Torchwood by Adrian Rogers/BBC Worldwide
The when: Saturdays at 9 pm/ET (with repeat airings throughout the week) on BBC America. Season 2 premieres Jan. 26.
Why watch?: It's the sexiest science-fiction show since The X-Files, and less likely to make your heard hurt than Lost. A spin-off of the perpetually successful Doctor Who, this show is the more accessible (only 13 previous episodes!) and adult (lots of swearing!) of the two. The team is one of the most incestuous on television, but they do manage to get around to investigating the extraterrestrial and/or temporal detritus that comes through "the rift" in Cardiff, Wales. Though there are occasional forays into unfamiliar Britishisms, cheesy effects and Doctor Who mythology that may leave the casual viewer as lost as some of those misplaced aliens, Torchwood is one of the rare science-fiction shows where the technobabble is at a minimum and a happy-ever-after is never guaranteed (just ask for former No. 2, Suzie, who was killed by her boss — twice). Plus, the whole cast is smokin' hot, which brings us to....
Who's who: The newest addition to the team is former Cardiff police officer Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), who at times finds the job so overwhelming that she cheats on her live-in boyfriend with suave coworker Dr. Owen Harper (Burn Gorman); Owen being the one who nearly caused the destruction of Britain in Season 1's finale, when, acting against the advice of Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), a transplant from the now-defunct Torchwood London, he opened the Cardiff rift in order to save computer specialist Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) — the bisexual, immortal alien who also serves as the team's leader — from being trapped in the 1940s.
What's next: After fighting a beast with a lethal shadow, Captain Jack was presumed dead for days before waking up and disappearing into a few episodes of Doctor Who (which are not required viewing for the new season of Torchwood). He'll be coming back to help his team deal with the newly enlarged rift and everything that entails — including a bitter ex.
Say what?!: In the U.K., Torchwood episodes are broadcast again the day after the original airing, and recut to remove swearing, overt sex, and violence for pre-watershed hour viewing.
What do you say? Does Torchwood strike just the right balance between science fiction and relationship drama? Is Jack the best captain since Kirk? Tell us why you love Torchwood. — Leah Friedman
Use our Online Video Guide to get an early look at Season 2 and catch up on some of last season's best moments.
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• James Marsters Previews His Sexy Torchwood Role
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