Captain Jack Harkness has been an absolute staple of Doctor Who ever since he roared onto our screens in 2005.
Naturally, fans were over the moon when it was revealed that John Barrowman will be reprising the role for the 2021 New Year’s special, Revolution of the Daleks.
From flirting with pretty much everyone in sight, including Christopher Ecclestone, David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker’s Doctors, to saving the day with a side serving off sass, Jack’s had quite the journey.
That’s not even to mention starring in the wildly popular spin-off, Torchwod.
Basically, Jack’s an all-round legend, so in celebration of our favourite immortal bisexual, we’re toasting some of his greatest hits.
First appearance
Jack first appeared in series one’s The Empty Child, and was first seen spying on Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) as she clung onto a rope for dear life as she watched London being bombed during World War I.
He had a suitably flirty first line (‘Excellent bottom!’) and proceeded to catch Rose mid-air as she fell to the ground.
Little did we all know that it would begin the long-standing tradition of Jack strutting in to save the day.
Jack says goodbye
As it turns out, Captain Jack is just as good at goodbyes as he is at dramatic entrances.
His sweet farewell to the Ninth Doctor (Christopher) and Rose has been long-remembered as a matter-of-fact reference to his sexuality, as he kisses them both to say goodbye.
John’s ability to simultaneously make us laugh and sob absolutely made the scene, as Jack told Nine: ‘I wish I’d never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward,’ before jogging out of the TARDIS and declaring: ‘See ya in hell!’
The race to the TARDIS
Weirdly enough, Jack’s next appearance was pretty much in hell – well, the end of the world.
We next met Jack in series three, when he literally followed Ten (David Tennant) and Martha (Freema Agyeman) across time by clinging onto the TARDIS as it traveled through the Time Vortex.
Ten had a shady first reaction to Jack, intending to leave him behind as he raced towards the TARDIS, but clearly the time agent wasn’t about to give up that easily.
Doctor Who/Torchwood crossover
We don’t think too much about the end of series four if we can help it, because it simply HURTS TOO MUCH.
But, there is one moment that felt like Christmas for Whovians – when Torchwood and Doctor Who had a crossover.
Martha, Rose, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), and Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton), all hopped on a conference call with Torchwood’s Jack, Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) on the Subwave Network (a glorified version of Zoom) to contact the Doctor.
There was shade thrown between Rose and Martha, Jack flirting with Sarah Jane, Ianto taking control of the call – basically, it was glorious.
Series 12 return
We were a little spoilt with John’s appearances in series one to four, but series five to 11 proved a no-go for Jack fans.
Of course, John was off appearing in Torchwood from 2006 to 2011, so we can’t blame him for having a busy schedule!
However, Who fans were delighted when the star made a shock return in series 12, for Fugitive of the Judoon.
We won’t have to wait too long to see Jack again for the New Year special and here’s hoping he’ll be around the save the day for years to come.
After all, John has insisted that he’s happy to get back into his famous coat ‘at the drop of a hat’ – so we’re going to hold him to that.
Revolution of the Daleks airs on New Year’s Day at 6:45pm.
Credit: Original article published here.The post Doctor Who: John Barrowman’s most iconic appearances as Captain Jack Harkness returns for New Year special appeared on My Celebrity Life.