Note: there are probably going to be major spoilers here.  Kind of difficult to talk about where a story should go without referring to where it’s been.

The future is not the way of the future

Most ideas I’ve seen involve Portal 3 picking up just minutes after the second one ends – that is, with Chell in the outside world and the facility destroyed.  The idea is, you can incorporate novel settings and situations, and finally get out of those test chambers.

It’s a fun idea in theory.  Here’s my issue, though: It would be way too easy to, well, wind up in space, for example.  Without the contained facility you’d either have to have some artificial constraint (like a range to the Portal gun, though we’ve already seen it take us to the moon) or the limits of the game “zone” would be way too obvious.

Plus, Chell was sleeping for how many years?  Who’s to say the world even resembles anything like what we’ve seen?  Technology would either be vastly advanced or there’s none at all.  Might make for some interesting fiction, but not really a good Portal sequel.

Sweet…

In my opinion, there’s really only one direction you can go for Portal 3:  Caroline.  Either with her as the protagonist or an immediate superior, or maybe even a an earlier version of GLaDOS who feels a shred of empathy for the test subjects (we know she’s never been keen on the scientists).  I somewhat like the idea of a Caroline who was in charge of the facility in human form for awhile before they were ready to “put her in the computer,” one who might have been in charge of experiments and concepts we’ve never seen in the Portal games to date.

“But J,” you might be saying, “That means we’ll be right back at Aperture, probably even parts of Aperture we’ve already seen!”  Yes… or no.  What if Aperture weren’t the only testing location?  What if you can play through failed attempts at testing out in the open (space!)?

Or how about this: it’s unclear if Caroline was literally “put into” the computer at the cost of her own life, or if she was merely copied.  What if she attempted to co-exist with GLaDOS for some time?  What might that dynamic be like?  Would she flee to a different facility?  Would she attempt to battle GLaDOS?  Or, conversely, could Caroline then be a completely different, cold and calculating character?

Regardless, I think we’ll have to, by necessity, step at least a little into the past to get more Aperture inventions.  Since Chell in Portal 2 was in a facility that was actively decomposing, who knows what we haven’t seen yet?  I know of one possibility: Mantis Men!  Also: time travel, guys.  There’s a possibility of time travel.

Okay, it might not be perfect, it might be riddled with holes, but there’s my idea.  And yes, Valve, I’m willing to sell it to you, thanks for asking.

Now, how about you?  What would you like to see in a new Portal game, either in storyline or game play?  Let’s hear your wildest speculation! 

Okay, let’s be real.  Vampires will never really die (pun intended).  They’ve been enjoying a slow, steady burn of popularity for the last 30 years at least.  The combination of sheer horror and a monster who looks normal – or attractive – has ignited our imaginations for years.  The vampire mythology is loose enough that you can make nearly any kind of vampire you like (as evidenced by Whitewolf’s Vampire: the Masquerade series).  Vampires will always be around, either in classic or reinvented form.

That being said, we’ve certainly been saturated with vampires for the last ten years.  You see, even though I can point to blips of vampire popularity in the past – The Lost Boys, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Anne Rice novels that get discovered by every generation and made into movies once a decade or so – it’s only in the past ten years that the waves have begun to pile up on one another.  Buffy and Angel ran into Blade and Underworld.  The inclusion of werewolves in Underworld was right in tune with the Laurel K. Hamilton books that were taking the beach fiction world by storm.  Then came Twilight, which drove the meter past “popular” into “fad.”

HBO adapted the Sookie Stackhouse books into True Blood, the cooler older sibling of Twilight.  Meanwhile, the market was scrambling through its archives, searching for more to feed ravenous teens.  Enter the re-release and TV adaptation of The Vampire Diaries.  Enter two sequels to The Lost Boys.  Enter a remake of Fright Night (which, admittedly, I found surprisingly entertaining).

