fajrdrako | Torchwood, Doctor Who and the Hugo Awards... (Reply)

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.