You know how sometimes you can love something even though you don't always understand it? That's how I felt about the PBS show Alive From Off Center in the '80s, and that's how I feel about The Catherine Tate Show now. The half-hour comedy sketch show recently started airing on BBC America, and so far, I like it.

My favorite thus far is Lauren, the cheerleader who is "not bovvered." The rapid-fire "Yeah, but no" exchanges make me gape and giggle.

I also like Derek Faye, the effeminate heterosexual who takes umbrage when people think he's gay. His catchphrases are "How very dare you!" and "Who, dear? Me, dear? Gay, dear? No, dear!" (I referenced him in the L Word recap, so if you were wondering WTF I was talking about, watch this!) … continue reading

Sci-fi fans probably already know a little BBC hit called Torchwood, a spin-off of the series Doctor Who. Torchwood (an anagram for Doctor Who, because yeah, they are that geeky), follows the adventures of an elite special ops team as they investigate alien phenomenon in the city of Cardiff, Wales — which, as any intergalatic tourist book will tell you, is the place to be if you're an alien looking for a time-space rift.

Now available on BBC America, the same broadcaster that brings shows from across the pond with names like Drunk on the Job and Love Me, Love My Doll (don't you just love the programming people at the BBC?), Torchwood doesn't offer just fast-paced stories, alien gadgetry and quippy dialogue delivered with neat-o accents.

Because the show features a multi-omni-pan-whatever-sexual leader named Captain Jack, played by an openly out actor (John Barrowman), it's being recapped over on our brother site, AfterElton.com. But the story lines delve into very fluid ideas of sexuality for all the Torchwoodies. Take Episode 2, "Day One," for example. … continue reading

Lori and I stumbled across BBC America's fantastic drama series Jekyll a few weekends ago when we were surfing our On Demand channels, and by the end of the first episode, we were hooked. The six-episode first season, which went out with a bang this past weekend, is a suspense thriller with an excellent cast and an old story that somehow comes across fresh. James Nesbitt is brilliant and believable as both Tom Jackman and his alter ego Mr. Hyde, the lesbian private detectives drive the plot forward and provide some necessary comic relief, and Michelle Ryan, who did not impress us in the Bionic Woman pilot, nails her role as Tom's mysterious assistant/nurse perfectly here.

But the one who really impressed me the most was Gina Bellman as Tom's wife Claire. I'd only ever seen Bellman previously on the very funny British comedy Coupling, playing the fairly limited, over-the-top and occasionally annoying role of narcissistic bisexual Jane.

Beyond thinking "Hey, that's that actress who played the bi chick on Coupling," I didn't pay much attention to Bellman in the first few episodes of Jekyll, because Claire's role was initially fairly small and mostly limited to wondering why her husband kept disappearing for days at a time. But once she discovered his secret in episode three, Claire suddenly started to get interesting, and in episode four, it was like "forget Tom's alter ego, who is this other Gina Bellman?" … continue reading