Streets , and Something in the Water (published March 2008), are set during
30690-601: The possibility of romantic and sexual tension behind Jack and Gwen's working relationship, with Stephen James Walker drawing on the firing range sequence in series one episode " Ghost Machine " as a key example, as well as the scene where Jack discovers that Gwen has become engaged to Rhys in " Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang ", the series two opener. AfterElton.com's Locksley Hall conjectures that Jack is attracted to Gwen because of "her warmth, her sense of justice, her very ordinariness and lack of glamour", whilst Eve Myles explains Gwen's attraction to Jack by stating: "the most monogamous woman in
30888-506: The power company for the entire summer, but did not like the job. Eventually, he convinced the company to move him to work in the storeroom. Barrowman graduated from high school in 1985, and he later became a naturalised U.S. citizen while retaining his British citizenship. After he graduated from high school, he attended the University of Iowa for a semester to study drama and music. He then attended DePaul University , studying voice for
31086-532: The power leaves her she doesn't remember doing it. She and the Doctor subsequently leave Jack behind on Satellite 5 . Jack returned in 2006 as a character of the spin-off series Torchwood , in which he is a member of the Cardiff-based Torchwood Three in combating alien threats and monitoring a spacetime rift which runs through Cardiff. Jack is re-introduced as a changed man, reluctantly immortal, having spent years on Earth waiting to reunite with
31284-426: The present day by travelling to 1869 via vortex manipulator , and lived through the 20th century waiting for the Doctor. By the series finale, having spent a year in an alternative timeline enslaved by The Master ( John Simm ), Jack opts to return to his team in Cardiff. Before departing, Jack speculates about his immortality and reminisces about his youth on the Boeshane Peninsula, revealing that his nickname had been
31482-517: The programme's narrative, Jack begins as a time traveller and con man from the 51st century, who comes to travel with the Ninth Doctor ( Christopher Eccleston ) and his companion Rose Tyler ( Billie Piper ). As a consequence of his death and resurrection in the Series 1 finale, " The Parting of the Ways ", Jack becomes immortal and is stranded on 19th-century Earth. There he becomes a member of Torchwood ,
31680-406: The radio play "The Dead Line" (just prior to Children of Earth ), however, Jack insists "You will never be just a blip in time, Ianto Jones. Not to me." Just as Jack and Ianto's relationship is developing, Ianto dies, in Children of Earth (2009). While some fans felt "cheated" at not seeing the relationship develop further, Davies explains his intention was to heighten the tragedy by it also being
31878-497: The reason Jack leaves Earth at the conclusion of Children of Earth is Gwen's idealisation of Jack, which is so intense that he cannot stand to look at her in the wake of Ianto's death. Gwen hopes that she is reason enough for Jack to stay on Earth, but Jack is ready to give up any hero worship because he feels unworthy. A press release for Torchwood Series Four states that Jack is brought back to Earth because of his "unstated love" for Gwen, who in turn still feels for Jack and misses
32076-438: The role eventually went to straight actor Eric McCormack instead. Commenting on the decision, Barrowman remarked, "The sad thing is it's run by gay men and women." On 25 March 2008, Barrowman made a guest appearance in episode 22 of the BBC's Hotel Babylon . Entertainment Weekly reported that Barrowman would appear in the 2010 season of Desperate Housewives , "for a minimum of five episodes, portraying Patrick Logan,
32274-809: The role of Billy Crocker in Cole Porter 's Anything Goes at the Prince Edward Theatre , alongside Elaine Paige as Reno Sweeney and Bernard Cribbins as Moonface Martin. He continued to appear in West End productions for the next decade, taking the title role of Domingo Hernandez in Matador at the Queen's Theatre in 1991; as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1992; as Claude in Hair at The Old Vic Theatre in 1993; as Chris in Miss Saigon at
32472-553: The role of Joseph in a West End revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , eventually choosing Lee Mead . He guested on the BBC Two comedy panel quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks ( Series 19, Episode 5 ), challenging host Simon Amstell to a "gay-off". He also guested on Al Murray's Happy Hour , The Charlotte Church Show , and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross . On 27 July 2007, Barrowman guest hosted The Friday Night Project , on Channel 4 . In 2008 Barrowman presented
32670-506: The room, loudly comments on how altering the environmental systems will likely kill the Jagrafess. Cathica reverses the cooling system, causing Floor 500 to overheat, killing the Jagrafess and the Editor. As the humans on board the station and on Earth come to wake from the stupor they have been in, the Doctor congratulates Cathica and gives her hope for the future. The Doctor discovers Adam's duplicity and takes him to his home on Earth. The Doctor destroys Adam's answering machine and tells Adam he
