I know it's heresy, but I think Barrowman is the worst actor on the show, so I wouldn't mind at all seeing a U.S. take on it without him. I liked Captain Jack well enough, and I think he works within the confines of the Torchwood/Doctor Who universe we've seen, but I think a reboot of it with an American cast -- a forgotten Torchwood outpost that's lost contact with everything else -- could work for a US network.

It would be interesting to see this, especially with Fox's history of Sci-Fi on its network, but in reality, I don't think it would work for two reasons. First, Fox has a bad history with Sci-Fi - anything by Joss Whedon has gotten cancelled, Terminator, and then remember how they ruined the 1996 Doctor Who movie. If Fox airs Torchwood, I don't expect it to last long purely on its previous support of the genre aside from the X-Files franchise (which may just be enough to keep it going). The second reason I don't think it will work is more named Russel T Davies. While I enjoy what he's been able to do with Doctor Who and Torchwood, and I've even dug and looked for other shows he's done. Watching all that, the thing that makes me cringe the most with Uncle Rusty are the outcomes his 3 am procrastinated script writing sessions. I think he could do a phenomenal job at writing an episode if he allowed someone to tell him that things need to be edited. I watched the S3 miniseries of Torchwood, and there were specific moments of signature RTD in the writing that pulled me out of following the story. And I saw that already in Casanova and the episodes I've seen of Queer as Folk UK. If Fox could leave the production crew enough alone and give financial support, and if RTD could be more of a writers' supervisor and producer, then it has a shot. Don't get me wrong - I respect RTD for bringing back Doctor Who, but anyone who brought us the "Master Race" joke shouldn't be in charge of scripts. Remember S1 of Torchwood? My point proven.

I agree Barrowman is not a very good actor, but he has oodles of charisma. His character just has to be written very narrowly for it to work. And he has to be teamed with other good actors who can show a full range. See, it seems to me that pretty boys with charisma as outrageous and compelling as his are rare. Good actors who are pretty seem to be everywhere. And yes RTD is self-indulgent, but he commits. If he's going for big and OTT my goodness, stand back. But he knows enough to mix in some wonderful human drama as well. I mean he also wrote the scenes between the Doctor and WIlf. Now if it were possible to edit him, that would be better, but I doubt that it is (and yes ITA on the Master race joke, owie), he's the whole package: big pluses and some real minuses too. Oh and Namaste I do remember Cap'n Jack saying there was a lost outpost in Glasgow so if Rex doesn't come through, maybe we could have Tennant as a Scottish Cap'n Jack equivalent on FOX. No. no. I think I just burst my own head with that one. No. Um. No.

I don't think anyone thinks JB is a great actor (or even that good) but he's charming and he's got a presence that is very hard to find. It's not his acting I tune in for, it's his John Barrowman-ness. (Which is basically what Boffle said, I guess) Anything that he's attached to is exponentially more fun than if he wasn't involved. That's why I want him on the American version-the show needs that fun and spark or else it's just another drab old sci-fi show without any winks or self-awareness.

I know a lot a people that love John Barrowman (myself included), but I don't know many who think he is a great actor. He has said that when is plays CJH, he is basically playing himself. And JB has this wonderful presence that I enjoy. What Boffle and RSH already. I do think that CJH was at his best when he was a companion to Christopher Eccleston's Doctor. Eccleston seems to bring everyone's acting up a notch (but I'm biased --he's my favorite). I think one of the problems that I had with S2 of Torchwood was that JB couldn't handle some of the heavier scenes that he had to do in episodes like Adam. Crying Barrowman? Do.Not.Want. His acting is sometimes too stagy for the small screen. But, for me, Torchwood is Captain Jack. I'm not really interested enough in the show as a concept to watch it without him.

People hate Gwen? I adore Gwen. And her hubby. I could hear them talk all day. But agree that Ianto had no hotness at all for me. Zip. Tosh and Owen I really enjoyed though (Tosh's demise completely wiped me out) and the Cap'n is just a big ole hoot of a comic book character. So it would be tricky to get that mix right. Wonder why they want to do this again after the failed attempt with the eighth Doctor. Is Rupert Murdoch a closet fan?

