Month 25

The Lives of Captain Jack #1.4

Released: 6 June 2017

Listened: 6/30/23

Jack is really no good at following established chronology, is he? Although this is the last story in the set, it takes place chronologically earliest (for Jack), during the period when he was still with the Time Agency. In fact, it even reveals Jack’s original name, which he uses throughout the story: Javic Piotr Thane. Javic is just about the worst co-worker you could possibly have. He’s arrogant and self-absorbed, breaks rules constantly, goes awol whenever he feels like it, definitely isn’t a team player, ignores the chain of command…and is astonishingly good at his job. He’s only got one friend within the agency, and pisses him off with regularity. However, after being placed on probation, Javic discovers that not only have his wages been messed with, but two years of his life are missing. This tracks with everything we’ve been told about Jack, and to some degree resolves that issue and sets him up for where we meet him in “The Empty Child,” but it’s annoyingly nonspecific. Javic was manipulated by a shadowy cabal, sure, and he defeats them and escapes, but we don’t really know much about them, or what Javic specifically did. Guy Adams writes Javic as immature, and probably unlikeable to some (including me). Barrowman also plays him slightly younger, a bit higher-pitched and with a faster tempo. This story also answers the question that never needed answering: Would Jack seduce himself, if time-travel shenanigans allowed for it? I’ll let you figure that one out.