The most hyped part of the Doctor Who New Year’s special, “Revolution of the Daleks,” was the return of John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness for the first time on screen since Torchwood ended in 2011. Whovians have always been campaigning for a revival of the adult-themed spinoff show, but so far nothing has materialized. The open ended way Jack is written out of the special, though, seems to suggest that some kind of revival or reboot could be on the cards.
Oddly enough, Jack and the Doctor don’t say goodbye on camera, following the defeat of the Daleks, with the Time Agent instead sending a quick voice message to the Time Lord in the TARDIS at the end of the episode. “Sorry, lost track of time,” he tells her over the phone. “Gwen Cooper sends her love, by the way – says she took out a Dalek with a moped and her son’s boxing gloves!”
Cooper, as played by Eve Myles, was the female lead of Torchwood and the only other character apart from Jack to appear in every episode. Last time we saw her, she had a baby daughter Anwen but now we’ve learned she’s got a son, too. What’s more, it seems this reunion with Jack is not just a temporary one, either, as he ends his chat with the Doctor by adding: “Anyway, I’m gonna stick around on Earth and catch up with her. I’ll call you.”
By wrapping up the special with Jack and Gwen together again, showrunner Chris Chibnall must’ve known what he was doing. Barrowman has said he would return anytime the BBC wants him, so we know he would be up for more Torchwood. But is it likely? Well, the spinoff was the baby of ex-EP Russell T. Davies who has moved on to other projects. But maybe Gwen could appear alongside Jack on Doctor Who itself. In season 13 even, which is filming now.
