TVSquad

They're here.

Species 456 finally touched down on Earth to scare the crap out of civil servant John Frobisher -- and this reviewer -- in the third suspenseful hour of Torchwood: Children of Earth.

Day two was an action-packed thrill ride from start to finish, but day three (scripted by Russell T Davies and James Moran) was the most intense episode of the miniseries so far. For the second time this week,Torchwood had me on the edge of my seat with some truly chilling moments. But before things got too creepy, there was some fun to be had with the team getting back together, finding a new Hub, and lifting a few credit cards and laptops from unsuspecting Londoners.

Oh, Festivus, Oh, Festivus, the holiday for TV fans. How exciting that once a year we can close our eyes, click our heels and make our wishes for the magical ways television can be made better in the year to come. Still, there are more than a few changes that I think need to be made to make TV better ... not to say that it's bad. It just that everything can be better.

This is a great opportunity to get a little Scrooge-y and vent about what I want to see corrected/improved/altered in TV in 2009. Is it wrong that I hope the bigwigs at the networks and cable companies are surfing the net and take my grievances to heart? Is it wrong that I still believe they care about what viewers think? Yeah, probably, but here's my wish list anyway:

I was really excited about the prospect of Life on Mars coming to ABC television. I speak in the past tense because everything that has happened since that initial announcement has me doubting that ABC's Americanized Life on Mars will ever make it out of the first season. It may not even air six episodes.

There have been production changes, the first pilot was trashed, they've inserted new characters, they've remade the mythology of the show (with the approval of the British creators), and now more news. The character of Annie Norris on Life on Mars will be played by Gretchen Mol. Yes, the beautiful, sexy and very blond Gretchen Mol. (Okay, she can dye her hair.)

I have the ultimate respect for Ms. Mol. She was excellent in 3:10 to Yuma (a really amazing Western that should have gotten some Oscar consideration). I just think she's the wrong choice for the role of Annie.

We constantly hear of the British invasion of American TV (The Office, Life on Mars and many others), but there is one executive producer swimming against the current. Former Friends executive producer Adam Chase is working on a sci-fi comedy series called Clone starring Jonathan Pryce for BBC3.

The show is about a scientist who invents the first successful human clone to be used as a prototype super-soldier, but the clone ends up acting like a pacifist. The series is also being directed by The King of Queens alum, Rob Schiller.

Will the show work? I'm honestly not sure. The British are a different audience than the American one and they have a different style for their comedies. Their seasons are traditionally six episodes and all written by the same person. This format allows for more risk-taking in their programming and no question of ownership. Many American shows have enjoyed success over there, but I can't think of a single example of an American being the creative force behind an original and successful British show.

I just hope Mr. Chase can adjust to the much smaller budgets of British productions.