Captain Jack

[UncleRogi]

Watching early "NuWho", and I'm wondering about the exact nature of Capt. Jack's
immortality. Is he an extension of the TARDIS? The Bad Wolf made Jack immortal,
but the power source was the Vortex contained in the TARDIS. So
Could Jack be considered a part of the TARDIS in some way?

 

[Tom]

Watch 'Utopia' for more details on it. The Tardis did not like him in Utopia (so not a part of Tardis) and tryed to shake him off. Later in the episode the Doctor explained to him what happened.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

It's never really explored other than what it does, bringing him back to life as he was when he `died`. The power that granted Jack his immortality supposedly made him a `fixed point in time` and unable to change from that point, though it was later revealed that he was very slowly aging regardless (apparently to cover John Barrowman`s own aging). I doubt he`d be a part of the TARDIS and therefore related to Time Lord technology / physiology in some way, given how the Doctor instinctively avoids him (at least at the beginning).

Something of a recurring theme in RTD's Who writing is how much immortality sucks. Aside from living on when all your loved ones age and die, the nature of how one doesn't die is usually pretty gruesome. From how Jack re-forms painfully from a big of bits and slowly ages anyway, to Cassandra's body, to how the Doctor bemoans each regeneration as feeling as bad as death... It's funny how THAT concept is explored more than the mechanics of the immortality itself, but then again it's sci-fi by writers, not scientists.

Mark

 

[Marc]

Something of a recurring theme in RTD's Who writing is how much immortality sucks. Aside from living on when all your loved ones age and die, the nature of how one doesn't die is usually pretty gruesome. From how Jack re-forms painfully from a big of bits and slowly ages anyway, to Cassandra's body, to how the Doctor bemoans each regeneration as feeling as bad as death... It's funny how THAT concept is explored more than the mechanics of the immortality itself, but then again it's sci-fi by writers, not scientists.

don't forget the Face Of Boe

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

And THAT just makes it WORSE!

Mark

 

[UncleRogi]

don't forget the Face Of Boe

Yeah, and what a killer story that must be. I wonder if BF or someone will ever tell
that story...

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I believe RTD has stated that he left the question about whether the Face of Boe is Jack deliberately unanswered and ambiguous. Supposedly, he thought that deciding on an answer would sort of suck, whichever way it was played.

Captain Jack is somewhat of a ripoff of Angel in my opinion.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Captain Jack is somewhat of a ripoff of Angel in my opinion.

Which isn't surprising considering he used the Buffy template for the show's return, or so I've read, I never watched either show.

 

[Jedman67]

I believe RTD has stated that he left the question about whether the Face of Boe is Jack deliberately unanswered and ambiguous. Supposedly, he thought that deciding on an answer would sort of suck, whichever way it was played.

Captain Jack is somewhat of a ripoff of Angel in my opinion.

BBC has pretty much definitively stated that Jack becomes Face of Boe.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

BBC has pretty much definitively stated that Jack becomes Face of Boe.

Have they indeed? RTD will be pissed.

There are these spin-off books and comic books, and every now and then I’ll see a script for one where they say definitively that he’s the Face of Boe, and I always stop those from being printed. I have my own personal theories, but the moment it became very true or very false, the joke dies.

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/who-mysteries-is-jack-the-face-of-boe-45319.htm

Personally, I don't care one way or the other. Can't some things remain unresolved or must the cat always be either alive or dead?

 

[Jedman67]

Have they indeed? RTD will be pissed.

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Face_of_Boe#Behind the scenes

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Face_of_Boe#Behind the scenes

Didn't know that was a BBC site. Anyway, I choose to believe the state vector hasn't reduced and decided this one way or the other. I'm not very interested in knowing about a head in a jar whose fate is determined 5 billion years hence.

 

[Jedman67]

I assume there's a source somewhere... *shrug*

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Never, ever assume there's a source, especially on publicly-edited site like a wiki. Always question the facts until there is a verifiable source.

 

[starsuperion]

It's never really explored other than what it does, bringing him back to life as he was when he `died`. The power that granted Jack his immortality supposedly made him a `fixed point in time` and unable to change from that point, though it was later revealed that he was very slowly aging regardless (apparently to cover John Barrowman`s own aging). I doubt he`d be a part of the TARDIS and therefore related to Time Lord technology / physiology in some way, given how the Doctor instinctively avoids him (at least at the beginning).

Something of a recurring theme in RTD's Who writing is how much immortality sucks. Aside from living on when all your loved ones age and die, the nature of how one doesn't die is usually pretty gruesome. From how Jack re-forms painfully from a big of bits and slowly ages anyway, to Cassandra's body, to how the Doctor bemoans each regeneration as feeling as bad as death... It's funny how THAT concept is explored more than the mechanics of the immortality itself, but then again it's sci-fi by writers, not scientists.

Mark

Ashildr dealt with it nicely. Mountains of journals of past lives so she don't forget what happens to her in the far future.

 

[Jedman67]

Never, ever assume there's a source, especially on publicly-edited site like a wiki. Always question the facts until there is a verifiable source.

Granted. The revelation in the show was certainly ambiguous, but it was a *scripted TV show* which means that it was not a coincidence.
Lacking a clear cut denial by RTD/BBC, I'd take the suggestion offered on screen as definitive.

 

[Marc]

Have they indeed? RTD will be pissed.

Except in the Torchwood Declassified for Season 2 (from the link TARDIS wiki link above)

featurette from Torchwood Series 2 has John Barrowman, David Tennant and Russell T Davies stating that they believe the Face of Boe is Jack Harkness

so Davis is contradicting himself or talking out his arse.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Except in the Torchwood Declassified for Season 2 (from the link TARDIS wiki link above)

so Davis is contradicting himself or talking out his arse.

Very possibly. It's not something I'm going to lose sleep over though.

 

[Iamnotspock]

Except in the Torchwood Declassified for Season 2 (from the link TARDIS wiki link above)

so Davis is contradicting himself or talking out his arse.

It's not a contradiction to say, "I believe this but you're not obligated to."

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

If Jack became the Face of Boe, could even sacrificing himself to save New New York finish him off completely? Also if he was Jack, when and why did he lose the ability to regenerate the rest of his body? He was also stated to be the last of his kind, so when and how did Jack change species? Are these questions even interesting or worth contemplating?