Torchwood creator and writer Russell T. Davies talks about the upcoming Starz/BBC co-produced project Miracle Day. In the extensive interview, Davies let slip an interesting tidbit about the storyline. Miracle Day is about a day when nobody dies, then another, then another. When nobody can die it's up to CIA agent Rex to find out why with the help of Torchwood. The leader of Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness, has been immortal since the finale of the 2005 series where Rose (Billie Piper) resurrects Jack making him immortal. Davies speaks on how Jack has changed and his immortality.
The Captain Jack we first met in 'Doctor Who,' he was a swashbuckling hero...
RTD:A con man.
A con man, right, a charmer, all that kind of stuff. Along the way, especially in 'Children of Earth,' you put him through a lot of changes. Is he a really different person at the start of this season of the show?
RTD:Well he's literally, physically different. He's mortal. Everyone else is immortal, he's mortal. It's the biggest switch in the show, which we did in order to give us new insights into Jack. I appreciate what you're saying, that he's a different character. I think that's my job. I [there can be] a great passivity and inertia when it comes to characters on shows that are successful -- they keep coming back and they keep being the same. I'd much rather change them.
You've got a great cast, you've got great writers, why keep doing the same old stuff? We should all move into new areas. Look where we are with this strange, weird, hybrid Welsh-American show. We couldn't have started with this, because it's too odd. It's a rolling stone that's gathered moss. And that's come from pushing and changing all the time. I love where we did end up, which has odd flavors and tastes sometimes, but here we are.
I'm just trying to process this information about Jack being mortal. It's sort of fundamentally altering who he is, isn't it?
RTD:It's part of the story, but the greatest thing you can do is offer a new look into the character. It's not fundamentally altering the character, it's fundamentally altering the rules -- the character stays the same, that's the glorious thing. [The idea is to] put them in situations where there are new rules, new trials, new victories, new losses, and see who they are, that's the point. That's what they're there for, these fictional people.
This gives you a lot more places to go with him in terms of emotion, connections, relationships.
RTD:Absolutely, yes. It just opens up a whole new palette for me. It's just richer and better.
So many characters have died on the show... so you're killing Jack now?
RTD:I couldn't possibly say... but the stakes are that high.
I think it's a fascinating concept, because, his immortality is one of the things that, ironically, gave Jack a kind of humanity. You felt so terrible for this guy, having to say goodbye to everyone he ever loved, all the time.
RTD:And it's very hard to prove he's mortal without killing him. So that's going to be interesting. Some clever things to come.