John Barrowman Weighs In On Captain Jack's Doctor Who Future
Few characters have impacted the Doctor Who mythos with as much longevity as Jack Harkness. Debuting in the first series of the revamped sci-fi program back in 2005, the time-hopping rapscallion with a heart of gold and a bloodstream of antibiotics has become a classic, and classics never die.
In this case, that's not an exaggeration: Captain Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, literally can't be killed. During the series 1 finale, he was shot by a Dalek, only to be revived when his pal Rose accidentally became a transtemporal deity in the year 200,100 on a satellite television studio where aliens filmed a version of What Not To Wear hosted by killer robots. Doctor Who, man. The Russell T. Davies years got weird, and you either get it or you don't.
The point is, Jack is now, to the best of anyone's ability to determine, functionally immortal. He ages, albeit very slowly, and there's some fan winkery implying that he'll one day morph into a big head in an even bigger jar, answering the one question that's been troubling Doctor Who fans for years, but until then? He's totally available for in-universe appearances.
At least that's what John Barrowman said in a recent interview with EW. There, the actor discussed his recent return to the Doctor Who fold in the show's New Years' special, Revolution of the Daleks, just shy of 11 years since his last performance on the series. When he was inevitably asked about the odds of another trip in the TARDIS, Barrowman was direct, basically saying that he'd love to come back, but it's not up to him.
Jack Harkness doesn't want to go
Asked if the good Captain would be returning again, Barrowman had this to say: "I can't answer that, because I don't know. However, I've always said, I love the show so much, I love the character so much, that if they ever ask me, at a drop of a hat, I will be back. I'll make it work, I'll figure out a way. It will always happen." He went on to lay out what might be one of the better thesis statements ever written about the long-running sci-fi series. "Being someone from the LGBTQ+ community," Barrowman said, "I know — and I mean this in a positive way — the Doctor accepts people who feel they are different, misfits, whatever. However you define yourself, the Doctor accepts you and doesn't care. And, as a real person, that's how I feel when I'm in the TARDIS."
Fans will undoubtedly be keeping an eye out for news of a potential return to the time vortex for old Captain Jack in days to come, even if the showrunners are keeping a tight lid on Doctor Who's upcoming story lines. With the recent departure of a few companions, there's definitely room on board for one more, though the Doctor's views on bunk beds would probably need to be addressed.