The problem with fads – with over-saturation – is that people get tired of them, at least in the short term.  Eventually, you find yourself comparing vamp faces against each other instead of allowing yourself to be immersed in a story.  The latest Underworld installment is perhaps the most obvious attempt to keep the fad alive, and it’s not doing well.  I think people will still remain loyal to their current favorites, whether it’s True Blood or The Vampire Diaries, but I don’t think they’re aching for any more.

So the question becomes: what will be the next big thing?

Zombies?

Well, zombies have certainly enjoyed a parallel surge in popularity over the last decade, one even easier to track than vampires (Hint: 28 Days Later).  Still, I don’t see them getting quite as big, ultimately.  Simply put, zombies are just too horrifying.  Or gross.  Or irredeemable.  They make for perfect, chilling horror stories, but lack broader appeal.  Maybe I’m biased, because zombies actually freak me out a fair amount (unless we’re talking Plants v. Zombies, which is adorable and hilarious).  But I’d really be surprised if vampires actually scare, well, anyone.

Werewolves?

How about werewolves?  Sadly, I think their time has passed in the short-term, because they’ve been lumped together with vampires so frequently.  Plus, I’m not sure they really make for interesting long-term stories.  They can’t really control themselves (unless you’re in Twilight, where everyone is repressively in control of everything), but they can be dispatched fairly easily.  Anything interesting can be better covered in a more traditional super-power-based storyline.

Aliens?

Well, maybe.  Little green (or gray) men had a surge of popularity in the mid-90s (as my high school bedroom can attest) but they faded out in the new century.  Could the world be ready for a resurgence of flying saucers and abductions?  Possibly, but something novel will have to light that fire, rather like Alien Nation and The X-FIles did in the early 90s.  It’s also possible that it’s just too soon.

Fantasy?

Uhoh, we’re treading into that category I know very little about.  I know urban fantasy, as well as urban paranormal thrillers, have been growing in popularity over time.  Grimm and Once Upon a Time are both rooted in modern times.  Even The Secret Circle has ditched the 90′s New Age elements of the books.  Slightly different, but still related, is the gritty world of Game of Thrones – no elves or unicorns here, but it’s undoubtedly fantasy.   Speaking of elves, we haven’t seen much of that lately, but The Hobbit is coming out in the next year, so we’ll see what that stirs up.  Whatever winds up at the top of the fad heap, we seem to be pulling away from horror in general.

If there’s anything the last decade has made clear, it’s that genres like sci-fi, fantasy, and horror are no longer the sole territory of the geek – instead, they’re a rich mine of material for the mainstream.  Your favorite property might well be the next blockbuster.

What about you?  What do you think will be the Next Big Thing?  What would you like to see grow in popularity?  

Back in 1963 Alcatraz shut down, ostensibly due to cost.  What No One Knows is that the last batch of inmates and guards weren’t transferred – they disappeared without a trace.  Now they’re coming back, one-by-one, not a day older and apparently not at all reformed.  It’s up to a “task force” of one young detective, one nerdy Alcatraz expert, and two spooky FBI agents who know more than they’re saying to track down the criminals and lock them up for good.

I admit I’m biased.  Sam Neill, Jorge Garcia and Sarah Jones?  Potential time travel?  I wanted it to be good.  Luckily, I think the show is off to a good start.

A two-hour premiere gives us ample time to get immersed in the plot without dragging.  I’ve read some complaints that the returned inmates seem to accept their jump in time a little too easily; I don’t have a problem with this, for two reasons.  First, it’s unclear exactly what the inmates know and don’t; secondly, it would be a waste of time to watch some guy stumble around, freaked out, for five minutes out of every show.  What was seen is what counts; and that is that the inmates are returned with everything they need to get started – an eyebrow-raising moment in a show that’s full of them.

Now, no show is perfect, especially in a pilot, and this is no exception.  I have minor issues with each of the main characters, starting with Rebecca Madsen, the detective played by Sarah Jones.  As a character, she’s a bit too like every female cop or FBI agent in modern thrillers – pretty but tough, she scarfs down food and drinks beer while managing to easily maintain her curves.  On the other hand, they certainly have her running around more frequently than I do, and through the hills of San Francisco no less, so maybe she can afford the calories.  And I rather like that she’s not a Buffy clone, with crazy martial arts abilities.  If anything, her super power appears to be critical thinking, and I can get behind that.

