The teasers and surprises just keep coming from Doctor Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman. Could we soon see Captain Jack Harkness return to television?
As the unofficial resident John Barrowman reporter for Doctor Who Watch, I am certainly being kept on my toes by him these days! In early March, he dropped a doozie of a teaser about something happening in relation to Torchwood. I waited patiently, poring over all of his Facebook videos for the reveal. Then, in mid April, it finally happened. The surprise was that he and his sister Carole were writing a Torchwood series for Titan Comics. Good news, indeed, but bittersweet. Things like comics and the Big Finish audio dramas are great, but I, along with countless other fans, have been pining for years to see Barrowman’s character Captain Jack Harkness return to the screen for some new adventures.
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At that point, I figured that it was best not to hold my breath for such an appearance. While Barrowman has stated that it is “very silly” not to bring back Jack, he has also recently said that there are no plans to do so. Steven Moffat has talked about how bringing back characters like River Song and Jack Harkness requires very special events. While we recently saw River’s epic return in ‘The Husbands of River Song,’ the last time that we saw Jack grows ever more distant. I was resigned to him simply living on in print and audio form.
After that roller coaster of emotions, Barrowman was at it again on May 6th, stating that he will return to “Cardiff in about a week and a half, but not telling what for.”
Cardiff! They film Doctor Who in Cardiff! They will be filming the next Christmas special soon! Could they be bringing Jack back in a Christmas special like they did River? With Moffat having created the character, it would be a nice parting gift to fans as he steps down as showrunner. (Also, what if it is a return of Torchwood? Such an occurrence is highly unlikely, but one can dream.)
Another glimmer of hope that we have recently been given is the bit of dialogue about him in ‘The Woman Who Lived.’
"Me: That’s why you can’t travel with me. Our perspectives are too vast. Too far away.Doctor: You’re not the first, you know. I did travel with another immortal once. Captain Jack Harkness.Me: Who?Doctor: He’ll get round to you eventually."
The last time that we saw Jack on Doctor Who was in the two part episode ‘The End of Time,’ and on Torchwood, the episode ‘The Blood Line.’
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