Brought to life by actor, singer, presenter and sheer force of nature John Barrowman, Captain Jack Harkness redefined the role of the Doctor Who companion.

Bold, heroic and refreshingly omnisexual, Jack was a very modern man from the 51st Century who grew into a hero through his association with the Doctor.

Though he only starred in ten episodes of Doctor Who, plus a brief cameo in David Tennant’s finale, Jack made a terrific impression and gained his own spin-off show.

> Buy the complete Torchwood Season 1-4 boxset on Amazon.

Over ten years on from his debut, with Torchwood‘s audio resurrection in full swing at Big Finish and Barrowman keen to reprise the role, here are five reasons to bring back Captain Jack…

 

Those two missing years

When we first met Captain Jack Harkness, although that’s not really his name and just one he appropriated, he was a con man and former Time Agent. ‘Former’ because he had discovered that the 51st Century Time Agency he worked for had wiped his memory, leaving him with two years unaccounted for.

Russell T Davies, who created the character before giving him to Steven Moffat to introduce in 2005’s ‘The Empty Child’, says this was solely Moffat’s idea.

Could it be that a younger Jack adventured with a later Doctor and then his mind was wiped to preserve the web of Time? We need answers!

 

The good soldier

We are told that, but for a clash of scheduling, Jack might have been one of the Eleventh Doctor’s friends called to assist in the Battle of Demon’s Run in 2011’s ‘A Good Man Goes To War’.

It makes sense as, following in the fine tradition of Ian Chesterton and Harry Sullivan, Jack is able role up his sleeves and take on the role of the Doctor’s muscle man… and with Jack, who better to fight against implacable odds than a man who cannot die?

 

The man who cannot die

Thanks to the Time-goddess Rose, Jack is cursed with immortality. While this has proved handy on various occasions in both Doctor Who and Torchwood, it would be great to investigate the cost of his gift in the main show.

Jack can hold a distorted mirror to the Doctor’s own longevity and suffers the same sense of loss, outliving his friends and family.

Of course, there’s also the implication that Jack eventually morphs into the Face of Boe. The start of that process is surely a tale worth telling!

 

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