Expect More From Jack In ‘Torchwood’

Revelations and backstories galore in Season 2

By ALAN STANLEY BLAIR Jul-17-2007
Source: Sci Fi Wire

The following story contains MINOR SPOILERS for the upcoming second season of "Torchwood."

The debut season of "Torchwood" dealt with the dark secrets being harbored by the whole Cardiff Bay division.

However the upcoming second season will have a greater focus on the leading man of the series, Capt. Jack Harkness. The man behind the name, John Barrowman, recently expressed his satisfaction with the way the "Doctor Who" spinoff has been shaping up and praised the strength of this season's scripts.

"Everyday I come in, or every new script I get, I learn something new about my character, which keeps it fresh," Barrowman told SciFi Wire. "And it means that when I play things, I play them differently, because I know different things about him now."

Production is already well underway on the second season with scenes featuring Jack as a child and the death of his father. Rumors also suggest that fans may also see Jack being approached to join the Time Agency, and according to Barrowman himself, will see more of his adventures after returning from Satellite Five.

At the end of the first season of "Doctor Who," Jack was abandoned on the orbiting space station by The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose (Billie Piper). Recent episodes of the third season of "Doctor Who" revealed how Jack found his way back to Earth, but more importantly when he returned. In the final three episodes of the season (of which Barrowman is credited as a regular), viewers learned that Jack was dropped in Britain at some point in the 19th century and was forced to take the long way back to the present day.

We already know that Jack lived through World War I thanks to the fifth episode of the series, "Small Worlds," which saw the Torchwood team take on sinister looking creatures resembling fairies. Season two will continue with that theme by revealing what else Jack was doing during his long wait.

The third season finale of "Doctor Who" saw Jack returned to Cardiff, however in his final good-byes with the Time Lord, the character inadvertently revealed the time of his own death. And for everyone involved, the shock was just as big as what was felt by fans.

"It's always something that takes you by surprise, otherwise it wouldn't be fiction," Barrowman said. "And I love that. And that script, when it came out, David read it. We were filming at the time, and he came running to my trailer and he went, 'Fuck me. Have you read this?' And I went, 'No.' And he went, 'Oh, my God. Hurry up.' I went, 'Shut up and get out of my trailer. I'm not reading it yet.' So then I read it, and on a lunch break I ran to his trailer and knocked on the door, and he went, 'Well?' And I went, 'Fuck me!' But it's absolutely brilliant."

And that’s not all that was brilliant about the episode, as Barrowman applauded the talents of new companion Freema Agyeman, who will make a small crossover into the adult-rated series before returning to "Doctor Who" for the last few episodes of Season 4.

"Doctor Who," is currently airing on the SciFi Channel in the United States, but has already finished its run in the United Kingdom with production already underway on this year’s Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned."

"Torchwood" will make its American debut on BBC America in September.

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About the Author: Alan Stanley Blair is the news editor for Airlock Alpha and assistant news editor for its sister site, Inside Blip. Contributing from his home in Scotland, he is currently studying for a diploma in freelance journalism and feature writing.
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