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Theory:Timeline - Jack Harkness

Revision as of 23:44, 25 March 2020 by SarahJaneFan (talk | contribs) (→‎Childhood)
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Index → Timey-wimey detector → Timeline - Jack Harkness
Spoilers are strongly policed here.
If this thread's title doesn't specify it's spoilery, don't bring any up.

This page lists appearances of Captain Jack Harkness in the order he experienced them. This timeline is based upon observations of the Doctor Who universe and the events that occur during each of these stories. From these observations we have attempted to build a concise timeline. It is assumed that for each novel, comic, audio or television series, their published, broadcast or numbered order is the order they occur in.

Limiting factors

Any story with the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler must be after TV: The Doctor Dances and before TV: Bad Wolf. Any story with Jack waiting on 19th and 20th century Earth must be after TV: The Parting of the Ways and before TV: Everything Changes. Any story with Gwen, Ianto, Owen and Tosh must be after TV: Everything Changes and before TV: End of Days or after TV: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and before TV: Exit Wounds. Any story where Owen is dead, but still mobile must be set after TV: Dead Man Walking and before TV: Exit Wounds. Any story where Gwen is married to Rhys must be after TV: Something Borrowed. Any story with Gwen and Ianto must be after TV: Exit Wounds and before TV: Children of Earth: Day One.

Overview

Captain Jack Harkness was briefly an original to Doctor Who television companion of the Ninth Doctor, travelling with him through time and space. After being trapped with a broken vortex manipulator in 1869, with few opportunities to time travel over the next century, he later joins Torchwood Three, though the majority of his stories told are set after Gwen Cooper's recruitment to Torchwood in 2007 in the premiere episode of Torchwood, with remaining stories or scenes set before then occurring in flashback.

His adventures with 21st century Torchwood Three and the related Torchwood team in America that was formed after the destruction of the Hub can be categorised as these original to Torchwood television lineups:

Timeline

Childhood

Javic plays on the beach with his father and brother. (TV: Adam )

An unknown enemy invades Javic's homeland, killing many of its inhabitants. His father told Javic to flee with Gray, while he went back for their mother. As they ran, Gray stumbled and Javic let go of his hand. Javic continued to run, thinking Gray behind him. Javic hid in a bush while the invaders flew overhead. He returns home hoping to find his brother, but found only his distraught mother sitting beside his dead father. (TV: Adam)

Javic Piotr Thane is an orphan, setting this some time after the attack on the Boeshane Peninsula. He is rescued from an attack on his orphanage by River Song, who teaches him that the monsters will never catch him so long as he keeps running. (AUDIO: R&J)

The Time Agency

Javic Piotr Thanw is working as a Time Agent.
Javic investigates a time disturbances in 15th century England. He finds that River Song is posing as Elizabeth I and together they fight android duplicates. Upon his return to the Time Agency, Javic finds that River is there posing as is new boss. She calls him "Jack Harkness", a name which he decidedly likes before wiping his memory with Hallucinogenic lipstick. (AUDIO: R&J)
Jack Harkness is stationed in London during World War II. He recognises River faintly from their previous encounters. They fight vortex wraiths together before River uses her hallucinogenic lipstick on him once again. (AUDIO: R&J)
Jack joins the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler.

Companion of the Doctor

Takes place before Boom Town due to Jack mentioning he has not visited the Ninth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler's era (the 21st century).
Set immediately after The Doctor Dances.
Tara Mishra joins the TARDIS.
Jack stays behind.
The Doctor finds Jack.
Tara stays behind to help on 54th century Nomicae.
The Doctor sends Jack to pick up Tara.
The Doctor Jack and Rose eat Kronkburgers together. Jack stops River Song from assassinating the Doctor. (AUDIO: R&J)
With Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen regressed back into an egg, the Doctor intends to take her to a hatchery on Raxacoricofallapatorius.
Set during Boom Town. Jack is trying to rewrite the extrapolator while Rose and Mickey are out together and the Doctor isn’t taking Margaret to dinner. He is visited in the TARDIS by River Song whom he last met when she tried to kill the Doctor. She quickly leaves after the earthquake begins. (AUDIO: R&J)
Rose phones her mother Jackie and tells her about the events of Boom Town
Rose has visited Raxacoricofallapatorius, setting this after Boom Town.
In Bad Wolf, the Doctor recalls that they went straight from Raxacoriofallapatorius to Kyoto in 1336. To reconcile this with the preceeding stories, the TARDIS must have visited Raxacoriofallapatorius a second time.
Set immediately before Bad Wolf, with the TARDIS team visiting Kyoto, Japan in 1336.
Jack is left behind on Satellite 5.

Association with Torchwood

Set in the late 19th century. Jack joins Torchwood. He is informed by the girl that he will ultimately meet the Doctor again, but only after the century turns twice.
Set on 17 May 1899.
Features Alice and Emily after Jack joined their team.
Set in 1909.
Set in 1927 and 1928.
Set in 1965.
Set on the night of 31 December 1999.
Jack has spent one hundred years waiting for the Doctor and is now at the point where he is actively searching for him, suggesting an early 21st century placement. He has met River Song. Jack recalls having been to the Red Dragon Centre, which was named in the real world in the year 2000.