I’m still waiting for Jorge Garcia to make this new character, “Doc,” his own.  He seems to be trying not to put a Hurley vibe on him, which is understandable, but instead we’ve got a guy who is increasingly grim and having difficulty coping.  While perhaps a realistic reaction, it doesn’t make us particularly like him.

Indeed, if there’s anything this show is missing it’s a dose of levity.  There is some humor here and there – I laughed at a Hardy Boys joke early on – but things get very grim very fast.  I admit it’s hard to find a place for it, especially when you’re trying to catch a completely different killer each show, especially when you’re trying to establish a world and a tone.  I’m just hoping a little more humor makes its way in there eventually, because I’m not sure I can handle hour upon hour of intensity.  Similarly, I’m hoping any problems I have with the characters are just a matter of the writers settling in and finding the individual voices.

On the whole, though, Alcatraz kept me interested.  Every time it seemed to settle into something predictable – a typical procedural/thriller – something would happen that I didn’t expect.  The key here will be finding the sweet spot in mystery pacing – I’m getting the vibe that the audience isn’t ready for the level of meandering LOST did, but they want to be kept guessing.  I’ve got confidence they’ll find it, though.  And in the meantime, I’ll be watching.

What about you?  Will you be watching Alcatraz? 

Shall we?

Suburban Folklore

Date Published: 2006
Author: Steven Walters
Original Price: $11.99
Price Paid: $0.10

Apparently, “Suburban Folklore is a hypnotic periscope into the turbulence of adolescence.” I just bought it because it had the word ‘folklore’ in the title. Though thoroughly disappointed that there would be neither alligators in the sewer nor cats in the microwave, I preserved. Five friends, growing pains, etc. I admire the fact that the same guy did the writing and the art, but neither one blew me away. Only so-so.

High Adventure #93

Date Published: 2007
Author: Edmond Hamilton and others
Original Price: $9.95
Price Paid: $0.10

Even though I bought this at a comic book shop, it isn’t actually a comic book. It’s a collection of three pulp sci-fi ‘novelets’ about the adventures of Captain Future and his Futuremen as they battle aliens across the galaxy. As an ardent lover of Bradbury and Asimov, this collection had me at hello. The stories are brilliantly written to evoke both yesterday and the distant future of heroes and villains. My only complaint about this brilliant collection is that there aren’t more of the campy illustrations that adorn the cover and back. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I have to go dig up my Buck Rogers VHS tapes and search out the first ninety-two volumes of High Adventure.

WitchCraft

Date Published: 1996
Author: James Robinson
Original Price: $17.95
Price Paid: $0.10

Imagine my surprise when I saw a trade from powerhouse Vertigo in the bargain bin! And Vertigo delivered. WitchCraft is a multi-part story that sees the death and rebirth of Hecate’s priestess through the centuries, each time seeking vengeance for the rape and murder in her first lifetime. The goddess oversees each of her incarnations, which are each illustrated by a different artist. I’m a sucker for stories about rebirth and karma and the wheel of fate, so this one pulled me in right away. It’s got blood and sex, and an apologetic note from the author that he promises it’s feminist sex, not to be confused with because-it-sells sex, but that didn’t put me off. It’s rare to be able to find a trade of such an old series that collects the whole thing – no loose ends for me to try and hunt down. I think this has to be my favourite find of the trip.

What man’s trash is your treasure? Think I could have spent my sixty cents better? Give me two of them below!

Including the ten cent bin.

Oh, how I love this bin – though, in truth, it is less of a bin than three or four long cardboard boxes. Everything in said boxes is on sale for ten cents (which is rather obvious). I love these boxes. I love finding old treasures and new treasures and plain weird treasures. Old favourites that I had forgotten about, classic finds that I can’t believe are in here.