Oh yeah, Gwen is loathed by a large part of the fandom and they're very vocal about it. I don't loathe Gwen, but there can be a hearty dose of Mary Sue in her. A sort of "headstrong Gwen saves the day!" which leads one to wonder how Torchwood survived before she stumbled on them. That can get annoying at times. But I don't actively hate her. I guess she's the 13 of TW. For the record, I don't hate 13 either. Now Rhys, I absolutely adore. And yeah, I LOVE the two of them together. They're great. I loved Owen, Tosh and Ianto and Captain Jack is in a league all by himself. Barrowman is a yummy delight. Impossible to resist his charm. I was devastated that they chose to off the bulk of the cast - I just can't see why they would do such a thing. Didn't seem that well thought out to me. The show could have happily gone on for a few seasons with the original crew (and having Owen as a "living" dead man was idiotic) before shaking things up that radically.

I can't see this working, but honestly I'd rather they try this than see a series 4 in Cardiff. I loved the first two series, but nearly everything and everyone that made it great is gone. It just won't feel right carrying on there like they used to. The only character I actively hated was Owen. Hated every single second he was onscreen. I was glad to be rid of him, but then they followed that up with COE where it felt like Jack, Gwen, and Ianto were more supporting characters than the stars (seriously, I did not need that much focus on friggin Frobisher, Lois, Johnson, Decker, Alice and Steven, Bridget, the PM...etc.). I could take or leave Tosh. Jack, Gwen, and Ianto (and Rhys) are my favorites, and I still have three of them standing (though, I don't hold out much hope for Rhys surviving if we ever see him and Gwen again), but after COE, I'd rather cut my losses and start over. That was just brutal. I loved that Cardiff setting and I just wish the show would have gone on for a few more years before they started killing everyone (except Owen) off. I just wanted more of what it was pre COE. The only way I won't check out an American TW would be if they got James Marsters to star in it. I never liked him on TW. I'd kind of like to see JB star, but I can't see him being able to devote that much time to being in the US. If nothing else, I'm very curious. I just think he works better in small doses and was at his best when, as you note, he was with CE's Doctor. I thought he was the worst in S1 of Doctor Who. I think he's gotten better since then. I know he's no great actor, but I think he pulled off COE and even his brief scene in End of Time (I was actually pretty impressed with how not over the top he was in End of Time. For him, that was downright subtle) much better than he's handled anything else I've seen him do on DW/TW. Of course, I believe both were directed by Euros Lynn, so maybe he should be the only one allowed to direct him. I can't help but be completely charmed by Barrowman though. He just has such a presence. I kind of adore him, even if he's not the best actor around (or even on TW). He's just fun. I can't help but smile whenever I see or hear him. I've become more than a little obsessed.

Oh, I didn't realize there was Torchwood convo over here! Anyway, I am a huge fan and I hate that Ianto was killed off as he was actually my fave character. I also think he was the best actor on the show. But I actually like them all, unlike most fans who seem to have their particular loves and hates. I was also very sorry when Tosh and Owen were killed off. It's a bit strange to me as an American because our shows tend to have the same cast and if anyone leaves, it's generally because the actor wants to do other things, not because the writers kill them off. However Torchwood is currently filming the fourth season, so I guess we haven't seen the last of it, despite the fact that four team members were killed off in the first three seasons, a fifth is raising a family, the Hub has been destroyed, and Jack's wandering around the universe trying to outrun his guilt. It doesn't seem to make for a very promising fourth season, but they are going for it. As far as John Barrowman, yeah, he's not the best actor for the small screen, but I think it may be that his theatrical style of acting to the farthest rows in the audience (or overacting) doesn't always translate well to television. Even so, he's so charismatic and Jack is such a great character, I love him anyway.

John Barrowman is on Desperate Housewives tonight!

Hey being a west coaster finally is a plus! DH just starting. Woo! ETA: JB was fun, but clearly I will be recording this and use the ff in future.

I don't know if ABC puts the episodes online, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. I don't usually watch Desperate Housewives. I just happened to be flipping through the channels and it was by sheer luck that I saw JB's name. He wasn't in the episode that much tonight. I expect he will have more scenes in the next episode. I'm so used to him as CJH that I found myself waiting in expection for him to utter one saucy remark after another.

Fox + Torchwood? I'm skeptical. I don't mind the idea of Fox doing a show similar to the themes of Torchwood. I just don't want them to get their paws on CJH or any of the other characters I love (which I guess is not much of a worry since most of them are dead).