Whether it was Christopher Eccleston’s 9th Doctor or David Tennant’s 10th, whenever Captain Jack Harkness was on screen, the chemistry was off the charts. Now, fans can barely contain their excitement for his return during this year’s Doctor Who Holiday Special episode, and next to Jodie Whittaker’s first female Doctor, no less.
Whovians know Jack as an individual with certain tendencies that The Doctor usually rebukes. But the established dynamic between Tennant and John Barrowman will definitely undergo a lot of changes when the latter appears in front of Thirteen. The actor first reprised Jack in season 12’s “Fugitive of the Judoon,” though that was basically showrunner Chris Chibnall’s way of teasing the fandom to the brink of exhaustion.
Now, after forgoing the penultimate episode and the finale, Barrowman will be back during the Holiday Special episode, “Revolution of the Daleks.” Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in a new interview, the Arrow star said that the reaction from fans so far has been mostly positive, though some wish that the BBC had kept the event a surprise, explaining:
“I’ve had an unbelievable reaction. People have contacted me and said, ‘My feed is clogged with Jack is back.’ But there’s also controversy. There’s a group of people who didn’t want to be told, some of the Whovians, they’re upset about it. I get that. But’s it’s something to look forward to.”
Of course, what Barrowman is referring to here is something that Whovians are pretty much accustomed to by now. The BBC has a long history of ruining suspenseful revelations, namely the return of John Simm as The Master during Peter Capaldi’s final season. Still, according to the actor, if all goes well, there’s hope for Jack to appear in outings beyond just the upcoming episode.
“Putting the spoiler aside, I want the show to do well. I want the reaction to be good,” he continued. “Because there’s a possibility that they could bring him back. So, if there’s more people watching it at the time, or there’s more people talking about it, then we‘re going to get more of it, so that’s my logic behind it. So, I apologize for the spoiler, but I kind of don’t.”
As for plans to include him in season 13, Barrowman said: “I can’t answer that, because I don’t know,” but if they ask, he’ll be back “at a drop of a hat.”
With the Judoon, the Daleks, The Doctor inside an intergalactic prison, her companions stranded on Earth, and the return of Captain Jack on top of it all, to say that the next episode of Doctor Who is jam-packed would be an understatement. And we can’t wait to see it all for ourselves when “Revolution of the Daleks” premieres on January 1st, 2021.
