# Torchwood - clarifications sought (Open Spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652 "2007-12-03T13:45:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/21 "2007-12-03T20:56:36Z")
**Lute** - Are you sure sentience is a requirement? šŸ˜‰ StG ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/22 "2007-12-03T21:10:30Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Jack is more of an omni-sexual: heā€™ll have sex with anything as long as itā€™s sentient. [/QUOTE] I always heard him reffered to as a ā€œTry-Sexualā€ - heā€™ll try anything. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/23 "2007-12-03T21:12:55Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] I wouldnā€™t say the curse words are bleeped out. Iā€™ve heard everything except the f-bomb. [/QUOTE] Well, they wouldnā€™t let us hear Eve Miles say ā€œhard-on.ā€ But Gordon Ramseyā€™s use the word several timesā€“on Sunday morning! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/24 "2007-12-03T21:13:44Z")
[QUOTE=StGermain] **Lute** - Are you sure sentience is a requirement? šŸ˜‰ [/QUOTE] Iā€™m reasonably sure that he wonā€™t attempt to copulate with _Felis silvestris_; those cat-women, on the other handā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/25 "2007-12-03T21:50:23Z")
Soā€¦ Jack ends up becoming William Shatner, then? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/26 "2007-12-03T21:54:54Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Soā€¦ Jack ends up becoming William Shatner, then? [/QUOTE] The bald one only went after women. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/27 "2007-12-03T21:58:49Z")
A few points about Jackā€™s background that nobody mentioned yet Before Jack was a conman he was a Time Agent. (Itā€™s not quite clear exactly what that is, some sort of Time Police, perhaps). His face was used on recruitment posters in the Boeshane Nebula, so he became known as The Face Of Boe. One day he discovered that his employers had erased two years of his life from his memory. This is the reason why he left, and became a conman. We donā€™t know yet what happened in those two years, nor why they were hidden from him. Presumably all will be revealed later. Jack Harkness isnā€™t his real name. He borrowed the name from a pilot that was killed in WW2. He actually met the original Jack shortly before his death in an episode of Torchwood. He was gay, too. I donā€™t think we know his original name. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/28 "2007-12-03T22:05:50Z")
Thanks, all! I had seen the episodes, I just couldnā€™t remember the details. Much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/29 "2007-12-03T22:17:50Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Before Jack was a conman he was a Time Agent. (Itā€™s not quite clear exactly what that is, some sort of Time Police, perhaps). His face was used on recruitment posters in the Boeshane Nebula, so he became known as The Face Of Boe. [/QUOTE] Itā€™s ā€œBoeshane Peninsulaā€ and itā€™s not clear eactly when he was a poster boy but presumably itā€™s before he became a Time Agent. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/30 "2007-12-03T22:31:25Z")
[QUOTE=Reloy3] \>snip!\< I have heard the actor playing Captain Jack is gay, but it didnā€™t occur to me that the character was, probably because there was, IIRC, a Rose-Jack romance subtext. [/QUOTE] aw manā€¦ no offense, but heā€™s such nice man candy! itā€™d be a darn shame for us hetero girls if he wasnā€™t ā€˜availableā€™ to usā€¦ šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/31 "2007-12-03T22:42:34Z")
I think it is pretty safe to assume that Capā€™n Jack and The Face of Boe are one and the same. In the future when the face is dying he tells the doctor that the doctor is not alone. He knows this because in TFOBā€™s past when he was still Capā€™n he and the doctor meet up and play with The Master. Yet at that point in the Doctorā€™s timeline when TFOB tells him he is not alone the Doctor had not yet met up again with the Master. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/32 "2007-12-04T00:22:22Z")
[QUOTE=simster] I always heard him reffered to as a ā€œTry-Sexualā€ - heā€™ll try anything. [/QUOTE] Or as the Doctor put it (in ā€œThe Doctor Dancesā€): ā€œSo many species, so little time.ā€ On the topic of Torchwood being censored: Whether any scenes have been cut by BBC America will have to be answered either by people whoā€™ve seen the UK-aired episodes, or after the DVDs come out. As for language, in addition to the F-word being bleeped, Gwen called Owen something in ā€œDay Oneā€, probably ā€œcuntā€, that wasnā€™t bleeped but blurred into a sort of a coughing sound. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/33 "2007-12-04T00:32:59Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Itā€™s ā€œBoeshane Peninsulaā€ [/quote] Iā€™ll take your word for it. > [@](#): > > and itā€™s not clear eactly when he was a poster boy but presumably itā€™s before he became a Time Agent. I thought he was a poster boy FOR the Time Agency, i.e. after he joined. And he was one of their earliest recruits, too. The first of the few. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/34 "2007-12-04T01:40:39Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] I thought he was a poster boy FOR the Time Agency, i.e. after he joined. And he was one of their earliest recruits, too. The first of the few. [/QUOTE] As Jack puts it, he ā€œused to be a poster boy when [he] was a kid in the Boeshane Peninsula.ā€ Unless he considers himself a kid when he signed up, this was before that. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/35 "2007-12-04T01:50:12Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > : > > Originally Posted by CalMeacham > > Soā€¦ Jack ends up becoming William Shatner, then? > > The bald one only went after women. Yer missinā€™ the point. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/36 "2007-12-04T03:32:24Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Jack Harkness isnā€™t his real name. He borrowed the name from a pilot that was killed in WW2. He actually met the original Jack shortly before his death in an episode of Torchwood. [/QUOTE] I wasnā€™t completely sold on the show until the kiss between the Captains Harkness. That was the most realistic kiss Iā€™ve seen on TV. Iā€™m in for season two. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/37 "2007-12-04T16:47:37Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] A few points about Jackā€™s background that nobody mentioned yet [/QUOTE] Iā€™m curious which series/episodes clarify these, particularly the erasing two years. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/38 "2007-12-04T16:58:00Z")
Most of the info on Jackā€™s background is revealed in the Series One ā€œThe Empty Child/The Doctor Dancesā€ two-parter and the Series Three ā€œUtopia/Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lordsā€ episodes. The two lost years is from, I think, ā€œThe Doctor Dancesā€. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/39 "2007-12-04T17:01:10Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Iā€™m curious which series/episodes clarify these, particularly the erasing two years. [/QUOTE] Jackā€™s history as a Time Agent, including, I believe, the missing years was in The Empty Child. The implication that heā€™s the Face of Boe, due to having that nickname as a model on the Boeshane Peninsula before being a Time Agent was in Last of the Time Lords. The stuff about his name was in the Torchwood episode Captain Jack Harkness. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652/40 "2007-12-04T17:25:45Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Before Jack was a conman he was a Time Agent. (Itā€™s not quite clear exactly what that is, some sort of Time Police, perhaps). [/QUOTE] Ooh, having recently ordered (but not having yet received) DVDs of [Sapphire & Steel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire_&_Steel), I wonder if the ā€œTime Agentā€ bit is a reference of more or less obliqueness to the ā€œOperativesā€ of that series? Were any of the time people referred to as ā€œagentsā€ in S&S? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torchwood-clarifications-sought-open-spoilers/428652.md?page=3)