So, in a two-part series, I present The Best Sixty Cents I Ever Spent (Plus Tax).

Deady the Evil Teddy Vol 3

Date Published: 2004
Author: Voltaire (and guest authors, including Neil Gaiman)
Original Price: $5.95
Price Paid: $0.10

When I was in college, my best friend was a neo-emo goth-loving nerd with a thing for classical music  and awesome TV series of the eighties and nineties. So I got exposed to a lot of new things, including JAG, Magnum, Mozart’s weird nephew, and Voltaire. The modern comedy writer, not the French philosopher. Well, both, but the former wrote Oh My Goth! and the latter wrote Candide. Voltaire (Deady) is, in my opinion, hilarious. He freely lampoons the goth culture he is a part of in his comics and songs, and flaunts his nerdery in entire albums of Star Trek-themed music. Deady the Teddy, poor thing, is an abandoned teddy bear who was possessed by the spirit of the most evil thing in the galaxy, and now torments the kind people of Earth who have taken him in. Short strips by a variety of authors and artists make this read like a twisted and dark Archie comic – in the best possible way. Worth the whole six bucks.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Graphic Novel

Date Published: 2005
Author: Gary Reed and Frazer Irving
Original Price: $14.50
Price Paid: $0.10

From the first time I read Frankenstein in high school, I knew the truth: Victor Frankenstein is a raging dick. His creation gets screwed over time and again by this little pansy. Poor guy. So I don’t know why I love this novel so much when it makes me so very angry, but I do. I read every version of it I can get my hands on, watch every movie adaption they’ve ever made – I highly recommend the De Niro one. Anyway, straight from Puffin Classics I found this graphic novel version of the story. The art is tight and dynamic, the writing is crisp and doesn’t overwhelm the story. It perfectly captures the horror of the account. Reminds me of the ‘Curse of the Black Freighter’ segments of Watchmen.

The Dark Gate

Date Published: 2003
Editor: Brett Evans
Original Price: $13.95
Price Paid: $0.10

I had to read this one a couple times. It’s . . . wow. It’s a black-and-white anthology of short stories, most a combination of sci-fi and horror, that touch on everything from terrorism and government cover-ups to giant alien chickens. I don’t even know what to say about it. It’s like Preacher for the sci-fi set, but even stranger. Just . . . wow.

So that’s Part One.

What have you dug out of bargain bins and basements that you’re proud of? The treasures of Goodwill and the library rummage sale? Share your victory finds!

Roswell is a show that aired briefly on the WB, later crossing over to another network.  It was one of those shows that lived longer than it ordinarily would have, thanks to a passionate, devoted fanbase and a few mail-in campaigns.  It takes place in Roswell, NM, and centers around Liz Parker, your typical pretty bio nerd who works as a waitress in her father’s alien-themed diner.

Liz’s life is irrevocably changed when she’s hit by a stray bullet in a shooting at work.  As she lays dying on the floor, one of her classmates, Max Evans, runs up and heals her (turns out he’s an alien, along with his sister and best friend).  Now that he’s effectively blown his cover, all manner of villains come out of the woodwork: the Sheriff who’s too smart for his own good, evil government agents, other aliens, and obnoxious ex-boyfriends.

It was equal parts Romeo & Juliet and The X-Files, at times representing the worst of both elements – a soap-opera-esque chain of relationships and an incredibly convoluted mythology.   But that was also what made it such good fun – the jaw-dropping moments, the ones where you’re yelling at the screen, and the suffocating intensity of puppy love erm, true love.  Right.  And it could also be flat-out funny – while it’s got its moments of super-awkward teenage drama, it doesn’t take itself nearly as seriously as, say, Twilight.

