(S01E02) This could have quite easily been the first episode of Torchwood, so quickly was the viewer thrown into the action.

Chuck in some backflash references introducing our main characters; Captain Jack Harkness from the recent series Doctor Who, along with his team of Torchwood operatives, and our central character Gwen Cooper, the ex-cop who takes on the vacant position with a gang of supernatural alien hunters.

And we're done.

A two-hour special would probably have wrapped it all up nicely, but Russell T Davies decided to split things up, especially since this week's episode was more about setting up the adult theme of the entire series than giving viewers a decent run at the characters involved.

If you're trying to get your audience to remember your show in the morning, there's one surefire way to guarantee you'll be talked about over the water-cooler; sex.

And this second episode, "Day One," had plenty of it.

It seems totally implausible to me now that I'm sitting here writing it all down, but somehow it managed to work, albeit on the most feeble level., and maybe because I'm prepared to give it a go because I've enjoyed Doctor Who so much recently.

However, I reckon I'll probably look back at this episode as one of the weaker, more cynically-plotted shows in the series, and I have to say I don't take too kindly to Mr Davies deliberately manipulating his audience with one of the crudest and lowest forms of writing tools.

So, here it goes for the plot: a gaseous alien crash-lands in Cardiff and occupies the body of a young girl. But get this: it needs orgasmic energy to survive, and sets about having pretty wild sex with strangers in order to cause them to explode at the crucial moment, at which point their energy is consumed.

I feel like I've been here before, and only the most immature of viewers would have fallen for such a poor ratings-seeking ploy. (And don't get me started on the obsession with Cardiff and Wales, or people with unusual physical characteristics).

I sincerely hope this stand-alone episode marks the end of such a banal plot device, but I suspect we'll get more sexed-up drama mixed with so-called science-fiction as Torchwood is repeatedly passed off as somehow 'adult'.

I hope I'm wrong.

Needless to say, the alien was captured at the end of the show, and the young girl saved, with Gwen learning a harsh lesson about surviving as a member of the Torchwood team; never let the work get in the way of your life.

If you haven't seen this episode yet, take my advice: don't let it get in the way of your life.