The Many Faces of Jack: A study of his aliases
I got the idea for this little project from the Buffyverse Dialogue Database, which has lists of AKAs for its characters. These are lists of names used to describe the character, categorized by who used the name. I thought this would be an interesting exercise with respect to Jack, since all the names we know him by are aliases. He uses names as a smokescreen. Let's see what people call Jack (and why.)
Algy called Jack:
RAF boy - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
old man - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
Alice called Jack:
Dad - TW3.01, "Day One" (and several times thereafter)
[Steven's] grandfather - TW3.01, "Day One"
my father - TW3.04 "Day Four"
a man who can't die - TW3.04 "Day Four"
Bridget Spears called Jack:
an arrogant sod - TW3.02, "Day Two"
Clement MacDonald called Jack:
the man who sent me and my friends to die - TW3.04 "Day Four"
Frobisher called Jack:
a difficult man to kill - TW3.02 "Day Two"
Captain - TW3.03 "Day Three"
a better man than me - TW3.03 "Day Three"
Gwen called Jack:
a tall man in one of those big sort of military coats - TW1.01, "Everything Changes"
an alien catcher - TW1.01, "Everything Changes"
my friend - TW3.02, "Day Two"
Ianto called Jack:
sir - TW1.01, "Everything Changes" (and many episodes hereafter)
my boss - TW1.04, "Cyberwoman" (and many episodes hereafter)
the biggest monster of all - TW1.04 "Cyberwoman"
Captain - TW1.08 "They Keep Killing Suzie"
good on roofs - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Jack called Jack:
Captain Jack Harkness. 133 Squadron Royal Air Force. American volunteer - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
a criminal - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
a con man - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
an out-of-bounds kind of guy - DW1.12, "Bad Wolf"
a coward - DW1.13, "The Parting of the Ways"
Torchwood - TW1.01, "Everything Changes" (and in many episodes thereafter)
a citizen - TW1.01, "Everything Changes"
the go-to guy - TW1.06, "Countrycide"
Captain James Harper - TW1.12, "Captain Jack Harkness"
a con man - TW1.12, "Captain Jack Harkness"
an all-you-can-eat buffet - TW1.13 "End of Days"
the man who can never die - DW3.11 "Utopia"
an ex-Time Agent - DW3.12 "The Sound of Drums"
the poster boy - DW3.13 "Last of the Time Lords"
the Face of Boe - DW3.13 "Last of the Time Lords"
The Man Who Couldn't Die - TW2.10 "From Out of the Rain"
nobody - TW2.12 "Fragments"
beefcake - DW4.13 "Journey's End"
good neighbor - TW3.01 "Day One"
a fixed point in time and space - TW3.03 "Day Three"
someone who can't die - TW3.04 "Day Four"
Uncle Jack - TW3.04 "Day Four"
John called Jack:
Obi-Wan Kenobi - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
the wife - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
big boy - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
boss - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
a con man - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Rear of the Year - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Agent Johnson called Jack:
almost a waste of a body bag - TW3.02 "Day Two"
a bag of bits - TW3.02 "Day Two"
that thing - TW3.02 "Day Two"
the man in the concrete cell - TW3.02 "Day Two"
[Alice's] father - TW3.03 "Day Three"
[Steven's] granddad - TW3.04 "Day Four"
Martha called Jack:
sir - DW3.11, "Utopia"
The Master called Jack:
handsome Jack - DW3.12 "The Sound of Drums"
the girlie - DW3.12 "The Sound of Drums"
the freak - DW3.12 "The Sound of Drums"
Mickey called Jack:
Jumping Jack Flash - DW1.11, "Boom Town"
Captain Cheesecake - DW4.13, "Journey's End"
Nine called Jack:
not really a captain - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances"
a 51st century guy - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances"
Captain - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances" (and every episode thereafter)
good lad - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances"
big fella - DW1.11, "Boom Town"
Owen called Jack:
a sick man - TW1.06, "Countrycide"
my captain - TW1.12, "Captain Jack Harkness"
Real!Jack called Jack:
the gentleman - TW1.12 "Captain Jack Harkness"
a fellow captain - TW1.12 "Captain Jack Harkness"
Rhys called Jack:
the tall bloke in the coat - TW2.04 "Meat"
big boy - TW2.04 "Meat"
Rose called Jack:
liar - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
not a local boy - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
a Time Agent - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
some kind of freelancer - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
a professional - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
the great looking one - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances"
Steven called Jack:
Uncle Jack - TW3.01, "Day One" (and several times thereafter)
Suzie called Jack:
Captain, my captain - TW1.08, "They Keep Killing Suzie"
Ten called Jack:
friend of mine - DW3.11, "Utopia"
Captain - DW3.11, "Utopia" (and many episodes thereafter)
Wrong - DW3.11, "Utopia"
a fixed point in time and space - DW3.11, "Utopia"
a fact - DW3.11, "Utopia"
an impossible thing - DW3.13 "Last of the Time Lords"
Observations:
Conclusions:
First off, based on the names the Doctor calls Jack in the end of "The Doctor Dances" (a 51st century guy, Captain, good lad) and his triumphant cry of "Everybody lives!" I find the transition from "not really a captain" to "Captain" particularly significant here. I conclude that the Doctor intended to save Jack from the bomb from the beginning. Even though Rose asks him "What about Jack?" as if he had forgotten, I think he'd already seen the potential for good in Jack and had no intention of leaving him to his death.