Hmm, while we’re on the subject of Twilight – I know that it cribs from the same source as Roswell, Romeo & Juliet, but some of the similarities in the TV show pilot are eyebrow-raising.  A scene in a biology class particularly reminded me of Twilight, only in this instance, the fact that they have bio together has a point.  In fact, imagine Twilight, only with humor, and Edward wants to make sweet alien love instead of eat Bella’s face.  There, doesn’t that sound better?  I mean, if you’re going to indulge in teen melodrama, might as well have more fun.

While the show certainly has its moments poking fun at geeks – the gullible tourists who come looking for evidence of a government cover-up, the conspiracy nuts who run alien museums – it’s always in a loving way (Jonathan Frakes was an executive producer, and has a cameo in the pilot).  It’s always done with a wink – because, after all, in this show aliens do exist, and the government is out to get you.

Now, how did it affect me at the time?  Well, it served the same function a lot of sf serves – something to relate to even under the fun frosting of escapism.  As a teen, I was dramatic as all teens are, and my relationships seemed as important and star-crossed and fated as anything served up in fiction.  The show is often bookended with a voiceover of excerpts from Liz’s diary, and it probably could have come from the diaries of any teen, whether or not they were trying to hide the presence of alien life.

Practically, I was an unabashed fangirl, even reading the novels the TV series was based on (good but different).  I collected alien ephemera with even more zeal, and I bought some Native American silver jewelry because it reminded me of stuff on the show.  I squealed and giggled about the show with my girlfriends, mother and sisters; during the commercials on broadcast nights, the phone didn’t stop ringing as we called each other to squeal some more.

Unlike some other shows, Roswell was allowed a proper end – that is to say, they knew it was coming and planned accordingly.   I have mixed feelings about the last season, and the end of the series, but I don’t know if that’s because the third season was disjointed and sub-par – though it would certainly be understandable, given the network change and the uncertainty about the show – or if it was just me.  You see, for the final season I was in my freshman year of college – in a much different frame of mind than the hormonal 16-year-old who started watching the show.  My interest was fading even as the show was canceled.

Still, for that brief moment in time, it was the perfect show for me.  And now that the show is available on Netflix Instant, it’s a fun way for me to reminisce and be nostalgic.  It does show its age a bit – not in terms of how long ago the show was made, but the age of the intended audience.  If you know a teen who you’d like to wean off Twilight, this might be a perfect first step.  And if you’re tired of indulging your inner teen with shows about vampire love, why not give this one a try?  It’s got all the elements of a guilty pleasure – with less cognitive dissonance.

Independence Day

The bad guys: greys in tentacle suits

Independence Day is the classic us vs. them film, served up with some apple pie and a giant helping of US patriotism.  Yes, cities around the world get torched, but we focus on the ones in the US, and it’s the combo of a “cool nerd” and various brave soldiers and citizens that bring about victory.

But what about the government?  Oh, a top-secret section of higher-ups (that don’t include the President) knew about the evil aliens all along – they’ve got their secret Area 51-type bunker in the desert.  But other than providing a crashed ship for Will Smith to fly, all their knowledge is relatively useless.  Shady and useless, the ID4 government.

E.T.

The bad guys: the government. And science teachers.

E.T. taught me to have a good, healthy suspicion of the government early on.  We have some kids who rescued the completely benign E.T., only to have the entire family terrorized by both national and local law enforcement (those were guns, not radios, revisionists).  Oh, and there’s also that totally creepy frog dissection scene that probably put me out of a career in the field of biology forever.  Who watches their dissection subject die first?  Yikes.

To be fair, there was that one nice government agent, but in general we still don’t view the government as a collection of individuals.

Doctor Who and Torchwood

The bad guys: Depends on the week

The Doctor has dealt with more than his share of governments, both on Earth and abroad, but he has a particularly special relationship with a few located in the U.K.  First, there’s U.N.I.T., an international military organization.  U.N.I.T. typically means well, but they tend to shoot first… or shoot redundantly… or, well, shoot.

