After Elton, a popular gay-themed blog hosted by the Logo network, has invited SyFyPortal.com founderMichael Hinman and the popular former science-fiction radio personality Meredith Hogan to host a series of Vlogs (video logs) that will highlight each episode of "Torchwood's" first season.

The Vlogs will run between 10 to 15 minutes, and will talk about different aspects of each episodes, as well as some of the gay themes present in each show.

Each Vlog will appear on the After Elton Web site by the Monday following each episode's broadcast. Hinman is already a fan of the series, and will be giving a perspective from someone who is watching the show for the second time as it airs on BBC America. Hogan, however, will be a newcomer to the show (and practically to the 'Doctor Who' universe), so she will provide a fresh, "new fan" perspective to the show.

"We've always been true practitioners of Gene Roddenberry's philosophy of infinite diversity in infinite combinations," Hinman said. "I know that has become almost a cliche in science-fiction, but up until shows like 'Torchwood,' that cliche didn't seem to exist when it came to our friends in the gay and lesbian community."

Matt Roush, the main critic for TV GUIDE reports just how much he enjoys Torchwood.

He writes, "Over the years, I've somehow resisted the lure of the iconic British fantasy Doctor Who, in all of its incarnations. So imagine my surprise to be hooked on Torchwood, a cheeky and often startlingly adult spin-off."

To read the entire review, click on the TV guide link above. The full review contains a few spoilers.

SCI-FI WIRE has announced a list of the features to be included in the series 1 release of Torchwood. The boxed set is scheduled to hit the shelves on January 8, 2008.

The bonus features include: Welcome to Torchwood; Torchwood on the Scene; Torchwood Out of this World; Torchwood Sex, Violence, Blood and Gore; Torchwood on the Road; The Team and Their Troubles; Torchwood: Moments in the Making; The Captain's Log; Torchwood on Time; and Torchwood Declassified. The DVD will also feature deleted scenes, audio commentary on all 13 first-season episodes and outtakes.

The US premier of Torchwood is Saturday, September 8 at 8:00 pm CST on BBC AMERICA.

Julie Gardner, executive producer of the BBC series Torchwood and head of drama development for BBC Wales, tellsSCI-FI WIRE that Torchwood'sroots lie in a fascination with American science fiction shows - particularly those in the boom of the 1990s.

She talks about an early series she and Russell T Davies developed calledExcalibur which centered around a paranormal investigation team.

"It was a kind of [an] urban-landscape, present-day series," Gardner said.

"And the scene that Russell in his two-page pitch described was the scene where there was this sexy group of investigators in an alleyway at night, it's raining, a corpse is on the ground, and one of them brings out a glove and is able to bring the corpse back to life, which is, of course, the central first scene in Episode 1 of what became Torchwood."

The BBC Press Office has released more information about the character of Martha Jones appearing onTorchwood, along with a photograph of Freema Agyeman with the rest of the Torchwood cast.

Agyeman is quoted as saying: "Martha has grown up a lot since Doctor Who. She's now a fully qualified doctor and a bit hardened by life experiences. When she finds out that Captain Jack needs her help, she joins Torchwood for a while. She continues to develop her knowledge of alien intelligence, but this time keeping her feet on the ground.

"These will be invaluable skills to take back with her on future adventures with the Doctor. She outgrew the Doctor, in a sense, and so the next time they meet it will be in a more professional capacity. I'm so proud of her journey and who she has become.

"And for me as an actress, it's a great new challenge to be able to broaden and expand Martha as she develops in other directions for this more adult series. The Torchwood team are fabulous to work with and have made me very welcome."

Agyeman will appear in three episodes of Torchwood, which will air early in 2008. The press release also mentions guest stars James Marsters, Alan Dale and Richard Briers; Briers' character is described as "Parker, a reclusive millionaire who is the keeper of alien secrets, much later in the series."

Thanks to Ryan Love.

Torchwood is slated to begin airing in Brazil this month. The premiere will be on August 28th on the People and Arts channel.

