J︎a︎c︎k J︎a︎r︎v︎i︎s︎ i︎s︎ o︎n︎e︎ o︎f︎ t︎h︎e︎ t︎w︎o︎ m︎a︎i︎n︎ c︎h︎a︎r︎a︎c︎t︎e︎r︎s︎ i︎n︎ t︎h︎e︎ T︎V︎ s︎e︎r︎i︎e︎s︎ "︎S︎t︎i︎l︎l︎ G︎a︎m︎e︎"︎.︎ H︎e︎ h︎a︎s︎ o︎n︎e︎ d︎a︎u︎g︎h︎t︎e︎r︎,︎ n︎a︎m︎e︎d︎ F︎i︎o︎n︎a︎,︎ w︎h︎o︎ l︎i︎v︎e︎s︎ i︎n︎ T︎o︎r︎o︎n︎t︎o︎,︎ C︎a︎n︎a︎d︎a︎.︎ H︎e︎ h︎a︎s︎ b︎e︎e︎n︎ w︎i︎d︎o︎w︎e︎d︎ s︎i︎n︎c︎e︎ h︎i︎s︎ w︎i︎f︎e︎ J︎e︎a︎n︎ d︎i︎e︎d︎ i︎n︎ t︎h︎e︎ e︎a︎r︎l︎y︎-︎1︎9︎9︎0︎s︎.︎ I︎n︎ S︎t︎i︎l︎l︎ G︎a︎m︎e︎'︎s︎ p︎i︎l︎o︎t︎ e︎p︎i︎s︎o︎d︎e︎ "︎F︎l︎i︎t︎t︎i︎n︎"︎,︎ J︎a︎c︎k w︎a︎s︎ s︎h︎o︎w︎n︎ t︎o︎ b︎e︎ s︎h︎o︎r︎t︎ o︎n︎ h︎o︎m︎e︎ i︎t︎e︎m︎s︎,︎ i︎n︎ w︎h︎i︎c︎h︎ h︎i︎s︎ b︎e︎s︎t︎ f︎r︎i︎e︎n︎d︎ V︎i︎c︎t︎o︎r︎ M︎c︎D︎a︎d︎e︎ s︎a︎i︎d︎ "︎7︎4︎ y︎e︎a︎r︎s︎ o︎n︎ t︎h︎e︎ p︎l︎a︎n︎e︎t︎ a︎n︎d︎ t︎h︎i︎s︎ i︎s︎ a︎l︎l︎ y︎o︎u︎'︎v︎e︎ a︎m︎a︎s︎s︎e︎d︎"︎ (six cardboard boxes).︎ A︎f︎t︎e︎r︎ t︎h︎a︎t︎,︎ J︎a︎c︎k'︎s︎ a︎g︎e︎ w︎a︎s︎ t︎h︎o︎u︎g︎h︎t︎ t︎o︎ b︎e︎ c︎o︎n︎f︎i︎r︎m︎e︎d︎ a︎s︎ 7︎4︎,︎ b︎u︎t︎ i︎n︎ t︎h︎e︎ s︎e︎r︎i︎e︎s︎ 2︎ e︎p︎i︎s︎o︎d︎e︎ "︎S︎c︎r︎a︎n︎"︎;︎ h︎e︎ r︎e︎v︎e︎a︎l︎e︎d︎ t︎h︎a︎t︎ h︎e︎ w︎a︎s︎ 7︎2︎ a︎n︎d︎ V︎i︎c︎t︎o︎r︎ w︎a︎s︎ 7︎4︎.︎ I︎t︎ i︎t︎ s︎a︎f︎e︎ t︎o︎ s︎a︎y︎ J︎a︎c︎k i︎s︎ e︎i︎t︎h︎e︎r︎ 7︎2︎ o︎r︎ h︎a︎s︎ l︎i︎ke︎l︎y︎ a︎g︎e︎d︎ a︎ y︎e︎a︎r︎ t︎h︎r︎o︎u︎g︎h︎o︎u︎t︎ t︎h︎e︎ s︎e︎r︎i︎e︎jhmbnnn
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Jack was born and raised in the fictional Craiglang district of Glasgow. From a young age, he would help his father out in his shop. When Jack was twelve years old, a boy named Victor came running into Jack's father's shop crying, as another boy named Frank McCallum had been hit by a tram. Victor came to Jack's father's shop as that was the only shop on the street which had a telephone. This started a lifelong friendship between Jack and Victor. At some point, Jack and Victor became friends with Winston.