Then there’s the Torchwood Institute, which is one step higher.  Unlike U.N.I.T., Torchwood is “above the UN,” and they also collect alien technology for the benefit of mankind.  Torchwood became its own spinoff show, and is relatively unique in that its members pretty much are the higher-ups, so it’s lacking some of that conspiracy/corruption that has become familiar since The X-Files (though the latest season is covering it in spades).

The X-Files

The bad guys: everyone else

The X-Files is the ultimate in delicious paranoia.  Yes, the aliens and other monsters of the week don’t seem too friendly, but the governement – including the FBI, who created the X-Files division in the first place – is full of grumpy old men who want to silence Scully and Mulder (and whoever else wanders in before the end of the series).  Trust No One!

Taken

The bad guys: depends on your perspective… but definitely the government

This lesser-known Sci-Fi Channel miniseries is basically following a few families through history, starting with the Foo Fighters of WWII and the 1940s alien crash.  The government knows that aliens exist, and in fact even collect some tech over the years, but don’t have many successful face-to-face encounters, due mostly to the fact that the ET division is run by people who are creepy and evil as hell.   Sure, every so often the aliens abduct people, they might be doing experiments in cross-breeding, and you’re not really sure what their motives are… but you also meet some nice E.T.s.  Meanwhile, a government agent is putting a hamster in a microwave.  I’m not even joking.

MIB

The bad guys: aliens… but only the bad ones

For a good ten, twenty years or more, the Men In Black or MIB were shadowy characters, ostensibly sent by an authority (ours or maybe an extraterrestrial one) to intimidate or silence people who had seen proof of alien life, or talked about their alien abduction.  Drawings of these guys were often freakier than the depictions of the aliens themselves.

However, now we tend to think of Will Smith. In the movie MIB, the MIB are an Earth institution who know full well about the presence of alien life – and their job is to keep it from us normies.  Luckily for us, most aliens quietly live out their lives in the suburbs or (I presume) on reality TV shows.  Also luckily for us, they silence us not by intimidation, but a simple flash device that wipes our memories.

They are the ultimate good guys, saving the world without ever getting acclaim.  They have access to fun alien tech, and heck, they make government work look fun.

So what have we learned?  Well, a cynic might say that we don’t trust the government and we trust the general public even less.  But I think it says a lot more that in our fiction, the government almost always knows about alien life.  So there’s some part of us that takes comfort in the idea that if there’s something scary or huge out there (even if it’s fictional), someone’s already worrying about it.

Now, take a step back from real-world politics, and pop some popcorn.  Because aliens totally aren’t partisan.

I’m glad I did!  It really was a breath of fresh air for the franchise.  And instead of being an absolute reboot, it mostly hangs together with the previous films, while still leaving room for any number of additional movies.  Which got me thinking: now that I have a little more confidence in the franchise, what might I like to see in future films?

Well, the logical first place to look is the comic source material.  First, some full disclosure: while I consider myself a casual fan of the X-Men concept, I’ve never read more than a handful of the comics.  I was introduced, like many kids, to the X-Men through the 90′s cartoon (by the biggest X-Men comics fan in the fifth grade, a girl named Danielle who I think became a comic artist).   Most of my knowledge about the “real” X-Men storylines has sort of been drawn from the giant hive consciousness that exists in the geek world (seriously, have you ever known the details about a TV show and then realized you’ve never seen it?).

So I’ve reached back into my memories that may-or-may-not exist, and I’ve asked a friend or two, and most importantly I’ve researched on the Internet – and here are a few of the storylines/elements that piqued my interest:

Sentinels

Yes, I know this is something that’s difficult to do in a movie and have it taken seriously.  You don’t want it to look like the Power Rangers, and the whole “detect mutants” thing is asking for some bad pseudo-science.  But think about the Tripods in War of the Worlds – giant robots can be really scary, if done correctly.  In the hands of the right director, it would not be just another Transformers.

Time-Travel

There are a few storylines that deal with time-travel, alternate timelines, and changing the future – Age of Apocalypse and Days of Future Past, for example.  While I wouldn’t actually want a movie set in an alternate timeline – those are only interesting because you’re seeing well-known characters behaving differently – working in the present to prevent a terrible future could be fun.