Ianto uses "sir" with respect to Jack much less often than is portrayed in fanfic. He only uses it rarely before "They Keep Killing Suzie." After we get on-screen confirmation of their sexual relationship, he uses it more often. I think this shows that he uses "sir" not out of hierarchical deference, but as a form of flirtation and (eventually) personal respect. - thanks to lefaym and neifile7 for pointing this out.
That's all I can think of right now, so if anyone else has some interesting analysis in the comments, I will edit it in with credit. If you have anything else to add, also comment.
Thanks to the folks at tw_transcripts and Who Transcripts.
Algy called Jack:
RAF boy - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
old man - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
Alice called Jack:
Dad - TW3.01, "Day One" (and several times thereafter)
[Steven's] grandfather - TW3.01, "Day One"
my father - TW3.04 "Day Four"
a man who can't die - TW3.04 "Day Four"
Bridget Spears called Jack:
an arrogant sod - TW3.02, "Day Two"
Clement MacDonald called Jack:
the man who sent me and my friends to die - TW3.04 "Day Four"
Frobisher called Jack:
a difficult man to kill - TW3.02 "Day Two"
Captain - TW3.03 "Day Three"
a better man than me - TW3.03 "Day Three"
Gwen called Jack:
a tall man in one of those big sort of military coats - TW1.01, "Everything Changes"
an alien catcher - TW1.01, "Everything Changes"
my friend - TW3.02, "Day Two"
Ianto called Jack:
sir - TW1.01, "Everything Changes" (and many episodes hereafter)
my boss - TW1.04, "Cyberwoman" (and many episodes hereafter)
the biggest monster of all - TW1.04 "Cyberwoman"
Captain - TW1.08 "They Keep Killing Suzie"
good on roofs - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Jack called Jack:
Captain Jack Harkness. 133 Squadron Royal Air Force. American volunteer - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
a criminal - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
a con man - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
an out-of-bounds kind of guy - DW1.12, "Bad Wolf"
a coward - DW1.13, "The Parting of the Ways"
Torchwood - TW1.01, "Everything Changes" (and in many episodes thereafter)
a citizen - TW1.01, "Everything Changes"
the go-to guy - TW1.06, "Countrycide"
Captain James Harper - TW1.12, "Captain Jack Harkness"
a con man - TW1.12, "Captain Jack Harkness"
an all-you-can-eat buffet - TW1.13 "End of Days"
the man who can never die - DW3.11 "Utopia"
an ex-Time Agent - DW3.12 "The Sound of Drums"
the poster boy - DW3.13 "Last of the Time Lords"
the Face of Boe - DW3.13 "Last of the Time Lords"
The Man Who Couldn't Die - TW2.10 "From Out of the Rain"
nobody - TW2.12 "Fragments"
beefcake - DW4.13 "Journey's End"
good neighbor - TW3.01 "Day One"
a fixed point in time and space - TW3.03 "Day Three"
someone who can't die - TW3.04 "Day Four"
Uncle Jack - TW3.04 "Day Four"
John called Jack:
Obi-Wan Kenobi - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
the wife - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
big boy - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
boss - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
a con man - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Rear of the Year - TW2.01 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Agent Johnson called Jack:
almost a waste of a body bag - TW3.02 "Day Two"
a bag of bits - TW3.02 "Day Two"
that thing - TW3.02 "Day Two"
the man in the concrete cell - TW3.02 "Day Two"
[Alice's] father - TW3.03 "Day Three"
[Steven's] granddad - TW3.04 "Day Four"
Martha called Jack:
sir - DW3.11, "Utopia"
The Master called Jack:
handsome Jack - DW3.12 "The Sound of Drums"
the girlie - DW3.12 "The Sound of Drums"
the freak - DW3.12 "The Sound of Drums"
