How Long Has Jack Protected the Doctor From Torchwood?

[crabby_lioness]

Torchwood has been looking for the Doctor since 1897. They didn't find him until 2006, in spite of the Doctor being prominent with U.N.I.T. throughout the 1960s and the 1970s. Why not?

According to the http://www.torchwood.org.uk/html/jack/snaps.shtml Jack appears to have held prominent positions in Torchwood since 1961. Has Jack been fudging Torchwood's records to protect the Doctor for 45 years? Has he been collecting the Doctor's "flotsam and jetsam" and storing them at his office to keep them away from the London branch? Did he set off the "Bad Wolf virus" mentioned in Love & Monsters that protects the data on Rose? It fits Occam's Razor.

If my theory is correct then it's possible that some agents Jack has trained have gone on to work for the home office in London. They could have instructions to look out for their old boss and redirect Doctor-memorabilia his way when they get the chance.

So far we've only seen two episodes. Knowing my luck, something will come up in the third episode that will completely blow this theory out of the water. But until that happens, it's the most elegant, the most logical, and the most romantic explanation. That's a winning combination in my book.

Comments

[absdax.livejournal.com]

didn't 9 give someone (micky???) a disk in one episode of ecclestones series to delete all mention of the Doctor from the internet?? i havew only vauge memories of this... i might of dreamed it thou! this disk could also of got into the Torchwood computers and deleted their files too, just a theory!

[atraphoenix.livejournal.com]

That rings a bell, actually...

But thats the Doctor, not Rose. I think Jack trying to help them out even after they left him is quite endearing, really.

[gigs-83.livejournal.com]

That was at the end of "World War Three".

[shinji-star.livejournal.com]

The disk was given to Mickey at the end of 'World War Three' but it said on Mickey's website http://www.whoisdoctorwho.co.uk/index6.shtml that he didn't use the disk.

[forwardish]

The Bad Wolf virus I had the feeling was something Rose pulled off when she was all glowy.
But the other points have me thinking.

[shinji-star.livejournal.com]

Bad Wolf Virus was RTD getting out of writing hole as he'd already had Torchwood not know Rose in 'Army of Ghosts' and wrote 'Love & Monsters' later and needed to explain why they wouldn't have known about Rose at least from Queen Victoria.

[shinji-star.livejournal.com]

Teach me to post before I've finished thinking...
So yeah, it was glowy!Rose.

I love the idea of Jack hiding the Doctor though, or at least keeping Torchwood always one step behind him, keeping tabs but not actually getting him.

[boji.livejournal.com]

Of course - drawing on the temporal paradox which might be at work here - I rather like the idea that in some 'original' 51st century timeline he was sent to intercept the Doctor and spy/gather information for Torchwood ended up getting 'rescued' from a scheme that had gone FUBAR, became a companion and had any/all preconceptions about the Doctor utterly turned on their head.

And then, once finding himself way back in the twentieth century set about protecting the Doctor with everything at his disposal and everything he could salvage/scavenge.

It's a love thang

[flynn-boyant.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's an amazing theory! Do you mind if I start speculating on it a bit further here?

Exploring the idea that Jack, being a former time agent and being able to find a reliable means to get back to the past, chose to go back to 1941. (Totally speculation here, as of yet we have no real "canon" information regarding when he returned or how) If he is armed with information concerning Torchwood then it is possible that it was during the World Wars that Torchwood stopped being a pesky annoyance to the Doctor and a possible threat to him. The Torchwood of the Victorian era would not have been able to due much harm to the Doctor but after having time to collect, study and reverse engineer alien technology they now have the means to track and possibly capture the Doctor. Also, Jack himself brought alien technology to 1941 and, perhaps, he realized that his own actions may have allowed Torchwood to get an unfair advantage over the Doctor later on.

So, perhaps the whole being a rogue Time Agent was a con? A cover story for when he met the Doctor? Or maybe he wasn't supposed to meet the Doctor at all. Sort of a don't interfere with events plan of action, until it all went wrong. Of course if he wasn't supposed to meet the Doctor then...(ooh, my head. This is where it starts to get a bit confusing).

Although it does give a whole new meaning to "I wish I had never met you. I was better off as a coward". You could spin that to imply that he knew OF the Doctor and was taught in the agency that the Doctor was anything from a curiousity to an enemy but never someone he was allowed to make contact with. Ooh, here's another thought. Wouldn't it be something if Torchwood had evolved into the Time Agency at some point in history?

My head is kinda of spinning now. It hard to keep it all coherent but it's fun to think about!

[indiefairy.livejournal.com]

I like the theory, it is very romantic, makes me all warm thinking that Jack has been protecting the Doctor, even though he abandoned him.

[staceyuk.livejournal.com]

I really like that theory.

*hugs Jack, just because*

[suzy_queue]

I think that's a great theory, and also plausible. Nifty.

[(Anonymous)]

My take on this is that during the UNIT years, The Doctor was in effect under UNIT protection, and Torchwood did not want to risk exposure.

Even after that, trying to predict when and where The Doctor would turn up would be virtually impossible. And could still have led to a turf war with UNIT.

Then after the assasination of the most prominent members of UNIT during Aliens of London/WW3, it is logical to assume UNIT were crippled as an effective organisation. Which would give Torchwood more freedom.

