Ian and Jack

Written by Andrew Weston Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Doctor Who Compandium

A 20th century schoolteacher and a 51st century Time Agent. Both are in a minority when it comes to Who companion status in that they are both males in a predominantly female environment. Yet, other than that they are two very different individuals...

Ian

Ian aka Ian Chesterton. A science teacher from 1963, he’s kidnapped with fellow teacher Barbara Wright, and thrust into the Doctor’s world without a choice in the matter. At first he doesn’t react kindly to this, as one would certainly understand, but over time he comes to appreciate the Doctor and the variety of times and places he is able to discover on his travels.

That fact that Ian is a man of science makes it difficult for him to reconcile – at least initially – the fact that the Doctor’s seemingly ordinary police box is in reality a time machine. Yet while he quite rightly doesn’t believe the Doctor at first, it doesn’t take long for Ian to accept that what he says is true. Once they travel back to the Stone Age, it is hard for Ian not to accept the evidence of his own eyes. After this, Ian is keen to know more about the TARDIS and its workings, and questions the Doctor often on various functions of the Ship.

While Barbara understandably benefitted more from interacting with historical events and characters, so Ian is fascinated by the science of other worlds and times. The TARDIS proves to be the biggest area of interest, since this is a craft capable of something that Ian could only have thought existed within science-fiction.

Yet, while Ian does show an interest in the scientific, it is certainly not his defining character trait. He is a man who always seeks to look after those who are with him, be it in a teacherly – though latterly more fatherly/big brotherly – way towards Susan and Vicki, or in a more gallant and sensitive manner towards Barbara. Ian is always willing to fight for and protect others, and this extends beyond just his travelling companions.

In The Daleks, Ian goads Alydon into fighting, though not encouraging violence. Ian’s plan is simply to rouse Alydon into a position to be passionate about something he believes in and to do something about it. The fact that the way in which this manifests itself is by striking Ian is incidental – Ian shows Alydon that while they are in danger they cannot sit around and let events simply unfold. They must take an active role, and this is what Ian knows to be true, and by provoking Alydon with mere words he is able to achieve this.

Ian is a man of action, but not a man of violence. He will certainly defend himself if necessary, such as against the Daleks in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, though this is more in defence of his entire planet. Deflecting the bomb away from its intended path to the core of the Earth, he saves not only those he immediately cares about, but his entire species. It’s not the first time he’s been so resourceful either, convincing Yartek to use the duplicate key in the Conscience of Marinus, thereby destroying it, and even teaching Stone Age man – and thus all who followed – how to make fire.

Ian certainly cares greatly for those around him, not least the female members of the TARDIS crew. While he starts as Susan’s teacher, his relationship develops into more in that he is protective of her like an older brother would be. He is always looking out for her, saving her from dissolving her foot in acid in The Keys of Marinus and from being taken by the (ultimately benevolent) Sensorites in the story of the same name. Ian is loyal throughout to both Susan and her grandfather, but it’s his relationship with the other member of the TARDIS crew that is the most interesting.

Ian and Barbara seem to have a close friendship right from the beginning, and this is something that certainly develops over their time spent travelling with the Doctor. They are very happy in each other’s company, and Ian’s devotion to her is obvious in the numerous times he comes to her aid, whether physically or emotionally. In An Unearthly Child, he comforts Barbara when she isn’t sure they are taking the right path, and he tells her that they are at least free which is a blessing in itself. He is always ready to rescue her when she is in danger, and on numerous occasions he does have cause to: he finds and saves her from death after she is taken in Marco Polo; he rescues her from an arguably worse fate inThe Keys of Marinus; and inThe Crusade, it is Ian who rescues her (once more) from the clutches of Emir El Akir.

The strength of their relationship can be seen in other ways too; for example in The Romans, when the pair are relaxing in the villa and are clearly enjoying each other’s company. The relief later in the story too, when they are reunited after spending so long apart has just enough of a subtext to imply there may be something more than friendship, but without ever making it explicit. Their joy at the end of The Chase also adds to this, and while they are undoubtedly glad to be home, there is a certain additional joy in their actions that indicates a deep bond, even if only of shared experiences.  The fact that any romantic relationship is barely hinted at – yet seems obvious in hindsight – is a testament to what well-rounded figures both Ian and Barbara are in that it didn't need to be spelt out. Ian’s feelings come through clearly in his actions, the implicit meaning far more subtle and in-keeping with his character.

Ian – like Barbara – is another character who benefits from spending a great deal of time travelling with the Doctor, and who the old man even grows fond of, not wanting him to leave and trying to put him off the idea. Yet Ian, despite enjoying his travels, always wants to return home to his own time. His heart belongs there in time, though quite probably with Barbara too.

What is rather wonderful about Ian is how he is such a well-developed figure and the possible relationship with Barbara only adds to that depth. While these days we have a bona-fide married couple on board the TARDIS, in the Sixties, the very notion of a romantic relationship was only ever hinted at.

Though Ian is a gentleman, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jack

Jack aka Captain Jack Harkness aka...who knows? We’ve never found out the real name of this mysterious time agent, at least not yet.

To say Jack is a man of mystery is something of an understatement. One of the first things he admits is that he’s a con-man. He used to work for the Time Agency, but they stole two years of his memory, and he was understandably a little miffed at them for that little transgression. He’s from the 51st Century, and he can travel in time thanks to his vortex manipulator, though once he’s rescued by the Doctor he travels quite happily in the TARDIS.

Jack is unlike any of the Doctor’s previous companions, though in some ways he could be said to be similar to Turlough in that we know little about it and may not trust him – at least at first. Yet, since he’s lost two years of his memories, he says that the Doctor might be right not to. The fact that there are parts of his own past he doesn’t know about is another intriguing aspect, though this idea seems to fall by the wayside. Or at least it has done so far...

Whatever he was like before, we see that Jack develops into something far braver with the Doctor. He makes reference to the fact that he “was much better as a coward” in The Parting of the Ways, and it’s clear that the Doctor has had a hugely positive influence on him. By Boom Town, the Doctor, Jack and Rose are very comfortable in each other’s company, as if they’ve been travelling for some time (which they may well have been). Indeed, by the time of The Parting of the Ways, Jack is so confident in the Doctor’s abilities that he professes to the Dalek Emperor, “Never doubted him, never will.”

Jack is instantly likeable and is a very humorous character, always as well equipped with a one-liner as he is with a weapon. Take for instance his reaction to being naked live on TV (“Ladies, your viewing figures just went up!”) or his reaction to the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver (“Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, ‘Ooh, this could be a little more sonic’?”).

He’s also an overtly sexual character, the likes of which we haven’t seen before. It isn’t all that his character is, but shows just how liberated he is through this admission.  He will – and does – flirt with anyone, be they man, woman, human or alien. It lightens the tone, often at moments of drama when something is needed to do so within the action taking place, be it during Rose’s abduction by the Daleks, or assisting in the human race’s desperate flight to ‘Utopia’.

Though Jack also possesses something completely unique from any other companion, before or since (to date at least) – he is immortal. Before this happened, he didn’t appear to fear death, enjoying a cocktail as he prepares to be blown to pieces in The Doctor Dances, and squaring up to a Dalek as it is about to exterminate (“I kinda figured that!”) him in The Parting of the Ways. Yet after he is killed, he is resurrected – forever.

This new, immortal Jack, arrives on Earth back in the 19th century, and we discover he spends all the time prior to Utopia waiting for the Doctor to arrive and ‘fix’ him. Yet when the Doctor does arrive he runs from Jack, later confessing he did so because Jack was, in his eyes, ‘wrong’. Though Jack has come to terms with what he is now, and while his immortality does mean that if he is ever in danger the Doctor needn’t worry, it doesn’t mean that we don’t care for the character. He does still die and he does suffer. We see in both The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords that he is killed time and again by the Master and his cronies. Pain is still inflicted, and it hurts him. The lack of death is in many ways worse than it being there – while there is little fear he can die, to see indignities heaped upon him is painful to watch.

We find out little about Jack’s past through the series, though we do know that he is in charge of a new version of Torchwood. This is something that the Doctor is less than pleased with on being told the fact initially, though calms when Jack assures him that it’s different from the one the Doctor knew. Jack’s life with Torchwood obviously takes place within its own series, running parallel to the adventures of the Doctor, though we do see in The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End the very organisation he talks of. Within its own series too, we learn far more about Jack and his past than we do in Doctor Who, which just goes to show how much there is to learn about the character, and how he can sustain a life beyond travelling with the Doctor. Throughout that series he is also doing ‘good’ in the same way that his ‘mentor’ does.

The last we saw of Jack within Doctor Who he was alone in space, having left Earth after the traumatic events of Children of Earth. Whether the Doctor knew of the exact nature of those events or not, he performed a small act of kindness for his friend, ‘introducing’ him to Alonzo Frame from Voyage of the Damned.

Hopefully we’ve not seen the last of Jack in Doctor Who, since he is truly one of its most unique characters. As I type this, Jack is mortal once more while the rest of the world is immortal. He’ll no doubt save the day once more and regain his immortality, but at what cost this time?

Though, surely he must survive?

After all, the Face of Boe, they used to call him...

Andy Weston is the host of Doctor Who podcast 'Fast Return Switch', available here or on iTunes.