LIVE FOREVER
Our favourite immortals from film, TV and books
CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS, DOCTOR WHO/TORCHWOOD
Not born immortal, the omnisexual flirt-monster was given the power of everlasting life by Rose Tyler in the season one Doctor Who finale “The Parting Of The Ways”. Through various episodes of Doctor Who and spin-off Torchwood, Jack has been offed countless times, even getting blown to smithereens in the five-part “Children Of Earth” story. But even being shattered into a thousand bloody pieces wasn’t enough to stop Captain Jack.
THE GRAIL KNIGHT, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
Immortality may be fascinating if you’re out there, watching the changes fly by in the real world, but imagine the mindnumbing agony of spending eternity in one place, guarding the Holy Grail from marauders. We presume this Knight is still there, guarding the chalice just in case Donald Trump fancies his chances.
MICHAEL MYERS, HALLOWEEN
It’s never specifically stated that the Shatner-maskrocking serial slasher is immortal (though 1996’s Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers alluded to it), but we can presume he is, simply due to the amount of times he’s been apparently killed, only to return in the next Halloween instalment. It looked like it might have finally been it for the
Shape at the end of 2018’s Halloween, as Michael apparently burnt to death in Laurie Strode’s basement, but hey, he’s back in this year’s Halloween Kills.
DORIAN GRAY, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
Oscar Wilde’s swoonsome narcissist is blessed/cursed with everlasting youth, his real ageing showing itself only on a portrait hidden far away from prying eyes. At the climax of Wilde’s
1890 novel, Gray slashes away at the gruesome painting, and finally dies.
But presumably if he hadn’t attacked it, he’d still be around today, still fresh of face, probably Instagramming himself 30 times a day and dating a Kardashian.
PHIL CONNERS, GROUNDHOG DAY
No matter how many times curmudgeonly weatherman Phil Conners tries to kill himself he keeps returning to the same day, again and again… There’s one thing the movie never makes clear, though: for how long exactly is Connors stuck there, repeating 2nd February? Director Harold Ramis originally thought 10 years, but later revised it, given that by the film’s end Connors is a brilliant ice sculptor and pianist. “It takes at least 10 years to get good at anything,” Ramis said, “Allotting for the misguided years he spent, it had to be more like 30 or 40 years.”