32868-466: The same interview, Gareth David-Lloyd said of the relationship and his character that "I think Ianto’s always made him care and that is really the heart of the show." However, Stephen James Walker feels that Jack's relationship with Ianto is one-sided; Ianto seems to feel the relationship is "serious and committed", but while dancing with Gwen in " Something Borrowed ", Walker believes that Jack appears to equate his relationship with Ianto to nothing more than
33066-440: The same period as the previous audio dramas. "House of the Dead", however, reveals itself in its final act to be set six months after Ianto's death; Jack visited the House of the Dead to make contact with Ianto, who is unaware that he is dead. Jack and Ianto say a final goodbye and tell each other they love one another for the first time. Jack attempts to return to the land of the living alongside Ianto, but Ianto stays behind to close
33264-408: The science of homosexuality. He was voted Entertainer of the Year in 2006 by Stonewall, and placed on the "Out 100" list for 2008, an annual list of notable LGBT people compiled by Out magazine. In June 2010, Barrowman met with then- Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister David Cameron as a representative of the LGBT community. Barrowman was one of 48 British celebrities who signed
33462-499: The second World War, including braces and an officer's wool greatcoat in every appearance. Costume designer Ray Holman commented in a Torchwood Magazine interview that "We always wanted to keep the World War Two hero look for him, so all his outfits have a 1940s flavour." Because the character was expected to "be running around a lot", Holman redesigned his RAF greatcoat from Doctor Who to make it more fluid and less "weighty". Jack's other costumes are "loosely wartime based", such as
33660-514: The second and third series of the show. The House that Jack Built focuses partly on Jack's life in 1906. Risk Assessment , The Undertaker's Gift , and Consequences (October 2009), are likewise set between "Exit Wounds" and Children of Earth . First published in January 2008, the monthly Torchwood Magazine began occasionally including Torchwood comic strips , in which Jack also appears. One such comic, written in 2009 by John Barrowman and sister Carole E. Barrowman , "Captain Jack and
33858-413: The serial make him "a benchmark for [morally] grey heroes"; some audiences may even view him, in light of his actions, as "villainous or downright monstrous." Although Jack ultimately saves the majority of the world's children and finds a way to foil the monstrous 456, the situation in which he is placed forces him to make a morally difficult (and to some viewers, reprehensible) decision. Such, Porter argues,
34056-481: The show's ethos largely antithetical to that of 24 . Because Jack explores the "complexity of negotiating differing worldviews, cultural values, beliefs, and moral codes" through a framework established by the Doctor, to "value life, support democratic principles and egalitarianism, and protect those who cannot protect themselves", consequently "The world of Torchwood is depicted, not as the dichotomous " us " (or United States) and " other " of Jack Bauer 's 24 , but as
34254-439: The station. The Doctor, with Rose, hacks into the computer systems of the station and is detected by the Editor. The Editor allows the Doctor and Rose to travel to Floor 500, with Cathica following soon after. On Floor 500 the Doctor and Rose find the Editor directing control over the station through a number of dead humans. On the ceiling resides the Editor-in-Chief, the Jagrafess, to whom the Editor answers. The Doctor learns that
34452-415: The story for the new series. In the DVD commentary for this episode, director Brian Grant and actor Bruno Langley refer to an additional motivation for Adam's actions. Apparently, in earlier drafts of the script, Adam's father suffered from a disease that was incurable in his time (2012) and he hoped to learn about a cure which had been discovered between that year and 200,000. In the shooting script,
34650-650: The support of his teacher, he competed with other schools in statewide speech competitions, where he sharpened his skills reading scenes from plays. After his classmates mocked his native Scottish accent , Barrowman learned to speak with a General American accent which also hinted at a Mid-Atlantic accent . As a freshman, he won parts in several musical productions; from 1983 to 1986, he performed in such musical productions as Oliver! , Camelot , Hello, Dolly! , Li'l Abner , and Anything Goes . Among his classmates in high school, who also participated in theater with him, were Anthony Rapp and Andy Dick . Rapp
