10 Times Doctor Who Gave Fans EXACTLY What They Wanted (And They Hated It)

The response to John Barrowman's eventual return to Doctor Who was rocky.

After being unavailable for A Good Man Goes to War, Barrowman seemed to go off the deep end in his attempts to bring back the beloved Captain Jack Harkness, whipping up fan fervour and even calling out Steven Moffat at conventions on a couple of occasions.

In 2020, Barrowman finally got his wish, popping up as a brilliant piece of misdirection in Fugitive of the Judoon. When he returned properly in Revolution of the Daleks, he got some decent material to work with, breaking the Doctor out of jail, smuggling a vortex manipulator up his ass, and giving Yaz some uncharacteristically mature advice on having a relationship with the Doctor.

And yet, many fans felt underwhelmed by Captain Jack's return. In a satirical story about Dalek law enforcement - which also picked up the threads of the Timeless Child twist - some felt he was one element too many, and wasn't used as effectively as the character deserved. Worse still, the hastily recorded phone call about staying in Cardiff with Gwen Cooper suggested that Barrowman had been quietly written out.

If he was, it wasn't for the reason that certain corners of the internet believe. Most likely, Barrowman's US citizenship and international COVID restrictions made any future appearances difficult to schedule.

Still, it was an underwhelming return, and possible final appearance, for a fan-favourite character.