Bring Back Jack: Will 'Doctor Who' Revive the Male Companion Era in Season 11?

Beginning in 1963, Doctor Who is now one of television's longest running sci-fi shows, and fans old and young have witnessed the many faces of the Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. Why? The Doctor has the ability to regenerate into a new body when the current one is severely damaged or on the edge of dying. Over the last 54 years we have had 12 Doctors, all male. However, the Twelfth Doctor will be switching things up by regenerating into a female body this Christmas, meaning Doctor Who will introduce its very first female Doctor.

Traveling through time and space, the Doctor is always joined by a companion. Since his first incarnation, the Doctor has had a mix of female and male companions, but in the recent series the Doctor has largely been accompanied by female. So, now that the new incarnation of the Doctor is female, is it time to revive the era of male companions?

Less Love Interest, More Traveling

There have been many times that the female companion has shown a love interest in the Doctor, most notably Rose Tyler. Rose traveled with two incarnations of the Doctor across two seasons. Her love interest became stronger when she appeared alongside David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, more so than Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor. With her love and passion for the Doctor taking over the series, it became distracting for viewers because Doctor Who is about traveling the stars in a blue police box, not how to start a relationship with a stranger you met on the streets.

However, when Steven Moffat replaced Russell T Davies as the showrunner of Doctor Who, he began to start shifting things around. Moffat brought back the classic era of the show by having a female and a male traveling with the Doctor at the same time with Amelia "Amy" Pond and Rory Williams, who went on to marry each other, hence becoming Amy and Rory Williams.

A male companion traveling alongside the Doctor brought back that spark, proving men can be just as witty as women on #DoctorWho. Since the very first season in 1963, there have been 27 full-time female companions on Doctor Who. On the other hand, there have been just 11 full-time male companions. It seems that men haven't had the right time to shine yet.

Fan Favorite Jack To Return?

Since the announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, fans have been requesting for the fan favorite Captain Jack Harkness to return to Doctor Who. Jack is well-known for traveling with the Ninth and Tenth Doctor, as well as running the Torchwood Institute. Jack was the first bisexual character to travel on and off with the Doctor. This has sparked a new line for the show, as Jack was seen flirting with the female companions as well as male, like Alonso in "The End of Time."

If Jack were to return for Season 11 with Whittaker it could create new chemistry between the Doctor and her companion. However, Whittaker will likely shut him down straight away, like Tennant did when Jack attempted to flirt with Martha Jones. When questioned about the casting of a companion to stand by Whittaker for Season 11, John Barrowman said:

“Give the Doctor a transgender companion, give him a boy, give him a girl, give him a little boy or little girl; we could have many different combinations. It can be open to a lot.”

With that said, it leaves every possibility for Jack to return. After stepping down from his role in Arrow, it seems highly likely that he could be making a return to Doctor Who.