Gay TV viewers, take heart. Yes, it's true that Ugly Betty aired its last new episode last Sunday night. But you can rejoice that the gayest show on TV has returned----Torchwood has returned for a second season on BBC America.
Shame on you if you haven't caught this outrageous sci-fi series whose main character is gay and is played by an out actor. We're talking about Captain Jack played by John Barrowman.

  If you haven't seen Torchwood, you must buy or rent season one. Not just to catch up but because it's the right thing to do. Once you do, come on back and read our review of the second season premiere. We can't promise this is spoiler-free, but we'll give it a try.

  We knew this was going to be a special episode right from the opening shots when a fish creature drove up in a sports car, stopped at an intersection, and took off again with the Torchwood team in hot pursuit---all in front of a middle-aged pedestrian who stood there slack-jawed over the whole thing. "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" was a tantalizing as it was revelatory. 

          
                                                   Captains Jack and John

 Captain Jack reunited with his team who were more than a little peeved at his disappearance and were demanding explanations. Good ol' enigmatic Jack didn't offer any--but he did drop a delicious nugget right at our feet. He tells Ianto Jones (played by Gareth David-Lloyd) “I came back for you.” Stunned silence.  Then he adds  his "all of you". But the pause was key because it harkens back to the passionate smooch the two characters shared at the end of season one.

  Then all gay hell breaks loose--Captain John (played by James Marsters) shows up and lures Jack to a pub where they share a big kiss before beating the crap out of each other . The Torchwood team does come to Jack's rescue but they quickly learn that John and Jack had what was clearly an intimate yet volatile relationship. The repartee between the two exes is priceless. But it also is carried on right in front of a confused Ianto. If you forgot how the characters on Torchwood have fuzzy sexuality, this episode will remind you. Jack does ask out Ianto but there are also simmering mutual feelings between Jack and Gwen. You get the feeling that Torchwood  And after Captain John does something despicable he's professing his love for Jack. If all this sounds confusing, just remember one thing. The creator of this show Russell Davies loves characters who are "omnisexual". 

                     
                                                                               Jack and Ianto--in love?

 Captain John is no good guy as we learn rather quickly but we do like that he's not a black and white villain.
He's got feelings for Jack and yet warns Gwen about him. He may only be back for another episode but it would make for great TV to have him back. Plus he departs with a cryptic message for Jack --you gotta love those kind of monents. Sure, we'd love it for Jack and Ianto to have a relationship during this season, but we know it's going to be complicated----that word "omnisexual" keeps coming up in our heads and we know it'll be hard for Jack to "settle down".  

               
                                                                           Carrying a torch for Jack?

  This sexual "diversity" is certainly not limited to the males as we saw last season. And it's not the main focus of the first episode (althought it was the highlight) The main plot concerned itself with an alien threat in the form of "rift locator device" (trust us it's best you watch rather than us trying to explain). The threat is averted (at least for now) and we are left to ponder what's going to happen next. Whatever transpires this season, we're hooked once again. You should be too.