Despite what Juliet famously said about roses, the right name conveys a bit of something-something that just doesn’t come across otherwise. Across television eras and genres, the name Jack has been the trademark of heroic leading characters. Excepting the occasional Ripper, of course.
Far from an exhaustive list, we’ve gathered five of our favorite characters named Jack here for your consideration. Mind you, on our first pass at the idea, we brainstormed enough that we could probably run a series of these lists. Stay tuned.
Jack Ransom – Paramount+’s Star Trek: Lower Decks
Growing up on My Secret Identity and Sliders, I never imagined Jerry O’Connell would voice the U.S.S. Cerritos‘s macho second-in-command, Jack Ransom. But, yay, he did. Over the five seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Ransom grew from a caricature of a self-important musclebound officer to a mentor with real leadership qualities.
RELATED: Star Trek: Lower Decks: 7 Non-Franchise References
Fun Facts:
- He was born in Tycho City on Luna, which we would just call “The Moon.”
- We never meet or hear about any of Ransom’s family, a stark contrast to Captain Freeman, who can’t get away from hers.
- His fixation on working out and physical fitness is a defining trait and led to his catchphrase, “Engage the core!” when he became captain of the Cerritos in the series finale. (#Spoilers)
All five seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks stream on Paramount+.
Captain Jack Harkness – BBC’s Doctor Who, Torchwood
The character of Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) first appears in the Doctor Who-verse on TV, in Season 1 Episode 9, “The Empty Child,” with the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). He traveled with the Doctor and Rose for some time until she accidentally/on purpose turned him immortal. Since then, he’s encountered various regenerations of The Doctor, led a section of Torchwood, and appeared in every form of Whovian media — novels, webcasts, audio books, comics, and the video game.
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Fun Facts:
- While human, he was not born on Earth. He is a Boekind from the Boeshane Peninsula on an unnamed Earth colony world.
- His real name is not Jack Harkness. He was born Javic Piotr Thane (revealed in the audio books) in the 51st Century. His father was named Franklin (Demetri Goritsas), and he had a brother named Gray (Lachlan Nieboer). He adopted the name Jack Harkness from an American pilot who died during WWII.
- Because of his complex(!) time-travelling and immortality, there are whole decades wherein multiple versions of Jack Harkness exist at the same time on Earth. Furthermore, alternate counterparts of Jack play significant roles in the parallel dimensions known as Donna’s World and Pete’s World (audio book adventure).
The BBC-produced seasons of Doctor Who (2005-2022) that Jack Harkness appears in can be streamed on Hulu, while four seasons of Torchwood are streaming on Max.
Jack Reacher – Prime Video’s Reacher
Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels number in the dozens and have been adapted into the Tom Cruise movies as well as the more recent (and some would argue more accurate) Prime Video series, Reacher. With the substantial bulk of Alan Ritchson anchoring the titular role, the series has consistently hit record viewing numbers, season after season.
RELATED: TV Review: Reacher Season 3
Jack Reacher (“just call me Reacher”) served in the military as an officer out of West Point. Assigned to the military police, he headed the U.S. Army 110th MP Special Investigations Unit. Once he left the military, he became a hobo, drifting wherever he felt like and invariably running into trouble, although never looking for it. His combat skills are proficient, and combined with an exceptional deductive intellect, he is more than capable of besting even the most formidable opponents.
Fun Facts:
- His mother was French, and he speaks some of the language. (Not sure where he picked up the Russian, though.)
- According to the novels, he’s a bad driver and doesn’t have a license. (That does explain the carnage he causes in the chase scene in Reacher Season 3 Episode 1, “Persuader.”)
- There is a Jack Reacher-inspired musical album by the band Naked Blue in collaboration with author Lee Child called “Just the Clothes on My Back.” They also produced a documentary, If Jack Reacher Could Sing, about creating the album. Track #7 “Midnight Train” featured in Reacher Season 1 Episode 2, “First Dance.”
All three seasons of Reacher are now streaming on Prime Video. Season 4 has already been greenlit, and filming will begin in the summer of 2025.
Image Credit: ABC
Jack Tripper – ABC’s Three’s Company, Three’s A Crowd
The late John Ritter became a household name playing Jack Tripper on ABC’s sex-romp comedy Three’s Company, a remake of the British series Man About the House about a man moving in with two women and having to pretend to be gay to meet the moral standards of the prudish landlord. Three’s Company ran for eight seasons and 172 episodes before its finale. John Ritter’s exceptional skills in physical comedy and timing beautifully highlighted his endearing portrayal of the good-hearted and fun-loving, but chronically misunderstanding-prone, Jack.
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Fun Facts:
- One of the key reasons Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy (Suzanne Somers) ask Jack to be their roommate is his ability to cook. Jack learned to cook while in the Navy and attends a culinary arts program at the technical college until he lands a job as a chef with Mr. Angelino (Jordan Charney). Later, he takes over Angelino’s restaurant to create “Jack’s Bistro.”
- John Ritter’s father, Tex Ritter, was a singing cowboy and film star. One might assume that Ritter based Jack Tripper’s made-up twin brother, Austin (Season 5, Episode 19, “Double Trouble”), on his real-life dad.
- Jack had an actual brother on the show, Lee (John Getz), who dates Chrissy in Season 4, Episode 21, “Lee Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.”
You can stream all eight seasons of Three’s Company on Peacock. Three’s A Crowd is also available.
Jack O’Neill – Showtime/SciFi’s Stargate SG-1
The character Jack O’Neill is one of only two characters to appear in the Stargate film as well as all three television series. Of course, Kurt Russell played him in the cinematic movie while Richard Dean Anderson shouldered the bulk of the 214 television episodes and two made-for-TV movies. One might argue they really weren’t the same character at all. Behind the scenes, Anderson insisted that his O’Neill have a more comedic bent, go rogue a lot more with military protocol, and be more of a team player.
RELATED: Amazon Studios to Develop Stargate Film and TV Projects
Fun Facts:
- Jack O’Neill gets the Repository of the Ancients, a database of alien knowledge, “downloaded” to his brain multiple times. #NotRecommended but necessary.
- Richard Dean Anderson was nominated for the Saturn Award for “Best Genre Actor” three times for portraying Jack O’Neill, winning once in 1999. He was also nominated for “Best Actor on Television” at the Saturns every year from 2001 to 2005 for playing O’Neill.
- Over the entirety of the Stargate franchise, Jack O’Neill appears in FOUR different alternate realities as well as FIVE separate alternate timelines. Subtle but important distinction there, folks.
10 seasons of Stargate SG-1 stream on Pluto TV for free. It is also available on Prime Video and MGM Plus.
You Could Call It a Jack-pot
Forget the beanstalks and dietary restrictions; TV Jacks are the best Jacks. We love to watch them. They make us laugh and gasp and sigh. We’ve only scratched the surface with these five. Hit our socials and let us know which Jacks are your favorite and why. Maybe they’ll make our next “Do You Know Jack?” list.
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