When Jack was in his early-twenties, he had a sexual encounter with Jenny Turnbull behind a dance hall. This incident would come back to haunt Jack later in life as he feared he may have fathered an illegitimate child with Jenny. To his relief, the father of the child was Pete "The Jakey" McCormack, a well known alcoholic tramp in Craiglang. Jack Jarvis has a brother called Logan Neely, as revealed in "Dead Leg - Part Two"
Career[]
Jack used to work in his father's shop as a boy. Jack continued to work in the shop until he retired.
Married Life[]
Jack met and married a woman named Jean, with whom he had a daughter named Fiona. Early in their marriage, Jack and Jean considered emigrating to Canada, but they decided against it, as they felt they had roots in Craiglang. Sadly, Jean died in 1991 at the age of 67. After Jean's death, Jack got rid of a lot of items in his house as everything reminded him of his late wife. Jack vowed to make a fresh start in life, but didn't manage to do so.
Moving to Osprey Heights[]
In "Flittin", Jack was still living in the house he had lived in with Jean, in a run-down area of Craiglang. Jack's neighbours were the foul-mouthed Peggy and her long-suffering boyfriend Charlie. Jack was fed up at having to constantly listen to his neighbours quarrelling and was even threatened by Peggy for eavesdropping. Jack also disliked his upstairs neighbour who would drop cigarette butts and dump rubbish in Jack's garden. Victor advised Jack to ask the council to get him a new place. Jack asked Victor if he could move in with him, but Victor would not allow him to do so, due to Jack's greediness. Victor's neighbour Old Man Hannigan had recently died, and Jack wanted to move into his flat so that he would be next-door to Victor. Jack and Victor bribed the housing department to let him move in there. Unfortunately, the ancient removals van with all of Jack's possessions and furniture exploded and caught fire so Jack had to end up staying with Victor after all; albeit only temporarily. By the next episode "Faimly", Jack had moved into his new house, but was stitched by Winston with a doormat saying "Weclome".
Life as a pensioner[]
Jack manages to enjoy a good life in Craiglang with his best friend Victor. Jack is close friends with fellow pensioners Winston Ingram, Tam Mullen, Isa Drennan and Eric. Jack and Victor are usually seen together and are regular patrons at the local pub, Jenny's (formerly the Clansman), where they like to wind up Boaby the barman. Jack goes to Harrid's for his shopping, and was asked once along with Victor to run the shop for Navid while he was away in India during a period of family crisis. This was due to Jack's work as shopkeeper in his youth. Other adventures Jack had throughout the series include: having a relationship with Barbara, who worked in the charity shop, attending a university medical course along with Victor, being kidnapped with a group of pensioners by a mad Dial-a-Bus driver and temporarily working as a limo driver.
Visit to Canada[]
At the end of Series Two, Jack was invited by his daughter Fiona to visit her and her family in Toronto, Canada. Jack was originally unsure of the idea as he did not feel he would be up for an eight-hour flight at his age. Eventually, Jack agreed. Jack advised Victor to phone his son, John in Johannesburg and see if he could maybe go there for a holiday while Jack was away in Canada. Victor tried, but John was too busy, which was really an excuse not to see his father. Jack then invited Victor to come with him to Canada, but Victor rubbished this idea causing Jack and Victor to fall out temporarily. Fortunately, the two men reconciled before Jack left for Canada. Victor had sneakily booked to go on holiday with Jack and they had a wonderful time in Canada. Jack enjoyed seeing his grandsons and spending time with his daughter. Fiona suggested that Jack move to Canada permanently, but Jack declined as he believed he was too old. Jack gave Fiona her mother's wedding ring to keep.