Mickey called Jack:
Jumping Jack Flash - DW1.11, "Boom Town"
Captain Cheesecake - DW4.13, "Journey's End"
Nine called Jack:
not really a captain - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances"
a 51st century guy - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances"
Captain - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances" (and every episode thereafter)
good lad - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances"
big fella - DW1.11, "Boom Town"
Owen called Jack:
a sick man - TW1.06, "Countrycide"
my captain - TW1.12, "Captain Jack Harkness"
Real!Jack called Jack:
the gentleman - TW1.12 "Captain Jack Harkness"
a fellow captain - TW1.12 "Captain Jack Harkness"
Rhys called Jack:
the tall bloke in the coat - TW2.04 "Meat"
big boy - TW2.04 "Meat"
Rose called Jack:
liar - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
not a local boy - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
a Time Agent - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
some kind of freelancer - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
a professional - DW1.09, "The Empty Child"
the great looking one - DW1.10, "The Doctor Dances"
Steven called Jack:
Uncle Jack - TW3.01, "Day One" (and several times thereafter)
Suzie called Jack:
Captain, my captain - TW1.08, "They Keep Killing Suzie"
Ten called Jack:
friend of mine - DW3.11, "Utopia"
Captain - DW3.11, "Utopia" (and many episodes thereafter)
Wrong - DW3.11, "Utopia"
a fixed point in time and space - DW3.11, "Utopia"
a fact - DW3.11, "Utopia"
an impossible thing - DW3.13 "Last of the Time Lords"
Observations:
- Despite all his swagger, in DW S1, Jack calls himself by disparaging names. In fact, he only refers to his good looks once ("beefcake") and his rampant sexuality not at all.
- Want to hear something heartbreaking? Jack affectionately calls Steven "soldier" a couple times in CoE. Then he sends him to die in the line of duty, just as he's done with so many soldiers in the past. -sniff-
- Along the same heartbreaking lines: Steven calls Jack "Uncle Jack" which is the same name Jack used when talking to the children in 1965: "Just follow Uncle Jack...go into the light..."
- The Ninth Doctor uses far more affectionate terms to refer to Jack than Ten does. Ten uses mostly clinical language to refer to Jack's immortality (though he does retain the respectful title "Captain.")
- The Master uses highly sexualized insults with respect to Jack.
- Agent Johnson's conception of Jack changes from a thing she can't kill to a real man with a family over the course of CoE.
Conclusions:
First off, based on the names the Doctor calls Jack in the end of "The Doctor Dances" (a 51st century guy, Captain, good lad) and his triumphant cry of "Everybody lives!" I find the transition from "not really a captain" to "Captain" particularly significant here. I conclude that the Doctor intended to save Jack from the bomb from the beginning. Even though Rose asks him "What about Jack?" as if he had forgotten, I think he'd already seen the potential for good in Jack and had no intention of leaving him to his death.
Ianto uses "sir" with respect to Jack much less often than is portrayed in fanfic. He only uses it rarely before "They Keep Killing Suzie." After we get on-screen confirmation of their sexual relationship, he uses it more often. I think this shows that he uses "sir" not out of hierarchical deference, but as a form of flirtation and (eventually) personal respect. - thanks to lefaym and neifile7 for pointing this out.
That's all I can think of right now, so if anyone else has some interesting analysis in the comments, I will edit it in with credit. If you have anything else to add, also comment.
Thanks to the folks at tw_transcripts and Who Transcripts.