BbcAmerica

BBC America seems to like science fiction, with shows like Dr. Who, Torchwood, and now Survivors, a post-viral apocalypse drama with quite a few familiar faces from the other shows. Freema Agyeman will likely be the first familiar face to those who might not watch other Brit shows. As Martha Jones, she's been both a regular and a guest on both Dr. Who and Torchwood. Agyeman plays schoolteacher Jenny Collins.

Shaun Dingwall was a recurring guest on Dr. Who as Rose's father. On Survivors, he's also a father, David Grant. Sharp eyes might also remember Nikki Amuka–Bird from the "Sleeper" episode of Torchwood in 2008. Here, she's Samantha Willis, a press minister with the misfortune of being the face of the British government as the flu decimates the population.

Paterson Joseph, also known as Space Marshal Clarke on Hyperdrive, plays Greg Preston, who unfortunately gets his wish for a new life on Survivors. Zoë Tapper, who's practically a staple of BBC America occult shows (Demons, Hex) plays Dr. Anya Raczynski. You can guess what she was up to when the outbreak hit.

Lastly, Phillip Rhys, who played Proto Zoa in Disney's Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century and Zenon: The Zequel plays Al Sadiq, a privileged playboy who's clearly going to get a reality check before the end of the first episode.

Survivors premieres on BBC America on Saturday February 13th. A sneak peek is currently available on BBC America On Demand.

Total Sci-Fi Online interviewed Gary Russell, the director of the Dr. Who animated adventure, Dreamland.

Dreamland is the second animated program directed by Russell, after Infinite Quest. This latest web series takes place in a mid-century Area 51 with David Tennant playing the infamous Time Lord. In the interview, he talks about the freedoms and restrictions of working in an animated medium. Says Russell, "What animation does give us is scope, is the ability to say 'Let's set Dreamland in 1950s New Mexico, with giant insectoids, flying brains and fleets of tanks, helicopters and explosions' – all things it would be far more difficult to do in live action."

Dreamland takes place between "Waters of Mars" and "The End of Time" in a time known as "The Specials" in the Dr. Who universe, before the next incarnation of the Doctor. Tennant is relinquishing the role to Matt Smith, the 11th actor to play the iconic character. "Waters of Mars" aired in the UK in November, and premieres on BBC America this weekend.

The episodes for Dreamland are available on the Doctor Who website in the UK; they will air in their entirety on BBC Two on Saturday. The episodes are not available outside the UK at this time.

This week, Ron Livingston gets lost in space as Defying Gravity returns to Sunday night, and a Stargate Atlantis alum visits Warehouse 13 (no it's not Rodney McKay!). Read on for this week's sci-fi TV picks.

Defying Gravity, "Threshold" - ABC's new space drama is no Virtuality – there's little darkness or hard sci-fi elements, and the vibe is anything but existential – but it's not exactly Grey's Anatomy in space either. The first hour of last night's premiere was a well-constructed look at a team of young astronauts facing the biggest journey of their lives. Still, there wasn't much for sci-fi fans to get excited about except for Ron Livingston's (Office Space) likeable performance as a down-and-out spaceman (his hammy voiceover works surprisingly well) and some decent-looking outer space FX shots.

The series' main focus is on the various romantic entanglements of the crew of the spaceship Antares. Unfortunately, the characters seem more concerned with their sexual relationships than exploring the cosmos. Some clumsy storytelling and a few questionable casting choices (is it too late to re-cast Ellen Pompeo clone Laura Harris as the female lead?) might sink this one before it gets a chance to soar. So why am I still watching? The creepy mystery plot has me hooked.

The show's sci-fi elements come front-and-center this week as the Antares' crew suffers cellular and psychological transformations courtesy of the mysterious force manipulating their mission. (Sunday, 10 p.m. ET on ABC.)

Click through for more TV picks and preview videos.

So much for a happy ending.

With Children of Earth's critical success and record UK ratings, I'm certain show creator Russell T. Davies will get the chance to bring Torchwood back to TV next year. But how can he? (Spoilers ahead).

Ianto is dead. Gwen is almost a mother. Captain Jack, wracked with guilt and stripped of his white hat, is gone. And Torchwood is finished. It would be a shame to see the show end forever after its finest hour, but where can it go from here?

OK folks, let's pull ourselves together now. Yes, this was Torchwood's darkest hour, but tonight is ass-kicking time, right? Right?

Honestly, I'm not really sure how it's all gonna end, but that's what I'm loving about Children of Earth. The miniseries has kept me guessing from the start and it's kept me on the edge of my seat all week with damn fine storytelling and some great performances. (Please, Internet, tell me a full season order is in the can for next year!)

Day four mostly centered on negotiations with The 456 and the British government's extremely shocking lack of moral integrity. We also learned that our own Captain Jack is no saint. Jack's confession about feeding the children to The 456 in 1964 only made me wonder about the other possible skeletons in his closet.

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 the 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.

The humor was spot on in this ep. The silly but fun crime-spree montage had a lovely Doctor Who-like lightness to it, and the almost-love scene between Jack and Ianto ("bloody beans") made me laugh out loud. It was inspiring to watch the team shake off its wounds and build a new Torchwood Hub from the ground up. Even Jack's "I'm back" superhero moment felt earned, especially considering what he had to go through to get back.

Gwen is a badass. And that Ianto sure is one clever boy. With Captain Jack busy growing back his body parts, Torchwood's non-super-powered players took center stage in Children of Earth's fast and furious second hour.

Day two started out with a rush of action movie awesomeness as Gwen blasted her way out of a scary situation. I don't remember the danger ever feeling so immediate and real in Torchwood. The opening minutes were edge-of-your-seat tense, and the swift pace rarely let up.

As Ianto looked for a way to save Jack, Gwen and Rhys got to spend some quality time together tying up morticians and running away from evil government agents. There was a lot of chasing and gunplay in this ep, but there were also some great character moments in between all the thrills and suspense.

Captain Jack is back, and Torchwood is facing its biggest threat yet: An alien assault on the world's children.

The first hour of Children of Earth was a great set-up for what promises to be an epic story for the Doctor Who spinoff. The epic feel, with the helicopter shots and the grandiose music, surprisingly suits Torchwood, a show known for its balance of intimate character moments and goofy B-movie tropes. The camaraderie between the characters is still there, and so is the goofiness, as evidenced by the fun early scene with Jack and Ianto extracting the "hitchhiker" from their "neighbor."

The main plot --- with the children stopping and screaming (creepy) and then chanting a warning (creepier) to the people of Earth – didn't overwhelm hour one. The real meat here was in the surprising character revelations. I like that the impending alien invasion gave our trio a reason to reflect on their roots and ponder their future. Ianto, Gwen and Jack had some great moments away from Torchwood central.

Read the rest at TV Squad.

Welcome to TV Geek Week -- a new weekly column about sci-fi TV news and programming.

Screw Harry Potter. For me, the U.S. premiere of Torchwood: Children of Earth is the biggest and most anticipated geek event of the month. After a record-breaking run in the U.K., the five-part miniseries lands stateside tonight with an absorbing first hour on BBC America.

With its first two seasons, The Doctor Who spin-off offered a mature and sexy but undeniably quirky look at a team of Cardiff-based investigators fighting alien threats. Judging by the raves from the British press, and the promising first hour, Children of Earth takes things to a higher level with an epic scope, a bigger budget, and more twists and turns than the series' first two seasons combined.

Tonight's ep sees the Torchwood team responding to an alien invader that announces itself by possessing the world's children and making them chant a creepy warning, "We are coming." It's even more unsettling than it sounds, and it sets our heroes – the debonair Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), reliable Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd), and the fetching Gwen (Eve Myles) – off on a dangerous adventure involving cagey new characters, government conspiracies and, er, blood-spewing monsters.

If it sounds like Torchwood is full of cheap thrills, well, that's because it is. But the series handles all the B-movie business with wit, charm and heart – three things sorely lacking from some of this summer's big screen blockbusters. (Tonight through Friday, 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.)

Check out more TV picks and the first seven minutes of Children of Earth after the jump.

It's a time of transition for Torchwood, BBC's slick and saucy Doctor Who spinoff. The series returns to BBC America on July 20 for the first episode of "Children of Earth," a five-part miniseries that's already wowing the nerds overseas. The miniseries sees the Torchwood crew facing a new threat and dealing with the loss of two loved ones. "Children of Earth" also sees the show shifting to a new network in its homeland and has some fans wondering about the possibilities of a fourth season.

TV Squad talked to Torchwood star Gareth David-Lloyd recently about the miniseries, the future of the show, and the evolution of his character, Ianto, from desk jockey to front lines fighter. Here's a snippet from that interview:

How does the new series expand Torchwood in its third season?
["Children of Earth"] is one big story playing out over the five episodes. We worked for 16 weeks straight, as though we were on a movie shoot. It's such a great script with a great cast. I've enjoyed every minute. I think it reaches out beyond sci-fi. It's a huge human story with a lot of action included.