Leader of Torchwood Three

Set over the course of the late 20th and early 21st century before Gwen Cooper is recruited to Torchwood Three
Set in 2005 while Rose Tyler is travelling with the Ninth Doctor.
Jack has visited Jackie Tyler several times since the events of Wednesdays for Beginners. He takes her into space for the first time.
Jack stops by the Powell Estate to visit Jackie, but finds River Song already there. (AUDIO: R&J)
Gwen is recruited.
Gwen's first day on the job.
Gwen is still inexperienced with weapons.
Several references are made to the events of Cyberwoman.
Takes place during the events of Cyberwoman, Small Worlds, Countrycide, and Greeks Bearing Gifts.
Set three months after Everything Changes.
Owen is visibly upset by the events of Out of Time in this story. He calls off his affair with Gwen.
Continues where Captain Jack Harkness left off. Jack disappears from Torchwood.

The Year That Never Was

Set during the events of Last of the Time Lords.
River visits Jack during his incarceration aboard the valiant. She provides him with a means to escape so he can join Martha in her final stand against the Master. (AUDIO: R&J)

Return to Torchwood Three

Gwen has started taking charge more in Jack's absence, in comparison to Captain Jack Harkness, where Owen was said to be second-in-command. Gwen is now engaged to Rhys.
Jack has left Torchwood before. Fall to Earth suggests that the events of Cyberwoman are still quite recent.
Jack is still on his mission to learn more about the Committee.
Torchwood deals with an attack by Cell 114, and are made aware that other sleeper agents are on Earth.
Set after Sleeper, Jack and Ianto spend a period of some weeks undercover to destroy the last of Cell 114.
Continues where Reset left off. Owen is resurrected, but with no lifesigns.
Set three days after Reset.
Continues where Fragments left off. Owen and Tosh die.
Martha meets Jack for the first time since Owen and Tosh's funeral.
Shrouded and The House of the Dead are set in the six-month gap at the end of Children of Earth: Day Five. Shrouded takes place at Ianto's funeral after Ianto dies in Day Four. Jack leaves Earth at the end of Children of Earth: Day Five. Days One through Five flow into one another.

Time away from Earth

Set during World War I. Jack knows that the war will end soon.
Immediately after the events of What Have I Done?, Jack is visited by River Song in Gallipoli. He confirms that he came to Gallipoli to do some good after the recent death of a very close friend. He also laments the loss of any family he makes. (AUDIO: R&J)

Battling the Three Families

Jack returns to Earth.
Jack and Gwen are taken to America.
Jack and Gwen return to the UK, along with Esther after End of the Road. The New World through End of the Road flow into one another.
Takes place a few months after End of the Road.
Continues where The Gathering left off.

Working alone

Jack, wearing his Torchwood "World War II" coat, is kidnapped by Adam Mitchell among companions of the Doctor but is soon freed by Frobisher. Leads into Endgame.
The first eleven Doctors rescue their companions from Adam and the Tremas Master.
Gwen and Rhys have not seen Jack for five years.
Set in November 2016. Ending leads directly into Arena of Fear.

A new Torchwood

Having been "dumped" by the crew of the Ice Maiden, Jack has returned to duty at Torchwood Cardiff.

The Future

Jack meets Team TARDIS and learns that the Doctor is now a woman. Promising that he will see the Doctor when she needs him, he passes a warning regarding the Lone Cyberman.
Jack's hair has gone grey and he has become a mythical figure and legend within the universe.

The Face of Boe

In the year 200000, The Face of Boe claims to have fallen pregnant with Boemina. (TV: The Long Game)
The Face of Boe comes from the year 5000000000 to attend a party held in Hobbes End by Iris Wildthyme.
In the year 5000000000, the Face of Boe was the sponsor of an event to safely witness the destruction of the Earth by the expansion of the Sun. The hot water in his room on the platform observing the "Earth death" was not working. The event was sabotaged by Lady Cassandra, but the Face was among the remaining survivors.
By 5,000,000,023, the Face of Boe was hospitalised in Ward 26 of the hospital run by the Sisters of Plenitude on New Earth. By this time, he was the last of Boekind. The Face of Boe promises to reveal his final message to the Doctor during their third and last meeting.
The Face of Boe had his final meeting with the Doctor in the year 5,000,000,053. Boe revealed his last secret with his dying breath after sacrificing himself to save the city of New New York: "You are not alone".
The Face of Boe's funeral is held by the Sisterhood of Plenitude. River Song attends the funeral, and Jack Harkness briefly visits while looking for River. (AUDIO: R&J)

Unplaced

Jack is aware of Rose's fate which he was made aware of in Utopia, setting this after Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang at the earliest.
Set at least after Journey's End. UNIT and Torchwood are still running.
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