Month 25

"I was born amazing. It's genetic."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: June 2017

Series: Lives of Captain Jack 1.04

Featuring: Captain Jack

Synopsis

Captain Jack Harkness – time-travelling con-man, saviour of the Earth, and intergalactic adventurer. He has lived many lives.

He's the young star of the Time Agency, and his whole life is about to fall apart. But that's not going to stop him winning.

Verdict

Month 25 was a good and very intriguing story to conclude the first series of The Lives of Captain Jack! I love the idea of going back and seeing Jack in his early days at the Time Agency, at a time before he was even Captain Jack! For the sake of ease, I'm still going to refer to him as Jack during this blog entry but it was a lot of fun to hear him being called by his true name of Javic Thane. It didn't feel right, but it's good to explore the origins and early days of this character. Him being hunted in 1876 was amusing and he was up to no good as we might expect after going AWOL for a fortnight and getting frisky. Maglin Shank as the chief in charge made for a fantastic villain and her involvement with the Council was good, although I didn't think they were all that great as supposedly being in charge of everything there ever was. I couldn't buy into that concept and their voices just sounded amusing rather than threatening. Everything else about the episode was fine though! Jack getting suspended for his actions was good but there was more to him when something was interfering in his life and he found that his wages were being siphoned off at a pretty staggering rate, even retroactively! Krim was a very good character and fellow agent and the mystery surrounding floor 113 gave me The Long Game vibes with a mysterious power on the top floor. Jack being warned that the Time Agency wasn't all it seemed was brilliant with them needing him ready for something he wasn't even aware of as voices caused him suffering. The man breaking into his apartment to show that the Agency had planted listening devices was good and I liked how the age test was two years off. Just where had that stolen time gone? And what was it used for? Finding out that the man who warned Javic was actually the Jack of the future was unexpected but something I really liked. He used a shimmer to disguise his face and that explained the apartment entry ease. The memories of these events being blank for the older Jack had the feel of a multi-Doctor story which was fun and he claimed that the real powers of the Agency were on floor 113 and that they had been hiding outside of time and space itself! Thane had been used by them to maintain their power and he was picked because he was a liability, not because he was good. I thought that was great stuff. Jack turning the shimmer off and being safe from the Blinovitch Limitation Effect was fun and I was impressed with how John Barrowman was able to differentiate between the two eras of time for the same character. Really impressive. Jack getting arrested and being on the run was good action and I liked that the chief was in league with the Council, even if it was a little predictable. Krim turning his back on Jack when his husband was threatened was a stark turn of events, but I could never believe he would actually kill him. Probably because at this point Jack is mortal so we know it doesn't happen! Hearing the shot into the water was good effects and Krim wanted the truth about the top floor in return, except it wasn't Krim at all and was another clever shimmer usage. Although that felt a little repetitive and easy. It was a shock to hear that Krim had been stealing the wages, but I loved how things ended on a high with the younger Jack retconning his older self about the events before it appeared they'd spend a night together. Only Jack! Overall, a good listen.

Rating: 7/10