...that the Sarah Jane Adventures will begin airing on Sci-Fi in April, along with the new season of Doctor Who, apparently (so it'll be nigh-simultaneous in America and Britain? Sweet.)

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-ca-davies3feb03,1,3909490.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

This increases the likelihood we'll soon see a DVD box set of The Sarah Jane Adventures in America, as well. Plus, I can finally recommend that show to my friends who have not the means or the willingness to watch it online. And on a more selfish note, near-simultaneous airings of Doctor Who in the U.S. and the U.K. will mean that I'll finally be just as surprised by each episode as the British viewers.

The Sarah-Jane Adventures were a nice surprise, being of a far higher standard than I'd expected (and more consistently good and often better acted than Torchwood). It was the most watched children's TV series in the UK this decade.

Torchwood series 2 is now on, and it seems to have grown out of its awkward early self-conscious adultness to a genuinely more mature and confident programme. The pacing seems improved this series too, with the dramatic beats falling just right. I especially enjoyed episode 4 where [spoiler blacked out] Gwen's boyfriend finally discovers her "secret identity".

As for Dr Who, the recent Kylie Christmas special was fun but I don't rate it as highly as some other episodes (unlike many, who claim it was "bestest ever"). It did become the second-most watched TV UK programme of the year, with an amazing 52% viewing share!

Next season will see the series leaning more on recent continuity, with a number of returning cast members from previous series. It remasins to be seen whether the series can carry - or increase - its audience through that kind of technique.

UK cinemas are now airing trailers for the new Doctor Who series.

And finally a trick monor-spoiler trvia question:

How many members of Donna's family have we seen speaking on-screen so far?

Answer blacked out below:

If you said two, her mum and dod, you're wrong. We've seen three. The patriotic old man with the newspaper stand (Bernard cCribbins) who refused to evacuate in The Voyage of the Damned is Donna's grandfather - and he'll be back.