34848-536: The team divide, attempting to reach both access points. To end the miracle, in " The Blood Line ", Jack has Gwen kill him so that his mortal blood can reset the human morphic field; Gwen kills him with a bullet through the chest, while Rex—who transfused himself with Jack's blood to keep it safe—allows the Blessing to drain him too, in Buenos Aires. Rex survives, and with the morphic field restored, Jack resurrects. At Esther's funeral however, they discover that Rex has acquired self-healing abilities just like Jack's. After
35046-423: The theme of "media control," and the Jagrafess, they criticised it for "[failing] to capture the imagination" because there was "no real palpable sense of threat" and that human culture looked identical to modern day. Rupert Smith of The Guardian wrote, "Anything that satirises the profession of journalism is all right with me, but this did it with style." Arnold T Blumburg of Now Playing gave "The Long Game"
35244-423: The time. On 7 May 2021, Barrowman issued a statement that read: My high-spirited behaviour which was only ever intended in good humour to entertain colleagues on set and back stage has been well-documented, including in my autobiographies and even in song. There were a couple of times during filming where I'd resort to tomfoolery, but none of this was ever intended nor interpreted as being sexual in nature. With
35442-432: The top of a hill in Wales at the conclusion of the " epic " miniseries", "epic" traditionally being the genre of heroism. The American political blog Daily Kos states Jack "can certainly be characterised as a Byronic hero , a tragic figure with a streak of melancholy, heroic yet misunderstood, bold yet rash. Most importantly, his sexuality is one single aspect of a much more complex, flawed character." G. Todd Davis examines
35640-408: The trousers are "getting more and more styled to suit his figure". Holman explains that there are actually five Captain Jack coats used on the show. The "hero version" is used for most scenes, while there is also a wetcoat made with pre-shrunk fabric, running coat which is slightly shorter to prevent heels getting caught, and two "stunt coats" that had been "hero coats" in the first series." Davies feels
35838-426: The two. In relationship to Miracle Day , where Jack becomes mortal, critics approached Barrowman and Davies about the implications of such a move for Jack's potential future as the Face of Boe. Barrowman stated that the open-ended rules of the science fiction genre meant that Jack could still become the Face of Boe even after Miracle Day . By contrast, Davies was keen to emphasise that the possibility of Jack becoming
36036-421: The universe from destruction. Torchwood' s third series (2009) is a five-part serial entitled Children of Earth . Aliens known as the 4-5-6 announce they are coming to Earth. Civil servant John Frobisher ( Peter Capaldi ) orders the destruction of Torchwood to cover a conspiracy; in 1965, the British government had authorized Jack to sacrifice twelve children to the 4-5-6, which is shown in flashbacks. Jack
36234-487: The ways in which Jack conforms to the Byronic hero character trope. Physically, he identifies Jack as dark-haired and strikingly handsome, with masculine physique; he is intelligent and aware of it, to the point of a superiority complex ; he demands unquestioning loyalty, has guilty secrets in his past, and is self-sacrificing. For this, Davis lists Jack alongside Milton 's Satan from Paradise Lost , Shelley 's Prometheus , and also Angel from Buffy , amongst others. As
36432-411: The world would probably go for him – it'd be hard not to". Valerie Estelle Frankel describes Jack as a "compelling trickster", who acts out Gwen's private desires with his "outrageous flirting". She suggests that Jack (unlike Rhys) is not mature enough to occupy the role of "steady prince" for Gwen, whilst Barrowman feels that if Jack were to settle down with her, "he'd have to commit completely"; this
36630-416: The year 200,000. Satellite 5 is a space station that broadcasts news across the entire human empire. However, the Doctor notices that the station is suspicious: there are no aliens, and those who are promoted to Floor 500 seem to disappear. The Doctor and Rose discover that the Editor ( Simon Pegg ) and an alien are controlling the rest of humanity by way of the press. Meanwhile, Adam makes a mistake that forces
36828-509: The year he spent on a devastated Earth following The Parting of the Ways ; his romantic encounter with Alonso Frame, briefly alluded to in The End of Time ; a friendship he developed with Jackie Tyler ( Camille Coduri ) during the time he waited on Earth for the Doctor to return; and a story from his days as a Time Agent before he adopted the name Jack Harkness, revealing how he lost two years of memory along with his real name: Javic Piotr Thane. A second volume of The Lives of Captain Jack
37026-410: Was a Torchwood comic strip , titled Captain Jack and the Selkie , co-written with sister Carole. Commenting on the characterisation of Jack Harkness in the comic strip Barrowman states: "We'd already agreed to tell a story that showed a side of Jack and a part of his history that hadn't been explored too much in other media. I wanted to give fans something original about Jack." This was followed by