Near-death experience[]
Shortly after his friend Tam became a father at seventy, Jack was asked along with Victor to babysit for Tam and Frances. Jack and Victor were going out their minds with the baby's constant screaming. Eventually, Isa came to the rescue and nursed the baby, but Jack had collapsed. In hospital, the doctor told Jack that he had suffered a heart attack and needed bypass surgery. Jack requested that his daughter stayed in Canada, but Fiona was determined to be by her father's side. Jack's friends were hoping that Jack would survive the operation. During the surgery, Jack's heart monitor showed no heart response. Jack started to climb the "stairway to heaven", where he saw Jean waiting for him. Victor appeared and pushed Jack back down the stairs marking Jack's return to the land of the living and he survived the operation.
Mountain Trek[]
In the last episode, Jack and Victor attempt to make a trek that they had been putting off for years, they are eventually accompanied by their friends. They end up camping for the night before they do the trek, enjoying their time with their with the people they have known for years.. In the next morning, Jack and Victor wake up before everyone else and they decide to take the trek by themselves. Shortly after this, Jack and Victor "disappear" followed by their friends in different order, implying that they died before everyone else. Years later, only Boaby remains alive and still runs The Clansmen.
Characteristics[]
Physical description[]
Jack is a short, fat man. He has light skin with blond hair and sports a moustache. Jack is usually dressed smartly; wearing a shirt and tie with a tank top, smart trousers and is usually seen wearing his bunnet. Jack's catchphrase is thought to be "y'know", for he is heard saying it in almost every subject worth explaining.
Personality[]
Jack is a typical pensioner. He likes to reminisce about the good old days, and can be dissatisfied with modern society. However, Jack does not let it stop him from having a good time. Compared to Victor, Jack is the least intelligent one of the two. Jack is known to be greedy as he likes his food and always clears the biscuit jar; much to Victor's annoyance. Jack can be seen to be snobbish, in that he tends to avoid jobs he sees as beneath him. These include: refusing to lift a chamber pot filled with urine and refusing to clean up vomit. Jack believed that the grim reaper calls for a man alone. Jack usually goes to his bed early at around 10.30pm, although there have been occasions where he has stayed at the pub until closing time.
Health[]
As a pensioner, Jack keeps reasonably well. However, Jack is particularly lazy in that he spends most of his time sitting in front of the television eating biscuits. Furthermore, Jack smokes a pipe and drinks practically every day, although he is not an alcoholic. The stress of babysitting Tam's baby son caused Jack to have a heart attack. Through having bypass surgery, Jack made a full recovery, which was remarkable for a man of his age.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Jean Jarvis[]
Jack was happily married to Jean for many years, until her death in 1991. Jack was devastated at her death and made a point of getting rid of a lot of items that reminded him of his late wife. Jack and Jean had one daughter together, named Fiona. Jack still visits Jean's grave. When Jack was going through heart surgery, he had a vision of himself climbing the "stairway to heaven" and saw Jean waiting for him. However, he didn't get the chance to be re-united with Jean; as Victor pushed him back down the stairs and into the mortal world.
Fiona[]
Jack manages to maintain a good relationship with his daughter, Fiona, depsite the fact she lives in Canada. He makes sure that he phones Fiona regularly. Fiona likes to send her dad home videos of Canada. Jack took the opportunity to visit Fiona in Canada and gave her her mother's wedding ring. When Jack was going to have heart surgery, he requested to Fiona that she stayed put, but Fiona refused and flew over to Scotland to be by her father's side. Jack was a little disappointed that Fiona disobeyed him, but appreciated her devotion to him.