Hmm, if we have time travel, maybe we ought to take full advantage of this opportunity and repair some of the damage from past films.  Okay, just the third one.

Seriously, though, with these mutant powers time-travel is not a stretch and could be interesting to explore.  And with time-travel you can handily include characters from all the films (well, the ones we like).  No, I don’t think I’ve been watching too much Doctor Who…

Take the Plunge

A common element throughout the X-Men movies is that of the potential harm from the government; that the mutants could meet the same fate, or worse, as other groups that have been persecuted throughout the past.  Well… it’s been five movies now, and I’m ready to see something different.  Comics can get a little over-the-top, but they’re not afraid to burn their own world or have serious negative consequences (‘course they can always fix it later if they needed to, soap opera-style).  Either have the government take serious action in the future or, better yet, maybe have the mutants battle an entirely different, privatized force.  The government can’t be the only ones who fear mutants, after all.  Either way, the viewing audience is comfortable with mutants and their current place in the world, and it’s time to move forward.

Alien Goo

Let me clarify: I am not talking about setting a movie in space.   But problems that are not of this world – alien bacteria, Phalanx, viruses – are a handy obstacle that could be mutant-specific (or a problem that only mutants can handle).

One More Thing

…I want to see Magneto rip the adamantium out of Wolverine.  I can’t be the only one who wants that in a movie, right?

What about you?  What (or who) do you want to see in a future X-Men installment?  And which ‘generation’ should be involved?

Don’t worry; you have more than enough time to catch up.  And I’m here to tell you why you should.

Torchwood was created as a Doctor Who spinoff with a decidedly adult edge.  Though it features a character, Captain Jack Harkness, from Who, it’s actually more apt to remind first-time viewers of The X-Files or maybe Fringe.  Torchwood Institute is a top-secret British government institution, devoted to dealing with extraterrestrials and maybe whatever associated technology they can get their hands on.  They’re the men and women in (stylish) black who show up after the unexplainable has occurred – and they even have memory-wiping techniques.

Through most of the series, they’re based in Cardiff, Wales, on top of a rift in time and space that leads to more than your average amount of alien encounters.  Unlike Doctor Who, they don’t travel in time and space themselves; the aliens come to them.  As such, the show has a much more close, intimate feel than the epic romps a Who viewer might be accustomed to.  There’s also more time for the psychological ramifications of the stress and danger associated with being an alien-hunter.  Oh, and sex.  Definitely time to cover that.

I watched the majority of Torchwood long after it originally aired, through Netflix Instant.  Originally it aired in the US on BBCAmerica; I’ve heard it was edited, and not just to fit in commercials.  I’m not entirely surprised; I can recall some pretty racy moments, stuff that falls in the nebulous space between Family Viewing and Only Fit For Movie Channels, and I’ve heard tamer stuff was cut as well.  Even if you caught the show on its first airing, it might be worth getting the full experience before the next season.

Starz Saves the Day

After only three seasons (well, two seasons and miniseries) Torchwood sadly disappeared for a few years.  When showrunner Russell T Davies left Doctor Who and moved to the US, it seemed unlikely that Torchwood would ever be resurrected.

…Which shows what we know.  Not only is Torchwood finally seeing a fourth series, but they’ve teamed up with the Starz channel to do so.  Here’s why that’s a good thing, especially for those of us in the US.

First and foremost, there’s the money issue.  It’s not uncommon to hear about budget constraints on BBC shows; in fact, the reason Doctor Who was able to do an American-themed show was because BBCAmerica chipped in with support and cash.   With Starz backing Torchwood, this can only mean good things for the budget.  Meanwhile, Starz has had success with Spartacus, but they’re not yet as well-known for their original series as HBO or Showtime.  Torchwood is already well-loved, had good ratings at home and good reviews, too.  It’s a good match for the both of them.

