As a general rule, returning characters = **BAD**.  It’s very hard to bring off successfully– I think largely because the Character needs to have grown during the hiatus and that almost never happens. 

On the other hand, I am one of those rare American males who *automatically* dislikes blondes. I’m far more likely to react well to a brunette (see Xena or Erin Yun) than I am to a Pamela Anderson character. In fact, at first I disliked Rose intensely. Fortunately, though, she went from being a rather petulent angst-driven teenager to an insightful young lady, with immense inner strength. Now, Rose is on the short list of ”Acceptable Blonde Characters”

Whether she remains there…

(As for Leela/Rose - Remember, Rose was essentially supernatural when she toasted the Daleks, whereas Leela was just a babe who needed to eat more in a leather bikini.)

And speaking of Torchwood, the “adult” stuff doesn’t bother me because it’s adult. It just sometimes seems like they’re sticking it in just to say, hey, look, we’re not Doctor Who. Which is not a good reason for it. I do like the show though.

And Martha rocks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdWjkxbzXJ0

I wrote more thoughts about this on my blog too that you’re welcome to check out if you like.

Peace,

James

I’ll explain later.

:^P

I don’t think the objections were to the “adult” content per se, just that it seemed to have been shovelled in at the expense of other elements of good writing: to the extent that the bed-hopping was too often the main impediment to saving the Earth from whatever-was-imperilling-it-so-gravely-that-week. That said, the last episode attracted some ire for its overstretching of the suspension of disbelief: by the climate and law of the time it was set, the last scene should have resulted in riots and courts martial…