Grandchildren[]
Fiona and her husband Tony have two sons named Jack Jr (after his grandfather) and Stephen. Jack felt sad that his grandchildren lived far away from him, but was delighted at the opportunity to meet them when he visited Canada with Victor. Jack had great fun telling his grandsons about what life was like back in Scotland. When they visited CN Tower together, Jack felt ill due to having eaten a very heavy breakfast. Jack felt queasy at the top of the tower due to his fear of heights. His grandsons egged him on to see the view, but Jack refused, prompting his grandsons to tease him. Jack scolded them for being silly, but then accidentally threw up over the pair of them. His grandsons forgave him for it and they enjoyed the rest of Jack's stay, although they were sorry to see their grandad returning home to Scotland.
Victor McDade[]
Victor is Jack's longest and best friend. They live next door to each other and they spend a lot of their time together. They comfort each other whenever they are depressed. Jack takes his longtime friendship with Victor very seriously and was keen to mark their sixtieth anniversary by buying Victor a specially engraved tankard. Jack was upset that Victor had forgotten, but forgave him when Victor treated him to a day out in Glasgow together. Furthermore, Jack made a special effort to make Victor's 75th birthday a memorable one. However, Jack and Victor are prone to arguing due to Victor being jealous of Jack, as well as Jack's greediness. Jack's view on the grim reaper also annoys Victor. During his near death experience, Jack had a vision of Victor pushing him back into the mortal world.
Winston Ingram[]
Winston is a close friend of Jack's, although not quite as close as Victor. Jack has known Winston nearly as long as he has known Victor. Jack usually helps Winston when he is in some sort of trouble such as lending him money, although he always makes sure that Winston repays him. Jack enjoys winding Winston up, especially when he discovered Winston's false leg was a woman's one.
Isa Drennan[]
Isa is Jack's next-door neighbour and they have known each other for many years. Jack dislikes Isa for her nosiness and tries hard to avoid her. Jack will admit that Isa's nosiness has came in handy on certain occasions. Despite hating her for her gossip, Jack is still friendly to Isa and genuinely cares about her wellbeing. For example, when Isa's estranged husband Harry reappeared, he defended Isa and reminded Harry of how he mistreated her and that he wasn't welcome.
Tam Mullen[]
Jack's relationship with Tam is not quite as good as his other friendships. This is because Jack cannot stand Tam's tightfistedness and selfishness. Jack is wise to Tam's tricks and does not allow Tam to take advantage of him. Despite this, Jack still views Tam as a friend and can make light of Tam's tightfistedness.
Boaby the Barman[]
Jack dislikes Boaby for his sarcasm and mouthy nature and enjoys making fun of him. Every time Jack and Victor come into the pub, Boaby calls them a double act name like 'Batman and Robin' or 'The Two Ronnies', but both Jack and Victor always hits back with a sarcastic comment to put Boaby in his place followed by "two pints, prick". Sometimes, Jack will criticise Boaby even when unprovoked. However, Jack does seem to have a grudging friendship with Boaby as he runs the only bar in town.
[]
Jack has known Navid since he first opened his shop in 1975, and even helped him learn how to speak English (Scots dialect). Jack is a regular customer of Navid's, as he is the only decent shop in Craiglang. Jack has sometimes complained about the state of Navid's shop at times and even defected to Hyperdales. Although, Jack soon felt bad as Navid ended up having to close. On catching Navid in Hyperdales with a can of petrol, Jack and the others had to talk Navid out of torching the place, as he did not want to see Navid going to prison. Jack and Navid get on well together, however, there have been situtations where Navid has annoyed Jack, such as teasing him when he tried to give up his pipe.
Behind the scenes[]
- Jack was created and is potrayed by Scottish actor and comedian Ford Kiernan.
- Jack along with Victor, Winston and Tam also appeared in the comedy series Chewin' the Fat.
- In the original Still Game stage play, Jack had a beard.
- Ford Kiernan wears a false moustache when playing the part of Jack.
Etymology[]
- Jack is the diminutive form of John or Jacob, which is a masculine given name of Middle English origin.
- Jarvis is a British surname.
Appearances[]
As one of the main characters he appears in every episode, including the Christmas and Hogmanay specials.