20 of my favorite quotes from The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances shooting scripts for the 20th anniversary!
these are just quotes i found interesting or nostalgic or i just like - it's mostly about Jack Harkness, ngl
“Jack turns. We see him for the first time - an iconic fist-look-at-a-hero shot, the reddening sky of Blitz London behind him, the searchlights, the laming buildings. He’s impossibly handsome, dashing - the jawline of Dan Dare, the smile of a bastard.
“Jack is sitting at the instrument of what appears to be some kind of space vehicle - it isn’t too dissimilar to the cockpit of a fighter plane; a mix of fighter pilot imagery and Star Wars… and a camper van. Does he live here?”
“Jack riches over, clicks a switch. Rose’s first impression was dead right. He’s shockingly handsome.”
“A little silence. Rose shifts, a little self-consciously - making all those awkward little flicks and tweaks of someone who’s aware they might not be looking their best but suddenly would like to. She’s a little thrown but she gives her best shot a defiance”
Rose: “So, who are you supposed to be then?” Jack: “Currently? Captain Jack harkness, 133 Squadron, Royal Air Force, American volunteer”
“A little reluctantly - but he is terribly handsome - Rose gives him her hands. Gently, Jack takes hold of them, starts to examine the cuts and bruises with what looks like a pencil torch.[...] He smiles at her, still holding her hands. And she’s terribly aware of this very handsome man, very close.”
“He clicks another control. An ice bucket with a bottle of champagne in it pops out of the wall, James Bond style (along with two glasses)”
Rose: “Do you have the time? “Without taking his eyes off her, Jack raises his zapper again, point it at the giant clock-face. The clock-face illuminates, bathing them both in its light. This is now impossibly romantic. And half past nine.
“Jack, whirls, rolls, comes up on one knee, weapon levelled at the glass screen - it’s classic James Bond - except - the weapon in his hand is a banana.
“Jack laughs. He’s deciding he likes this guy”
The Doctor: “Nine hundred years old, me. Been around. I think you can assume at some point I’ve… Danced.” Rose: “You??” The Doctor: “Problem?” Rose: (staring at him, intrigued, fascinated - is he a bloke after all?)
Rose: “Well. His name’s Jack, he’s a captain” The Doctor: “He’s not really a captain, Rose!” Rose: “You know what= I think you’re experiencing captain envy.”
Jack: “Didn’t look like talking” Rose: “Didn’t sound like dancing”
“And off he goes, straightening his tie, smoothing back his hair. Rose stares after him, a little flummoxed by this turn of events. Something in her face is screaming “No, no, not on that team!”
“Algy, old sport, it’s me”
Rose: “Doctor, that bomb…” The Doctor: “Taken care of it” Rose “How? The Doctor: “Psychology”
“And he throws his arms. And the nanogenes stream from him, a golden storm of them - straight to the Gasmask Creatures. The creatures stagger, some of them fall - the Doctor, at the centre of the storm, arm flung wide, loving this, roaring with laughter, absolutely joyous-”
“He stands ready to face his doom like a man. Or at any rate, like a man with a drink. We start pulling back from him, as he looks out over the stars one final time. It's a pull-out that feels like the end of the show, like this is the last we’ll see of him.
Jack: (looking numbly round the room) “Bigger on the inside…” The Doctor: “You’d better be”
The Doctor hits a switch on the console. The music changes - up tempo: Gleen Miller’s “In The Mood”. The Doctor: “I can dance!” He grabs Rose, spins her perfectly and they’re off round the console. And if you thought Jack could dance, this guy0s got nine hundred years on him. Rose: “Actually, Doctor, I thought that Jack might like the dance” The Doctor: “I’m sure he would, Rose, I’m absolutely certain… (He spins her, twirls her… Jack stands there, starting to smile, taking in this strange new world he’s suddenly part of.) … But who with?”
HAPPY 20 SLUTTY SLUTTY YEARS ON OUR SCREENS CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS
credits to the book Doctor Who, The Shooting Scripts for season one. and a special thanks to @by-gray for telling me about the book in the first place