37224-419: Was a recurring cast member for the first two seasons and was promoted to a main cast member beginning with the third season. By July 2016, he signed a deal that allows him to continue being a series regular on Arrow as well as the other superhero shows produced by Greg Berlanti , including The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow . In the Flash third-season episode " Duet ", he plays gangster Cutter Moran in
37422-405: Was an American accent". Barrowman recounts Davies as having been searching for an actor with a "matinée idol quality", telling him that "the only one in the whole of Britain who could do it was you". A number of television critics have compared Barrowman's performances as Captain Jack to those of Hollywood actor Tom Cruise . The character's introduction served to posit him as a secondary hero and
37620-549: Was arrogant and pushy and too sure of himself. And I wanted them to follow the arc of the change he went through in the final episodes of Doctor Who ." —John Barrowman In naming the character, executive producer and head writer Russell T Davies drew inspiration from the Marvel Comics character Agatha Harkness , a character whose surname Davies had previously used in naming lead characters in Century Falls and The Grand . Davies states that reusing names (such as Tyler, Smith, Harper, Harkness and Jones) allows him to get
37818-439: Was broadcast in July 2009 as a miniseries of five episodes called Children of Earth . Filming of Series 4 called Torchwood: Miracle Day began on 11 January 2011 primarily in Los Angeles, and in and around Cardiff , Wales. The first episode of Miracle Day aired on Starz Network in the United States on 8 July 2011 and was broadcast on BBC One in the UK on 14 July 2011. Both Doctor Who and Torchwood became popular in
38016-564: Was in the two-part story " The Empty Child "/" The Doctor Dances ". He went on to appear in the next three episodes, " Boom Town ", " Bad Wolf " and " The Parting of the Ways ". Jack became so popular, he was given his own show – Torchwood , a Doctor Who spin-off series featuring a team of alien hunters based in modern-day Cardiff , which premiered in 2006. American film and television critic Ken Tucker describes Barrowman's role on Torchwood as "dashing", "utterly fabulous", "celestially promiscuous", and "like Tom Cruise with suspenders, but minus
38214-473: Was later collected along with Rift War! in a graphic novel . The Torchwood Archives , published after the second series in 2008, is a companion book written by Gary Russell which gives an "insider's look" into the life of Jack and the Torchwood team. The book collects and re-publishes ancillary material which appeared on the Torchwood website in the first two seasons, and provides new material such as rough dates for things like Jack's marriage as relayed by
38412-601: Was released in 2019 which saw Jack filling in for a recuperating Sixth Doctor ( Colin Baker ) and working as a chauffeur for newsreader Trinity Wells ( Lachele Carl ). In 2020, following Jack's return to television in Fugitive of the Judoon but recorded prior to broadcast, a third volume reunited him with Jackie, depicted an ageing Jack in the distant future and explored his encounters - and romance - with River Song ( Alex Kingston ). "I wanted kids to like him, and I wanted women, men, I wanted everyone to like him. But first I wanted people to hate him. I wanted them to think he
38610-410: Was released on DVD in Region 2 alongside the following episodes " Father's Day ", " The Empty Child ", and " The Doctor Dances " on 1 August 2005. It was then re-released as part of the first series boxset on 21 November 2005. The episode received generally mixed reviews. SFX described it as an "okay" episode that was reminiscent of the earlier episode "The End of the World." Despite praising Pegg,
38808-437: Was reunited with the Doctor. In the third series of Torchwood , the audience sees some of Jack's "darker side", as well as "the secrets that Jack has, the pressures, drama and the trauma he's carrying on his shoulders". Lynnette Porter comments on Jack's relation to scholar Lord Raglan 's theses on 'the hero' in fiction. Because Jack is immortal and always comes back from the dead, Porter argues that Jack cannot literally fulfil
39006-439: Was set to appear in Absent Friends - marking the fiftieth Torchwood monthly range release - which would have seen him reunited with the Tenth Doctor ( David Tennant ). However, while this story was recorded, its release was cancelled in May 2021. In 2017, Big Finish Productions released a solo audio series for the character - The Lives of Captain Jack - containing four plays depicting adventures in Jack's life. Including
39204-465: Was watched by 8.01 million viewers in the UK and received generally mixed reviews from critics. The Ninth Doctor , Rose , and Adam arrive on Satellite 5, a space station orbiting Earth in the year 200,000. The Doctor gets Adam and Rose some credits to buy food while he looks around the station. The Doctor meets a woman named Cathica, a reporter who tells him that the station is a giant broadcast tower transmitting news across Earth. Cathica leads them to
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