EVERYBODY keeps saying Dr. Who ripped off Rosen in The Desert Peach, with a character named "Jack Harkness."
While I know my biggest fan base is my peers, the Pilot Who Shags Everybody And Everything has been around since - well, cavalry officers. BlackAdder has their own version in the World War One episodes. Red Dwarf has the alternate Rimmer. The Brits in particular do it well. Woof.
Even "The Mummy" had a mummy guard who did a neat flip with his spear before he put it to use, as Viktor MacLaughlin did with his rifle in "Gunga Din." Not only a professional soldier, but probably the hot guy in the squad.
Even "The Mummy" had a mummy guard who did a neat flip with his spear before he put it to use, as Viktor MacLaughlin did with his rifle in "Gunga Din." Not only a professional soldier, but probably the hot guy in the squad.
Now, in my case, Rosen is based on a boyfriend I had in the army, who actually DID introduce himself with outspread arm wings as "Hi! It's me - Old Crash-and-Burn!" Who looked pretty much like Rosen (I go for guys who look like Dad, with the black hair and blue eyes. Oh, what? We like our own genes).
I've never watched more than a couple of episodes of the old Pertwee Dr. Who, and it didn't quite push my buttons. But one of my readers sent me a link to a funny Jack Harkness montage on YouTube.
It's pretty funny. You will giggle.
It's pretty funny. You will giggle.
I dunno if I'll ever be a Dr. Who fan, but this makes me think it would be fun to see if the library has later versions of the series. The other actors are pretty funny, and the robot ladies are cool, in a retro Richard Lester way.
3 comments:
I just remembered David Belletoise in Voldemar Lestienne's Fracasso -- "darling Belou, the French pilot, the wife-seducer." It's an archetype for sure.
The hot young pilot was probably originally a rider, and before that, a long-distance runner. And knew it.
Hello, Donna:
Before I say anything I just want to tell you that I'm a huge fan -- I have pretty much all your work since I bought The Desert Peach #1 back in College! We met once when you made an appearance at Jim Hanley's Universe in NYC some years ago -- it was the night that there were icicles falling off the Empire State Building and 33rd street was closed to pedestrians. We had to go into the comic shop through the service entrance!
OK -- now I've got that out of my system. :-)
With regard to Captain Jack on Dr. Who -- I was never a huge Dr. Who fan in its original run, but I have to say I have very much been enjoying the post 2005 series. You don't have to know anything about the previous DECADES of Dr. Who continuity to enjoy the newer shows.
I agree that Jack is an archetype and not a deliberate copy of Rosen -- but if they met I'm sure they'd get along FAMOUSLY!
If you are interested in tracking down some modern Dr. Who episodes with Jack in them, I would recommend in particular:
"The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" -- the introductory 2-parter episodes for Captain Jack, set in WWII.
Jack appears in three subsequent episodes before making more sporadic appearances on the show.
He also got his own spinoff series, TORCHWOOD. I found this series somewhat spotty in quality though interesting in some places. There's another WWII themed episode (sort of a prequel to the aforementioned WHO episodes) called "Captain Jack Harkness" which I think you'd also enjoy. I thought it had a very Desert-Peach-like sensibility.
Best regards,
Kim
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