Is there a more awesome character in the Whoniverse? Well, apart from the Doctor himself. The brainchild of both showrunners Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat, Captain Jack has left a lasting impression in our minds since his first fabulous appearance in The Empty Child, showcasing a man of conflicting morals leading him to becoming the head of Torchwood Three and ultimate defender of the earth. Quite simply, if you couldn’t be the Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness was most assuredly the next best thing…
Since his introduction, we’ve not only seen him come back a number of times in Doctor Who proper, but also leading the aforementioned spin-off team Torchwood in both televised and audio episodes, with us learning more and more about the life and many deaths of Captain Jack Harkness. But there were some stories that we were told about, but never experienced…. Well, Mr Goss has decided to rectify that.
THE LIVES OF CAPTAIN JACK REVIEW
By Jack Ryan
BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
He is a legend throughout the echelons of space and time. He is a saviour of many and vanquisher of evil. He is a man who is never cruel or cowardly, who never gives up and never gives in. He is… Captain Jack Harkness, former companion of the Doctor, leader of the Torchwood organisation and immortal defender of the Earth. In his long, long, LONG life, he has faces many foes and helped many friends, (and some a little more than others, wink, wink) [seriously, Jack?] and experienced many a tale to tell. These are but some of them, including rebuilding the future after the Dalek conquest of 200,100 AD, a journey to save the most important person in the universe, (and she’d have killed me if I didn’t) [JACK!] and a match made in heaven turning into a fight for (and night of) their lives. [Jack, please…] Then, the biggest question of Captain Jack’s life is answered (will I ever see my Torchwood musical?) [JACK!!!!], as he enters Month 25…
So… when this was announced all the way back this time last year, it was an interesting release to say the least. Now, after it has been graced onto the listening public, it can be said that this is certainly an interesting, but well done release, with some brilliant stories. Guy Adams starts us off with The Year After I Died, where Jack, now a folk hero freedom fighter in the aftermath of the Dalek Conquest, comes across a hopeful reporter who wants to report on the company saving humanity, only for her and Jack to discover humanity’s true worst enemy. Then in James Goss’ Wednesdays For Beginners, Jack makes one of his regular jaunts to the Powell Estate, to make sure that everything is okay. But when the world starts disappearing around them, Jack’s last hope lies in the hands of Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Prentice Tyler, or Jackie, as we know her. Following is Goss’ One Enchanted Evening where Jack comes across former Midshipman of the SS Titanic, Alonso Frame, thanks to a mutual friend, and so begins a night of happiness and pleasure. Or at least it would, if a large psychotically hungry cockroach didn’t decide to crash the party. Finally, in Adams’ Month 25, a young Time Agent called Javic Piotr Thane learns a part of his life has been stolen from him, two years of it in fact. And the only answer to why and how lies with a mysterious stranger, who knows Javic all too well and the man he will become; Captain Jack Harkness… Adams and Goss show us, with these tales, how much of an understanding they have of this enigmatic but energised character, and all of them are done to a tee with how they treat him and the characters and scenarios around him, which can be turned up to absolutely ridiculous levels, but still be believable with how they make Jack deal with them in a way only he could…
But, as they say, a Captain is only as good as his crew, and the crew he is joined with in these tales bring everything they can. Alongside the always amazing, fabulous and downright bad-ass John Barrowman as the immortal Captain Jack Harkness, we are graced with the first recorded return of Camille Codruri as Jackie Tyler, and the return of Russell Tovey as Alonso Frame, plus the fantastic talent of Sarah Douglas, Katy Manning, Sakuntala Ramanee, Shvorne Marks, Arron Neil and the great Alexander Bloody Vlahos among others, plus some cameos from Goss himself, Chris Allen and the always brilliant Christel Dee. All of them take what talent they have and utilising to its greatest extent. Every character is believable and stirs in you the emotions you are meant to feel for the, be it love, sympathy, disgust, and hope. Under the direction of the always amazing Scott Handcock, the cast of this piece of brilliance show just how talented they can be.
And in other areas, Martin Montague returns to give us some truly out of this world sound design, with every little thing done to such a tee, that it alone would be sufficient to completely suck you into the story. And as for the musical talents of the great returning Blair Mowat, all I can say is that there is a reason his name keeps appearing as a possible successor to Murray Gold, and this only further cements that possibility. Not to forget, the return of Gold’s glorious theme for Captain Jack, being retooled into one of the most epic theme tunes in Big Finish’s repertoire.
Whether you want to see this as a companion piece to either Doctor Who or Torchwood, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that this is a truly brilliant set of stories where all involved give all they can. But out of all of them, it’s our glorious John Barrowman who stands out the most. This set, and other stories, have shown that he not only works well as part of an ensemble, but is also able to hold a story on his own, and raise the abilities of everyone around to a grand level of perfection. It’s not known if we’ll hear more of the lives of Captain Jack, but I can certainly say I would be up for more (and so would I, if you know what I mean!) [DAMMIT JACK!!!!]
VERDICT: 10/10 A fantastic listen to the unseen stories of one of the Universe’s greatest Captains. ;D
The Lives of Captain Jack is available to purchase on CD and Download from the Big Finish website here, or from all good stockists.
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