Anticipation

Tonight is the season finale of my second-favorite TV show, Torchwood. I'm not a sci fi fan by inclination, but the most-recent versions of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica have drawn me in - BSG in particular because of its quality writing and spectacular acting. Doctor Who is cotton-candy fun, and Torchwood is a spin-off (and an anagram) of Doctor Who. A little darker and a lot sexier than Doctor Who (although can you resist David Tennant when he smiles? I can't.), Torchwood doesn't have the storyline or the acting of BSG, but still draws you in and makes you want more at the end of each episode.

As I said, I'm not a sci fi geek naturally. These shows are watchable (and more so) because they transcend their genre and provide entertainment that goes beyond your standard network fare. Think about it: in the 1930's, everyone read (and wrote) detective novels. It was the genre of the age, and there are a number of social-history-thesis type reasons why. But honestly, the best writing of the decade, when the years have washed away the dross, was done by detective novelists: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and so on. To a much lesser degree, the same is true right now of TV writing - these 3 shows are fresh and original, while most everything else is emphatically not.

So as soon as the boys are in bed I will be sitting down with my TiVo'd Torchwood. Waiting to find out who dies, who sleeps with an alien, and who has the hottest black outfit this week - it's all good.