Since the 9th of July Torchwood has also been available in Mexico, viaCanal22. The programme is shown in a half hour slot on Mondays and Wednesdays at 2230.

Thank you to Karla and Carlos Santillan

Channel Ten's decision to move Torchwood to a midnight timeslot has attracted some local media comment. Michael Idato of the Sydney Morning Herald says 'Ten has no one to blame but itself' for the 'critically acclaimed' programme's failure to develop an Australian audience. He writes that 'rather than let Torchwood go where it belongs - to the ABC as a companion piece to Doctor Who ... Ten bought it with the most disingenuous intention: to deny its science fiction roots and pitch it as a cop show.' Meanwhile, Andrew Mercado in the Sydney Sunday Telegraphcomments that the show has 'been dumped to midnights on Tuesdays ... confirming every sci-fi fan's worst fears that the 'Doctor Who' spin-off would eventually end up in late-night hell, along with The 4400 andBattlestar Galactica. Couldn't Ten have given it one last try in prime time on a Saturday night instead of those unimaginative Law & Orderand NCISrepeats?' Ian Cuthbertson of the Weekend Australian also writes that 'viewers enjoying Torchwood ... will find they have been stiffed. Not doing as well as Ten would have liked, the program has been uprooted and transferred to midnight [Tuesday]. How very sci fi.' Glenn Dyer of Crikeysays Ten is a 'loser . . . for sticking the underwhelming Torchwood at Midnight. Just 98,000 viewers. It's better than that, but it's not Dr Who-like. Why not a Friday night at 9.30pm and try and make it a cult show?'

Meanwhile Keith Austin, also of the Sydney Morning Herald, writes of 'The Lazarus Experiment', that the title character is 'played by great relish by the League of Gentlemen’s Mark Gatiss, a long term 'Doctor Who' fan who has written some of the best episodes of the series' latest incarnation.'

Finally, in the ratings, 'Doctor Who' is on the rise: 'Evolution of the Daleks' scored 874,000 viewers in the 5 major capitals while 'The Lazarus Experiment' scored an even better 895,000 viewers, coming a close second to the Dame Edna Treatment on Channel Nine and the show’s best Aussie ratings since 'Smith and Jones'. For more ratings details see theSydney Morning Herald’s Tribal Mind.

Thanks to Theta Sega MP for the Sunday Telegraph piece.

Veteran actor Richard Briers revealed on BBC News24 that he will be appearing in an episode of Series Two of Torchwood.

The actor, who was being interviewed about remastered Charlie Chaplin films, said he read the script last night and it scared him.

Talking to Michael Parkinson on BBC Radio 2 he added that he will play a 90-year-old man rehearsing for the end.

Briers is best known for his role of Tom Good in the classic BBC Comedy series, The Good Life. In Doctor Who, he appeared with the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, in the 1987 story Paradise Towers, where he played The Chief Caretaker.

Thanks to Nick Headley

North American High Definition Cable Channel HDNET has announced it has acquired the rights to the first two seasons of Torchwood. It will begin showing the series on September 17th.

Australian commercial broadcaster Channel Ten has dropped Torchwood from the Monday 9.30pm timeslot, moving the programme to Tuesday nights at midnight (Wednesday 12am). Next week it will be replaced by a special, Tomb of Jesus, a documentary about the 2,000-year-old "Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries", found in Jerusalem. This change follows Monday night's episode, 'Greeks Bearing Gifts', starting 55 minutes late due to the season final of Big Brother over-running. 'Greeks' rated 563,000 in the five major capitals. A number of Torchwood episodes have commenced late in recent weeks due to Big Brother running overtime.

Channel Ten has a history of dropping programmes mid-season from prime time as a result of 'disappointing' ratings. Programmes such as Jericho, Battlestar Galactica, Veronica Mars and Smallville have shared a similar fate.

Meanwhile, AnnMaree Bellman of the Sydney Morning Herald has reviewed 'Greeks Bearing Gifts'.