Source:http://www.gallifreyone.com
So the squirt of information we got last night about Captain Jack is that he is busy rebuilding the Earth following the Dalek attack in Parting of the Ways. That in itself isn't really huge news but the fact that it was the Doctor who gave this information is. This would mean that four minutes after he ditched Jack on Satellite 5 the Doctor knows the Captain is alive and well.
It had previously looked like the Ninth Doctor took off without Jack because he thought he was dead. So either he did some sort of scan for life signs during the opening credit sequence while we weren't watching, he had some sixth sense tell him this, or after kissing Rose he just didn't want any other competition for her affections in the Tardis.
This bridge between seasons 27 and 28 was supposedly filmed after The Christmas Invasion which means it was probably filmed in the last month or so since Torchwood was greenlit. So it is probably not accidental that in between belches during some sort of post-regeneration sickness the Doctor would be casually rattling off information about Jack.
So there are two theories that come to my mind. One: that this is a clue that Torchwood will be set before Captain Jack ever runs across the Doctor and Rose. Because when they leave him on Satellite 5 he obviously has an important job to undertake which has nothing to do with solving crime in modern-day Cardiff. And two: since the Doctor is well aware of what Captain Jack is up to and where he is, he can quite easily pop off to check up on him and say hello (maybe a quick snog) at some point during Season 28 and give him a lift on to Cardiff.
Ok I got the ball rolling, discuss amongst yourselves.
UPDATE: Bowing to public pressure perhaps, the BBC has decided to release the season 27 boxset in the USA as well. You can pre-order from Amazon
and it will be shipped on Valentines day 2006.
7 comments:
Actually, I'd go with option three: that Rose is already freaked right the hell out and doesn't really need "oh, by the way, Jack's dead" dumped on her, so the Doctor tells her a not-so-little white lie to explain why Jack's not there. The comment does sound like something thrown out in a desperate attempt to disuade her from that line of questioning.
(Plus, of course, from a writing viewpoint, while it would seem bad if they didn't mention him at all, they also don't want to be derailing the scene with Rose's inevitable reaction to being told of his "death"!)
I'm still going with the theory that Jack gets the hell out of the Gamestation ASAP and heads to Cardiff 2006/7 to wait around for the TARDIS, working on the idea that they've got to show up and recharge the batteries on the Rift sooner or later!
Good work on the blog, btw -- I'm impressed that you've managed to find as much to post about as you have! :)
Thanks for your comment. Your theory that this was just a little white lie is quite good as I think about it more.
While Rose did bring Jack back to life, she wasn't able to remember any of that, so she would have to assume Jack was ok. The last she would remember of him was when he was kissing her and the Doctor and acting like a future martyr.
The Doctor, was face to face with the Daleks who obviously got through Jack's defenses, so he would have to assume the Captain had been exterminated. Always protecting his deer sweet Rose, he didn't want to break the bad news right after regenerating.
Good Work.
fyi the season 1 DVD box set is being released in Canada (and thus region 1) in mid February 2006. I dunno the exact date (Aus me), maybe the CBC site would tell you.
Yes I had heard it will be available in Canada soon. But it is only the really hardcore fan who is going to bother ordering it from a mailorder outfit in a foreign country.
My message was more directed to the BBC to get their act together. I know many of us here in the USA would gladly do the right thing if we could buy the discs at a local store, but instead they seem to be trying to keep their best show a big secret in this country.
I *think* the Canadian release is Feb 14th and know a lot of Americans planning to order the R1 DVD set from there (those who aren't just getting the R2 set in the first place!). I'm a Brit, though, and we get ours tomorrow. :)
As for the Doctor's explanation for Jack's whereabouts, it really does seem far more likely that he's lying to her in order to protect her (or at least because he's in the middle of post-regenerative lunacy and not really firing on all cylinders there!). The last Rose saw of Jack, he was off to rally the troops, and the Doctor knows it -- easier to let her think that he's still off doing that. Rose completely missed what happened to the Earth next and the Doctor likely wants to keep it that way -- the last thing she needs is to go back and not only trip over Jack's corpse, but also see that her homeworld is now a rather mangled wasteland!
Anyway, that's what I'm telling myself. :) It's the only explanation that fits in with series continuity and the writers do seem to be quite careful with that. And we get to look forward to Rose's reaction when she does finally find out what happened to Jack on the Gamestation. Somehow I can't imagine that she's going to be too happy....
I would have thought anyone in the US interested enough to get the Dr Who episodes via filesharing would be interested enough to buy from Canada - I'm sure you could do it online, no need to even go down the street.
I doubt the beeb will release a DVD set in the US until or unless they have a buyer for the TV series. I gather the US networks think Dr Who is "too British" for the general US public in any case, and there's nothing much the BBC can do about that (I doubt reshooting is on). If the networks are right a US release of the DVD set is hardly worthwhile in any case, if they're wrong why shrink the potential audience for Dr Who on TV?
Maybe you should be trying to get your networks to reconsider???
(extensive discussion about Jack in CIN on livejournal and the Outpost Gallifrey boards, not repeated).
Well there is always BBC America, while not the most high profile channel, I don't think the BBC can claim that particular station would be a hard sell. I can't defend the big networks in the US, if nobody wants it, then that's their loss.
Also, there are several other DVD boxes of British shows which never aired in the States which sell quite well here and have attracted the programs new fans. So I suppose the BBC just wants to wait until the market for the last season of Doctor Who has completely come and gone.
I was trying to come from the point of view of somebody who isn't internet savvy and a hard-core fan, I do actually know a lot of folks like that. There is no way they are going to order it online from a foreign country. If it were on the shelf at the local BestBuy however they might just pick it up.
I can't get into the OG forums, only registered users are allowed to take a peek and they aren't accepting any new registrations. So if there is some brilliant insight in there feel free to share it with me and anybody else who can't get in the clubhouse.
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