Captain Jack Harkness

"There's nothing here but memories and dust."

Writer: Catherine Treganna 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 01 January 2007

Series: Torchwood 1.12

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Tosh, Owen, Ianto

Synopsis

Investigating reports of ghostly music, Jack and Tosh find themselves stranded in a packed dance hall – in 1941. As Gwen, Owen and Ianto work to rescue their colleagues, Jack and Tosh meet a handsome young American squadron leader by the name of Captain Jack Harkness.

Verdict

Captain Jack Harkness was an outstanding episode to kick off the finale of Torchwood's first series! This really is such an important episode for a number of reasons and the title alone should be indication of that. I made a point to tell Gemma before we watched this one that it was very important and her response of not wanting an origin story made me laugh because this is sort of going down the route! Of course, we still keep our Captain Jack shrouded in mystery and actually finding out that he took the name of another World War Two soldier actually gives us more questions as to who Jack truly is than answers! The 1941 setting for much of the episode was brilliant and I love that Tosh got the opportunity to travel back in time. Her ethnicity was obviously problematic as well which was a fantastic element of the episode and her actually being called a Jap in rather derogatory terms was definitely a shocking moment. It caught us both off guard that's for sure! The mystery of the dance hall with ghostly music being heard was really intriguing and I loved that the tips were later revealed to be anonymous. Billis is such a creepy character and that's absolutely part of his brilliance. He really is fantastic and the reaction of Ianto when Gwen describes him when he fakes being the caretaker was wonderful. He really works well here without doing an awful lot but his camera being ahead of time as well as having files on Torchwood makes it clear that there's something more behind him. The reaction of Jack when the real Captain Jack Harkness introduces himself is startling and I like how this means Jack has to reveal some information about his identity to Tosh. The trouble of the equation being split between time to allow the Rift to open and allow them back through was fantastic and Tosh going to incredible lengths to give Ianto and Owen on the other side the final numbers was powerful. The image of her cutting her own hand so she could finish off the equation with her own blood made me grimace. It was incredible. The relationship quickly built between the two Jacks was good and I love the impact our Jack had on the real deal. The War Captain was a brilliant character throughout and the way he diffused the situation when George was dancing with Tosh was great stuff. I was just a really big fan of the entire dancing setting and it was a nice contrast to the constant contemporary setting of Torchwood. It was a nice bit of freshness. Owen still reeling from Diane leaving really shows how much she meant to him and his reaction when Ianto mentions that he couldn't take the fact that she chose to leave was quite something! Owen's desire to open the Rift was intriguing and without Jack, he was loving being in command. Ianto still respected his leader in the form of Jack despite photographic evidence they were in the 1940s and didn't want the Rift Manipulator used because of everything that could come through it. Ianto went so far as to shoot Owen, but he was actually proven right as Tosh and Jack returned after an emotional dance, moment and powerful kiss with the real article. Overall, an excellent episode! 

Rating: 10/10