Torchwood

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Transmitted:	October 2006 - Present
Country of origin:	UK / USA
Genre:	Alien contact, Ensemble cast, Spin-off series
Starring:	John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Naoko Mori, Burn Gorman
Rating:	3/5
No. of seasons:	4 and counting

"Torchwood: outside the government, beyond the police. Tracking down alien life on Earth, arming the human race against the future. The twenty-first century is when everything changes. And you gotta be ready."

Doctor Who for grown-ups is the idea here, and reasonably successful; it is too.
Torchwood, a top secret organisation based beneath the docklands area of Cardiff (!), whose brief it is to investigate all things supernatural or alien.
Cardiff is a particular hotspot for alien activity, due to a time rift which could threaten the entire planet.
Leading the team, Jack Harkness played with wonderful OTT campness by John Barrowman, a man who looks so preposterous when holding a gun it is difficult not to like him.
Whilst the overt sexual references, especially in the very early episodes, do grate a little, coming across as puerile and immature, this soon settles into a diverting science-fiction romp which, whilst far from perfect, is a welcome addition to the usually mundane British TV schedules.
With a fourth season already commissioned, this seems to be popular enough to endure, for a while at least.

Find an episode guide here: