The recipe for perfect telly sf

• Take one of Joss Whedon's spare Hellmouths, and place under a British city. Say, Cardiff.
• Add one part X-Files and two parts Men in Black.
• Create a Scooby gang including at least one technical guru and one, um, Xander, led by a mysterious, handsome (apparently) stranger with a dark side. If he once died and came back mysteriously immortal, so much the better.
• Give them a Batcave, whose entrance is protected by a Somebody Else's Problem field from Hitchhikers.
• Place the mix into a pre-heated sf universe. (Note: Doctor Who is popular at the moment.)
• Make occasional throw-away references to this show, but do not depend on it.
• In fact, distance yourself from its key fanbase by taking a distinctly adult sf plot (say, Species) and plundering it for Episode 2.
• Before serving, take the name of the parent show and sprinkle the letters over the title sequence.

Enjoy Torchwood. I did.