[Corkie]

Torchwood
9:00pm - 9:50pm
BBC3


1/13-Everything Changes

With sewer creatures, impossible technology and ghastly threats to the planet, you might think this is just a Doctor Who clone. Yes, it's a spin-off, but early evidence suggests Torchwood will live and breathe in its own right. And the gore, swearing and adult content mean that it's on late for a reason. It's an exciting set-up: when a "special ops" team interferes with a murder investigation in Cardiff, plucky PC Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) decides to follow them back to their underground lair (think Hannibal Lecter's prison with computers). These "tomorrow people" turn out to be an Earth defence force led by Captain Jack Harkness (played with toothy, Tom Cruisean charm by John Barrowman), a Time Agent who was briefly a companion of Doctor Who. it's slick, scary, funny and expensive looking, but it's also very much an establishing story. With the guided tour dispensed with, however, the fun can really begin. Watch this space...so to speak.