Next, there’s the two major advantages of having a series on a movie channel: no overzealous editing, and no commercials, either.  I’m sure the showrunners will have to keep the requirements of the BBC in mind, but at least this time the US component won’t be holding them back.  I’ll be quite interested to see if Torchwood pushes even further into adult territory now that they’ll be aired on Starz.

The third point is something that, frankly, could be better, but it could be worse.  In the past, episodes of Starz’ original shows could be found on Netflix Instant the next day.  Sadly, the latest word is that there will now be a 90-day delay.  If you don’t already subscribe to Starz, you’ll still need to get it from iTunes or some similar service if you want to see it immediately; however, if you’re just a casual viewer and don’t mind waiting, you’ll be seeing Torchwood available much sooner than, say, an HBO show.  And the optimist in me still hopes that Starz will revise its policy.

The Future: Miracle Day

Of course, this new half-BBC, half-Starz Torchwood comes with its share of differences from the past seasons.  For one thing, it will be based in America, not Wales, and boasts an “international” cast (whether that means more than just the US and Wales remains to be seen).  The cast will include favorite characters Jack and Gwen, the people who will be the connective tissue between the old and new seasons.  New cast announced so far includes the American institutions Bill Pullman, Wayne Knight and Ernie Hudson, and TV vets Alexa Havins and Mekhi Phifer (who I just loved on Lie to Me).

While I’ve liked the smaller, “local” feel of Torchwood in the past, and I hope it doesn’t lose that entirely, I have to admit the latest trailer has much more of a big-screen feel (it has a rocket launcher, for crying out loud).  And… that’s kind of exciting.

Torchwood has done a pretty good job keeping the details of its new season under wraps – it’s just a month and a half away.  And I, for one, can’t wait.  If you haven’t tried out Torchwood yet, you absolutely should – it’s a smart show that manages to be both dark and witty, and reminds us that sf isn’t just for the kiddies.

What about you?  Do you think they should have ended with the last season, or will you be tuning in?  And what are you hoping to see in the new series?

I’ve said before that I come from a family of Doctor Who fans.  My mother has often mentioned that while her first Doctor was Pertwee, more importantly, her first companion was Sarah Jane Smith.  You see, Sarah Jane provided the consistency, the normalcy, after the shock of regeneration and a new, wild Doctor.  And it didn’t hurt that she was just plain likable; she was a favorite companion of many, regardless of when they began watching the show.

Years later, the show Doctor Who was regenerated itself; brand-new actors, music, TARDIS, everything.  It was ostensibly in the same universe as the original show, but no one could deny there were major differences: no Gallifrey, Daleks that “questioned themselves,” and a grittier, more modern feel.  A bit of regeneration shock was to be expected.

And in the second season of the new show, Sarah Jane returned.  Once again, she brought consistency, legitimacy.  For many long-time viewers, it was like having a trusted friend endorse someone new.  Yes, logically we’d known this was the same Doctor as Hartnell, Baker and all the others, but now finally there was a tangible merging of the old and the new.

Meanwhile, a new spinoff was created, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and new viewers were discovering just why Sarah Jane Smith was such a popular companion in the first place.  Actress Elisabeth Sladen had always had charisma and charm as Sarah Jane; now, as a mature woman, she carried a bit of wisdom along with the familiar fun.  For young and old viewers alike, she was someone who represented safety from the monsters of the world, as well as the courage to confront and defeat them.  She even managed to have fun on the way; still, perhaps even more so than the Doctor, Sarah Jane was secure, dependable.  She was everyone’s fun sister or aunt.  She was home.

I have no words for the loss of Elisabeth Sladen, other than that it feels unbelievable.  I’m dreading the call to my mother – my mother, who is only a few years younger than Sladen herself, is probably feeling this on an entirely different level.  And that’s just it – while every Doctor Who fan is experiencing their grief in a different way, on a different level, it’s undeniable that almost every Doctor Who fan is feeling grief.  Because Elisabeth Sladen was just one of those people who managed to reach everyone.