Torchwood, Doctor Who and the Hugo Awards...

Back when I went to the Science Fiction World Con on a regular basis, I used to make it a point to read the novels nominated for a Hugo award, and vote. It was fun. I discovered some great authors that way. But more and more I found the books disappointing, and I stopped going to world cons, and now I take only a vague interest.

But this year there is something that interests me: the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category, i.e., TV shows:

• Battlestar Galactica "Razor" written by Michael Taylor, directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and Wayne Rose (Sci Fi Channel) (televised version, not DVD)
  
• Dr. Who "Blink" written by Stephen Moffat, directed by Hettie Macdonald (BBC)
  
• Dr. Who "Human Nature" / "Family of Blood" written by Paul Cornell, directed by Charles Palmer (BBC)
  
• Star Trek New Voyages "World Enough and Time" written by Michael Reaves & Marc Scott Zicree, directed by Marc Scott Zicree (Cawley Entertainment Co. and The Magic Time Co.)
  
• Torchwood "Captain Jack Harkness" written by Catherine Tregenna, directed by Ashley Way (BBC Wales)

So: of five nominations, I've seen four - I don't even know what Star Trek New Voyages is.

I thought Battlestar Galactica's "Razor" was brilliant. But so was the "Human Nature/Family of Blood" story on Doctor Who, and I liked "Blink" even more. And then there's Torchwood's "Captain Jack Harkness", the best TV romance I've ever seen. I didn't think there was any chance it would ever be nominated for a Hugo. It never even occurred to me.

I had hoped that Steven Moffat's "Blink" would be nominated for a Hugo, and it would have my (uncast) vote. But "Captain Jack Harkness" being up against it - woo! I had to take maybe three seconds to actually think about that one.

No contast. Even if I wasn't already biased, I think the writing, pacing, acting, staging, direction, and everything else about "Captain Jack Harkness" is so good that it deserves the award on all those considerations. Add to that a quasi-political factor, that it's a same-sex romance presented without apology or cliché.

Yes, really. Even against "Blink", there's no contest.