I am not the only person to think that Torchwood’s “Children of Earth” mini-series is up there with the best of Battlestar Galactica. The Guardian’s Daniel Martin thinks so, and heaps praise on the series. And rightly so. I have rarely seen science fiction encompass all aspects of drama, but CoE has a fair amount of well placed humour, action but most importantly horror. The subject matter is the definition of horrific, and the choices made by the main protagonists cast virtually everyone (apart from Gwen and Ianto) in a poor light. And that includes Captain Jack Harkness.

The Doctor Who spin-off really hits it’s stride after a lukewarm first series ramped up into a very enjoyable second. Last series, the team lost two of it’s mainstays, leaving the enigmatic Captain Jack, Gwen and Ianto behind. After last series’ Who finale, we were half expecting a slew of guest stars but they kept the core cast for CoE to a minimum. And it works well (without giving spoilers) to let the remaining three breathe a little.

The story follows a plot by an alien race only known as the ’456′ to exchange the threat of annihilation for a ‘gift’. We learn that the Torchwood brethren have a history with them, and we flesh out some misdeeds along the way. But, strikingly, the story is wholly original in the way that it’s subject matter is the most unpalatable aspect. Some scenes were disturbing to anyone who has a child, and the stark reality depicted in the story is in contrast to the somewhat glossy look and feel of previous episodes (and Doctor Who to boot).

This was a show for adults in its subject matter opposed to the first series which seemed over the top in it’s display of sex and bad language. It represents the best of recent Doctor Who and Torchwood in its execution, direction and acting, but more importantly sets a very high standard for British drama in general. Children of Earth doesn’t wimp out at the end, which is always a worry with shows of this ilk, and maintains a firm grip on the subject matter. I thoroughly recommend this to anyone seeking a good story, very well told. 5 out of 5!

But Being Human ended well didn’t it?

I can’t see it going full scale sci-fi though. The slow burning pace has worked for most of the episodes and the title’s premise of exploring our characters ‘being human’, and even with the impending doom our three reluctant humans face, I doubt there will be any Buffy type action. Or even Twilight for that matter.

Being Human has been quirky and genuinely funny. Although slightly selective with Vampire mythologies, it still works quite well. Mitchell the vamp is a bit sensitive to daylight, but it does not seem to post much of a problem, and we don’t know about garlic or crosses either. However, a good old stake in the heart still does the trick, and it is only in the fifth episode that we see a vampire busy count begin.

The only downside to the series is that all three characters don’t seem to be that special – maybe I am missing the point somewhat but the werewolf transformations only occur every other episode, and poltergeist spookiness was a bit of a damp squib. So anyone looking for a British Buffy will be disappointed. That said ‘Being Human’ is far too intelligent with its drama and humour. It will be a shame when it finishes, but overall I have been really enjoying it. Let’s just hope that the final episode packs a bite.

Yep, Anne Robinson today had some element of comeuppance and was banned for speeding today. Not that she could be bothered to attend court of course. She just sent her lackey lawyer to issue her apologies. Yep, Anne. We believe you. Just know this…Wales will never forget!!

It’s amazing though that this storyline could make the national news. The ending was everywhere, and they had Doctor Who specialists on BBC news this morning discussing the merits of Tennant’s outing in the pantheon of previous Doctors. Is this really news? Well…yes. Of sorts.

But anyway…c’mon BBC1…get the damn tennis over with!

I didn’t know much of Chalie Jade, other than it “looked right up my street”. But first impressions didn’t get me very far, and now, some 12 episodes in, I am still not sure about it, however compulsive it seems to be to me. And it doesn’t help that Xmas got in the way and my Sky+ decided to stop recording the sodding thing…thanks Sky+. You can already chop the end off a programme with ease…now you just demonstrate a complete lack of intelligence! But that’s another story…

Charlie Jade is a sci-fi drama set across three dimensions; Alpha, Beta and Gamma. Charlie, it turns out, get trapped in the Betaverse (aka our world) and is looking for a way home to Alpha. The only thing stopping him is that he doesn’t know how or why he got here. He ends up battleing a mega-corp called Vexcor which are determined to rape other “verses” of their natural energies, while becoming entangled with a psychopath by the name of 01 Boxer. Which brings me onto…

…the names! 01 Boxer (or Oh-One as he is known) is just one of many real stupid names emplyed for characters in CJ. It’s easy to suspend disbelief for a while, but this is not Star Wars. The realms of science fiction detailed by Charlie Jade fit into the more distopian future/Blade Runner/Battlestar Galaactica than Star
Trek. As long as oyu can suspend the writers complete lack of intelligence into character naming….then you will be fine.

The central characterisation are played very well, but the complex back story is not given enough time to breathe. For example, Jade has a girlfriend in the Alphaverse called Jasmine. It alludes to the fact that she is a second class citizen of sorts known as a C3. It only gets explained around 8 episodes in that a C3 is a lower class of human…up to this point I thought she was a replicant type being.

All in all, some very good telly.