Besides, they only caught The Doctor because he took the Tardis straight into Torchwood One. So they're not that brilliant... :-)

[aeshna_uk]

I suspect Jack's just been waiting for the right point in the Doctor's timeline. After all, wouldn't want to dole out that well-deserved kicking to the guy before they've even met, would he? Got to make sure it goes to the one who actually has it coming.... ;)

I never read "get the Doctor!" as being Torchwood's primary purpose - it was more to protect the country and the empire from alien threats, of whom the Doctor was regarded as just one of many. I don't think they were ever really specifically hunting for him in a major sense, but would have paid attention if he'd made a real nuisance of himself. Most of the time the Doctor was around, though, I'd imagine that Torchwood would have been far more concerned with the same invasions he was tackling. And this is assuming that Jack/Torchwood would even know who they were looking for. Jack knew Nine, and from Victoria's descriptions of Rose he might twig to the fact that Ten really IS the Doctor, but he wouldn't have a clue regarding the other, Rose-free incarnations, and neither would the rest of Torchwood. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose, and it's not as though they'd have had nothing else more important to be getting along with.... :)

[crabby-lioness.livejournal.com]

Yvonne said that stopping the Doctor is listed in Torchwood's charter. That makes it a difficult mandate to ignore.

[aeshna_uk]

Yes, but they'd have been specifically keeping an eye out for Ten, and then only if they didn't have other more immediate concerns to be dealing with. ;) They're not aware of regeneration and they likely didn't know about the TARDIS (current evidence suggesting that the "perception filter" is how it tends to go unnoticed even when stuck in an utterly anachronistic situation).

But then, I'm not into Doctor/Jack, so I'm not too fussed about the logistics so long as the annoying bugger stays in his own show and lets Jack form some proper relationships elsewhere! I know that others see things differently. ;D

[crabby-lioness.livejournal.com]

Ten & Jack's meeting will be Ten's to screw up. Ten is arrogant and rude. He'll screw it up.

[kickair8p.livejournal.com]

"Yes, but they'd have been specifically keeping an eye out for Ten.....They're not aware of regeneration....."

And they'd've had no reason to think he had a longer-than-human lifespan, so eventually they'd write him off for dead. He may be in the original charter, but even after they became aware of his work with UNIT there'd probably be some controversy over whether or not it was the same guy, and if so just what they were going to do about it.





~

[flynn-boyant.livejournal.com]

So, perhaps Jack is waiting for Ten?

It would make sense if he had indepth knowledge of Torchwood's history that the mysterious figure who caused Torchwood's creation would reappear in the 21st century. Now maybe the people at Torchwood didn't put that together but Jack must have researched the history thoroughly knowing that there was a connection to the Doctor. They wouldn't have had an image of the Doctor that Queen Victoria encountered but they would have had a highly detailed account of him (since she pretty much thought of him as enemy number one and had him banished, people representing Torchwood early on would need to know what he looked like in order to prevent him from returning).

Jack's a smart guy and could easily put two and two together. At the time of the creation of Torchwood Rose was still with the Doctor, can't you imagine Jack's reaction to the story of the half-naked blonde girl traveling with the mysterious "Doctor". He would know it was Rose right away. Also taking into account the events of "Army of Ghosts" to "Doomsday". Jack probably managed to get a hold of images of the Doctor during those events. Perhaps Jack came to the conclusion that it has to be the same version of the Doctor in both points in history. If we assume that he knows about regeneration he may realize that this version of the Doctor came about after Satellite Five. He may want to see Nine but Ten is the Doctor he needs to find if he wants to get some answers.

"The 21st Century is when everything changes". Maybe what he said applies to the Doctor as well. Jack waiting specifically for Ten would make it all the more tragic if Jack and Ten have a huge falling out upon reuniting. I hope not.

[pairatime.livejournal.com]

Didn't the Doctor go by the name John Smith when dealing with UNIT. some of them may have know but maybe Torchwood wouldn't know who he really was.

[ryttu3k.livejournal.com]

I REALLY like that idea. And remember, he was trained as a Time Agent - he'd know that meeting the Doctor before he met him (uh, you know what I mean) would have serious repercussions on the timeline, possibly resulting in his not meeting the Doctor in the first place and thus undoing the time line. Whoa, confusing.

But yeah - I love this idea.

[cosmic.livejournal.com]

Oh Jack. Like he hadn't broken my little shippery heart enough with the Hand.

I love that theory.

[flynn-boyant.livejournal.com]

Ooh, the theories just keep getting better and better! I love how you think (especially when it's concerning Jack and the Doctor).

It's a touching scenario and so very, very possible. At least in my opinion.

[nightswhisper.livejournal.com]

OOO! Nice theories you have here. About Jack leaping back in time, in the 2nd to last episode, entitled "Captain Jack Harkness" (even) the episode summary is as follows...

(highlight to read)

Interesting, given these thoughts, ne?

[crabby-lioness.livejournal.com]

Interesting, but I want a bit more data before I start speculating on that one.

[nightswhisper.livejournal.com]

yea. If there was more I wish I had it. I'm just saying there's hope for many different possibilities on seeing different sides of things and the like.

[crabby-lioness.livejournal.com]

The problem I always had with Jack's origin is that if you pull the same con in the same place on the same group of people over & over again, you get caught fairly quickly. Since I don't think Jack is lying in that instance, that implies the Time Agency was letting him get away with it.

[mneiai.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's really interesting--though, of course, no one in the group seems to know that Jack is A: a time traveler and B: immortal (well, only one person ^.^). Jack has lots of secrets.

[mneiai.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of this! It makes a bit of sense, too, that they really don't seem to notice the Doctor as much as you think a highly technological 20th/21st Century cover group could....

Also, it would make it so tragic if, when they meet, Ten is just completely pissed that Jack cheated death or whatever.

Though, I'm half of a mind to believe that Torchwood got Jack to join because he was that pissed at the Doctor and wanted a little revenge, at least at first ^.^