10½ Best Male Companions In Doctor Who History
3. Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
Whatever happened to those companions from the future? The ones who could kinda sorta keep pace with the Doctor when the stream of technobabble begins? Since the 1980s (not including Frobisher), where have the days of Sarah Kingdom and Zoe and Romana gone?
With the introduction of Captain Jack in the instant classic "The Empty Child," a steady diet of 20th-century Earthlings was broken in irresistibly likeable fashion. This episode and its second part, "The Doctor Dances," make this story the Pulp Fiction of Doctor Who history with its witty throwaway dialogue between the two. The former criminal made for a perfect foil for the 9th Doctor, armed with technological gadgetry that this incarnation often eschewed.
After inspired by the Doctor's earnest need to save lives, Jack was a pleasure to watch when interacting socially, not necessarily in more Captain-typical fashion with 9th or 10th Doctors, Rose, Martha and/or his own team at Torchwood.
Luckily, as a time-travelling sort himself, the door is open for Jack's return at some point. Presumably, a few folks might be interested in that. As actor John Barrowman in a 2009 interview, "I wanted kids to like him, and I wanted women, men, I wanted everyone to like him..." Congratulations, then, John: you've certainly succeeded.