Torchwood recommendation: Why The Death of Captain Jack is a lot of fun
By James Aggas
In 2018, Big Finish released the Torchwood audio The Death of Captain Jack. We look back on this story, and why it’s well worth listening to.
Earlier this week, the latest Torchwood spin-off The Sins of Captain John was released. We’ll be reviewing the box set soon, but first, we decided to take a look at John’s previous appearance in a Torchwood audio: The Death of Captain Jack.
Released back in 2018, you might be thinking that The Death of Captain Jack is something dark and dramatic. Well, I’d definitely use the first word to describe it. But as for the second word? It’s less “dramatic” and more “fun”. It also reminded us why Captain John Hart was such a brilliant character.
The story is narrated by Hart to a dying Captain Jack Harkness. He’s more than just beaten Jack – he’s stolen everything from him, too. His organization, his friends, his very life. And he’s changed history to do it…
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Torchwood’s Turn Left
Again, this sounds like a rather dark description. And it is, in some ways, a dark story. But, thanks to Captain John Hart’s complete lack of morality, it’s also so much fun.
David Llewellyn clearly enjoyed writing The Death of Captain Jack. It’s basically Torchwood‘s own version of Turn Left, but with someone as dangerous and psychotic as John Hart making the changes. These aren’t exactly subtle changes either – just wait until you find out who he gets married to!
Telling a story in an alternative timeline means that you get to kill major characters off without any real consequences. Turn Left essentially did that with the characters from The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, albeit entirely off-screen. With The Death of Captain Jack, we get to hear John killing major characters off, but with a lot more humor. Mostly because of his complete inability to care.
The Death of Captain Jack is a Torchwood story that I love revisiting every now and again. It embodies two things that the Doctor Who spin-off always did so brilliantly: darkness and fun. It’s easy to see why Captain John was given his own spin-off after this, especially as he’s essentially the lead in this audio. A really fun story that every Torchwood fan should check out.
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Have you listened to The Death of Captain Jack? Are you a fan of the story? Are you glad that Captain John Hart now has his own spin-off box set? Let us know in the comments below.