12 –"Captain Jack Harkness" | |||
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Torchwood episode | |||
Cast | |||
Starring | |||
Others
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Production | |||
Directed by | Ashley Way | ||
Written by | Catherine Tregenna | ||
Script editor | Brian Minchin | ||
Produced by | Richard Stokes Chris Chibnall (co-producer) | ||
Executive producer(s) | Russell T Davies Julie Gardner | ||
Music by | Murray Gold Ben Foster | ||
Production code | 1.12 | ||
Series | Series 1 | ||
Running time | 50 mins | ||
First broadcast | 1 January 2007 | ||
Chronology | |||
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"Captain Jack Harkness" is the twelfth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood , which was originally broadcast on the digital television channel BBC Three on 1 January 2007.
In the episode, the alien hunters Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) are brought back in time to a Cardiff dance hall in 1941. Jack discovers the man he took his name from (Matt Rippy), while Tosh looks for a way of sending a message to her Torchwood teammates to bring her and Jack back to the 21st century.
In 2008 "Captain Jack Harkness" was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. [1]
While investigating an abandoned dance hall, Jack Harkness and Toshiko find themselves having slipped through time and are stuck in 1941, where the dance hall is being used for service personnel. Jack meets the real Captain Jack Harkness, the man whose identity Jack took after his death, which Jack learns will be the following day at a training exercise. Jack and Toshiko recognise that they must find a way to open the Cardiff Rift from the present day in order to get back, and Toshiko begins to work out ways of leaving the necessary equations to the rest of the Torchwood team. Jack learns that the Captain is attracted to him. The two talk some more, with Jack asking if the Captain would like to go elsewhere, but he refuses, acknowledging that Jack has obliquely told him that his remaining time on Earth is limited.
In the present, the rest of the team come to realise Jack and Toshiko are missing in time from photographs taken during the dance, and also determine that the Rift is the only way to bring them back, though Ianto believes it to be too dangerous. As they investigate the dance hall, they meet its proprietor, Bilis Manger. Unknown to them, Bilis is also present at the dance hall in 1941 and has attempted to alter and change the messages that Toshiko is leaving for Torchwood. After finding a missing part of a device used to open the Rift and Toshiko's equations, Owen is prepared to take the chance to open the Rift. Ianto holds him at gunpoint to try to stop it, but Owen refuses, and proceeds to open the Rift. As the dance in 1941 winds down, Captain Harkness invites Jack to dance with him. During the dance, the Rift opens. Jack says his goodbyes to the Captain, giving him a passionate kiss before he and Tosh step through the Rift. They return to Torchwood, where they share a toast to the late Captain Jack Harkness.
The songs "My Melancholy Baby" (when George dances with Toshiko), "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" (during the air raid) and "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (when Jack dances with his namesake) are performed in this episode sung by Melissa Moore. The latter also featured in "The Empty Child", the Doctor Who episode which introduced Captain Jack Harkness. An instrumental version of "Take the A Train" is also played. In the Torchwood Series 1 DVD extras, John Barrowman sings the song "Anything Goes" with the band live on the set providing music, adding Torchwood-specific references.
This episode was first shown as a double-bill with "End of Days". The two episodes' end credits were merged and shown at the end of the second episode. They were first shown on the same day as the first broadcast of "Invasion of the Bane", the first episode of the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures . However, during repeats (and broadcast on BBC HD), they showed the 'next time' trailers. This did not happen on the first day of transmission.
"Captain Jack Harkness" was nominated for the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. [1]
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 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".
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from BBC Three to BBC Two to BBC One, and acquiring American financing in its fourth series when it became a co-production of BBC One and Starz. Torchwood is aimed at adults and older teenagers, in contrast to Doctor Who's target audience of both adults and children. As well as science fiction, the show explores a number of themes, including existentialism, LGBTQ+ sexuality, and human corruptibility.
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"Golden Age" is an original radio play written by James Goss and is a spin-off from the British science-fiction television series Torchwood, itself a spin-off from Doctor Who. This episode aired on 2 July 2009 on BBC Radio 4. It stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones and Jasmine Hyde as The Duchess.
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