I was under the assumption that the Doctor took off because Jack came back wrong, and he felt he might have to do something about it. The Tardis thought Jack wrong enough to go to the end of civilisaton to try and shake him off.

Well, consider the source of that- the Doctor in conversation with Jack. I thought he was sort of jerkily blaming Jack and having some of the Issues that Fay mentioned upthread.

'Cause, yeah, the Doctor said it was all Jack's fault, but was it?

I'm agreeing that the Doctor fleeing was more about how broken Jack is/was than his own ample "must not bond" issues.

Remember the whole "you are an unnatural thing of immortal unnaturalness covered in unnatural sauce"? I think that was legitimate squick.

But why the bitterness, love? He's pretty much 'Yay, people! With sex drives! Yay!' (...I mean, Vortex, you're totally in there, love! Er. You know, once you've figured out how to step through the screen into his reality, that is. And assuming you're not being attacked by anything monstrous and armed at that point. Er. Which can't have been the point you were making, but somehow I seem to have wandered offtopic and now to be writing RPS Vortex/Cap'n Jack in my reply...er. I blame your cleavage. It can distract a person.)

See, this is why I love Fay

I think (no, I know) that I expressed myself badly. When Jack sees an attractive man, he's immediately all "Let's get it on!" when he meets women, he flirts, but doesn't seem to try to be getting them into bed immediately. And I'm bitter because I'M NOT THERE.

You know, one little thing that bugged me a bit about Jack is that he *wasn't* flirting with Donna. She's awesome and ginger! Don't make her do all the work!

And I'm bitter because I'M NOT THERE.

Word. ::sigh::

I'm having trouble appreciating the new doctor, ie the whole new series from Nine onwards. There's too much soap opera, not enough adventure. I really don't give a damn about Rose's un/requited love (I really don't give a damn about Rose, for that matter, she whines a lot)

I'm getting my Doctor Who on PBS, so I'm a couple of seasons behind everything else. I'm glad they're showing the companions as being more important to him than they seem to have been in the past, but I have trouble with a pining Doctor.

I get the sense that the Doctor is the great unrequited love of Jack's life

He is, and in a lot of ways, it's a parallel with The Doctor's feelings for Rose: Just as Rose was the one to pull The Doctor back from the crushing grief and self-loathing he was feeling after The Time War, The Doctor was the one to pull Jack back from the bitterness of his life after he left the Time Agency. In very real ways, the three of them saved each other's lives and souls, and that's a tight emotional ménage à trois.

When Jack sees an attractive man, he's immediately all "Let's get it on!" when he meets women, he flirts, but doesn't seem to try to be getting them into bed immediately.

See, I always figured he was just using the most effective tool for the particular job, so to speak. Generally speaking (and yes, I know this isn't always true) it's often much more effective to say "let's fuck!" to a man than it is to a woman.

And I'm bitter because I'M NOT THERE.

Again, not there aren't exceptions. (:

Or, in the immortal words of Donna Noble: "No. Really. You can hug me."

In very real ways, the three of them saved each other's lives and souls, and that's a tight emotional ménage à trois.

I think that this is an excellent point. I don't think that they were sleeping together when they were traveling (though I wouldn't put it past Jack and the Doctor to have had a secret affair), but they definitely had a polyamorous relationship that fed and nutured off of each other.

but they definitely had a polyamorous relationship that fed and nutured off of each other.

Certainly, and I wholeheartedly believe it was all emotional, not physical, but really, that's beside the point. The relationship was undeniably real.

Scifi Friday upcoming schedule:

Fridays (August 15-September 26)*
9:00/8:00c - "Stargate Atlantis" (Repeats)
10:00/9:00c - "Stargate Atlantis"

Friday, October 3 9:00/8:00c - "Sanctuary" (Two-Hour Series Premiere)

Fridays (as of October 10)**
9:00/8:00c - "Stargate Atlantis" (New Time Period)
10:00/9:00c - "Sanctuary" (Regular Time Period)

* pre-empted on August 29 for a "Star Trek: Enterprise" marathon (due to Labor Day)

** pre-empted on October 31 for the "Ghost Hunters Live" event