Captain Jack Harkness - Continuity

Continuity

  • The World War II scenes of the episode take place on 20 January 1941, before Jack's first appearance in the Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" set within 3 1/2 months later (see the Chronology for details).
  • Jack refers to "flotsam and jetsam", a running theme throughout the series.
  • A fly-poster with the words "Vote Saxon" is seen on the exterior entrance to the dance hall. Mr Saxon is the arc word for Series Three of Doctor Who, and comes into play in the trilogy of episodes that begins with "Utopia". This episode aired prior to the broadcast of Series Three, making this the first appearance on screen of this poster, which appeared numerous times during Series Three of Doctor Who. The character of Mr. Saxon, however, predates this episode, having been previously referenced in the Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride", which aired a week before this episode, and before that in the Series Two episode "Love and Monsters".
  • One of the small bollards in the hall has graffiti of a circled P emblem. This was the emblem of the Preachers in the Doctor Who episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel", and also appeared in "Ghost Machine" as graffiti on a bin.
  • When Owen is looking for the blueprints of the rift manipulator, the Ghost Machine and the Life Knife are shown.
  • The model of the plane on Jack's desk is a P-51 Mustang. It refers to the numerous mentions of Jack the pilot in photographs on the show as well as on the website, although the Mustang did not enter service until May 1942, after the events of this episode.
  • The password to Torchwood Jack's safe is Rhea Silvia who in Roman mythology was raped by the God of War Mars and was the mother of Romulus and Remus who founded the city of Rome. The password is used again by Gwen in "End of Days" to open the Rift.
  • Toshiko tells Jack that her grandfather was persecuted in London during the war. In "Greeks Bearing Gifts", one of her grandfathers is said to have worked at Bletchley Park during the war.
  • At least three, or as many as four Torchwood Jacks exist during the 1941 scenes. In addition to the Jack depicted with Toshiko, his younger self has been working for Torchwood Three for forty-two years. Their older self has been in a cadaver freezer in the hub for forty years. It is unclear whether their younger self has yet arrived, although it is prior to his usurption of Group Captain Harkness' name and the events of "The Empty Child".
  • The device Owen uses to open the safe appears to be the same device that Toshiko uses to open the hub's locks in "Cyberwoman" and which Jack described as being able to open any lock within 45 seconds.
  • Owen claims to be second in command. Jack identified Suzie Costello as such in "Everything Changes" and hired Gwen to fill Suzie's vacancy. Gwen is exercising command when Jack returns from his travels with the Doctor and Martha Jones in "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang".
  • Jack tells Toshiko "someone saved my life" after he had taken Harkness' identity, referring to the events of "The Parting of the Ways".
  • In the dance hall, as Toshiko and Jack are descending the steps, the graffiti on the wall behind them displays "Bad Wolf", a reference to the running theme in the first series of Doctor Who

Read more about this topic:  Captain Jack Harkness

Famous quotes containing the word continuity:

    “Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
    —John Dos Passos (1896–1970)

    “Every society consists of men in the process of developing from children into parents. To assure continuity of tradition, society must early prepare for parenthood in its children; and it must take care of the unavoidable remnants of infantility in its adults. This is a large order, especially since a society needs many beings who can follow, a few who can lead, and some who can do both, alternately or in different areas of life.”
    —Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994)

    “If you associate enough with older people who do enjoy their lives, who are not stored away in any golden ghettos, you will gain a sense of continuity and of the possibility for a full life.”
    —Margaret Mead (1901–1978)