Doctor Who: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Captain Jack Harkness
He's the Face of Boe and 5094's Rear of the Year, but what else do we know about Captain Jack?
It's fair to say we all know a bit too much about John Barrowman, but how much do we actually know about his Doctor Who alter ego, Captain Jack Harkness?
Well, we know that, regardless of what you may think about Nyssa and Tegan's bedroom arrangements, Jack was the first openly gay Doctor Who companion. He was also the first male character to kiss the Doctor, preceding Rogue by 19 years.
What's also interesting is that only the three Doctor Who showrunners have written for Captain Jack in the main show, with Steven Moffat introducing the character in 2005, RTD continuing Jack's story between Boom Town and The End of Time, and then Chris Chibnall bringing back John Barrowman in 2020.
This has made Jack feel like a more boutique recurring character along the lines of River Song, since he typically only shows up in important episodes – and this is one of the reasons for his enormous popularity over the years.
It seems unlikely that we'll ever see Captain Jack onscreen again, but there's no escaping the impact he's had on Doctor Who since his debut in 2005. And there are still plenty of things you might not know about everyone's favourite rogue Time Agent!
10. His Original Name Was Jax
Much like the Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness is a title that he has assumed – it's not his real name. In fact, Russell T Davies' original pitch document for Doctor Who Series 1 made this explicitly clear in the outline for what would become The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.
Describing the tenth episode of the series, RTD wrote that Captain Jack Harkness was better known as Captain Jax, who was a "futuristic soldier from another world – the captor of the child-creature, here on Earth to track it down." Interestingly, RTD's pitch also states that Rose would feel intimidated by the Doctor and Jax's relationship, as she comes to see Jax as "everything the Doctor’s companion should be."
In the final broadcast version of the story, Steven Moffat gave us a much different yet equally interesting take on this, playing on the differences in approach between Captain Jack – the archetypal matinee idol figure – and the Doctor, the awkward, accidental hero who uses brains rather than brawn. Moffat and RTD also decided to dispose of the Captain Jax name altogether, further heightening the mystery of who Jack really is.
It also avoided confusion with Jax, the Chief Caretaker at Paradise Towers, and would've later avoided clashing with Kahler-Jex, the alien doctor in A Town Called Mercy!